First (very damp) stalking trip - Verdict: quite similar to wildfowling!

Hello everyone.

This weekend, I finally went on my long-awaited first stalking trip with Sikamalc, looking for roe bucks in West Sussex. Given all the recent threads, I suspect that no-one will be surprised if I say that the weather conditions were dire. They were absolutely perfect wildfowling conditions, and we did see quite a few ducks within shootable range, something that I really didn't see much last season out on the marshes. In fact, my photos of last season seem to mostly show clear blue skies, and no ducks.

I arrived at the B&B at 12 as instructed by Malcolm, despite the taxi driver dropping me off at completely the wrong place for my first walk in the persistent rain. After lunch in the pub, perhaps dragged out by the forlorn hope that if we kept staring out of the window, it would stop raining, we went out to sight in the rifles. Ken handed me his .243 and his pretty impressive, carved stalking sticks (I have made a mental note of the design Ken, thanks), and I proceeded to put precisely none of my first three rounds into the Badger Brewery beermat that we'd liberated from the pub to serve as a target. That shook my confidence pretty badly. I accepted long ago that I was an indifferent shotgun shot, but had never had cause to think that I was anything but a decent enough rifle shot. The other chap who was there for a stalk put one of his three shots in his Badger beermat, and he wasn't best pleased either. I can only imagine that both Malc and Ken were a bit worried at this stage. I know I was, especially as Malc had regaled us with tales of clients missing several deer in a row over lunch (as a precaution, I'd decided not to join in the derision, it seemed like tempting fate). However Malcolm pointed out that the sticks were too short for me and that I was very stooped, and Ken that I was hanging about far too long to take the shot. This wasn't target shooting, which is my rifle shooting background: the general area is good enough to kill a deer. So with higher sticks, I put two on the beermat, and with faster shooting, I put two more together in a much tighter group (the two middle ones on the picture). Lesson Number 1: calm down, don't hang about, use sticks and rifles the right size for you. OK, false alarm, I can shoot deer. Now let's go and find some.


View attachment 15065

We waited until 5.30, with Ken raring to go, and set out into the rain. As I followed Ken closely, I tried to watch what he was doing and learn. I wasn't there just to kill a deer: I want to learn deerstalking. I think I trod quietly, which was helped by the fact that everything was a muddy mess, and observed that Ken entered every topographical unit (field, meadow, clearing, wood, etc) as if it was surrounded by snipers and covered in booby traps, only just peering in enough to scan it. Lesson 2: stay out of sight. I was cautiously pleased with myself when I spotted a roe buck running across a field on the slope across a line of trees from us, on the other side of a gully. When we moved into the next field, it had worked its' way back down a hedge and took a short run out of the ditch into the field we were in. Then it stopped to examine us, its' neck and head sticking out over a ridge. Unfortunately, it was a good six-pointer, and we were after yearlings and two-pointers only. Nevertheless, Lesson 3: roe tend to look back at what they're running from.

Following a hedge and a strip of woodland uphill, I spotted another roe running through the trees. A doe, perhaps the same one, emerged at the end of the wood and into the next field, where it was joined by a buck, about 80 yards away. "That's shootable, if it's a buck, shoot him" said Ken. At this pojnt, I was pretty excited, but also determined not to fluff it, and first of all, to get a good look at it. Which I did, and unfortunately, it was another big six-pointer. At this point, it ran off, only to come back with a third roe, possibly a young buck, before they all vanished into the wood, at which point the wind changed too. We saw a couple more does before moving back to the main estate for a last ditch attempt on a fallow pricket. Three fallow crossed a ride ahead of us, two with large, well palmated antlers, and a white one which Ken thought maybe a pricket. But they gave us the slip. I have to say that I was somewhat relieved as somehow, a white deer as a first one wouldn't have quite felt like a "proper" deer. Irrational, I know, but there you are. Then we lost the light.

This morning, I woke up at 4.30am to hear the wind howling outside the window and rain lashing down even harder. Malc came to pick me up, and we headed out, me with Todd the Wonder Dog between my legs, whose body language suggested absolutely no desire to be out in these conditions. This time we went into the woods, with Todd doing much of the guiding. He showed definite signs of having smelled a deer, and Malc showed me the scrapes and slots that a buck had left, but we never caught sight of him. Then a bit later, as we came round the corner of a ride, a fallow pricket walked out in front of us, perhaps thirty metres away, oblivious to our presence. Malcolm put up the sticks and signalled to me, but the deer was gone. Lesson 4: stick to the guide like velcro in the woods.

