So 2025 has been the year I was introduced to stalking by my sister's partner, an experienced stalker who I'll refer to sporadically as either my friend, mate or mentor. My only experience with shooting up until this year had only been air rifles in my youth, so I really am what you'd consider a complete novice.
My first stalk was in the second half of a lovely crisp February day (if a little windy), with the first half spent piking (in an undisclosed location, pike fishermen will understand), where we caught probably 10 or so pike, nudging into the 20lb mark, a cracking day's fishing!
With February of course being doe season for Roe, we set out across one of my mentor's permissions, and glassed a nice heap of 7 or 8 Roe nestled in a depression in a field. The area is largely flat, and I'm 6'3" so sneaking up on deer quietly on flat ground with bugger all to hide behind comes with its own set of challenges, but we managed to stalk in on this group without causing a fuss. I got set up on the sticks and am told which doe to take from the group. At this point my heart is pounding in my chest, as I set the cross hairs half way up and on the front shoulder on the chosen doe, who is obligingly standing perfectly broadside, around 80yds away. I gently squeeze the trigger, and the shot lands perfect. She drops on the spot, with the other in the group now high tailing off across the field. I turn to my mate and ask "did I hit it?" as I'm still staring down the scope trying to gather myself.
What a rush of adrenaline that first successful stalk is! We walked up on it, confirmed she had duly shuffled off this mortal coil, and my mate asked if I'd like to observe the gralloch. It's worth mentioning that up until this point, I wasn't sure I had it in me to even pull the trigger on another living being. What an utterly fascinating and impressive task to watch someone with years of experience perform. He explained what I'd need to look for when gralloching a deer, showed how you open the deer up, explained the lymph nodes and what I should expect to see and what would be of concern. The doe was gestating twins, which was again fascinating to observe. With the gralloch complete, it was then time to get the deer back to the truck. Turns out they are quite heavy when you've got to lug it across a muddy field. I gained a real and immediate appreciation for all that comes after the shot.
The whole experience was phenomenal, from initially spotting the deer, to quietly parking and exiting the truck with minimal noise, the stalk, getting into a shooting position, taking the shot, and then seeing the gralloch, I enjoyed every part of it.
It didn't take long for me to be champing at the bit to get out on another stalk, and mid April we're back out again, however this time for something with antlers.
We stalked up on a buck with 2 does along the edge of a rape field, thankfully there was a bit more foliage to hide my svelte figure slightly better this time around. The ground is sopping wet from an earlier deluge, but we quietly press a little closer to the 3, and I'm quickly set up on the sticks. We're a bit further back this time, around 100yds, patiently waiting for the buck to present a safe shot. We've got a slightly elevated position, with the field below providing a good back stop. Once he's broadside, I squeeze the trigger, and he bolts. I'm convinced this time I've missed. My mentor duly informs me that I've definitely hit it (I later learn about the audible hit, as I wondered how he knew with such confidence) and we've now got to see just how far my buck has made it into the rape field.
I learn so much in a short space of time; firstly to make a good mental note about the shot site. We walk up on where the deer stood, and start to search the ground for blood drops, and sure enough we find the first few drops of red reasonably quickly amongst the grass. We then follow the trail another 20yds or so, and there he is, a little further into the rape. Another cracking deer, nothing too spectacular on the head, but I'm happy with my first trophy!
I chickened out on performing the gralloch, but opted instead to watch a master in his craft once again, carefully observing how to gralloch on the ground, inspecting the organs etc. I did however remove the legs, which was good experience!
It really didn't take much, but I'm hooked by this point. I've decided to purchase myself a lovely .177 Gamo GX250 with which to practice a bit in the meantime. This will help with my overall rifle handling skills, and I've set up a small 20yd shooting range in the garden for some plinking. Great fun, and good for building a bit of muscle memory.
