First Light — UK Deer Stalking Guide
Hi all,
I’ve been working on a free web app for UK deer stalkers called First Light, and thought I’d share it here to get some honest feedback from people who actually spend real time on the ground.
The idea came from wanting something simple that tells you exactly what you need before heading out — legal shooting times for your precise location, what the conditions are like, and whether it’s worth getting out of bed at 4am (or even earlier).
It’s to an extent a passion project and my way of giving something back to the deer management community. It’s also a small thank‑you to the people who’ve helped me improve as a deer stalker — especially Ian Farrington and Shadab Farooqi, who’ve both been brilliant mentors and influences.
Legal shooting times
The app calculates legal start and legal end based on your set location, shows the live countdown, and works anywhere in the UK.
Deer activity forecast
This is a bit of geeky algorithm that generates live activity score built using several environmental factors and the research that’s out there.
The weighting draws on:
- Beier & McCullough (1990) — patterns of deer movement relative to dawn/dusk
- Lomas & Byers (2013) — barometric pressure as a predictor of ungulate activity
- Ciuti et al. (2009) — temperature suppression of roe deer movement
- Knight’s original solunar theory (1936) — still widely used and supported by various behavioural observations over the decades
The model then layers in:
- moon phase
- solunar periods
- barometric pressure trend
- temperature
- wind
- cloud cover
- rut timing for all six UK species
- seasonal body condition
- time of day
Just to be upfront: it’s not a magic deer‑summoning tool. Local disturbance, forestry work, livestock, woodland density, and individual animals will always behave in ways no algorithm can fully predict.
There’s also far less UK‑specific movement research (especially for roe, fallow and muntjac) compared to the massive amount of North American whitetail literature, so the model blends what’s available with practical patterns most stalkers already recognise. It’s there to help you plan — not promise deer.
7‑day outlook
Shows dawn/dusk movement windows and conditions for the week ahead so you can plan your outings around potentially better days.
Field guide
This is the part I’m most keen to improve based on feedback.
It’s a quick reference you can use in the field, in the truck, or while brushing up for DSC1/DSC2. It covers:
- Stalking Safety — firearms handling, high‑seat safety, backstop awareness
- Deer Identification — species, sex and approximate age
- Shot Placement — anatomy, angles and vital zones
- After the Shot — blood sign, follow‑up, gralloch basics
- Carcass & Larder — hygiene, contamination risks
- Notifiable Diseases — bTB, CWD and legal reporting duties
- Rut Calendar & Behaviour — timing and behavioural cues by species
- Legal Calibres — minimum calibre and energy rules for England, Wales and Scotland
It’s not a replacement for proper training or having time on the ground with an experienced stalker — just something handy to have when you need a quick reminder.
Species guide
All six UK species with open seasons for England & Wales and Scotland, including the 2023 Scottish amendment that removed close seasons for all male deer.
Free, no login, no ads
You can use it straight away at:
First Light — UK Deer Stalking Guide
Add it to your home screen and it works like an app, including offline.
Support
There’s an optional coffee link on the site.
It’s not for profit — it just helps cover:
- domain
- hosting
- and ongoing development costs
Everything goes straight back into the app.
First Light will always be free.
Feedback welcome
I’d genuinely appreciate corrections, suggestions, criticisms — anything really — especially from those who have far more years on the hill or in the woods than I do.
only point I’d raise (which you may have already considered) is the clocks going forward in a few days time doesn’t seem to adjust on the 7 day plan.
