Hind Stalking Prices (Highlands)

[Utectok]

Personally I’ve paid about £300 for a good day on the hill with the chance of a hind. Sometimes you get two or three sometimes none it’s they way it roles. Start with realistic expectations and be ready to enjoy yourself!!

 

[Mungo]

It does but there are quite a few places where you can stalk unguided and there doesn't seem to be the endless stream of every paying guest going off piste and doing something stupid. It's just a case of "we've always done it this way and don't want to change because of all the bad things that could happen regardless of if they did and regardless of the benefits".

Abolishing the male closed season and then having the majority of stalker's up in arms about it is a prime example of this. Convinced that all of a sudden the Highlands will be filled with blood thirsty killers shooting anything that moves and obliterating generations of hard work by deer managers

Oh I don’t mean them going off piste. I’ve not seen that. What I have experienced is giving people detailed instructions on where to go and what to do to maximise chances of success. Then being completely ignored, the clients blanking, and then the clients trying to deny ignoring the instructions. The finest occasion was when there was fresh snow on the ground, so I was able to take them to where they SHOULD have been, and show the motorway of fresh tracks right past where they would have been sitting…

 

[Stew1803]

This might be off topic slightly, especially since I've never stalked hinds on the hills yet only roes through woodlands.

But if there was an option somewhere, where I paid an estate say £50-100 a day(maybe a touch more) was given a map with boundaries and some advice on best places to look, allowed to head off
(preferable being able to set up a tent and camp in the hills for a few days whilst i stalk) unaccompanied and use my own skill to stalk my own deer and extract it myself.
I'd be very happy with that experience.

I suppose it would free up some time for the keeper as he wouldn't be accompanying me, the estate meets its cull targets more easily and makes some money and doesn't need to deal with the carcass etc

 

[VSS]

This might be off topic slightly, especially since I've never stalked hinds on the hills yet only roes through woodlands.

But if there was an option somewhere, where I paid an estate say £50-100 a day(maybe a touch more) was given a map with boundaries and some advice on best places to look, allowed to head off
(preferable being able to set up a tent and camp in the hills for a few days whilst i stalk) unaccompanied and use my own skill to stalk my own deer and extract it myself.
I'd be very happy with that experience.

I suppose it would free up some time for the keeper as he wouldn't be accompanying me, the estate meets its cull targets more easily and makes some money and doesn't need to deal with the carcass etc

Sounds like everybody's dream, but it would be a nightmare for the estate to organise and monitor, and would most likely cost you at least as much as a guided stalk.

 

[Stew1803]

Sounds like everybody's dream, but it would be a nightmare for the estate to organise and monitor, and would most likely cost you at least as much as a guided stalk.

I'd rather that than a guided stalk personally, but I can certianly see how it could be difficult for estates to organise.

But if as you say its everybody's dream it might be worthwhile for the estates to branch out a diversify a bit.

 

[jcampbellsmith]

Sounds like everybody's dream, but it would be a nightmare for the estate to organise and monitor, and would most likely cost you at least as much as a guided stalk.

Once upon a time I went out with a guide for several days. Guided stalks were £x, self-guided stalks were half of £x. I did manage to get myself briefly lost late morning on one of the self-guided stalks.
Regards
JCS

 

[Freeforester]

If the estate is big enough, which I'm sure most are, then send some paying guests off by themselves to shoot some hinds while the employees go off and shoot their own. Worst case scenario the guests shoot nothing and the employed stalkers get their quota for the day anyway.

You’ve obviously never had to mop up the broken legged and sundry wounded of the go-it-alone ‘experienced’ guests, I imagine.

 

[Foxyboy43]

Sounds like everybody's dream, but it would be a nightmare for the estate to organise and monitor, and would most likely cost you at least as much as a guided stalk.

Then there’s the estate’s liability and insurance premiums….

 

[AGR]

I think it's good to have an optimist on the site. Finally.

 

[sikamalc]

I have never known any estate in the Highlands that allowed clients out on their own to take hinds.
I am sure there are places, but I have never known of it.
Most estates would rather carry out the cull themselves. It's a short period to complete the cull, and days are short, and clients out on their own is a serious risk. Hind stalking used to be £150 plus VAT per day. Now its well in excess of £300.
Make the most of it all, things are changing up there. And in my opinion it's not positive.

 

[User00047]

This might be off topic slightly, especially since I've never stalked hinds on the hills yet only roes through woodlands.

