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

[nell]

I've been very close on many occassions,but one that always makes me laugh, i had spotted a doe in thick woodland and needed to close the gap for a shot, i dropped the dog and set off on my belly, i was doing well when to my suprise a buck stood up not five yards in front of me, unaware of my presence it walked slowly off in the direction of my dog,i was thinking the outcome was going to be far more interesting than shooting the doe so i rolled over and watched the buck walk to within 10 ft of the dog before giving a good impression of walking into a brick wall it stared at the dog for a split second before taking flight at such a rate it almost lost its footing. My dog never even lifted her arse off the deck (she might not be as steady now)


Nell

 

[sikadog]

Walking back down a forest road on the way back from stalking I spotted a movement about 300 yds ahead I glassed it and it was a Roe doe feeding on the side of the road, I stood for a while wondering, as she was out of season and I wondered how close I could get in full view without her seeing me, I was not in cammo just green I put on my scrim and gloves and slowly walked down the road,I forgot to say I had a black and white Cocker with me.
Every time she picked up her head we stopped, when she went back to eating we walked, after 3/4 of an hour and 290 yards she started to get jittery she was sure there was something wrong and wallked back and forth with her nose in the air but could not figure out what we were. We stood watching her at about ten yards for about five minutes with the doe trying everything she knew to try and suss us and then the cocker got bored and decided to roll on his back and growl. She glared at him stamped her feet barked and was gone. My pulse was doing about 200bpm and then i burst out laughing, a cocker will always make you smile

 

[Scarlet]

Close.. The young stag pinned down and untangled.

 

[User00014]

this has got to be the best thread ive seen in a while !

mine 8-10 m on a roe buck with 3 does , took me 1 1/2 hrs to creep and crawl . i hasten to add he was laying down and i had to wait another 3/4 of an hr for him to get up but it was worth it

lee

 

[cyberstag]

Scarlet that's cheating, you didn't tell us you have 3 hands!

 

[satellite buck]

ive had a few close encounters with roe where i live but they are used to people walking their dogs, one actually crossed half a field to get within a tram lines distance from me and the dogs who were sat watching the deer get closer and closer,the buck had a good look stamped his foot and sauntered off up the tramline, then last year i was out with my friend/mentor, we were after two bucks he wanted to cull so he told me to go to the top end of the valley while he took the bottom. as i follwed the river bank to get to the high seat i came across the very buck i was charged with culling not 5 meters from me thrashing the hedge below the high seat i was trying to get into. Looking back the way i behaved over the next excitable 15mins i was pleased with.i couldnt take the shot at that range as i didnt know or see what was behind the buck through the hedge, 15 mins i waited for him to move off so i could position myself for a shot off the sticks with a good backstop at 60m, i remember trembling with excitement until the moment the rifle came off the shoulder and the crosshair settled behind his shoulder, after a few minutes wait i approached the buck with sticks ready to do the eyeball test, as idid i heared a shot from the bottom of the valley... job done and two bucks down,

 

[Daft Dog]

well, the nearest i have managed to get was the other evening...strangly with my idiot mutt off the lead. We were walking thought the woods near us, the hound was a few feet in front of me (i've been trying to get him to walk to heal in the woods....no easy task when your as excitable as he is. Springer with attention deficit disorder on acid springs to mind....and he's a lab).

Anyhow he was a few feet in front of me when he rasied his nose to the wind and stopped, turned and looked at me and then looked back int he direction of the wind.....not knowing what he was doing i just walked streight past him. about 5m on i turned back and he was still stood their..tried calling him over and he ignored me (nothing unusual). I walked back over and he looked up with his nose into the wind. it was at this point i saw the flash of a roe head about 50m away up through the trees on the skyline.

Thinking it was the roe's scent he had picked up i ushered him on and he slowly, and carefully lifted his paws over the brambles and bracken an up to the sky line. When we got there there was nothing to be seen.....made me think twice about what i had seen but he was looking intently through a wire fence, still with his nose into the wind. With a quick look at him he cleared the fence and stood waiting for me....i bumbled over it and again he slowly and methodically stepped over the brambles and bracken with me in tow.

We walked another 50m or so when he stopped, nose in the air and tail ridged about 5 feet in front of me....his paw was even half cocked like a pointer stands. i stood behind him staring blankly into the space in front....couldn't see any deer, but the dog was ridgid. About 30 seconds past and then suddenly two roe does and a nice 4 pointer buck broke cover slowly walking in front of us.....distance 10m. they didn't seem to bothered by us (but then there are a load of dog walkers in these woods).

Turns out the idiot mutt is a better stalker than me....even when he is on acid!!!

I thought it was a one off, but he has been picking up their scent whenever he has been up there the past week or so. Just wish i could try him out for real and have a rifle with me on a "proper" stalk...see how he reacts.

Good thread this....and it appears that there are A LOT of stupid deer out there! Which begs the question is anyones cull plan is actually working? Your certainly not weeding out the thick ones

Jim

 

[stone]

not sure where to start
called in a Roe buck to within 1 meter with witnesses
said i would not pull the trigger unless it sniffed the end of the barrel
it came in 3 times but not close enough
i was bowled over by a Munty buck almost broke my ankle, yes i had lots of witnesses that day
i called another Roe buck that hit the stock fence i was leaning on, good job there was a stock fence or it might of spiked me
a fallow walked right passed me at several feet , it new i was there but also knew there was a tractor spraying on the other side of the field
it thought i was a safer bet to walk by, it was right
as for shooting them
1m was the closet for any unharmed wild deer , i stalked into this
ATB

 

[monynut]

l have shot a few under high seats say 10" away, another time l was in the 4x4 with my daughter we was checking the traps one morning when we saw a roe buck coming over the field opposite we stopped to look at it and it walked right down the side of the motor, if l had stuck my arm out l could have caught it, a few times l have had them come up behind me when l have been sitting up waiting for a beast, also called one or two in very close.

