My own ground at last

needsy

Well-Known Member
After a few years of trying I now have my own bit of ground. :D :D :D This came totally out of the blue whilst at work, when I got talking to the owner of some land that we train on & he complained that the deer had demolished most of the 1000+ trees that he had planted.

I have spent a few outing just looking & have seen 11 fallow does & a half decent buck (heard him grunting the other evening). Also a doe and kid together, most crossing on the field belonging to the adjacent farm. apparently there are a few monty's about aswell but haven't seen any as yet. The owner states there is upto 80 fallow at times !!!
Can I ask peoples views on what age deer to take preference on, or any suggestions on good reading for mangement.
Ps. I need to leave the big buck.
 
well done you , i was in the same situation 7 or 8 yrs ago it is nice to have ure own patch ! you never know do a good job and you never no more land maybe on the horizon .

these land owners talk you know and thats how i ended up with nearly 2000 acres ! :D :D plus contract work !

cheers lee
 
Hi needsy

Congrats on your first bit of ground.. :D

something that still eludes me at this time :cry:

I guess before starting to gauge any ages etc for a cull plan it would probably be a good idea to put the graft and time in doing a few counts and assessing if necessary where if any high seats would be well placed..

Good luck fella

Remember .. help is only a pm away :lol: :lol:

Terry
 
Many congratulations, its a great feeling isnt it :D

Start on your poor prickets and barren doe's, first. Good luck and let us all know how you get on.
 
It just so happens that I have got just over a week off work coming up & the missus wanted loads of jobs doing around the house. I think she knows were I will be though. :D :D
 
well done mate,have a great weeks holiday im sure you will what ever the weather.keep us posted and good luck
 
Congratulations Needsy,

As has been said, it's the greatest feeling in the world. The best part is that it is usually followed in short succession by other pieces of ground dropping into your lap.

Nothing like being able to introduce yourself as 'looking after the Deer management for Bob Smith next door'.

Surprising how a courtesy visit, with the benefit of your new found status as a deer manager, seems to often result in new permissions! :)

Rgds

Ian
 
Needsy.
Your first priority is to get one or two on the ground to let the owner see that you are committed then you can think about long term management.
[ Your owner will be more concerned with his short term damage ! ]

For good management you will need to cull all age groups but if population density is perceived as too high you will need to make a substantial reduction of the females to reduce the annual increment.

HWH.
 
needsy said:
It just so happens that I have got just over a week off work coming up & the missus wanted loads of jobs doing around the house. I think she knows were I will be though. :D :D

Well done on the ground but dont forget to keep the other half sweet and do her tasks for her or do what l did get her take up stalking also, sorted :D
 
Edit - Shouldn't have logged on yesterday evening, was in the wrong frame of mind,well done on the new permission Needsy.
 
DL.

And so Terry (AKA Pheasant Sniper) has ;) he is down stalking with me next weekend and has only just got back from Scotland with me and the other lads. Plus he is very welcome on my other lease in Dorset. I shall be back down there shortly with Robin off this site, another good friend I have made through the SD site.
 
Malc's spot on, and poss any small fawns.

I miss my fallow stalking from when I lived in the South of England, a very challenging, fascinating species.
 
Visited my patch today & as I pulled up at the gate in the wood I had 9 fallow watching me from the neighbours side of the track, trying to open the tempermental combination padlock for about 2 minutes & no further then 20 metres away & down wind.
As I parked up I noticed them running through the wood, followed by some small dog & dog walker who had decided to cut through the wood off the footpath.
Still they cut back to the far side of the meadow & the wind was in my favour so I tried to stalk them. I got to about 150m from a pricket & 3 does standing against the far hedge( No safe shot), the other 5 does broke left out of sight.
I sat & watched the pricket through my bins, for a while before he left with the 3 does through the hedge & onto the neighbouring land.
So I crept left across to a hedge/scrub that was about 100 metres long & 5 metres wide.
I laid down & scanned the area for the remaining does, no joy. After about 20 mins just laying here watching the rabbits playing on the far bank about 80 yards away I was contemplating moving to the other side of the field, where I have previously seen deer entering. I had a good look around to my left with my bins, looked back towards the rabbits & there was a nice large doe, standing about 70 metres away full broadside, nice safe back stop (text book stuff). After a double take I realised that here was my first solo beast on my own bit of ground. I slowly lowered my bins, & moved my rifle across, as I raised the rifle to my eye it was bang on the engine room, perfect I didn't have to make any adjustments. There was even a nice hollow that my left elbow was in, this was just perfect nice & steady.
The cross hair was dead still & this was it, I was more than happy that this was it, really confident to take the shot, I went to slip of the saftey.