Heading back for a stalk in May, and for the first time I get a taste for what happens when it doesn't go to plan and the deer outsmart you at every turn! We've spotted a pair of bucks browsing along the edge of a dyke, and as I'm beginning to get used to, we quietly exit the truck, gather our gear, get our heads down and start moving closer to our quarry. The wind isn't where we want it today, blowing across our backs toward the deer. We stay low, and slowly close in from 200yds to 100yds, and unfortunately they've winded us before I'd even got set up on the sticks. I'm learning that sometimes you'll have to take the rough with the smooth! Plenty more deer seen over the evening, but nothing wanting to behave for us. Anyone would think these are wild animals or something…..
June's stalk. It's 30+ degrees out, piping hot. Even as the evening draws in, it takes an age for the temperature to drop down into the high 20's. Sweating buckets. We're out on my friends ground, glassing the fields either side of a farm track. The undergrowth and hedges along the field are fully grown, reducing our visibility somewhat, but we're able to snatch glances in the larger gaps. As we amble along, another lovely buck is spotted in the field lower to our right. We've got a good backstop due to our elevated position, but between the buck and us, getting a shot is proving slightly challenging due to the height of the reeds & grass on the verge. I'm out of the truck and set up close on the sticks, with the buck in the cross hairs. He's not spotted us, the wind is good. He's ambling toward us, from 100yds down to 80. My friend calls out, and the buck's head pops up. He's facing us directly on, no chance of my preferred shot to the engine room. I'm instructed to take a neck shot, adjust my point of aim to under his chin, and squeeze the shot off. The shot lands, and he drops on the spot. I still get that rush of adrenaline, and he's a lovely 4 pointer.
This time, I'm on gralloch duty. I get gloved up, and start proceedings. My mentor makes this look a lot easier than I'd anticipated! In the time since observing the last gralloch, I've made sure to read up on what to look for during the gralloch and inspection of the offal & pluck, but actually performing it is the real lesson. I manage to perform a good part of the gralloch, needed some assistance, but we successfully part the carcass from the viscera.
My mentor then asks if I want to keep the head. I of course am happy to oblige, so he sends me home with the head, a set of instructions, and a large tea urn in which to boil it. There's a smell that probably won't leave me for some time! I quickly gained a real appreciation for the effort of preparing a trophy. I've skinned the head off as best I can, and then left it in a bucket of water for a couple of days before boiling it off. Couple of hours in the tea urn, then a turn with a pressure washer, and most of the remaining flesh is off, then it's time to sit with picks and tweezers to remove the last of it. Now time for a couple of days suspended in the hydrogen peroxide. I appreciated some of the threads on here which detail how to go about prepping and cleaning a head, very insightful! Finally I've got a lovely bone white skull, so I glue the nasal bones back in and get it mounted up in my man cave. You really do appreciate the effort that goes into it that much more when you've prepped it yourself.
July's stalk was again unfortunately a blank. We went out full of confidence, there's plenty of deer about, but blimey they were skittish on this balmy Sunday. 2 long and 4 short stalks on different deer throughout the evening, and every time they've bolted before we can even get set up on the sticks. An unfortunate end to the evening but plenty of roe and CWD seen, and the odd fox too. Unfortunately even the fox escaped us!
Back out again in August, and we've got a bit of reprieve from the heat, it's down to around 20 degrees in the evening, a touch windy but excellent visibility. I'm ultra excited, it's the middle of the rut, and my mentor has been talking it up something fierce. Plenty of deer seen throughout the evening, roe & CWD, plus a fox cub that shot across the front of the truck as we were busy glassing the deer on land that wasn't ours to shoot! We've spied a nice buck giving a doe the run around, and with all of his focus on her, we circle around to get the wind in our favour, and stalk up on them. We're heads down, moving along the field boundary, currently well hidden by the undulation in the fields. We lose sight of our quarry as we close the gap, and as we get closer, they vanish into thin air. Gone. Absolutely no idea where, but they've completely given us the slip. Crafty buggers. Thankfully on the next field over, we've spotted a lone buck, and started making our way in his direction. I'm back up on the sticks, range finder telling us he's 160yds out. I'm patiently waiting for him to present himself for a heart and lung shot, which he does, slightly quartering away. I squeeze the shot off, and he jumps up, arches his back, and bolts 20yds before falling. Every time they bolt after I've pulled the trigger, I'm convince I've missed. I'm learning to keep my eye on the deer after the shot through the scope, training my brain to prepare for if a follow up shot is needed.