The best one was when l was stalking in scotland a few years back, l spotted a young buck on the edge of the wood and started to stalk closer all the time the beast was moving away from me, l got to within about 50 yds of it when it turned down a forestry road l carried on to the corner and came face to face with the animal who for whatever reason decided to turn back we was within about 5" of each other rifle still on my shoulder l new if l moved the game was up, we got him the next evening in the same place.

 

[john.d.m]

I just thought of couple more incidents, sorry they not about deer.
I was in Zim and had seen a Kudu with a broken horn wandering round a mates ranch and me not being interested in trophies, I wanted it, so I spent a few days on my own just wandering a round the ranch, and on one of these days, I walked upto a young Kudu bull, he was standing asleep on a ride I got within a metre then he took off.
Another one was on a Lion breeding programme place near Port Elizabeth, was a male Lion led near the fence so I got over the electric fence and took this pic
.
Kim took this next pic whilst I was being mauled by a lion


I know they were "tame"but all in good fun, and I did hear that this group of young lions and tigers turned on the keeper and killed him (think it was bloke stood on right of pic) I not 100% sure of that but was said.
Sorry if this not about deer.

 

[W16OEN]

Sat with my back to a tree and wind in my face a Roe buck passed 3m away totally oblivious to my presence, I let it pass and dissapear before moving.
Sat in a hedgerow decoying pigeons and a kestrel landed on my head.
Sat with my back to tree watching a badger sett at dusk and a younster trundled down the track and passed over my outstretched legs.
Walking up a side road came upon a family of weasels about 6 in number moving like a train nose to tail, passed over one of my feet
There is so much more to our sport than just pulling the trigger and for me I reckon I get more enjoyment from just being out there and observing. Sorry I am moving off the thread here , Cheers all.

 

[john.d.m]

Sorry but this threads got me reminiscing.
Had an owl sat on my hat, which was on my head, on night, I nearly passed out!!!!

 

[pip]

I touched a 6 point sika's antler with the barrel of my rifle! I was standing against a young oak tree with the rifle resting in a V when 5 young stags walked by. None were on the cull plan so I touched the last one for devilment. Their reaction was priceless!

 

[monynut]

l know its a bit off thread (sorry MS) a couple of times l have had owls landing on the barrel of the rifle while sitting in a high seat, also kingfishers landing on the rod in its rest while fishing, one morning l was fishing and heard a rustling in the grass at my feet looked down and a weasel with a vole in its mouth appeared looked up at me waited a second or two then ran over my boots, another time l was sitting waiting for a beast and a stoat ran along the track stopped at my feet looked at me over my boots and carried on, l had a muntjac run into my legs on a shoot day whilst beating and also one morning had the same thing happen by a very hormonal muntjac buck chasing a doe completely unaware of me these two ran around me for what seemed an age, needles to say l did not shoot the buck everything has to have some pleasure out of life.

Great thread MS

 

[bobt]

Last month in the borders, I had an ermine within 6 ft of me, it stood on its hind legs and looked for a few seconds, before retreating,
after 20 ft it stopped and watched me for 20 seconds until I moved to get my phone/camera.

 

[Herne]

Stalked to within 6 feet of a red hind and calf last year on a completely calm evening, I watched her, head down grazing for 30 seconds before she saw me, the look of utter surprise on her face had me in laughing out loud.

I also got to within touching distance of a young roebuck about 10 years ago it took me about two hours.

H.

 

[david1976]

I did not shoot it as the season was wrong however last year, I was sitting on a pile of logs, probably 2 feet off the ground in camoflauge clothes with a veil and gloves on, wind in my favour etc and a doe walked out in front of me stood looking at me then walked off. She was just over an arms length away from me, I was amazed.

 

[bogtrotter]

One at my expense: Almost thirty years ago when I was young and stupid as opposed to old and stupid.

I developed a technique for stalking hinds on the hill in snow, I acquired a snow suit this had a sort of rubberised finish and was totally waterproof, found that if I could get on to the ridge above the hinds it was easy to slide down the slope to wards them
once within range you could get off a couple of quick shots, even when they saw you sliding down they would just stand and watch, as they did not realise what you were, used this method a fair bit to good effect.

One day spotted large group of hinds 400 yards below me no cover to approach, so off I set sliding down the slope picking up speed as I went found that when I was within range I could not stop went right through the group of hinds whom just stepped aside to let me pass, still picking up speed must have got up to about 70mph went all the way to the bottom of the hill over 2000 feet, when I finally came to a stop and looked back up the hill the hinds were still standing in the same place looking down at me, It was a very shaken young man that made his way off the hill that day.

 

[oor44wullie]

About 5 Metres. Roe doe while out fencing. Saw her well off and worked in close ended up other side of ditch from her and gave up. Stood up and spoke to her.

 

[Monkey Spanker]

One at my expense: Almost thirty years ago when I was young and stupid as opposed to old and stupid.

One day spotted large group of hinds 400 yards below me no cover to approach, so off I set sliding down the slope picking up speed as I went found that when I was within range I could not stop went right through the group of hinds whom just stepped aside to let me pass, still picking up speed must have got up to about 70mph went all the way to the bottom of the hill over 2000 feet, when I finally came to a stop and looked back up the hill the hinds were still standing in the same place looking down at me, It was a very shaken young man that made his way off the hill that day.

Bogtrotter, that has to be one of the funniest things I've ever heard!!
Laughed my ass off!
You just know that a story like that has to be true as you just couldn't make something so bizzarre up! That would be priceless if you had that on film. Maybe you could do it again for us?!
MS