fallow habbits

deermagnet

Well-Known Member
I've just got some new land about 300acres mixed root crop arable and forestry I had a walk round with owner today and there were slots allover the place I also saw a fallow doe I had being told ther might be fallow in this area as well as roe and possibly muntys my experience is all roe so I've never shot fallow and don't really know there habbits any advice would be great :D
 
Thats my main species I stalk and I have learnt through experience. A good book to read
is Donald and Norma Chapman on fallow deer. Bought my copy from here:

CHAPMAN DEER BOOK FALLOW HISTORY DISTRBUTION & BIOLOGY | eBay

How to sum up fallow in one post, hmm, now you see them now you don't! Don't plan your christmas dinner on a fresh haunch, plan it weeks in advance and freeze as much as you can! Once you get into them they can just dissappear, or become nocturnal! Try to take them out on their 'motorways' as opposed to feeding grounds. They can be quite nomadic. And as with any deer species, expect the unexpected. They may never have been feeding on a particular field EVER and certainly not in the day time, but there they are running off because you didn't spot them!! I am sure lots of other people more experienced on here than me, but a short summary all the same.

And a last point, they can be very heavy! I had a buck last season weighing 80kg gralloched. Glad I picked well as to where I shot that!

All the best and have fun!
 
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thanks for that ill do some readingup I'm thinking of buying a stalkers mate folding gambrel and pully set but I don't want to tempt fate
 
Hi mate,
the biggest difference you will find between roe and fallow is that fallow are transient and on only 300 acres, they will be here today and gone tomorrow. A lot does depend on the pressure they receive in the area. Stalking techniques are basically the same as with roe, with high seats being a very effective method. Fallow are quick to work things out if you shoot too often. You will find they will be in herds both small and large, with a matriach doe as their leader. They do break up into seperate sex herds at certain times of the year, with the bigger bucks showing up in the rut. The best advice that I could give is if the fallow deer in your area can be seen to feed out in the open mid-morning and are quite content to walk at a steady pace across open ground & their reaction to vehicles is steady, then they have not received much pressure. If, on the other hand, you observe the opposite then it would be quite obvious that they have had a lot of shooting pressure, which will make your cull more difficult.

One of the biggest problems you will face when culling fallow is, rarely are they on their own as with roe or muntjac, so the point I am trying to make is if 6 deer come out of the wood and you shoot one, you educate 5. Times that by the shooting pressure in your area and you will understand why fallow, in certain areas of the country, can prove a difficult quarry.

As for any form of cull plan, working on only 300 acres you are wasting your time unless you can get your neighbours to 'play ball' and the cull plan is drawn up between you. If that's not the case, each and every deer you shoot will be your decision.
 
Two good posts from stalker.308 and k&a
300 acres is small for fallow, they can travel and travel and travel, it's unlikely that they're gonna hold there unless the feeding is exceptional, but if your ground is mixed wood and farm there's a good chance they'll slow down on their way to somewhere else.
Look out for their pathways and ambush them on their way to or from food. Try to avoid shooting them on food unless it's somewhere that they only visit for a couple of weeks a year any way, like oaks for acorns, chestnut trees (both types) or crab apple trees - you did say there was some wood on your land, maybe there's somewhere to start at this time of year? They learn quickly, if you become a creature of habit they will adapt theirs to avoid you.
I love stalking Fallow because they are so difficult, you're never after only one animal, your stalking the whole herd. The bucks can be a bit daft during the rut, but older does are dead smart, they never switch off.
Whatever speed you walk at when stalking roe, half it for fallow, that and look look and look again before you make your next move. No sudden quick movements either, particularly of ungloved hands, they see movement from miles away.
I usually wear a face veil and gloves, mixed order - cammo top and dark trousers or vice versa, anything to break up the human profile.

BTW they taste good!

+1 for the Chapman book, it's a good read, a bit heavy in parts but worth it.

Good luck and let us all know if and when you bag one, with pics too if you can.
 
Thanks guys I should have said the land permission is only 300 acres but it borders a lot of forestry some commision some private as far as I'm aware they have not being presurised
 
thats my main species i stalk and i have learnt through experience. A good book to read
is donald and norma chapman on fallow deer. Bought my copy from here:

chapman deer book fallow history distrbution & biology | ebay

how to sum up fallow in one post, hmm, now you see them now you don't! Don't plan your christmas dinner on a fresh haunch, plan it weeks in advance and freeze as much as you can! Once you get into them they can just dissappear, or become nocturnal! Try to take them out on their 'motorways' as opposed to feeding grounds. They can be quite nomadic. And as with any deer species, expect the unexpected. They may never have been feeding on a particular field ever and certainly not in the day time, but there they are running off because you didn't spot them!! I am sure lots of other people more experienced on here than me, but a short summary all the same.

And a last point, they can be very heavy! I had a buck last season weighing 80kg gralloched. Glad i picked well as to where i shot that!

All the best and have fun!

+1 thats very true with fallow
 
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