I'm now on gralloch duty again, and I'm largely solo this time with a bit of guidance needed over my shoulder, but the deer is cleaned, and I've another successful stalk to add to my log.
August turned into a bit of a bumper month for stalking activities. I met up with another forumite - 325WSM, a tremendous and welcoming chap - whom I hope I'll be buying some rifles from in the future. We spent a nice evening in a high seat, largely observing fallow deer, but nothing presented a shot for us. I appreciated the experience, and chewing the cud, absorbing the knowledge from 325WSM. I've applied for my FAC, and I'm now at the mercy of Suffolk & Norfolk constabulary, with what looks like probably 12 months to wait for a FEO interview. But I press on and continue stalking!
End of August stalk, and we're out, this time looking for a Muntjac. The wind is blustery, but good visibility, and we're on a different permission. Much more cover, for both us and the deer, lots of trees, scrub and bramble to contend with. We spot a buck with a doe and kids in a field, slightly hidden by a haystack, however they also spotted us. Unfortunately we're still in the truck, and the 4 deer are within 100 or so yds of us. Carefully my mate backs up the truck, and we park it up out of eyeshot. Geared up, we carefully peek around, and can still see the buck, but the doe and kids are moving across the field at an amble. A bale of hay makes for a platform to set the rifle on the bipod, but before I get both the legs down, he's off with the group. Foiled again, but it wouldn't have been our target species for the day anyway, more of a lucky encounter. We leave the truck where it is, and start to scan around for muntjac using the thermal. Within around 15 minutes, we spot a heat signature hiding beneath some conifers. The light is fading, but the bino's confirm it's a munty buck, terrific! The way he's sat makes the shot a challenge, he's got his rump toward us couched down in the undergrowth. I'm up on the sticks with the crosshairs aiming for the back of the head. I squeeze the trigger, and the shot lands lower than I had expected, grazing his haunch. He starts running in circles in the undergrowth, and goes to ground beneath some brambles. Really well camouflaged and tough to see. My mentor takes up the rifle for a follow up, and this time getting a headshot from 20yds.
More gralloch practice for me, this time on a much smaller species. My first experience gralloching as the light really fades made this one a challenge, and we later discover when hanging him up in the larder that I'd somehow left his bladder in completely intact!
Out again in October, for the tail end of the buck season. We set out and quickly happened upon a buck with a doe and kids. There was a small patch of trees we were able to climb through, perhaps a touch too noisily in the undergrowth, and as we came through the other side, the group was absolutely hauling it across the field, well out of safe shooting distance. Clearly not our best stalk! We continued on to different land, glassing a group of 4, two does, two bucks. With the land on our side, we're able to stalk up 150yds or so, hidden by the undulations in the field. At probably the furthest I've attempted at around 200yds, I'm set up on the sticks, and aim for the lesser of the two bucks. He's presented broadside, so I aim for a heart & lung. I squeeze the shot off. It's low. The nearside leg was hit, but the buck and the group bolt. I reload, and we start to make haste after the group. They fly over the field, down a deep dyke, and straight up the other side, putting a huge gap between us. They are well out of range, and disappear into a small forest on neighbouring land we can't shoot. I'm gutted. This is a true experience of what happens when it goes wrong.
Undeterred, I'm back out again last weekend, after the third species available on my friends ground - which is now conveniently in season for shooting - the infamous Chinese Water Deer. I've been seeing these ginger rockets all year, so to finally have the opportunity to stalk them is excellent.
We're out on another different permission, and as we make our way down a farm track, we spot a Roe doe with twins. The wind is all wrong and at our back, but we hope if we are quiet and stealthy, we can pick through a small spinney as cover, and emerge the other side to get a shot off. No luck, they're off having either spotted us or winded us long before we emerged through the trees. Thankfully, we had spotted a heap of 5 or so CWD's to the east of these Roe in an opposing field. These had also seemingly dispersed, clearly the wind was not in our favour here. We pressed on down the track, having spotted a CWD buck at the edge of a field near a reedy bank, so we picked our way along it, well hidden by the undulations. We stop to get another look at our quarry. An older buck, ragged ears, lovely tusks. Brilliant. I also spied another buck, in the field but to the left. I could have sworn I saw my mate spotted him too, but it turns out he was laser focussed on the older buck.
