Wanted: Solo highland stalking

[laurence bartlam]

Evening chaps,

This year I turn 40 an I want to treat myself to something very particular.

I’m hoping to organise a solo highland stalk over a few days camping up in the hills. A bit like a backpack hunt that they do in the US, Canada etc.

I just want a map and I’ll be alone for three days up on the hills with my dog, no thermals scopes or anything fancy.

Anyone got any contacts the could private message me? Google only shows one place advertising it and at £600 a day it seems a bit steep as that would equate to 1800 plus travel up there etc. I just thought it was quiet expensive considering that I’m doing everything myself.

Please keep your replies constructive, I have enquired on a number of Facebook pages and was met with loads of stupid comments

Many thanks

 

[slider]

@Tulloch might be able to help. He has advertising solo stalking opportunities north of Inverness in the past.

 

[Sprocker101]

Sounds like my kind of hunt. Something I too have been looking for and will watch with interest.

 

[Jh1986]

Hello Lawrence from Sussex. James here, also from Sussex and also turning 40 this year.

Sounds perfect.

My plan is to get all 6 species this year. Was thinking of a red for my 40th

 

[Biathlonjimmy]

@Tulloch might be able to help. He has advertising solo stalking opportunities north of Inverness in the past.

I have done this with @Tulloch over a few seasons but not in the past 5 yrs. Ground was good. Shot some cracking deer. Camped out. Nothing like a US or NZ public lands hunt though.

 

[laurence bartlam]

No I’m sure it’s not, but it’s the closest I’m going to get at the moment.

I can’t afford to take that much time off and have a young family. But some remote areas of Scotland would scratch the itch for a while.

Plus I can’t fly my dog out for a public land hunt and one of the main joys is my big hairy lurcher leading me in using his nose. I’ve trained him as a big game indicating dog and he’s more valuable than any thermal I’ve used

 

[Sheamus]

Forget the gun. Just take the Lurcher and some light camping gear..

 

[laurence bartlam]

Ha! Er no, I don’t think a red stag vs a lurcher is do-able. Not without the dog taking some serious damage

 

[muddy42]

Good on you. What experience and qualifications do you have? Whats your game plan for extracting deer or will you skin and 'pack' venison out' ?

Its bonkers that the rest of the world can manage some kind of tag system public land - gps and tech help immensely. It could be managed on the days when contractor hitmen aren't operating or on different bits of ground. I have yet to hear a decent argument explaining why brits are somehow more dangerous or less organised than other countries where this system works fine. Superficially to me the highlands seem like a toxic mix of two opposite camps that I think a tag system could help defuse and democratize:
- public land, SNP land reformers, rewilding, paying contract killers to shoot easy deer close to truck, in volume, out of seasons, at night etc, versus;
- private landowners, often toffs pumping money into estates but needing to charge ££££ to punters and wanting a lot of deer about to guarantee finding deer.

 

[laurence bartlam]

Thanks @muddy42
Qualification wise, dsc1, advanced deer management, first aid +f

I’m also a forestry consultant so can read maps and use gps devices to a high standard, before that I was on the tools so very comfortable out in the elements in the woods. Fitness wise I run 5ks a few times a week as well as weight lift and been shooting for over 20years.

Agree there should be a tag system as otherwise it’s quiet elitist stalking reds and I genuinely think it should be for all men and women like in US, Canada NZ etc

 

[Bowland blades]

Should not be a problem on most estates , of course there are still bothis on many estates . No electric or taps and anyone can come in say hello and use the bothy. One i have visited had a prosocline toilet no lid and obviously no flush .
Thing is i would be very wary of bringing firearms into a bothy if other strangers rocked up to use the bothy

 

[Mickeydredd]

Agree there should be a tag system as otherwise it’s quiet elitist stalking reds and I genuinely think it should be for all men and women like in US, Canada NZ etc

It isn't elitist at all, there a far more stalkers stalking Reds in Scotland that do not pay the significant costs paid to experience the "estate" experience, to which you are referring.

 

[NullMac]

My mates should laugh at being called elitist.

Hill stalking is cheap compared to other climes and the estate sure as hell isn’t making money on it.

 

[Dunwaters]

The dog could be a liability, especially on open ground. You’ll probably need to agree what happens to the carcass beforehand, moving a red stag any appreciable distance that isn’t straight down on your own is no fun and if you quarter it the dealer may not be interested.
Have a great hunt.

