Close Encounter With Sika Stags. I Had To Burn My Boxer Shorts.

I'm not one for write ups but I thought this might interest some. Out this afternoon with Jamragg69 to try and slot a couple of Sika hinds. We arrived at the ground around 1430hrs and discussed the game plan . Brian set off to his spot and I headed to mine.
An interesting walk of about 20 minutes or so to the high seat , with lots of signs of deer on the way. I took my time, taking in the surroundings and as I approached the high seat , I stopped to glass all round the area. At that point, the biggest Sika stag I have ever seen ( headwise ) emerged from the trees about 400 yds ahead of me running at full tilt , followed by 2 hinds. He was headed straight towards me but slightly below . I hit the deck , got the bipod up and was waiting for the hinds to stop. As I lay watching them I heard sticks breaking very close. As I glanced to my right a set of hoofs hit the ground inches in front of my face and two prickets jumped right over me. I don't mind telling you , farts don't have lumps , or at least they shouldn't .
I don't know if the hinds stopped for a shot, if they did , I never saw them. Just before dark I saw a solitary calf , but it didn't present a shot.
Anyone else had such a close encounter.
 
There was more than 2 pr*ck(ets) if we count the one lying on the ground with the rifle!

I worry about you at times, when you can tell me that as the young stag jumped over you all you could see was its nuts!!!!

exciting that close though!

Closest I have come was calling a Sika stag into me while lying out in a ride and it sneaked up inside the trees to stick its head out snorting at me from about 20' away! Got the heart beating!!!! Before I shot him that is. :D
 
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Not that close but, I did have a close encounter with some Roe when out on the hill with Craigievar killer from the SD, we had stalked into a lovely buck maybe +/- 100 yards on open hill when he decided he was going to have a lay down in the heather (no shot).
Between us we tried all sorts to get him to stand up, barking, shouting, clapping etc etc etc with no success, we thought we'd stumbled onto a def one! lol
Craig who was 20-30 yards or so behind me in the tree line then tried a polish Roe call and in doing so the other Roe on the hill came steaming in towards us first standing and then passing me within a couple of feet, i actually thought they were going to run over me.
Great to get that close to these fantastic animals!
We never did get the Buck though as when he heard the click of the safety he thought better of it got up and buggered off and after all that noise previously. Don't figure!
 
Exciting stuff as sika always look like they'd do for you if they could!

I had to part my feet once to shoot a fallow pricket below me from the high seat in the rut, he was 8 rungs away!
 
Exciting stuff as sika always look like they'd do for you if they could!

I had to fend an angry little sika spiker off with my stalking sticks. He wasn't for giving up and the only thing that made him retreat was that the hind that was with him decided to run, when she ran his "flight" module cut in and he ran also. By that stage he'd been having a nervous go at me for several minutes. I really didn't want to shoot him but it did cross my mind that if he really decided to go for it with those spikes then I was in deep trouble.
 
I'm not one for write ups but I thought this might interest some. Out this afternoon with Jamragg69 to try and slot a couple of Sika hinds. We arrived at the ground around 1430hrs and discussed the game plan . Brian set off to his spot and I headed to mine.
An interesting walk of about 20 minutes or so to the high seat , with lots of signs of deer on the way. I took my time, taking in the surroundings and as I approached the high seat , I stopped to glass all round the area. At that point, the biggest Sika stag I have ever seen ( headwise ) emerged from the trees about 400 yds ahead of me running at full tilt , followed by 2 hinds. He was headed straight towards me but slightly below . I hit the deck , got the bipod up and was waiting for the hinds to stop. As I lay watching them I heard sticks breaking very close. As I glanced to my right a set of hoofs hit the ground inches in front of my face and two prickets jumped right over me. I don't mind telling you , farts don't have lumps , or at least they shouldn't .
I don't know if the hinds stopped for a shot, if they did , I never saw them. Just before dark I saw a solitary calf , but it didn't present a shot.
Anyone else had such a close encounter.

Some very close but so far they have not jumped over me that would be cool.

There was more than 2 pr*ck(ets) if we count the one lying on the ground with the rifle!

I worry about you at times, when you can tell me that as the young stag jumped over you all you could see was its nuts!!!!

exciting that close though!

