Do people still get blooded after shooting their first deer?

ChrisWill184

Well-Known Member
Hi All

Just wondering if people still 'blood' the hunter after a successful stalk. My father did it for me and my brother by smearing some of the blood on our face which I actually looked forward to as a kind of right of passage but just wondering if these traditions are still held.

Taking a couple of guys out for their first in weeks to come and although I have told them about it I'm wondering that they might think I'm a nut job for rubbing warm blood soaked hands on their face! If they are really opposed I won't do it but want to keep the tradition going.

I know there are some things out there like taking a bite out of the heart and even one that said wearing the animals sphincter muscle as a ring on your finger round the camp fire for a night :eek: but won't be doing that!

Any thoughts appreciated.
 
it still happens
personally think it a tradition that could happily die

i see no aspect of respect for the quarry or honorable tradition in it
I certainly won't be doing it to my children and my father didn't do it to me. Would be very surprised if his father did it to him
 
No,not necessary these days.....I do however like the "continentals" way of offering the leaf/branch to the kill....that is very respectful.....
 
Certainly done in Poland, dont know about UK. It is great tradition and disagree with bewsher on that, but maybe because it is more to it where I come from than just a smack on the face with a liver...
 
I believe so as one young SD member was spotted on the Piccadilly Line recently with just such adornment but successfully passed off without so much as second glance as a disorientated Millwall supporter!

K
 
I had my first deer on my first ever outing but I was by myself so didn't seem appropriate.
As Glogin says it depends on what customs you've been brought up with.

Ed
 
Yes. When I shot my first red stag I was blooded by the stalker and told not to wash it off.

Bewsher, I know where you're coming from, but actually I think it can also be seen as showing respect to the quarry. That was certainly how the stalker put it to me - you've killed a stag and you "honour" that stag by being blooded. There is no chance of hiding away what you've done; you have to explain to everyone who sees you that you have just taken that stag's life.

Not saying it's right or wrong, but that's how it was explained to me.

willie_gunn
 
Not a fan of it - where I grew up, it was more about making a fool of the novice. A sort of hazing ritual, which often went well beyond just blood on the face ( frequently included having your head pushed into the body cavity).

To be fair, anyone doing their first gralloch is apt to get blood everywhere anyway!
 
I remember watching the 'Kill-it, cook-it,eat-it, Game' program where they all went up to Scotland after Reds. It actually portrayed what we do in a very good light which even resulted in one of the Veggies stating that if she were to eat meat, then that is where it would come from! The little Ghillie chap was quite a character and eventually got the chosen stalker onto a nice stag which she shot. Everything was looking all nice and humane and ethical.
Then he 'blooded' her!:doh:

Not just a couple of dabs, but a whole face full over both sides!:eek:
All the good work that the program portrayed all came crashing down as it suddenly became a rather distasteful 'Blood Sport'! Completely ruined an otherwise very good program!
Needless to say, I'm not a fan of it!
MS:evil:
 
Yes. When I shot my first red stag I was blooded by the stalker and told not to wash it off.

Bewsher, I know where you're coming from, but actually I think it can also be seen as showing respect to the quarry. That was certainly how the stalker put it to me - you've killed a stag and you "honour" that stag by being blooded. There is no chance of hiding away what you've done; you have to explain to everyone who sees you that you have just taken that stag's life.

Not saying it's right or wrong, but that's how it was explained to me.

willie_gunn

Thanks willie. This is where I'm coming from rather than to take the mick out of the new stalker. Was always put across to me as a sign of respect for the animal and like a 'badge' for the stalker to be worn with pride. It's very hard to forget your first buck but this type of thing definitely helps to stamp the feelings and emotions of the entire process in my mind.

Glad to see it is still being performed to some degree as its something I rarely hear about anymore.
 
I remember watching the 'Kill-it, cook-it,eat-it, Game' program where they all went up to Scotland after Reds. It actually portrayed what we do in a very good light which even resulted in one of the Veggies stating that if she were to eat meat, then that is where it would come from! The little Ghillie chap was quite a character and eventually got the chosen stalker onto a nice stag which she shot. Everything was looking all nice and humane and ethical.
Then he 'blooded' her!:doh:

Not just a couple of dabs, but a whole face full over both sides!:eek:
All the good work that the program portrayed all came crashing down as it suddenly became a rather distasteful 'Blood Sport'! Completely ruined an otherwise very good program!
Needless to say, I'm not a fan of it!
MS:evil:


I think this is the way it is nowadays,unfortunately......we do need to move with the times and try to become a little more "PC",sometimes you have to give a little to gain a lot,I feel this ritual(if thats what it is)is a little that can be "given".........
 
