1st and Favourite

[MarkL]

What was the first species of deer you shot?
And what’s your favourite to stalk ?

My 1st was a Roe doe in East Yorkshire
The Roe deer are beautiful to look at but the land is very agricultural around me, it doesn’t feel “wild”
The red I’ve shot are in stunning locations and the scenery is very wild.

 

[wildfowler.250]

Roe win. They can pop up anywhere from the smallest ditch to marshland to crops. Good size to carry and taste good. Antlers vary quite significantly.

I’d say other deer species will tick most of the above boxes but not all

 

[tackb]

my first was a fallow , the less said about that the better ! lets just say youthful exuberance got the better of me

my favourite to stalk would be red on the hill but that's the environment to be honest

 

[Mike1979]

1st was Sika and favorite would be muntjac

 

[Nickb]

My 1st was a roebuck.
Probably still my favourite as they are beautiful animals .

 

[VSS]

Fallow was the first deer I shot, and they remain my favourite deer for many reasons, not least the quality of the venison, which I consider to be the best. But purely for the enjoyment of stalking, muntjac are hard to beat.

 

[Silvius]

Roebuck first and Roebuck favourite. Its is elegant, you can carry it, its got nice antlers and there is enough meat to make it feel worthwhile. A small Muntjac can barely seem worth the powder and the fuss of the butchery. That said if a roe has not turned up after an hour or so, I will not turn them down.

 

[Sol]

Roe for sure there a beautiful little deer, I really like how territorial they are Its not a "see once, and never again" type of deer If you see a nice buck Its very rare It can truly elude you but It requires a bit of thinking and a lot of patience.

In my opinion keeping track of the other species I deal with (Reds) Is much harder a lot of stags look similar often or not I'll see a stag and never see it again, there's a chance It might return for the rut or I'll see it feeding in a different area but connecting the dots Is hard, Individual roe however are often or not in the exact same spot each year (give or take feeding conditions)

Slightly off topic has anyone ever seen a red stag velvet free this time of year? buddy swore he seen one the other night.

 

[VSS]

Slightly off topic has anyone ever seen a red stag velvet free this time of year? buddy swore he seen one the other night.

Yes. I have. In fact, I think it was a bit earlier than this.

(Edit: I just checked. It would have been first week of July. A few years ago now).

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Mine was my 13 year old daughter’s first red stag! Cracking 200 meter shot. She was over the moon for a month!! Stuff dreams are made of, only trouble now is she thinks every stag is hers! And a trophy hunter!!!

 

[tozzybum]

1st Red at Melton Mowbray, Favourite eating is Muntjac.
Luckily main species in my area .

 

[wytonpjs]

First was a roe doe on a foggy day on Salisbury Plain - deathly still and I was fortunate to be able to stalk in quietly for a literally bombproof backstop. I can remember the tension and adrenaline to this day.

Favourite - difficult to say. Like others, the challenge of stalking muntjac excels and last night the muntjac won. All of my reds have been in memorable locations with unique challenges, but fallow are rising rapidly in my stalking. Got within 20m of these last night with my heart thumping! Roll on 1 Aug

 

[malmick]

First was a Red knobber stag in Scotland. Favourite is a toss up between Roe and Sika, both beautiful deer with very different habits and behaviours.

 

[Spear Chucker]

1st was red switch in Scotland, a great privilege, favourite are fallow for taste and difficulty of the stalk, always regret killing roe (doesn't stop me) as they are such a glorious beast to behold.

 

[HonestJohn]

Red stag in the rut with my late father as my guide.

Favourite,,, you can’t beat calling in a rutting highland stag to under 50yds for getting your adrenaline up!

 

[willie_gunn]

First was a red stag on the Hill in Sutherland - wasn’t sure beforehand if I’d be up to squeezing the trigger when the moment came, and doing so left me with mixed feelings.

Since then, hundreds more, but those feelings remain.

Favourite to look at are roe, favourite to stalk (and eat) are muntjac.

 

[NoIDeer]

My first deer was a bronze medal roebuck!
I have two favourite stalks, bushbuck in Eastern Cape (one of the few truly wild antelope to hunt in South Africa) and my first red stag.
My favourite deer to stalk has to be fallow because they are so bloomin' difficult, one mistake and they're gone!

 

[Sol]

Yes. I have. In fact, I think it was a bit earlier than this.

(Edit: I just checked. It would have been first week of July. A few years ago now).

Dang that's super surprising, and maybe I can believe him a little more now! earliest Ive seen was about the beginning of august.

Thinking about it though almost every stag mature here is REALLY well developed, Its been a fantastic year for them it seems like.

 

[VSS]

Dang that's super surprising, and maybe I can believe him a little more now! earliest Ive seen was about the beginning of august.

Thinking about it though almost every stag mature here is REALLY well developed, Its been a fantastic year for them it seems like.

I have also regularly seen forward fallow prickets clean in late June / early July.
One year I had a park pricket clean of velvet before the last of the adult bucks had even cast, but that was exceptionally early. I was advised to keep him as a potential breeding buck on account of his early maturity, but he hasn't developed into anything particularly spectacular and has a very poor head.

 

[SikaSeeker]

I have also regularly seen forward fallow prickets clean in late June / early July.
One year I had a park pricket clean of velvet before the last of the adult bucks had even cast, but that was exceptionally early. I was advised to keep him as a potential breeding buck on account of his early maturity, but he hasn't developed into anything particularly spectacular and has a very poor head.

I shot a fallow buck fawn in march gone, he had his pedicles well developed and little spikes poking through. He was big in the body too. I have been thinking if he could of made a decent animal. Anyways, farmer want’s everything shot so that’s that.