 

[laurence bartlam]

The dog could be a liability, especially on open ground. You’ll probably need to agree what happens to the carcass beforehand, moving a red stag any appreciable distance that isn’t straight down on your own is no fun and if you quarter it the dealer may not be interested.
Have a great hunt.

Thanks for your reply, why would the dog be an issue? Asking as they are under complete control.
Also I hunt for meat, I never sell anything to a game dealer. I eat a lot of venison. Features in my diet at least once a day

 

[muddy42]

When you say camping i assume you mean stags? Be aware that hind stalking is considerably better value - maybe 20% of the cost per day, less if you consider the fact you generally shoot more deer in the day. With regards the solo bit, landowners might be more keen because ultimately its a number game, much less selective over which deer are shot than stags.

You really need to think about after the shot. Dragging a 120kg stag more than a few metres even downhill in the highlands is hell. If you quarter it on the hill and ditch some, you might get that down to 60kg, but its still a hell of a weight to carry in a rucksack with a rifle and antlers?

I've been very lucky to shoot reds on my own. Its amazing, being 100% in charge of the route, reading the wind, getting in so close you can hear the deer ripping up the heather, no eager young stalker pushing you to take a rushed long shot etc. But what's even better is sitting down on your own next to the deer and being able to phone/radio for help and watching an argocat or garron snaking up towards you!

 

[glasshalffull]

It isn't elitist at all, there a far more stalkers stalking Reds in Scotland that do not pay the significant costs paid to experience the "estate" experience, to which you are referring.

Quite

 

[ackers1]

I didn't realise this was possible, will watch the thread with interest!

 

[Biathlonjimmy]

When you say camping i assume you mean stags? Be aware that hind stalking is considerably better value - maybe 20% of the cost per day, less if you consider the fact you generally shoot more deer in the day. With regards the solo bit, landowners might be more keen because ultimately its a number game, much less selective over which deer are shot than stags.

You really need to think about after the shot. Dragging a 120kg stag more than a few metres even downhill in the highlands is hell. If you quarter it on the hill and ditch some, you might get that down to 60kg, but its still a hell of a weight to carry in a rucksack with a rifle and antlers?

I've been very lucky to shoot reds on my own. Its amazing, being 100% in charge of the route, reading the wind, getting in so close you can hear the deer ripping up the heather, no eager young stalker pushing you to take a rushed long shot etc. But what's even better is sitting down on your own next to the deer and being able to phone/radio for help and watching an argocat or garron snaking up towards you!

Normally takes me two trips to bring the venison back. F1 mainframe is worth it's weight in gold for this task.

 

[Dunwaters]

Thanks for your reply, why would the dog be an issue? Asking as they are under complete control.

Well behaved dogs are not really an issue in woodlands/ semi open areas because you don’t often have to leave them for extended periods to crawl across open spaces.
On open moorland a dog is an encumbrance, you seem to have more than one…I would class that as an “embuggerance” unless you have someone to leave them with while you stalk in. Then there the evenings. How will you keep them from heading off to do a few nixers?

Also I hunt for meat, I never sell anything to a game dealer. I eat a lot of venison. Features in my diet at least once a day

Thats all fine, but you still have to get it out and looked after and if you cut it up for extraction you have no option but to keep it yourself. How many do you plan to shoot?
In late summer/early autumn the blow flies are unrelenting and the eggs hatch in a single day.
You just can’t leave meat exposed for anything more than 20 minutes or so.
I’ve had to abandon carcasses because of the fly blow damage if they were left out for over an hour. Ravens definitely dont help, they take the eyes, tongue and open up the hams. You can flag the ravens off, the blow flies are relentless.

I see what you want to achieve, and the very best of luck with it, but personally, I cut out as many of the variables as I can now.
That means a dry, comfortable place to stay that the midges can’t get into, decent food, decent drink and a wee bit of socialisation in the evenings.
The dogs stay in the room or the car. They’re safe and secure, no worries about them heading off while I have a few adult beverages and tell lies.
I go with the flow on the deer, if theres help available I take it, if not, and its reds, I take one and I walk away from anything thats the least bit challenging to extract, ( anything over 30M from the track or anything more than a bit downhill of it nowadays ).
I did that solo thing, camping wild in the woodlands, for a good while, but not so much now. It works out about 20% of the time as you imagine.
The other 80% becomes the subject of legend and is nice to look back on in a couple of decades, but it was just not pleasant at the time. You also need people who were there and shared the experience to reminisce with.

ACTUALLY, scrub most of that except the bits about dogs and meat.
At my age all I've got are the memories, and most of those are memorable because of what went wrong, go make some of your own.
Best of luck with your trip