I have yet to shoot a stag. However I would be bloodied and proud to be so. It is a ritual of our past, and hopefully of the future. Like the proffered leaves from our European cousins, it is a tradition. I personally see no difference. I think we often (me included) love the traditions of the horn blowing, and laying out of the game at the end of an overseas hunt. Sad then to let one of our own traditions just wither away to be PC, and keep non hunters happy. Not for everyone clearly, but it should be offered, not just become forgotten surely?
Just my ten penneth, but I'd feel cheated to have got to fifty without shooting a stag to, then have the moment pass in the blink of an eye without observing some ceremony or ritual.

To each their own.

​Mark
 
I blooded myself on shooting my first Stag.

Estate rifle, .270 cal, up hill shot, short eye relief on scope.....very nice 'scope eye', and plenty of blood. :oops:
 
I blooded myself on shooting my first Stag.

Estate rifle, .270 cal, up hill shot, short eye relief on scope.....very nice 'scope eye', and plenty of blood. :oops:

:D. also known as "Wetherby Eyebrow"

I know where it hails from and don't see that as relevant to me or the sport in general.
Plenty of "traditions" are considered distasteful now and have had to move with the times.

This one in particular combines two things I have neither interest or belief in:
Religion and superstition.

But I do know more about it that most.
It is centuries old and many people believe its roots are set in the time of St Hubert (Coincidentally the patron Saint of Hunters!) in the early 700's.
It is alleged to have started around the time of his death and the tale of his encounter with a deer sent by God became entrenched in hunting lore. The sign of the cross was marked on cheeks and forehead of the hunter to symbolise the visions.
As a Prince from a extremely well known aristocratic family entrenched in religious circles the story and variations on traditions spread across Europe and into cultures across the continent and into others as exploration increased over the centuries.

A similar story follows Saint Eustace.

next time you are doing Jaeger-bombs on a friday night check out the label!


I don't care about what other people think of my sport but I will happily engage them and educate them f they have an open mind.
Smearing the blood of whatever you have just shot for the first time on your face whether it be a stag a fox or anything else doesn't sit well with me as either a fair representation of my sport, my values or promoting the sport into the modern age.
 
Always blood for first kill, forehead and both cheeks usually short stripe from two fingers dipped in chest cavity ,bullet hole or bleeding cut.
As explained to me as a youngster, now that i could hunt sucessfully and provide food I could take a woman and raise a family! jeez if only it was that easy no mention of mortgages, fuel bills , tax and children that wont stop growing out of their clothes.

It was a matter of pride to show off blooding, i think i didnt wash, and mine sort of turned black and weathered away naturally to finally disappear bath night before school on the monday. I would rather keep these traditions that go with woodcraft and hunting skills and if the next place does things differently all well and good. I'm working hard on the ply stalker with lots of drams tradition. god forbid we become standardised like" EU approved sucessful first hunt initiation "or "best practice blooding" now ,where did i put those anti bacterial ,antiseptic, anti blooding face wipes!
 
Shot my first deer a Red hind & Calf with a very traditional Scottish Stalker who sadly is no longer with us and was duly blooded on the hill before the long drag back to the larder i will never forget it and was proud to be part of
an old tradition. it was over 20 years ago and the rain washed it off by the time we got back (mostly) but i was greeted by the estate owner with a very strong hand shake and a welcome into the world of stalking
long may it be carried on

​Drag1
 
Yes. When I shot my first red stag I was blooded by the stalker and told not to wash it off.

Bewsher, I know where you're coming from, but actually I think it can also be seen as showing respect to the quarry. That was certainly how the stalker put it to me - you've killed a stag and you "honour" that stag by being blooded. There is no chance of hiding away what you've done; you have to explain to everyone who sees you that you have just taken that stag's life.

Not saying it's right or wrong, but that's how it was explained to me.

willie_gunn
+1 Exactly my thoughts on it Willie. More of a tradition in the Highlands with the taking of your first Red Deer.
 
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