Closest I have come was calling a Sika stag into me while lying out in a ride and it sneaked up inside the trees to stick its head out snorting at me from about 20' away! Got the heart beating!!!! Before I shot him that is. :D

Jamross might have beat you by about a foot in my closest shot...lol...:D

I had to fend an angry little sika spiker off with my stalking sticks. He wasn't for giving up and the only thing that made him retreat was that the hind that was with him decided to run, when she ran his "flight" module cut in and he ran also. By that stage he'd been having a nervous go at me for several minutes. I really didn't want to shoot him but it did cross my mind that if he really decided to go for it with those spikes then I was in deep trouble.

That sure makes me think what would happen if a heavy set 8 pointer was to do the same could get very interesting, your encounter must have been a very exciting I have not had them face me yet but have had some very close up and personal experiences with a couple of hinds, the closest shot was a 6 pointer that had came to the call I was just ready to give up as the light was almost gone and I was deep in a thick broadleaf plantation when I heard a crack just in front of me I took him with a neck shot he was about 6 meters away very exciting stuff watching him searching for the cause of the disturbance in the inky gloom.
 
That sure makes me think what would happen if a heavy set 8 pointer was to do the same could get very interesting,

My experience is that there is no way an 8 pointer would stand while you got anywhere near to close to him - this wee stag appeared to be holding a hind and that clearly had him in a state of excitement plus he was young and stupid. I had been lying up in the grass watching in the opposite direction with the wind in my face and when I stood up he was actually behind me with his hind. I've no idea how he ended up there in view of the wind direction but when he saw me appear he wanted a fight and if the hind hadn't eventually run and taken him with her then I think he would have stood and tried to fight until one of us backed down. Although the spot was good for spying it wasn't good for extraction so I really didn't want to shoot him and in the close range encounter the sticks made a better defensive weapon.
 
I was out for a walk with a mate on Griomaval, a mountain on the Isle of Lewis, a few years back. My mate was a heavy smoker so was a couple of mins behind. Visibility was down to under 5 metres nearing the summit and there was not a breath of wind. I stopped dead on finding a red stag with a full set of points on top. It was staring back at me as it decided whether to fight or flight. Having made up it's mind a dozen 'six packs' appeared along its side as it chose the latter and headed off into the mist. Heart in mouth I carried on walking and descended into the Corrie. After 50 meters or so, and with my heart still hammering, a Golden Eagle flew up in front of me. I waited for my mate to catch up. When he arrived I said "you're not going to believe this....". Needless to say he didn't.
 
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I was out for a walk with a mate on Griomaval

I've never considered Griomaval as somewhere you just go for a walk with a mate :) That north face always scares me and gives me to think that it couldn't be better named. I think you win here just on the basis that you were on top of Griomaval :)
 
Certainly not one to be chased off by a :stag: . You've obviously been there. Local ?

Aha -just spotted advert. Duh

This is the closest I've been to actually being on Griomabhal, that's a corner of the loch at the top of the braighe. Specially at this time of year it always seems like a really creepy place to me, maybe in the summer and before the season starts I'll go down and climb to the top just to have done it :)

 
it always seems like a really creepy place to me, maybe in the summer and before the season starts I'll go down and climb to the top just to have done it :)

Don't know what that says about me as it's my favourite hill on lewis:cuckoo::cuckoo::cuckoo:
Hot gneiss on a dry sunny day will give plenty of grip on the waterworn slabs just west of the 'scary' ones. Just don't get cragfast if you drop down into the Corrie or you'll be needing your Spot2:D.
 
I had two close encounters a fair few years ago, both on the same ground, both when I was shooting rabbits with an air rifle.

Very early morning, I was prone facing a hedge line with a large warren.
I was lining up a shot when the scope went dark, I opened my left eye and a Muntjac buck was stood directly infront of me just staring right at me.
He took a step closer, which brought him to a few inches from the end of the barrel, and a little too close to my face, especially as I was lying down.
Luckily the doe that was stood a metre or so behind him decided to move off, so he gave a snort then turned and followed, in no hurry.
Not sure what I could have done if he had decided to drop his head and wade in.


Same ground and probably a month later.
Again very early morning and after rabbits.
I was sat in the middle of a large growth of nettles.
I heard a rattle from a gate which was a few metres away on my right, and outside the nettles, and decided to crawl out and see what it was.
I was just about to breach the outer edge of the nettles when I bumped head on into a CWD buck coming the other way.
Those tusks look a lot bigger when the thing behind them is still alive.
 
recently walked up to a Muntjac, videoing her on my phone, the beep of my video ending woke her up and there i was looking her in the eyes, deer can look shocked!
 
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