New UK Record Red Stag

paul k

Well-Known Member
I saw in the Shooting Times that a new UK record red was measured recently and was on display in the BDS stand at the Game Fair. Does anyone have any details of this deer please?
 
I too was reading shooting times about a record head on display at the bds stand but, that was Muntjac.
 
I saw the head in question at the CLA, I asked the bloke on the BDS stand where it was shot as I knew it was shot Yorkshire, he said he couldnt disclose where exactly but it was South Yorkshire and it wasnt a park deer, was wild. When I first heard about it I thought it could have been from Studley Royal. The muntjac buck was also there, I must say it was a cracker, as was the roe!I have a photo I'll try and get it up, cheers Scott

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that reminds me i must get them to give me back my trophy collection :lol: if i was ever lucky enough to have one of those walk out in front of me it would be the munty or maybe the fallow they must have cost some rich bugger a penny or two
 
Thats exactly what I thought cyberstag, it was a great looking head but like you say I can imagine there being better. I did hear the bloke talking to a yorkshireman who was mentioning the Doncaster area??
 
Thats exactly what I thought cyberstag, it was a great looking head but like you say I can imagine there being better. I did hear the bloke talking to a yorkshireman who was mentioning the Doncaster area??
 
The label says 231.18 CIC points which is a UK record for a wild stag but it seems to me that the head is almost a "non-typical" and unattractive. I think the score is largely in the weight as the beams are massive but also very long brows and treys. There's nothing much to use as a scale but it doesn't seem that long in the beam to me.

It will be interesting to read the review of large heads in the Shooting Times in January 2010.

It does however outscore the Endsleigh Stag, the previous best to the best of my knowledge, which was just over 224 CIC points for its final head although its penultimate head may have been bigger in the basis of cast antlers.

It was however far better looking with almost perfect symmetry. This is the Endsleigh Stag, with its final and penultimate heads, you can see the heads in the Endsleigh House hotel near Tavistock. The picture of the full head does not give a true impression of the length because of the angle but it is of similar length and proportion of the cast antler set.

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There is a rumour of a stag in Cornwall also getting close to this in recent times.
 
paul k,
Thanks alot for putting those pics up; it was the Endsleigh head that I was thinking of when I asked the question. I can see the new head is heavy but in other respects doesn't immediately strike you as being record breaking. Just goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Are more heads measured by CIC in this country than SCI?
 
cyberstag said:
paul k,
Thanks alot for putting those pics up; it was the Endsleigh head that I was thinking of when I asked the question. I can see the new head is heavy but in other respects doesn't immediately strike you as being record breaking. Just goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Are more heads measured by CIC in this country than SCI?

I don't know the answer to that. My guess is that stags shot by UK or Continental stalkers are measured CIC but those shot by others would probably use the SCI system. That probably means that most wild UK stags are CIC and most enclosed stags are SCI but I don't really know.

The photos don't do the Endsleigh stag justice and I'm glad that I have been lucky enough to see it as that is the only way to appreciate just how large it is and how magnificent the animal must have been when alive.
 
I could be wrong...but that 'Donny' stag could well have been a decendant from or even part of some escaped 'park deer'....as i know there was a small deer park at westwoodside and one at the Black bull pub...on the A18.
There are red deer in the Goole/thorne/crowle moors area East of Doncaster....west of Scunthorpe. I know of a big stag shot at Eastoft a few years ago, and there are one or two good quality Roebucks being taken in the area too!.......
Stalking in the area is however a 'closed shop' as most farmers don't mind seeing the deer....plus the dog men used to be rife!....
I'm a Doncaster lad.....have been most of my life.....and i've noticed the gradual increase in the overall deer population in the area, but also the increase in the number of folk wanting to persue the deer!......i do no shooting in the area at all anymore.....!

steve
 
Record Red

Steve, thats what i was eluding to. There is a large population of feral Reds on the moors and i know they are from park descendants. As far as i am aware there is a DMG on Thorne Moors nature reserve now and as you say most stalking is a closed shop ;) . Plenty of Roe around the area too and the odd reports of Muntjac though havent seen one myself yet. I have seen the size of the Red Stags on Thorne and they are huge, so i just put two and two together. Cheers Steve.
 
Record Stag

Hi Everyone
I see the new British Record Red Stag has generated some interest. I know a bit about this animal as it was a friend of mine who shot it and another friend who has the stalking rights on the ground it was taken from.
I will not disclose where it was shot as the friend who has the stalking rights wants it kept that way. The reason for this is that he does not want some so-called 'professional' stalker or even worse a sporting agent coming along and paying ridiculous money and taking his stalking then slaughtering all the big deer for a quick buck. Sorry if this offends anyone but we've all seen it happen before.
The origins of the red deer in the area can be traced back to at least the 12th century where there are records explaining how the King went hunting stags there. Again in the 15th century there are records chronicling the King hunting there. This discounts any rumours of this being a park deer or an escaped park deer. All this information was submitted to the CIC before it could be ratified as a wild deer.
The reasons there are such big stags there are numerous. Firstly it is down to genetics. These are huge animals, not only in the antler department but also in body. They remind me of E. European reds. The taxidermist I used to mount the one I shot has stuffed hundreds of reds, both wild and park and he had never seen one with a skull as big as that one. He had to order a manquin specially from the US. Secondly it is down to sound managemant. My friend only culls 1-2 mature stags per year and he is very selective with these. The rest of the cull is made up of prickets and hinds. Thirdly the diet these deer are on is made up from wheat, spuds and sugar beet.
I do concede that it is not the 'prettiest ' of heads but the reason it scored so well is its mass. It is collossal! I think that if it was scored under the SCI system it wouldnt be that great as a lot of the points under this system comes from length. Personally I believe the SCI system to be flawed as for certain species it encourages the shooting of immature animals (cape buffalo being a prime example).
I think think the shooting of this animal is a great achievement in this day and age when you consider the pressure that deer are under now. I also think my friend is to be congratulated for this animal as it could only have happened due to his restraint and sound management principles.[/img] :!:
 
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