What's the closest you've got to a deer then?

[Monkey Spanker]

After the recently worrying thread about 'What's the longest shot etc' I have a similar question!
What is the closest you've shot one? This is something which would impress me more than long range lunacy. I've shot several at less than 10m and recently missed a fox at about 3m! I tried to shoot it in the head and missed under its chin!
I also stalked up on a roe buck whose head was behind a tree. The wood floor was lovely cushioned moss and the wind was perfect. He was out of season but I thought I'll see how close I can get. I got right up to it and poked it in the ass with my sticks! He looked most indignant as he leapt in the air and looked back at me. Made me chuckle for ages!
MS

 

[sako85]

Shot Deer right under a highseat i was in. Probably about 2m away!

 

[www.yorkshireroestalking.]

Shot Deer right under a highseat i was in. Probably about 2m away!

Same here a few under seats and close in woodland 3-4m's, called a buck in once came in running head down think it was me or him 10m's

 

[Jinga]

Awesome thread! The closest was to about 5 hinds and calfs in soft snow with the wind in my favour got to within 15 metres. Snow was too deep for the bipod and glad to say i didn't try a rushed shot as they twigged and shifted fast with plenty of noise!

 

[csl]

Mine was a roe doe and kid, but I didn't sneak up on them, they came to me! I was sitting under a tree at dusk and as the light was just getting too dark they popped out into the clearing in front of me. It was buck season and was too dark to shoot by then anyway so I sat tight and they sauntered past me no more than 5 metres away. I felt duty bound not to scare them for some reason and didn't dare move until they had gone back into the woods behind me.

Alex

 

[Claret_Dabbler]

I took this photo of a Sika doe one night 4 or 5 years ago, distance was about 5 feet. I looked up from gralloching her buddy and she was standing looking at me. Mad, but true.

I shot a muntjac out of a high seat a few weeks ago. Custom built 260rem rifle, Swaro Z6i 3-18x50 with turrets etc. Swaro 8x30 SLC LRF, range? 23 yards.....

 

[chrisstorey79]

Whilst stalking Roe Bucks last year i saw a out of season doe & decided to see how close i could get to her, I had a mate with me who had never been stalking before & we managed to get within about 10 meters of her then sat & watched her for a few minutes before she slowly moved on, She never even knew we were there. My mate couldn't believe how close we got. Needles to say he's now got the stalking bug

 

[biglad]

This is a better thred than how far can you shoot a deer@ my best is a young buck at 15 yards..

 

[jcampbellsmith]

I had shot a doe by a burn in the morning. When I came back with my father and the dogs in the afternoon, we disturbed another doe. It went away about 100 yds and then came back through the brash towards me out of curiosity? Finally I could see its head sticking above the brash at about 10 yds range. I put the .243 to my shoulder and aimed above the doe's head. I then let the rifle fall and as I saw the doe in the sights I pulled the trigger.

 

[Lee 308]

spotted a doe once in the buck season and decided to stalk in closer to see if she had a boyfriend nearby, i eventually got to about 3 metres from her, sat on my backside and watched her feeding for several minutes, she eventually turned around and stood looking at me for a few seconds before barking and running off, thats one i'll never forget.

 

[WARDY1]

Dropped some coffee from my high seat a couple of weeks ago whilst sat watching some fallow 400 yards away, looked down to see a Munty doe with one hoof on the first rung of the seat ladder looking up at me.

Couldn't bring myself to shoot it so give it a boo and off it went only to stand 25 yards away, ah well i tried but at 25 yards thought it more sporting so shot the poor bugger.

Longest shot is 185 yards on a fallow buck last October.

Steve

 

[Rick]

Closest one a stalked was about 35 yards in woodland!
Most of my deer are shot sub 80 yards

 

[jingzy]

The closest I got was about 3m. I was looking after some trees for a stalker mate and was on an open season buck cull. I went 300yds on my belly to shoot 2 does and the buck wouldn't move. I then took another route into him only to find him sleeping against a tree. I wanted to touch him, but the keeper would have been pi55ed off if I didn't get him, so I took the shot kneeling.
I was tempted to touch him as the keeper had told me of an instance when he stalked a doe and slapped it on the arse to show a client that he could stalk closer (the client didn't want to get closer). Unfortunately, this fine man is now not with us.