This ended to our detriment, as the buck to the left spotted us, got up and bolted, taking the older buck with him. We stood for a moment and chatted, it's at this point I find out my mate hadn't seen the other buck (a lesson in communication for me!) and we were deciding on our next course of action, when from the reeds emerged another cracking buck. We think he was from the original group of 5 we'd spotted couched in the field. I'm quickly up on the sticks, he presents a perfect broadside shot out at around 150yds, and I squeeze the shot off. The shot lands perfect, he runs off a little ways north of us and hits the deck. I'm chuffed, he's a cracking buck, and there seems to be plenty more deer on this ground as we scan around with the binoculars. We collect him up, and get him back to the small spinney for me to hang him up and try a suspended gralloch. Across the field, and behind the spinney, we spy another CWD, a doe this time, stood in the field staring at us. Without much hesitation, I'm handed a rifle bag, and I'm set up on the bonnet of the truck, with my scope trained on the doe. She's out at about 120yds looking our way. I send the shot her way and she drops on the spot. My first stalk with 2 deer in the bag! I'm chuffed to bits, I've now 2 deer to gralloch suspended.
Both were great specimens, the doe a fair bit smaller than the buck, but both gralloched well. I enjoyed the suspended gralloch, and retained the buck head for some more trophy prep!
It was still plenty early in the day, so we made our way onto another permission, seeing plenty more CWD and Roe on our way. As we're checking out the deer through the bino's my mentor puts a small test my way as we're looking at a pair of Roe, against the backdrop of some hedges. "tell me what that deer is on the left" he says.. I take a good look at it, and say it's a doe. Wrong! It's a cast buck. He tells me what I should be looking for, and another learning experience chalked up for me!
We park the truck up near a wood, having spotted some more Roe & CWD, and stalk our way around. The roe were further along the edge of the wood, with the CWD in the field adjacent. I was initially set up on the Roe, but once we ranged both of them, opted to pivot round to the CWD. I trained the scope on him, squeezed off the shot, and he bolted. The shot was low, missed him completely! The shot ringing out, with the wood reflecting the noise outward, we flushed the Roe as well, and they disappeared off out the edge of the wood. Foiled again!
There's still a good amount of light, we've got an hour or so before it's due to get dark, so we press on, on foot, around the wood. We spot another CWD in the field behind the wood, but can only see its head poking above the crop. We'll have to cross a deep dyke to get to him if we do take the shot, so we weigh up our options. It's at this point we see a barren Roe doe picking her way across a field north of us, out to about 180yds. She's presenting a much nicer shot than the couched CWD, so I'm up on the sticks. She's broadside, so the cross hairs go half way up her body, above the shoulder. The shot lands perfect, and she bolts west, around 30yds before hitting the deck. I'm now on my own for collecting this one, as my mate has to head back for the truck. I gain more important experience here, quickly discovering that she's a big doe, and I'll be hauling her across the field (which is thankfully flat) to a spot where the truck can access. I'll remember to pocket something to aid recovery next time, lesson learned. I was blowing by the time he arrived with the truck, she really was a big doe. We weighed her in before getting her in the larder later, 42.5lbs!
It's been terrific for my first year's stalking. I have learned so much, and the benefit of a little knowledge is that you also quickly understand how much more there is to learn! I've been humbled by the deer a few times already, and have gained a real appreciation for them. They are smart, majestic creatures, and are a joy to watch, even when you're not intending to pull the trigger. The rut was a real experience to watch in August, I thoroughly understand why stalkers get buck fever now!
Well done if you've read through my rambling, and thank you for providing an excellent resource of information here for those who are new to stalking. It's been a hugely beneficial repository to reference, and has helped and encouraged me on my journey to becoming a hopefully competent stalker. I'm optimistic 2026 will be the year I am able to obtain an FAC, and if I'm very, very lucky, perhaps even some stalking ground of my own.