But if there was an option somewhere, where I paid an estate say £50-100 a day(maybe a touch more) was given a map with boundaries and some advice on best places to look, allowed to head off
(preferable being able to set up a tent and camp in the hills for a few days whilst i stalk) unaccompanied and use my own skill to stalk my own deer and extract it myself.
I'd be very happy with that experience.

I suppose it would free up some time for the keeper as he wouldn't be accompanying me, the estate meets its cull targets more easily and makes some money and doesn't need to deal with the carcass etc

That seems to be a very popular request these days. There is more satisfaction in doing EVERYTHING yourself, but I’m sure estates would be reluctant to go for it. For a start it would put Ghillies out of business so they’d be the first to object
There’s no reason why someone with the skills and experience shouldn’t be able to tackle this sort of thing, but you’d obviously get the Walter Mitties out there as well, causing ructions when they can’t cope.
If that’s the sort of hunting you want to do then you’re better off going abroad and doing a DIY hunt, ( USA is a very easy and safe bet)
Plenty of Brits going out there now and having the time of their lives.

 

[NullMac]

Interesting. May I ask, did you actually pay tips? If so, how much, and why? Did you make your dissatisfaction known? If so, what was the response?

Yes I did. Insurance for next time in case I calmed down later and saw sense So I didn't have a honk at the time either. Just not going back.

 

[NullMac]

need to get out of their heads with hind stalking is that somehow they are ‘helping’ or ‘doing the stalkers job for them’ - it’s guided stalking.

I agree, it is. Still don't have to be completely miserly with the numbers? The hinds are not as valuable as the stags and are probably going to get shot anyway unlike the stags. No?

Usually it’s better value than stags if you are basing it on number shot but in reality, if the stalkers were doing it on their own they would get done a lot quicker, albeit with no income from the guests.

. In the greater scheme of things, are people letting enough days to have any practical impact on the estates economics ?? The guys I know let a few days early on (the lodge gets let so its a decent cheque) then get stuck in themselves to get the cull done before the weather gets really bad. I guess it depends where you are.

prices have gone up a) because everything has and b) because more people want to do it so the demand has increased.

I get that. But I don't see why the price goes up and people also get stingy with numbers when the deer are there and are going to be shot anyway. That seems a bit greedy. If you are out for a day then you are out for a day. If you can't walk/shoot then tough but they are not stags they are going to get shot anyway, why not give your client a good day? No need for diversionary hillwalking on a shite day then shoot one 50 yards from the car park you left from. Been there as well sadly.

For a bit of balance I have also been some really good places, I am not just a moaning old git. Now, now. Rather than being based on numbers shot, I think they were good because I was learning and the stalkers helped me. Because there was more than one stalk and more than one deer it was a chance to put new stuff into practice with a professional by my side.

I believe I learned more stalking hinds than doing anything else, so I think it would be a big loss if it just became a cheap version of Stag stalking.

 

[Sealgair nam fiadh]

I agree, it is. Still don't have to be completely miserly with the numbers? The hinds are not as valuable as the stags and are probably going to get shot anyway unlike the stags. No?

If you have a cull of fifty hinds and you are shooting one per day per client that's more income than letting a client shoot ten a day and finishing your cull in a week.

 

[Pete6.5]

This might be off topic slightly, especially since I've never stalked hinds on the hills yet only roes through woodlands.

But if there was an option somewhere, where I paid an estate say £50-100 a day(maybe a touch more) was given a map with boundaries and some advice on best places to look, allowed to head off
(preferable being able to set up a tent and camp in the hills for a few days whilst i stalk) unaccompanied and use my own skill to stalk my own deer and extract it myself.
I'd be very happy with that experience.

I suppose it would free up some time for the keeper as he wouldn't be accompanying me, the estate meets its cull targets more easily and makes some money and doesn't need to deal with the carcass etc

For it to be £50 for you by the time they take the vat off it's not even worth the time to book it all in and stand with you for a safety/rules chat. How would you gauge their ability to be safe on the hill by their own? Leaving a bit of ground quiet and not having someone walk all over it would make it far easier for a professional to shoot their cull numbers. I hate to say it people lie to save embarrassment so if they wound deer they sometimes won't say and some people don't have the experience to track a deer that has run so give up with out finding it. Boundaries can be very vague and some peoples sense of direction/map read skills can be shocking.