 

[sakoson]

During the roe rut last year i sat myself behind a huge oak tree at the edge of a wood looking out across an open field to another wood about 100yds away.With the dog lying at my feet i started calling with my buttalo, and after only a few minutes the dog raised his head and stared behind me,i instinctively looked round but saw nothing so becond the dog to lie down and waited another couple of minutes and squeeked again.Once more the dog raised his head and looked behind me,again i looked round,nothing.A couple of minutes later i pressed the buttalo again,same thing dogs head up and watching behind me.This time i turned round and faced in the direction the dog was looking and squeezed the buttalo again ,there before my eyes was a buck staring back at me no more than 5 feet away,i gently pulled the trigger while looking along the barrel and a nice 6 pointer dropped to neck shot.

 

[Orion]

While on a fallow darting expedition in Rendlesham Forest I had two Muntjac wander into the glade I was sitting on the edge of. Wearing full camo with a face veil and the wind in the right direction, I was sitting with my back to the base of a large tree and they kept coming towards me. At about 15m they started shagging and chasing around. The buck had a bit of a post-coital wander right up to me and only got a bit hesitant after he'd sniffed my boots. Still didn't get too excited though and they both gradually wandered away upwind. Soon after a bunch of fallow slowly crossed the ride to my right at about 20m and I easily darted a doe - following up was a different story though!

 

[john.d.m]

This is a beeter thread than the last one I just read.
1.Remember few yrs ago, I was out after the Boar and had the 30-06 on bipod and I was lead in the grass with my neck resting on the `scope and I caught something out of corner of my eye 3 foxes playing , so I squeeked and one shot down the field and stood sniffing the muzzle of rifle, as I was in longish grass, I actually got my finger to the trigger but didn`t pull it in case I frightened off anything else about.
Had a couple of close ones with the pigs, one very very memorable with a good man off here, was on I think his 3rd or 4th night out for pigs, a few yrs ago now, we had heard /smelt pigs previousley and knew they were close but none showed and the said person, always commented, It`s nice to be out and know their about ,`don`t have to kill one etc etc etc,then on the said night, we were sat under a hedge chatting .having a smoke and just chilling and a piglet ran out of the wood down across the field and straight into Waynes foot (whoops didn`t mean to mention him) Wayne looked at me and said..... CHEEKY BA####D I AM GOING TO HAVE TO KILL A PIG NOW GRRRRRRRRR
Sat in field one night with 2 dead pigs having a rest and smoke and another wander across the field and sniffed clients foot.

 

[vizslamad]

It was one of my days to do the feeding on our shoot and as I was walking towards a feeder carrying a sack of wheat there stood a muntjac. He did not move until I was approx 5 meters of him. At the time we were losing tons of food to the deer before we fenced the feeders in so I expect he was more interested in what was coming for lunch than me.

John.

 

[manc-munsters]

I had been sat in a doe box all morning, one day in the roe rut last year. I had seen nothing all morning, despite the conditions being perfect. I stood up and packed all my gear away but, as I slung my rifle, I noticed I had dropped my Buttalo. I stooped down to pick it up and, for some unknown reason, I gave it as couple of squeaks as I put it in my pocket. I turned around to leave the box, and a yearling roe buck was stood not 2m from me! He came out of no-where and must have come out like a bl%%dy rocket!
He was too close to shoot safely, so I ended up waving my arms wildly in the air to scare him away. After several minutes in a stand off, he slowly moved out to about 50m watching me all the time. He watched me put the roe sack and gear down, unsling the rifle and I swear he saw the bullet coming!

 

[Sako_243]

The closest was a Sika Hind at about 3ft whilst crawling through some gorse. She put her head down to look and see what was crawling through her gorse patch and got the good news through the top of her head.

 

[Mac]

I stalked in to watch a good buck in velvet a couple of years ago and found him grazing in the woodland with a Doe and two calves from the previous year. The calves split off from the buck and doe and fed right up to me, one of them having a good sniff of my boots before they headed back to their mother. It's a privilige to be so close that you can hear them breathing. For that short moment the atmosphere is electric, you can't move a muscle and you could swear that they can hear your heart beating. Great memories.