My first stalk was in the second half of a lovely crisp February day (if a little windy), with the first half spent piking (in an undisclosed location, pike fishermen will understand), where we caught probably 10 or so pike, nudging into the 20lb mark, a cracking day's fishing!
With February of course being doe season for Roe, we set out across one of my mentor's permissions, and glassed a nice heap of 7 or 8 Roe nestled in a depression in a field. The area is largely flat, and I'm 6'3" so sneaking up on deer quietly on flat ground with bugger all to hide behind comes with its own set of challenges, but we managed to stalk in on this group without causing a fuss. I got set up on the sticks and am told which doe to take from the group. At this point my heart is pounding in my chest, as I set the cross hairs half way up and on the front shoulder on the chosen doe, who is obligingly standing perfectly broadside, around 80yds away. I gently squeeze the trigger, and the shot lands perfect. She drops on the spot, with the other in the group now high tailing off across the field. I turn to my mate and ask "did I hit it?" as I'm still staring down the scope trying to gather myself.
What a rush of adrenaline that first successful stalk is! We walked up on it, confirmed she had duly shuffled off this mortal coil, and my mate asked if I'd like to observe the gralloch. It's worth mentioning that up until this point, I wasn't sure I had it in me to even pull the trigger on another living being. What an utterly fascinating and impressive task to watch someone with years of experience perform. He explained what I'd need to look for when gralloching a deer, showed how you open the deer up, explained the lymph nodes and what I should expect to see and what would be of concern. The doe was gestating twins, which was again fascinating to observe. With the gralloch complete, it was then time to get the deer back to the truck. Turns out they are quite heavy when you've got to lug it across a muddy field. I gained a real and immediate appreciation for all that comes after the shot.
The whole experience was phenomenal, from initially spotting the deer, to quietly parking and exiting the truck with minimal noise, the stalk, getting into a shooting position, taking the shot, and then seeing the gralloch, I enjoyed every part of it.
It didn't take long for me to be champing at the bit to get out on another stalk, and mid April we're back out again, however this time for something with antlers.
We stalked up on a buck with 2 does along the edge of a rape field, thankfully there was a bit more foliage to hide my svelte figure slightly better this time around. The ground is sopping wet from an earlier deluge, but we quietly press a little closer to the 3, and I'm quickly set up on the sticks. We're a bit further back this time, around 100yds, patiently waiting for the buck to present a safe shot. We've got a slightly elevated position, with the field below providing a good back stop. Once he's broadside, I squeeze the trigger, and he bolts. I'm convinced this time I've missed. My mentor duly informs me that I've definitely hit it (I later learn about the audible hit, as I wondered how he knew with such confidence) and we've now got to see just how far my buck has made it into the rape field.
I learn so much in a short space of time; firstly to make a good mental note about the shot site. We walk up on where the deer stood, and start to search the ground for blood drops, and sure enough we find the first few drops of red reasonably quickly amongst the grass. We then follow the trail another 20yds or so, and there he is, a little further into the rape. Another cracking deer, nothing too spectacular on the head, but I'm happy with my first trophy!
I chickened out on performing the gralloch, but opted instead to watch a master in his craft once again, carefully observing how to gralloch on the ground, inspecting the organs etc. I did however remove the legs, which was good experience!
It really didn't take much, but I'm hooked by this point. I've decided to purchase myself a lovely .177 Gamo GX250 with which to practice a bit in the meantime. This will help with my overall rifle handling skills, and I've set up a small 20yd shooting range in the garden for some plinking. Great fun, and good for building a bit of muscle memory.
Heading back for a stalk in May, and for the first time I get a taste for what happens when it doesn't go to plan and the deer outsmart you at every turn! We've spotted a pair of bucks browsing along the edge of a dyke, and as I'm beginning to get used to, we quietly exit the truck, gather our gear, get our heads down and start moving closer to our quarry. The wind isn't where we want it today, blowing across our backs toward the deer. We stay low, and slowly close in from 200yds to 100yds, and unfortunately they've winded us before I'd even got set up on the sticks. I'm learning that sometimes you'll have to take the rough with the smooth! Plenty more deer seen over the evening, but nothing wanting to behave for us. Anyone would think these are wild animals or something…..
