Having now completed it, what comes next......Is there a natural step to take?
TJ
Having now completed it, what comes next......Is there a natural step to take?
TJ
Paul you should know beter when you are an AW you are not passing on any skills or experience. You are watching so that you can check a cadidate has reach a certain standard.
Cheers for the comments.
I don't have the commitment at the moment to become an AW with my work. Since getting serious about the stalking, I concentrated on the L1 then 3 years to get my L2 trying to get as much experience as I could.
Now having done it, it only seems right to try and progress. What's peoples views (who have done it) on the Deer Managers Course?
TJ
Hi TJ.
I think all the posts here express valid points of view to be honest - but they do also sum up our stalking world...
I did the BDS Deer Manager course in Oct 2010 at Thetford. It was enjoyable / frustrating / nerve racking ( the shooting test ) / thought provoking / hard work / challenging - and very good fun. We had a wide range of experience levels on the course, from those who definitely needed more exposure to deer, to those who shoot 500+ a year ..... Yes it is `another` bit of paper, but it is more than that aswell, it shows commitment to the cause of the deer we manage, and it would be a brave person who said that they did not learn anything from doing the course !!!!
It is not cheap, but it is a good step, and will arm you with A LOT of knowledge. Since doing that course, I have picked up more stalking permission than in my previous 10 years. I can now provide a creditable Risk Assessment, a Deer Census, a proposed Cull Plan, and if I don`t get the stalking, then my name and number is on the document, and if they want to call me in the future when the things go pear shaped, then I can confidently negotiate better terms.
Passing the course personally gave me a lot of confidence. I personally choose not to be an AW, but I will always try to help people starting off in stalking if I was recommended to them.
Good luck whatever you decide.
ATB. Neil.
Hi TJ.
I think all the posts here express valid points of view to be honest - but they do also sum up our stalking world...
I did the BDS Deer Manager course in Oct 2010 at Thetford. It was enjoyable / frustrating / nerve racking ( the shooting test ) / thought provoking / hard work / challenging - and very good fun. We had a wide range of experience levels on the course, from those who definitely needed more exposure to deer, to those who shoot 500+ a year ..... Yes it is `another` bit of paper, but it is more than that aswell, it shows commitment to the cause of the deer we manage, and it would be a brave person who said that they did not learn anything from doing the course !!!!
It is not cheap, but it is a good step, and will arm you with A LOT of knowledge. Since doing that course, I have picked up more stalking permission than in my previous 10 years. I can now provide a creditable Risk Assessment, a Deer Census, a proposed Cull Plan, and if I don`t get the stalking, then my name and number is on the document, and if they want to call me in the future when the things go pear shaped, then I can confidently negotiate better terms.
Passing the course personally gave me a lot of confidence. I personally choose not to be an AW, but I will always try to help people starting off in stalking if I was recommended to them.
Good luck whatever you decide.
ATB. Neil.