Why so many ?
- Thread starter k760
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oh i agree like i say just saying how it is , and why we have ever increasing deer numbers
I think it would be impossible to ever get "joined up thinking" on anything in the UK let alone the controversial subject of killing bambi (as lots of townsfolk see it). If you have the money to buy a large tract of land then good for you and also to a degree do with it as you see fit....the flip side being that the countryside is a working environment not a playground...lots of conflicting arguments both ways.
I shoot deer with a friend in the SW and there are huge numbers across huge tracts of land...cant get rid of them to the game dealer and all the farmers want money to let someone shoot them....I love being out stalking but will not shoot deer unless I can get rid and theres only so much venison we can eat ..and a fallow fills the freezer pretty quick.
To cut a long story short ...not an easy one. Fortunately there arent many deer where I live...if there were I would be out 3 or 4 times a week as I adore all things shooting
yep its a tough one i sell what i can and butcher the rest myself for family friends and more importantly land owners , i probably butchered up around 50 last year rest went in the skin to a dealer . maily muntjac , roe and the odd fallowI think it would be impossible to ever get "joined up thinking" on anything in the UK let alone the controversial subject of killing bambi (as lots of townsfolk see it). If you have the money to buy a large tract of land then good for you and also to a degree do with it as you see fit....the flip side being that the countryside is a working environment not a playground...lots of conflicting arguments both ways.
I shoot deer with a friend in the SW and there are huge numbers across huge tracts of land...cant get rid of them to the game dealer and all the farmers want money to let someone shoot them....I love being out stalking but will not shoot deer unless I can get rid and theres only so much venison we can eat ..and a fallow fills the freezer pretty quick.
To cut a long story short ...not an easy one. Fortunately there arent many deer where I live...if there were I would be out 3 or 4 times a week as I adore all things shooting
Good man
I bought a chiller recently to make my life easier...its just the time aspect that seems to get in the way...roll on retirement
Blaser243
Well-Known Member
If the risk was being realised (as opposed to being just a risk), wouldn’t we all be talking about the incidents? People have been foxing at night for decades with minimal problems. Larger calibres do not (in the real world) equate to more risk.
Personally I found NE very sensible when I’ve spoken with them.
yes you and me bothGood man
I bought a chiller recently to make my life easier...its just the time aspect that seems to get in the way...roll on retirement
id never be bored in retirement ,The risk was not the shooting. It was based upon large numbers of deer crossing busy roads with a history of deer collisions. I suppose it depends on perception of risk and control measures. I am sure that NE are very sensible but perhaps rather inundated in the South East at the moment.
Blaser243
Well-Known Member
Ah, I see your point now. As with any public body, they are two things - bureaucratic and not of the real world (amongst other things, they've just asked me about crop yield figures and other things for a piece of ground that I obtained a licence for in the winter - obviously no harvest since then!) and secondly focussed only on their remit. The rest of the world doesn't exist. Their responsiblity is the natural environment and they couldn't give two hoots, I'm sure, about road safety.
The day we have joined up government is the day I will be able to retire as PM (both fairly unlikely).
Deer population, management objectives and acceptable levels of damage all come into the equation.
It is generally recognised that the UK population of deer us increasing.
Management objectives and acceptable damage levels. This can be where conflicts can occur. In general, forestry organisations want low levels of damage. To achieve this it is often necessary to ensure high level culling. Some land owners want to run their estates as sporting. They often like to stalk and sometimes may use deerstalking as a source of income as well.
I think generally the public are not fully aware of the numbers of deer involved nor are they aware of what it involves both in effort, resources and cost to achieve high culls and maintain low damage levels
It is generally recognised that the UK population of deer us increasing.
Management objectives and acceptable damage levels. This can be where conflicts can occur. In general, forestry organisations want low levels of damage. To achieve this it is often necessary to ensure high level culling. Some land owners want to run their estates as sporting. They often like to stalk and sometimes may use deerstalking as a source of income as well.
I think generally the public are not fully aware of the numbers of deer involved nor are they aware of what it involves both in effort, resources and cost to achieve high culls and maintain low damage levels
devon deer stalker
Well-Known Member
I'm in the fortunate position of being able to stalk 5 days a week, I have sufficient ground and have given a couple permissions away in the past couple of years.
Why so many deer?
As already stated not enough deer being controlled by some recreational stalkers on top much land to effectively manage.