June's stalk. It's 30+ degrees out, piping hot. Even as the evening draws in, it takes an age for the temperature to drop down into the high 20's. Sweating buckets. We're out on my friends ground, glassing the fields either side of a farm track. The undergrowth and hedges along the field are fully grown, reducing our visibility somewhat, but we're able to snatch glances in the larger gaps. As we amble along, another lovely buck is spotted in the field lower to our right. We've got a good backstop due to our elevated position, but between the buck and us, getting a shot is proving slightly challenging due to the height of the reeds & grass on the verge. I'm out of the truck and set up close on the sticks, with the buck in the cross hairs. He's not spotted us, the wind is good. He's ambling toward us, from 100yds down to 80. My friend calls out, and the buck's head pops up. He's facing us directly on, no chance of my preferred shot to the engine room. I'm instructed to take a neck shot, adjust my point of aim to under his chin, and squeeze the shot off. The shot lands, and he drops on the spot. I still get that rush of adrenaline, and he's a lovely 4 pointer.
This time, I'm on gralloch duty. I get gloved up, and start proceedings. My mentor makes this look a lot easier than I'd anticipated! In the time since observing the last gralloch, I've made sure to read up on what to look for during the gralloch and inspection of the offal & pluck, but actually performing it is the real lesson. I manage to perform a good part of the gralloch, needed some assistance, but we successfully part the carcass from the viscera.
My mentor then asks if I want to keep the head. I of course am happy to oblige, so he sends me home with the head, a set of instructions, and a large tea urn in which to boil it. There's a smell that probably won't leave me for some time! I quickly gained a real appreciation for the effort of preparing a trophy. I've skinned the head off as best I can, and then left it in a bucket of water for a couple of days before boiling it off. Couple of hours in the tea urn, then a turn with a pressure washer, and most of the remaining flesh is off, then it's time to sit with picks and tweezers to remove the last of it. Now time for a couple of days suspended in the hydrogen peroxide. I appreciated some of the threads on here which detail how to go about prepping and cleaning a head, very insightful! Finally I've got a lovely bone white skull, so I glue the nasal bones back in and get it mounted up in my man cave. You really do appreciate the effort that goes into it that much more when you've prepped it yourself.
July's stalk was again unfortunately a blank. We went out full of confidence, there's plenty of deer about, but blimey they were skittish on this balmy Sunday. 2 long and 4 short stalks on different deer throughout the evening, and every time they've bolted before we can even get set up on the sticks. An unfortunate end to the evening but plenty of roe and CWD seen, and the odd fox too. Unfortunately even the fox escaped us!
Back out again in August, and we've got a bit of reprieve from the heat, it's down to around 20 degrees in the evening, a touch windy but excellent visibility. I'm ultra excited, it's the middle of the rut, and my mentor has been talking it up something fierce. Plenty of deer seen throughout the evening, roe & CWD, plus a fox cub that shot across the front of the truck as we were busy glassing the deer on land that wasn't ours to shoot! We've spied a nice buck giving a doe the run around, and with all of his focus on her, we circle around to get the wind in our favour, and stalk up on them. We're heads down, moving along the field boundary, currently well hidden by the undulation in the fields. We lose sight of our quarry as we close the gap, and as we get closer, they vanish into thin air. Gone. Absolutely no idea where, but they've completely given us the slip. Crafty buggers. Thankfully on the next field over, we've spotted a lone buck, and started making our way in his direction. I'm back up on the sticks, range finder telling us he's 160yds out. I'm patiently waiting for him to present himself for a heart and lung shot, which he does, slightly quartering away. I squeeze the shot off, and he jumps up, arches his back, and bolts 20yds before falling. Every time they bolt after I've pulled the trigger, I'm convince I've missed. I'm learning to keep my eye on the deer after the shot through the scope, training my brain to prepare for if a follow up shot is needed.
I'm now on gralloch duty again, and I'm largely solo this time with a bit of guidance needed over my shoulder, but the deer is cleaned, and I've another successful stalk to add to my log.
