Headshot only......

Kernow_Stalker

Well-Known Member
Evening all,

There is a certain estate in cornwall who I have learned have a number of stalkers working together for the deer management. They cull in excess of 300 deer a year and have their own deer park too. I was shocked to learn that they operate a "headshot only" policy in order to maximise their yield when selling the deer on.

Not sure if anyone has experience similar but I for one think its disgusting. Not only to promote headshooting, which as we all know is a contentious enough issue without it being policy! Makes you question the ethics of such estates really and also the gamekeepers who run them. A headshot certainly has a place in the hunters options, but to make it compulsory seems absurd and unethical

By their own admission they have several runners a year operating under this policy

Wanted to share this as I've been raging about it all day :mad::mad::mad:

KS
 
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I think you can debate this topic all day but unfortunately most things come down to money at the end of the day. If they only have 7 runners out of 300 that doesn't sound too bad.

estates, I am sure are hard to run at a profit at the best of times so I'm not going to judge.
 
What is the law in regards to cruelty?
Is "hunting" an exemption for cruelty? It's not really a matter in regards to the 300 which were killed humanly, its the few which aren't.

Sharkey
 
They may also have strict controls on who shoots, how good they are and how far they shoot. Would it be better if they let in guides with inexperienced shooters who only took chest shots?
 
I think if it's on private land and are experienced in big culls its none of anybody's business how they shoot the deer. There is a difference between promoting this type of shot and just going about your own business quietly to get a job done.
 
And I think you'll find, that due to them being in a park, they are contained, so they won't be going far, and I'm sure if there is a runner, then it's all hands on deck to follow it up.
 
this type of culling has some obvious risks and proficiency is essential. Unfortunately such a scone only policy at those cull numbers will lead to shots that will not be lethally proficient given time and numbers. It's just the way it is when money is a driving factor and is frustrating but that is business.
 
Most park deer will be head shot as the risk of losing a deer is minimal. Venison will be mainly shot to order and maximum revenue obtained. Nothing to get over excited about if it is done properly at sensible ranges by the right people with the right equipment.
MS
 
Most park deer will be head shot as the risk of losing a deer is minimal. Venison will be mainly shot to order and maximum revenue obtained. Nothing to get over excited about if it is done properly at sensible ranges by the right people with the right equipment.
MS

Agree absolutely.

I would never head shoot a deer in the field or on the hill but when you have park animals at sensible ranges it poses no risk to animal welfare.

You are not really stalking though.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1437107916.501276.jpg
 
Most park deer will be head shot as the risk of losing a deer is minimal. Venison will be mainly shot to order and maximum revenue obtained. Nothing to get over excited about if it is done properly at sensible ranges by the right people with the right equipment.
MS

As MS says I think that you will find that most park deer are shot this way. It's usually a controlled situation in every way and totally different to shooting stalked wild deer.
 
Having spoken to KS about this, I believe the headshot only policy applies to all dear not just the park deer. However, I'm sure he will clarify.

Also, it wasn't SEVEN runners a year but SEVERAL. Even if it was 7, the nature of a botched headshot (eg missing jaw) surely means that the animal will get very far, very fast and be extremely hard to recover. Obviously, eventually, it would starve or succumb to infection.

I see their justification because it is a business after all but I think a headshot park deer/best shot wild deer policy would be better.
 
Compulsory heading shooting, don't agree with that. If you aren't happy with it don't go there - simples. Nothing wrong with head shots though as long as they are within in your own comfort zone.
 
No one complains when rabbits or foxes are head shot!! If fact you will find game dealers what head shot rabbits for maximum yield....


Apart from the Halal system all cattle (and horses) are shot in the head, with any beast which is heading for the food chain there is a system in place.


It is just the shooting/stalking of Deer seems to be the last holy grail which in turn invokes debates such as this thread...

I have yet to see a lung shot only thread for rabbits lol


Tim.243
 
Having spoken to KS about this, I believe the headshot only policy applies to all dear not just the park deer. However, I'm sure he will clarify.

Also, it wasn't SEVEN runners a year but SEVERAL. Even if it was 7, the nature of a botched headshot (eg missing jaw) surely means that the animal will get very far, very fast and be extremely hard to recover. Obviously, eventually, it would starve or succumb to infection.
.
I used to shoot on an estate where all Deer had to be head shot and under the circumstances you describe not one was difficult to retrieve.
Contary to popular thought, in every case the bullet destroying a big part of the head will put the animal down reletively quickly, ok its the pain that drops them, but the same can be said about runners of any discription.
Playing Devels advocate; why is head shooting of rabbits OK but not deer?
[I dont head shoot deer]
 
I culled park deer for many years and have shot hundreds all with neck shots. Over the many years i did the cull, i was not a lone rifle we had a couple of runners but they were dispatched quite quickly. Head, neck, chest shot, somewhere along they way you will get a runner. We neck shot just because the game dealer paid more for neck shot.
I'm no fan of head shooting but sh!t happens no matter what method you use.
The SD is a good platform for peaple to show their indignation about peoples cull methods when they no doubt could have done a much better job themselves.
 
If it's within your capability, and within your range why not head shoot, I shot in a park where the maximum range was 100mtrs.
 
I have absolutely no problem with head-shooting if it's appropriate. In fact, on the rare occasions I've had the opportunity, I've been delighted as it means the gralloch is an altogether cleaner affair
 
I have been on a fair few Park and Farm Culls (Using a .243, a .303 or a .270) where head shooting was compulsary to minimise meat damage and maximise profits. The thing that needs to be considered here is that "Park/Farm Culling" is (In my opinion) a totally different thing to "Stalking". I personally don't class Park or Farm Deer Culling in relatively small enclosed areas as Sport, more of a "job that has to be done" - All be it that it still has to be done properly and humanely.
However if we are to talk about "Head Shooting Deer" while either Culling or Stalking as being wrong, inhumane, unethical or unaceptable due to the risk of pulling the shot (Which if we are all going to be honest I doubt if there is one single shooter on here that hasn't pulled a shot in their lifetime) then I am struggling to see why "Neck Shooting Deer" should not also be classed as wrong, unethical and unacceptable as it carries exactly the same risk as a head shot - i.e. If you "pull" a neck shot or get it slightly wrong (An inch or so too low) then you might well leave a deer with a (Non-Fatal) bullet hole through it's neck to run off and suffer/die in pain.
I could be wrong here and I'm sure that there are a great many who will disagree with my line of thoughts on the matter. If so then let's hear your thoughts against this side of the "argument/discussion/debate".

I should add that on the very rare occasion that I do go "Stalking" nowadays I prefer take the standard (And more acceptable) "Heart and Lung Shot", but having said that it should be understood that I am not in any way condemming well placed "Head Shots" - If circumstances and confidence in your marksmanship permit!
 
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