Another way to look at this, we have seen game dealer prices drop, fuel prices etc all gone through the roof.
Farmers want them controlled (some say drag the carcass down the woods!) to increase yield, and put more profit in their pockets, I don't have any issue with that, but maybe, just maybe we should be paid to cover our expenses.
I barely broke even last year, without finding other outlets and thinking outside the box I would of struggled.
In a perfect scenario either the landowner or government should pay us until deer at sensible levels.
When I first started I was offered financial reward by a farmer, but then game dealer prices were more than fair.
Why so many deer?
As already stated not enough deer being controlled by some recreational stalkers on top much land to effectively manage.
Another way to look at this, we have seen game dealer prices drop, fuel prices etc all gone through the roof.
Farmers want them controlled (some say drag the carcass down the woods!) to increase yield, and put more profit in their pockets, I don't have any issue with that, but maybe, just maybe we should be paid to cover our expenses.
I barely broke even last year, without finding other outlets and thinking outside the box I would of struggled.
In a perfect scenario either the landowner or government should pay us until deer at sensible levels.
When I first started I was offered financial reward by a farmer, but then game dealer prices were more than fair.
Sums it up nicely
I think its primarily about , what the landowners wishes are ( even if they change those wishes ) . Best way to loose ground is to go against those wishes !
precisely this , my landowners dont care if my freezers full lifes hectic etc i have to out twice a week to cover the ground sometimes 3 times a week in doe season , ive had a few lads come out with me the odd time but quickly lose interest when they relise its early alarm calls and late evenings getting home , but then in the same breath say theyd love their own ground
Pulling the trigger is the easy bit...its what comes next which is the hard bit as you rightly say. I love a few days of getting up at 3.30 and getting to bed at 12...good for the soulprecisely this , my landowners dont care if my freezers full lifes hectic etc i have to out twice a week to cover the ground sometimes 3 times a week in doe season , ive had a few lads come out with me the odd time but quickly lose interest when they relise its early alarm calls and late evenings getting home , but then in the same breath say theyd love their own ground
Though it does get harder the older you get .....the getting up early bit..nothing else (without medication) 
I shoot mainly to the south & west of London, in SW England and occasionally in Norfolk/Suffolk
And it's as others have stated already
Loads of deer in some places, but no sign of really joined up thinking on how to deal with them, not from either landowners or gov't agency
Farmers want their crops protected, they endlessly feckin moan about that - it's always "deer all over the place" even when it's a single Roe ffs - but they still want to be paid, and handsomely, for "the shooting rights"
I'd happily shoot loads but I'm damned if I'm going to pay someone to do them a favour AND I'm not going to leave carcasses to rot cos game dealers can't/won't take any more either
I use & give away all that I can, but that limits me to taking no more than 20-50 deer per year depending on species in the mix
And it's as others have stated already
Loads of deer in some places, but no sign of really joined up thinking on how to deal with them, not from either landowners or gov't agency
Farmers want their crops protected, they endlessly feckin moan about that - it's always "deer all over the place" even when it's a single Roe ffs - but they still want to be paid, and handsomely, for "the shooting rights"
I'd happily shoot loads but I'm damned if I'm going to pay someone to do them a favour AND I'm not going to leave carcasses to rot cos game dealers can't/won't take any more either
I use & give away all that I can, but that limits me to taking no more than 20-50 deer per year depending on species in the mix
^^^ Exactly this! I'm in the 50-70 bracket/year but the limiting factor (and I would willing do more) is carcass disposal. In the absence of any local AGHE, I'm doing GUTG, BDS Good Food Network Venison, selling through a Farm Shop and a monthly farmer's market (when they run - bad news today about Saturday week's one and July).
Joined up thinking and a concerted education scheme need to promote venison.
Nobody has any sort of accurate idea what the deer population is even at a single date, let alone over time. What has certainly been increasing is the number of groups with vested interests in altering the populations of deer for various reasons.
Therefore any conclusions based on the erroneous idea of knowing what deer populations are are highly dodgy. It's not even known with any degree of accuracy what the human population is, let alone any species which can't complete a census form.
Last year I shot 49 muntjac in a 13 acre block over 8 months 1 mile down the road 60 in 3 years from 5 acres
So the tally in 1 mile was 69.
It makes good sense that we don't know what the deer population is with numerous member typing about it instead of doing it.
bottletopbill
Well-Known Member
Some folk's have all the luck
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