August turned into a bit of a bumper month for stalking activities. I met up with another forumite - 325WSM, a tremendous and welcoming chap - whom I hope I'll be buying some rifles from in the future. We spent a nice evening in a high seat, largely observing fallow deer, but nothing presented a shot for us. I appreciated the experience, and chewing the cud, absorbing the knowledge from 325WSM. I've applied for my FAC, and I'm now at the mercy of Suffolk & Norfolk constabulary, with what looks like probably 12 months to wait for a FEO interview. But I press on and continue stalking!
End of August stalk, and we're out, this time looking for a Muntjac. The wind is blustery, but good visibility, and we're on a different permission. Much more cover, for both us and the deer, lots of trees, scrub and bramble to contend with. We spot a buck with a doe and kids in a field, slightly hidden by a haystack, however they also spotted us. Unfortunately we're still in the truck, and the 4 deer are within 100 or so yds of us. Carefully my mate backs up the truck, and we park it up out of eyeshot. Geared up, we carefully peek around, and can still see the buck, but the doe and kids are moving across the field at an amble. A bale of hay makes for a platform to set the rifle on the bipod, but before I get both the legs down, he's off with the group. Foiled again, but it wouldn't have been our target species for the day anyway, more of a lucky encounter. We leave the truck where it is, and start to scan around for muntjac using the thermal. Within around 15 minutes, we spot a heat signature hiding beneath some conifers. The light is fading, but the bino's confirm it's a munty buck, terrific! The way he's sat makes the shot a challenge, he's got his rump toward us couched down in the undergrowth. I'm up on the sticks with the crosshairs aiming for the back of the head. I squeeze the trigger, and the shot lands lower than I had expected, grazing his haunch. He starts running in circles in the undergrowth, and goes to ground beneath some brambles. Really well camouflaged and tough to see. My mentor takes up the rifle for a follow up, and this time getting a headshot from 20yds.
More gralloch practice for me, this time on a much smaller species. My first experience gralloching as the light really fades made this one a challenge, and we later discover when hanging him up in the larder that I'd somehow left his bladder in completely intact!
Out again in October, for the tail end of the buck season. We set out and quickly happened upon a buck with a doe and kids. There was a small patch of trees we were able to climb through, perhaps a touch too noisily in the undergrowth, and as we came through the other side, the group was absolutely hauling it across the field, well out of safe shooting distance. Clearly not our best stalk! We continued on to different land, glassing a group of 4, two does, two bucks. With the land on our side, we're able to stalk up 150yds or so, hidden by the undulations in the field. At probably the furthest I've attempted at around 200yds, I'm set up on the sticks, and aim for the lesser of the two bucks. He's presented broadside, so I aim for a heart & lung. I squeeze the shot off. It's low. The nearside leg was hit, but the buck and the group bolt. I reload, and we start to make haste after the group. They fly over the field, down a deep dyke, and straight up the other side, putting a huge gap between us. They are well out of range, and disappear into a small forest on neighbouring land we can't shoot. I'm gutted. This is a true experience of what happens when it goes wrong.
Undeterred, I'm back out again last weekend, after the third species available on my friends ground - which is now conveniently in season for shooting - the infamous Chinese Water Deer. I've been seeing these ginger rockets all year, so to finally have the opportunity to stalk them is excellent.
We're out on another different permission, and as we make our way down a farm track, we spot a Roe doe with twins. The wind is all wrong and at our back, but we hope if we are quiet and stealthy, we can pick through a small spinney as cover, and emerge the other side to get a shot off. No luck, they're off having either spotted us or winded us long before we emerged through the trees. Thankfully, we had spotted a heap of 5 or so CWD's to the east of these Roe in an opposing field. These had also seemingly dispersed, clearly the wind was not in our favour here. We pressed on down the track, having spotted a CWD buck at the edge of a field near a reedy bank, so we picked our way along it, well hidden by the undulations. We stop to get another look at our quarry. An older buck, ragged ears, lovely tusks. Brilliant. I also spied another buck, in the field but to the left. I could have sworn I saw my mate spotted him too, but it turns out he was laser focussed on the older buck.
