Aaaargh! I can't get this not so stupid Deer!

[njc110381]

Well I'm back home again. Went out at dusk to sort out a Roe and her family who have been completely destroying one of my clients gardens. Four times I've been out now and three times she's been making her way through the electric fence just as I get into view.

Now - I don't claim to be the worlds best stalker but this is getting daft! I can usually walk right up to a Deer if I want to but not this one! Wind in my favour, moving that slowly and quietly I could be dead etc etc but no, she still has me sussed! Every time!

Any tips besides land mines?

 

[cyberstag]

Turn up the voltage on the electric fence

 

[njc110381]

It's getting close to that!

I've never felt this sort of pressure to get the job done before. My stalking is usually very informal and pretty much "whenever I fancy one for the pot" rather than needing to cull to a plan etc. This is driving me crazy! I just don't understand why when I go out and I'm not bothered I will almost always see a Deer? I crosshair probably 25 Deer for every one I shoot because I only like to take what I need to and really I'm out on Squirrel patrol most of the time!

I think tomorrow I will settle in a bivvi bag under some grass cuttings in the compost area well before dusk. Hopefully she will walk right into me and I can at least take one of her kids. Am I right in thinking she will move on if she loses one of her young in an area, or will she hold her territory and carry on as normal?

 

[stone]

will you stop ****ing about
you hav a pattern that she follows , you hav an area that she frequents
you even know her escape route

the one thing you don't know is the quarry you are trying to hunt
learn that and you hav the answer and solution

if you shoot one of her kids.. no she will not leave her territory if that is what it is, it might just be a food source that she has locked into
if you work out her feeding pattern you will hav an idea of when you need to be on the ground
but I reckon if you were there for 2ish you would probably catch her feeding and not lay up
the point is with a lot of ready available food she will not need to be stood feeding to long before she was full
I reckon about 20-30 mins feeding and she would lay up for 2 hours before she fed again and then just before dark she would feed up again
but good luck anyway

 

[njc110381]

You're right there. That's why I thought I'd ask here. I shoot some Deer casually and know how to deal with them but I'm not a stalker - never really claimed to be. I've only had my FAC for three years and most of my shooting is bunnies and Foxes so I've got a lot to learn still.

She isn't there earlier, I do know that. She comes in from the common for shelter and maybe supper just before dark. Then she settles in for the night it seems. It's on the side of a steep and open hill so the garden with all its shrubs and hedges offers a nice cosy bed for the night and a tasty snack.

What I don't get is why she's so sensitive to me? I can usually manage to stalk in to Deer and take them and that's the tactic I've been using. I know when she'll be there and a choice of two places she will be but I just can't get close! The thing that really worries me is that I've been in at night to see if she's still there (to see if I could have better luck in the morning) but any sign of a lamp and she's off like a rocket. Someone around here isn't playing the game fairly because usually they just sit there and look at you!

EDIT... I should add that when she enters she walks right past my safe firing point. If I try to ambush her there's a very good chance she will wind me because I can't shoot from anywhere else safely. The house is on the edge of a village so shooting away is ok but there's no way I can do it any other way. Stalking in is by far the best option unless I can cover my scent somehow with something stronger?

 

[Mannlicher_Stu]

Next time you wash your clothes do it in pure soap flakes ,if the clothes you are wearing is washed with normal washing powder you will be standing out to the doe like a flashing beacon ,better still if your concerned about the scent your giving off, next time you shoot a deer leave your stalking clothes with its skin on a plastic bag for a few days, you might smell alittle on the high side but you will achieve your goal easier as strange as it may seem, mind you everyone you come into contact with might give you a wide berth.
Good luck

 

[njc110381]

I'll try that. I do use a fairly hippie washing liquid as it is (Ecover) but not sure if that helps? I don't like the "fake flowers" smell of the regular stuff!

I can't remember the last time I washed my stalking clothes anyway. They're covered in all sorts of woodland based crud and make me look like a tramp (a nice natural woodland item kind of tramp).

 

[User00014]

Well I'm back home again. Went out at dusk to sort out a Roe and her family who have been completely destroying one of my clients gardens. Four times I've been out now and three times she's been making her way through the electric fence just as I get into view.

Now - I don't claim to be the worlds best stalker but this is getting daft! I can usually walk right up to a Deer if I want to but not this one! Wind in my favour, moving that slowly and quietly I could be dead etc etc but no, she still has me sussed! Every time!

