Where do I post this?

captdavid

Well-Known Member
Where do I post questions such as these?
I am planning a hunting trip to England. I am a large man, 300lds, and not in the best of shape, so long or vigerous stalking is out.
I am on a budget, so I know that I can't afford to hunt or stay on expensive estates.
I would like to take a decent, represenitive roe. A fallow trophy is probably out of my price range but maybe not a non trophy. A Muntjac buck does not appeal to me at this point, but culling a bunch of Muntjac does is very apealing. Some have suggested the Sussex, Suffolk and Somerset areas.

What I would like to do at this point, is get an idea on prices:
How much should I expect to pay for a morning and an evening hunt?
Any suggestions or names of Stalkers would be appreciated as I might find them on the web.
How much should I expect to pay for lodging and meals?
Any suggestions or names of pubs or B&Bs would be also appreciated as I might find them on the web.
Thanks andI apologize if this is too long, captdavid
 
captdavid,

You will probably find that all your needs are met by one or more of the members on this site.
We all hunt/stalk on a budget and there is no need to think that you have to shell out a fortune to achieve what you are looking for.
Shopping around the websites of the many deerstalking outfits now advertising on the internet will give you a good idea of the cost.
You will get what you pay for in regards to head quality, but so long as your not planning on medal heads or monster Red stags then Roe, Fallow and Muntjac will be a great start to your British stalking/hunting adventure.
Your guide will be able to advise you on good accommodation locally (I put my guests up in a cracking rural riverside pub close to where the stalking is) and should be happy to put together a package which will mean you just have to arrive at the airport.

Best of luck

Cockerdog
 
Captain, I told you this sites members would help and advise you with this. Good luck with the planned trip.
 
Captdavid,

If you are planning a trip you will not go wrong if you contact Sikamalc on this site. You will not get ripped off.

Regards

Ken
 
David

A couple of questions I would pose are:

"what time of year are you planning to come over?"
"how long are you planning to stay?"
"are you coming to England just for hunting or as part of a longer trip?",
"are you coming alone or with friends/family?", and,
"do you have other places you are planning to visit whilst you're over?"

The answers to these might just help in narrowing down the preferred location, thereby helping you decide who to approach for stalking. England is not that big a place (you can get pretty much anywhere in England in the same time it takes you to drive from Albequerque to Dallas!) but if you are coming with family or friends who are not hunting they probably want to be located somewhere they can keep busy during the day, so perhaps within striking distance of London, Bath, Oxford, Stratford, etc. If you're combining a hunting trip with work, then again have a think about finding somewhere in England that won't necessarily mean too much travel. If you come over in summer you can even combine the two - work during the day and then go out stalking in the evening!

Your choice of quarry will also help - if you really want to guarantee (as much as there is a guarantee in stalking) the trio of muntjac, roe and fallow then that means probably not as far South-East as Kent, not as far West as Somerset and no further North than Birmingham (cue all the emails saying this is rubbish ;)). If you really want to shoot lots of muntjac does then perhaps think about Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Suffolk or Norfolk. Even then, quiz your stalker about their expected annual culls and success rates for all three species. For a trip like this, and if you've set your heart on all three species, you don't then want to end up somewhere where the fallow are not hefted to the ground and thus your chances of shooting one are minimal.

Once you've decided on your preferred area then finding accomodation will be that much easier - any good commercial stalker should be able to reccomend local B&B's. Stalking in summer can mean some very anti-social hours, so sometimes it helps to have a B&B who won't worry if you're up with the larks or get back after Witching Hour!

So far as price, make sure that the people you approach clearly explain their charging policy. If you go for commercial stalking then they are likely to charge you a fee "per outing" and then (perhaps) trophy fees on top. As a very rough guide, a morning or evening stalk is likely to set you back a fixed fee between £50/$75 and £75/$100 for a three hour stalk. When it comes to trophy fees, for a muntjac or roe doe this might vary between nothing and £25/$40, whereas when you get into the bucks it can mean much (much!) bigger money. Some stalkers will charge you for bucks based on antler length and others on number of CIC points or whether it is measured as gold/silver/bronze. Regardless, again make sure the stalker clearly explains their own charging strategy before you go out - when the animal is on the grass is not the time to start totting up how much it has cost! Clearly explain to your guide what your budget is, then the onus is on them to find you the right animal. Again, any decent stalker will have no problems with a customer who does this.

Ask the stalker if they have some written terms & conditions that you can look at. Most stalkers who are running commercial operations will have these and will be happy to share them. They will give you an idea of what you are letting yourself in for - do you have to shoot on the range first (hopefully yes!), do you have to shoot any animal the stalker asks you to, will you be sitting in a high seat or stalking on the ground or both, etc.