To conclude, it was a valuable learning experience, I'd definitely recommend Malcolm and Ken, they really went out of their way to show me some deer in appalling weather conditions, and I learned a lot. It's similar to wildfowling in that you have to get up really early, get really wet, pay for the privilege and go home empty-handed. And like wildfowling, it's completely brilliant and I want to do it again ASAP! Maybe with a deer at the end this time. I also recommend Gore-Tex and eBay for buying £300 Swarovski binoculars, which were a revelation.

Thanks very much to Malcom, Ken, Sandra and Todd, and see you soon!
 
No problem, good to meet you, and considering the weather we did see a number of deer. The weather really was against us and also makes the deer very nervous. Look forward to hearing from you again soon, and hope you managed to dry out all the clothes. My crewcab smelt like a chinese laundry on the way home :lol:

Best wishes

Malc
 
Its a pleasure to read a post, where someone is not complaining for a change, not the best of conditions to be out in but you managed to stay positive about the experience.

If only more people would realise there is a lot more to stalking than pulling the trigger, I presume you are fairly new to this stalking lark, but by your own admission you learned a few things, I am sure with your attitude you will continue to do so, believe me success will be all the sweeter when it does come, as it will.

Good luck in the future.
 
Well I'm new to stalking in particular, but not to hunting in general, so I'm fully up to speed with the difficulties and randomness. At least in deerstalking, you have some confidence that there probably is a deer in your general vicinity if you can find it. Unlike in wildfowling where you turn up at 4am in January to a sea of mud to find out that all the ducks are in the Netherlands. Malc asked me yesterday "So how many deer have you shot?". "None, this is my first time stalking". "Oh, and what do you think of it so far. Crap I suppose". No. Not crap. This is just what Nature's like. Today for instance looks like it would have been a brilliant day for stalking. Just bad luck.
 
It was a pleasure to meet you and take you out, just a shame that you didn't get the opportunity to grass your first deer. The weather was against us although we did see a few deer. It was a pleasure to have someone who listened and asked lots of questions and didn't moan about the weather. You have the right attitude and I am sure it will not be long before you are filing that roe sack of yours.

Ken
 
Thanks very much for your help Ken. I hope to have a chance in the not too distant future to dirty the roe sack and maybe carry on the conversation on how Oliver Cromwell made a mess of things. Possibly over a couple of pints of Badger. I've asked Malcolm to put me on the "standby" list in case there are any cancellations, so we shall see.
 
On the list Pine Marten, and will let you know if anyone bales out in the coming summer months. Let me know when you want to book for winter stalking, should be plenty of Fallow and Sika about.

Out again this weekend, although the weather looks like it will be much of the same :rolleyes:

Regards

Malc
 
Nice write up pine martin, like you say thats stalking for you. glad you enjoyed youself.
 
Nice one PM, all the best stalkers start by blanking with Malc. (Well, I did anyway :lol:)

ATB,

Scrummy
 
lmao Mike,

Nice write up PM, youll do well and make a lot of friends on here with a good natured attitude like that..

Did you get to peak inside the tardis ( Kens Wagon )
 
Good post PM!
And you're right, Malc and Ken are great guys to be out with, and as for Todd the wonder-dog, it's a privilege to be out with a dog like that - you've got a good'un there Malc
I was at Malc's 5th & 6th, got 2 days stalking with Ken, bagged a murder buck in conditions almost as bad as the ones you describe - thanks Ken!!
Honestly Malc, when I work out how to transfer the photos from my phone to PC I'll post a write up.
Hope to meet you down at Malc's sometime fella, you sound like the right sort, so a +1 to El Tel (how are you PS1?) on his last post too.
ATB
T
 
Thanks Pheasant Sniper and Geoshot.

I sat in the cab of Malc's Tardis but didn't really look in the back much, no. Well done Geoshot by the way! Maybe I will bump into you later this year.

As regards making friends on here, I've already had two or three offers of help from kind people who don't know me from Adam to assist me in shooting my first deer before I'm taken out of circulation for a bit when the baby arrives. Which I'm very grateful for, obviously.
 
Back
Top