Any tips besides land mines?

ive got the same problem but with red deer and a beet field !

the blighters come on the field as soon as its dark and leave as soon as there is a speck of sun rise , or the stay on the field but at 350 yds plus !

now i can shoot but i aint no sniper , plus if i do shoot 1 i cant afford any chest shot runners because of a busy road 300yds to the right of my high seat.

so my next plan is to buy a ghuillie suit and come in from the road in the early hrs and cut off there escape providing the winds in the right direction .

the land owner will tollerate 3-4 reds not 20 - 50 of them and their not daft either as soon as they get a whiff of me in any shape and form thier off !!!!

cheers lee

 

[Monkey Spanker]

Next time you wash your clothes do it in pure soap flakes

You wash your stalking clothes?!!
Why would you want to do that?
MS

 

[Mannlicher_Stu]

You wash your stalking clothes?!!
Why would you want to do that?
MS

I only wash them every 12months just like I have an anual bath wether I need it or not just to keep my self humane , but only do my underpants every other year though during this time I make do with the ocasional scrape

 

[ecoman]

The following probably does not apply to this particular situation where the deer needs to come off as of yesterday, but it has often crossed my mind that setting up a suitable shooting hide is something like planting an acorn.

I've seen so often that a place I've been taken-to is a prime shooting spot for deer control but the acorn has never been planted and the tree never grew.

By this I mean - erecting a shooting hide takes a bit of time, and the deer need to get used to it - which also takes time, but once they do - - - - - - .

Of course, maybe one shot in a blue moon so the survivors don't connect fright with the hide, but all the same, if it works - - - - .

Of course, you need the stability of long-term shooting permission.

Softly-softly catchee monkeeeeee !

 

[stone]

You wash your stalking clothes?!!
Why would you want to do that?
MS

you mean people hav designated stalking clothing

might be the solution to the stalking problem

this Deer is probably used to human interaction who wear civvilian clothing such as jeans and T-shirts possibly talking as they walk
now why try and stalk into a deer that is used to that as that sort of behaviour is not the norm and she would soon realise that as possible danger
how about not trying to stalk in at all, but walk in as normal
wearing work clothes or light colours
the moment she pops her head up

 

[njc110381]

Well I won in the end. I decided the best way would be to camoflage myself as a compost heap! I got there early and put my goretex bag in the rubbish heap and climbed into it. They came in same time as always and damn near walked over me. I had to let them walk away 50 yards before the young doe turned to offer me a shot. I hit her head on from a slightly elevated position so the bullet entered beween her legs and exited just in front/below her stomach. She ran 15 yards and toppled over (not that I knew that at the time of the shot as I lost her from view).

I had great fun finding her. She took off like a rocket behind a hedge. I tracked the blood trail and it just stopped. I tried to guess where she'd headed and spent five minutes trying to continue the trail and then I spotted a Deer coloured object right deep under the conifers. She must have dropped and rolled down the hill under the trees!

One down, three to go. One is a Buck though so he'll have to wait.

 

[Jinga]

Someone at work seems to have tracked down a cheap remote camera system. If it is near enough a house to get wifi and you can run the power lead out you could watch your patch from the comfort of an iphone........ Then all you need to do is stalk in with your own surveillance device to help you keep and eye on her when she is in dead ground. THis might qualify as execution SAS style rather than stalking???? You did say they needed exterminating though!!!!!

 

[gentleman jim]

Well I won in the end. I decided the best way would be to camoflage myself as a compost heap! I got there early and put my goretex bag in the rubbish heap and climbed into it. They came in same time as always and damn near walked over me. I had to let them walk away 50 yards before the young doe turned to offer me a shot. I hit her head on from a slightly elevated position so the bullet entered beween her legs and exited just in front/below her stomach. She ran 15 yards and toppled over (not that I knew that at the time of the shot as I lost her from view).

I had great fun finding her. She took off like a rocket behind a hedge. I tracked the blood trail and it just stopped. I tried to guess where she'd headed and spent five minutes trying to continue the trail and then I spotted a Deer coloured object right deep under the conifers. She must have dropped and rolled down the hill under the trees!

One down, three to go. One is a Buck though so he'll have to wait.

well done mate, fair play to ya!!