Also figure into the equation that you'll have to pay for the use of the "estate" rifle (i.e. you will borrow the stalkers rifle) and the ammunition used. Not much perhaps but better to know what all the costs are in advance.

You've already shared some of your wants/needs in your original post and I'd thoroughly reccomend you do this for the stalkers you approach - that way the expectations are correctly set on both sides. The more information you share and discuss, the more chance there is that your stalking trip will be everything you hope it to be.

As others have said, there are many excellent guides and stalkers using this site located right across the country. Have a look at some of the write-ups and Articles, review what others have said, and don't be afraid to ask people's opinions.

All the best and looking forward to hearing how things work out.

willie_gunn
 
David

A couple of questions I would pose are:

"what time of year are you planning to come over?"
"how long are you planning to stay?"
"are you coming to England just for hunting or as part of a longer trip?",
"are you coming alone or with friends/family?", and,
"do you have other places you are planning to visit whilst you're over?"

The answers to these might just help in narrowing down the preferred location, thereby helping you decide who to approach for stalking. England is not that big a place (you can get pretty much anywhere in England in the same time it takes you to drive from Albequerque to Dallas!) but if you are coming with family or friends who are not hunting they probably want to be located somewhere they can keep busy during the day, so perhaps within striking distance of London, Bath, Oxford, Stratford, etc. If you're combining a hunting trip with work, then again have a think about finding somewhere in England that won't necessarily mean too much travel. If you come over in summer you can even combine the two - work during the day and then go out stalking in the evening!

Your choice of quarry will also help - if you really want to guarantee (as much as there is a guarantee in stalking) the trio of muntjac, roe and fallow then that means probably not as far South-East as Kent, not as far West as Somerset and no further North than Birmingham (cue all the emails saying this is rubbish ;)). If you really want to shoot lots of muntjac does then perhaps think about Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Suffolk or Norfolk. Even then, quiz your stalker about their expected annual culls and success rates for all three species. For a trip like this, and if you've set your heart on all three species, you don't then want to end up somewhere where the fallow are not hefted to the ground and thus your chances of shooting one are minimal.

Once you've decided on your preferred area then finding accomodation will be that much easier - any good commercial stalker should be able to reccomend local B&B's. Stalking in summer can mean some very anti-social hours, so sometimes it helps to have a B&B who won't worry if you're up with the larks or get back after Witching Hour!

So far as price, make sure that the people you approach clearly explain their charging policy. If you go for commercial stalking then they are likely to charge you a fee "per outing" and then (perhaps) trophy fees on top. As a very rough guide, a morning or evening stalk is likely to set you back a fixed fee between £50/$75 and £75/$100 for a three hour stalk. When it comes to trophy fees, for a muntjac or roe doe this might vary between nothing and £25/$40, whereas when you get into the bucks it can mean much (much!) bigger money. Some stalkers will charge you for bucks based on antler length and others on number of CIC points or whether it is measured as gold/silver/bronze. Regardless, again make sure the stalker clearly explains their own charging strategy before you go out - when the animal is on the grass is not the time to start totting up how much it has cost! Clearly explain to your guide what your budget is, then the onus is on them to find you the right animal. Again, any decent stalker will have no problems with a customer who does this.

Ask the stalker if they have some written terms & conditions that you can look at. Most stalkers who are running commercial operations will have these and will be happy to share them. They will give you an idea of what you are letting yourself in for - do you have to shoot on the range first (hopefully yes!), do you have to shoot any animal the stalker asks you to, will you be sitting in a high seat or stalking on the ground or both, etc.

Also figure into the equation that you'll have to pay for the use of the "estate" rifle (i.e. you will borrow the stalkers rifle) and the ammunition used. Not much perhaps but better to know what all the costs are in advance.

You've already shared some of your wants/needs in your original post and I'd thoroughly reccomend you do this for the stalkers you approach - that way the expectations are correctly set on both sides. The more information you share and discuss, the more chance there is that your stalking trip will be everything you hope it to be.

As others have said, there are many excellent guides and stalkers using this site located right across the country. Have a look at some of the write-ups and Articles, review what others have said, and don't be afraid to ask people's opinions.

All the best and looking forward to hearing how things work out.

willie_gunn


willie_gunn

Well explained mate :thumb:

I hope you find what you are looking for Captdavid

There are some great guys on here that will be able to help you out or give you contact details of people that can.


Regards

Jonathon
 
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