I would be posting "MY FIRST SOLO BEAST ", with some pictures . When she turned 45 degrees away from me, No clear shot, so I waited, then she was facing the opposite direction. Then she reared up onto her hind legs & started to nibble the bottom of a small tree, as she came back down to the ground she moved to her right & was now obscurred from view by part of the foliage. I waited what seemed like a lifetime & during this I realised just how hard & fast my heart was beating.
Then out of the corner of my eye & through the hedge at last movement, NO 200 metres away t& closing fast a big black dog & another bloody dog walker, miles off the path. Looked back to see my first beast trotting off with the other 4 across the field. The dog & dog walker ended up walking past me about 30 metres down wind & totally unaware that I was lying there.
I was tempted to get up & say something but thought against it,new bit of land & all that & I can just imagine how the 999 call to the police would that have sounded, along the lines of." There's a strange male in combat gear & a big gun, he's just come out of the bushes".
So I laid there & swore to myself a few times feeling really ****ed off, then after a few minutes, about 20 long tail tits worked their way along the hedge that I was in. I watched them within touching distance as flittered around all around me, then I thought to myself, well this aint so bad, I'm out in the countryside with nature. Its the first time I have seen a deer feeding on its hind legs in the wild, something that I have only seen on TV before. I know there are deer on my land & have gained some more insight to their areas & routes. It gives me more of an excuse with the missus to get back out there & get my first solo beast. It will come & this will only go to make it more special.
Cant wait to post it though!!
 
Visited my patch today & as I pulled up at the gate in the wood I had 9 fallow watching me from the neighbours side of the track, trying to open the tempermental combination padlock for about 2 minutes & no further then 20 metres away & down wind.
As I parked up I noticed them running through the wood, followed by some small dog & dog walker who had decided to cut through the wood off the footpath.
Still they cut back to the far side of the meadow & the wind was in my favour so I tried to stalk them. I got to about 150m from a pricket & 3 does standing against the far hedge( No safe shot), the other 5 does broke left out of sight.
I sat & watched the pricket through my bins, for a while before he left with the 3 does through the hedge & onto the neighbouring land.
So I crept left across to a hedge/scrub that was about 100 metres long & 5 metres wide.
I laid down & scanned the area for the remaining does, no joy. After about 20 mins just laying here watching the rabbits playing on the far bank about 80 yards away I was contemplating moving to the other side of the field, where I have previously seen deer entering. I had a good look around to my left with my bins, looked back towards the rabbits & there was a nice large doe, standing about 70 metres away full broadside, nice safe back stop (text book stuff). After a double take I realised that here was my first solo beast on my own bit of ground. I slowly lowered my bins, & moved my rifle across, as I raised the rifle to my eye it was bang on the engine room, perfect I didn't have to make any adjustments. There was even a nice hollow that my left elbow was in, this was just perfect nice & steady.
The cross hair was dead still & this was it, I was more than happy that this was it, really confident to take the shot, I went to slip of the saftey.

I would be posting "MY FIRST SOLO BEAST ", with some pictures . When she turned 45 degrees away from me, No clear shot, so I waited, then she was facing the opposite direction. Then she reared up onto her hind legs & started to nibble the bottom of a small tree, as she came back down to the ground she moved to her right & was now obscurred from view by part of the foliage. I waited what seemed like a lifetime & during this I realised just how hard & fast my heart was beating.
Then out of the corner of my eye & through the hedge at last movement, NO 200 metres away t& closing fast a big black dog & another bloody dog walker, miles off the path. Looked back to see my first beast trotting off with the other 4 across the field. The dog & dog walker ended up walking past me about 30 metres down wind & totally unaware that I was lying there.
I was tempted to get up & say something but thought against it,new bit of land & all that & I can just imagine how the 999 call to the police would that have sounded, along the lines of." There's a strange male in combat gear & a big gun, he's just come out of the bushes".
So I laid there & swore to myself a few times feeling really ****ed off, then after a few minutes, about 20 long tail tits worked their way along the hedge that I was in. I watched them within touching distance as flittered around all around me, then I thought to myself, well this aint so bad, I'm out in the countryside with nature. Its the first time I have seen a deer feeding on its hind legs in the wild, something that I have only seen on TV before. I know there are deer on my land & have gained some more insight to their areas & routes. It gives me more of an excuse with the missus to get back out there & get my first solo beast. It will come & this will only go to make it more special.
Cant wait to post it though!!
 
jees that's bad luck. I would have been spitting rage... Sounds like your first deer isn't far off though. VERY envious of what sounds like a perfect patch.
 
I like your attitude....It was a real pi**er that your stalk was spoiled but at least you enjoyed the day and let the walker pass without confrontation.
Look forward to reading about your first success on your new patch.
 
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