This ended to our detriment, as the buck to the left spotted us, got up and bolted, taking the older buck with him. We stood for a moment and chatted, it's at this point I find out my mate hadn't seen the other buck (a lesson in communication for me!) and we were deciding on our next course of action, when from the reeds emerged another cracking buck. We think he was from the original group of 5 we'd spotted couched in the field. I'm quickly up on the sticks, he presents a perfect broadside shot out at around 150yds, and I squeeze the shot off. The shot lands perfect, he runs off a little ways north of us and hits the deck. I'm chuffed, he's a cracking buck, and there seems to be plenty more deer on this ground as we scan around with the binoculars. We collect him up, and get him back to the small spinney for me to hang him up and try a suspended gralloch. Across the field, and behind the spinney, we spy another CWD, a doe this time, stood in the field staring at us. Without much hesitation, I'm handed a rifle bag, and I'm set up on the bonnet of the truck, with my scope trained on the doe. She's out at about 120yds looking our way. I send the shot her way and she drops on the spot. My first stalk with 2 deer in the bag! I'm chuffed to bits, I've now 2 deer to gralloch suspended.
Both were great specimens, the doe a fair bit smaller than the buck, but both gralloched well. I enjoyed the suspended gralloch, and retained the buck head for some more trophy prep!
It was still plenty early in the day, so we made our way onto another permission, seeing plenty more CWD and Roe on our way. As we're checking out the deer through the bino's my mentor puts a small test my way as we're looking at a pair of Roe, against the backdrop of some hedges. "tell me what that deer is on the left" he says.. I take a good look at it, and say it's a doe. Wrong! It's a cast buck. He tells me what I should be looking for, and another learning experience chalked up for me!
We park the truck up near a wood, having spotted some more Roe & CWD, and stalk our way around. The roe were further along the edge of the wood, with the CWD in the field adjacent. I was initially set up on the Roe, but once we ranged both of them, opted to pivot round to the CWD. I trained the scope on him, squeezed off the shot, and he bolted. The shot was low, missed him completely! The shot ringing out, with the wood reflecting the noise outward, we flushed the Roe as well, and they disappeared off out the edge of the wood. Foiled again!
There's still a good amount of light, we've got an hour or so before it's due to get dark, so we press on, on foot, around the wood. We spot another CWD in the field behind the wood, but can only see its head poking above the crop. We'll have to cross a deep dyke to get to him if we do take the shot, so we weigh up our options. It's at this point we see a barren Roe doe picking her way across a field north of us, out to about 180yds. She's presenting a much nicer shot than the couched CWD, so I'm up on the sticks. She's broadside, so the cross hairs go half way up her body, above the shoulder. The shot lands perfect, and she bolts west, around 30yds before hitting the deck. I'm now on my own for collecting this one, as my mate has to head back for the truck. I gain more important experience here, quickly discovering that she's a big doe, and I'll be hauling her across the field (which is thankfully flat) to a spot where the truck can access. I'll remember to pocket something to aid recovery next time, lesson learned. I was blowing by the time he arrived with the truck, she really was a big doe. We weighed her in before getting her in the larder later, 42.5lbs!
It's been terrific for my first year's stalking. I have learned so much, and the benefit of a little knowledge is that you also quickly understand how much more there is to learn! I've been humbled by the deer a few times already, and have gained a real appreciation for them. They are smart, majestic creatures, and are a joy to watch, even when you're not intending to pull the trigger. The rut was a real experience to watch in August, I thoroughly understand why stalkers get buck fever now!
Well done if you've read through my rambling, and thank you for providing an excellent resource of information here for those who are new to stalking. It's been a hugely beneficial repository to reference, and has helped and encouraged me on my journey to becoming a hopefully competent stalker. I'm optimistic 2026 will be the year I am able to obtain an FAC, and if I'm very, very lucky, perhaps even some stalking ground of my own.
(although I'm sure the guys with reds laugh at me when I post about heavy fallow)
I suppose I'll be filling out my stalking log whenever I get back anyway, I can keep that 'matter of fact' and add in all the detail here.