 

[Stew1803]

For it to be £50 for you by the time they take the vat off it's not even worth the time to book it all in and stand with you for a safety/rules chat. How would you gauge their ability to be safe on the hill by their own? Leaving a bit of ground quiet and not having someone walk all over it would make it far easier for a professional to shoot their cull numbers. I hate to say it people lie to save embarrassment so if they wound deer they sometimes won't say and some people don't have the experience to track a deer that has run so give up with out finding it. Boundaries can be very vague and some peoples sense of direction/map read skills can be shocking.

Totally understand that, just going by what I'd like to be available. I tend to forget that using a map and compass isn't a basic skill everyone has.

And I obviously have zero experience of running an estate so don't see the behind the scenes stuff that goes on. I just know I wish we had more freedom to shoot in Scotland similar to what they have in the US.

And since I've only taken up shooting and stalking recently most of what I've heard about estates has been from outside the shooting scene, and most of that is saying that shooting sports are in decline, estates are being bought for eco rewinding projects and the government is trying to get rid of the shooting sports, I'm just trying to come up with ideas to maybe help estates diversify incomes.

I'd love to get the chance to spend time with an estate to see all the ins and outs of daily running just so could get a better picture instead of being on the outside looking in as they say.

 

[bogtrotter]

This might be off topic slightly, especially since I've never stalked hinds on the hills yet only roes through woodlands.

But if there was an option somewhere, where I paid an estate say £50-100 a day(maybe a touch more) was given a map with boundaries and some advice on best places to look, allowed to head off
(preferable being able to set up a tent and camp in the hills for a few days whilst i stalk) unaccompanied and use my own skill to stalk my own deer and extract it myself.
I'd be very happy with that experience.

I suppose it would free up some time for the keeper as he wouldn't be accompanying me, the estate meets its cull targets more easily and makes some money and doesn't need to deal with the carcass etc

How would you extract your carcass, do you have an argocat or a quad?
Have you experienced camping in a Highland
Winter.
You are likely to become acquainted with the
local mountain rescue team quite soon.

 

[VSS]

. I just know I wish we had more freedom to shoot in Scotland similar to what they have in the US.

There's freedom and there's freedom. Just remember, here in the UK we can shoot deer every day of the year, with no bag limit, on any land where we have permission to shoot, and sell the carcasses or retail the venison. You wouldn't enjoy that kind of freedom in the US, where just one or two deer per year seem to be the norm (going by what I've read on here about their tag system), taken during a very short open season, with no option to recoup costs.

 

[Stew1803]

How would you extract your carcass, do you have an argocat or a quad?
Have you experienced camping in a Highland
Winter.
You are likely to become acquainted with the
local mountain rescue team quite soon.

I dont have a quad but i do have a unimog u900 and 80 series landcruiser, these manage to get most places.

But the idea in my head would be to pack out on foot, The yanks manage to pack out elk, so a red would be doable I'm sure, perhaps done in shuttle runs, could be cut in the field and placed into bags.

Yes I camp through the year in the Highlands and regularly do mountaineering.

Yet to have had an issue the past 15 winters I've spent, but incase something does happen I always carry a garmin inreach, GPS and paper map and compass. In my pockets is always multiple hand warmers and 2 mylar blankets, Along with that I always have a trauma kit (,usually because i have crampons and ice axe but now also because I've taken up stalking) with my first aid kit (have been on a TCCC course)

But I can see your point of view and respect the fact that a lot of people would be a liability

 

[bogtrotter]

I dont have a quad but i do have a unimog u900 and 80 series landcruiser, these manage to get most places.

But the idea in my head would be to pack out on foot, The yanks manage to pack out elk, so a red would be doable I'm sure, perhaps done in shuttle runs, could be cut in the field and placed into bags.

Yes I camp through the year in the Highlands and regularly do mountaineering.

Yet to have had an issue the past 15 winters I've spent, but incase something does happen I always carry a garmin inreach, GPS and paper map and compass. In my pockets is always multiple hand warmers and 2 mylar blankets, Along with that I always have a trauma kit (,usually because i have crampons and ice axe but now also because I've taken up stalking) with my first aid kit (have been on a TCCC course)

But I can see your point of view and respect the fact that a lot of people would be a liability

OK more experienced than most maybe but I was a mountain rescue member for twenty five and unfortunately have seen the results of treating the Scottish mountains with lack of respect.