I recently got invited out for an evenings stalk to to shoot muntjac with Chiltern Sporting. He wasn’t being altruistic, he wanted to take someone out who could do a write up of the stalk and be objective and then hopefully say nice things. Aw well, let’s see how we get on shall we?
Now, in between being invited out and the actual date we were to meet, I managed to do my back and was walking around for a few weeks like I had pooped myself. You know the feeling? You turn over in the bed and scream!!!
Not feeling the best or really wanting to be carrying a rifle around I arranged for a newbie to take my place as that would be a good experience for a new stalker and I would simply tag along and listen in which would mean I could concentrate on note taking.
Unfortunately events transpired against me and my newbie friend pulled out (doesn’t he know people would mug me for a free stalk?). Anyway rather than cancel I said that I would come in and take over despite my obvious frailty. That is the physical not mental, thanks for asking.
Now it would be nice to think he chose me because of my years of pretending, err knowing what I’m on about but in reality, he already knew me as I have taken him out on my land for both rabbits and deer. So he was paying me back.
Declarations of interest up front. You there, we don't know each other do we? No Dad….
But that aside if I didn’t think it was good enough I wouldn’t write this article. Well not unless there was some green stuff changing hands, wink wink.
The rules were simple, I would meet him at a predefined location and he would treat me as a sort of new client. Whilst exercising social distancing. We were still to keep our distance at 2 meters.
On the day, I arrived a bit early and had a cup of tea whilst waiting. I carry a flask these days. Priorities. Tom arrived not long after, so quick chat and then off to see if I could hit a barn door at 100 yards, which, I was happy to do as the rifle had been apart so I could oil the stock over the lockdown and this gave me a chance to check zero. As I expected, the rifle was off, 3 shots later and ready to go. So everything not needed was packed away in the vehicle (Even my cuppa) and off for a mooch.
Now before I go into the stalk let me try to give you the lie of the land. A mixture of fields surrounded on 2 to 3 sides with trees that were planted in the seventies I think, and then it opens out to arable land with a wide plantation about 40 to 50 yards deep running alongside the motorway.
I have my own predefined idea of when the deer tend to appear on my ground, usually relatively late and often where I’m not. With my ground I tend to know the likely areas, I tend to get an idea when I am out foxing or rabbiting as to what is on the land. So I will try to be there later in the evening, I tend to find with woodland it can be different, they may be more active but may well tend to stay in the woodland in the summer, well why come out in the open when you have loads of lovely food in the woods itself? My experience only, feel free to disagree if you like.
I like highseats because, again on my land you can get comfortable and see over a good area, let nature settle down and so you don’t cause disturbance and of course you can always get down and move towards the deer if they are not where you want them to be. Highseat positioning is all important.
Anyway it can be different on a paid stalk, with the guide under pressure to get results for the client. So they may feel the need to walk and if nothing is there then move on. How many times have I moved from a spot to look back and, oh look, it has now come out, if I had just stayed there.
We started off and walked along field hedge lines making our way slowly to the edge of the woodland and after about twenty minutes we were in the corner and we decided to go around the woodland and have a look down the track which separates the woodland from the motorway. Just in time to bump into a nice healthy roe buck with dried velvet still dangling from parts of his antlers despite the fact they should have been long cleaned. (Not on tonight’s list) We left him to it and moved back around to the other side of the woodland where it opened out to the fields. We walked slowly down, stopping and scanning, There were loads of small Muntie sized gaps along the woodland with tracks leading out to the field but they just seemed to be hiding from us.
About the halfway point my back was really giving me gyp so we sat down to watch the world go by. I like these moments, I tend to find them quite productive because if you sit there quietly then nature settles down and just gets on with it. After a while, maybe 15 minutes or so we heard rustling behind us in the wood, I would guess less than 3 meters away. No chance we would ever get in there to see what it was as the branches were too close together, so we just sat there looking out.
Off in the distance, 2 roe feeding in the neighbours field about 1,000 yards away, a couple or kites flying overhead , apparently they have a nest in the trees here and are welcomed despite there being a pheasant shoot there. Try telling that to the antis.
Once my back was feeling a bit better we continued down the line coming nearly to a point where the woodland was L shaped. Decided that was as good a place as any to loiter for a while to see if anything fancied showing. And show they did, 2 more sodding Roe bucks popped out of one side of the woodland and ran off into the L of the wood. Things appeared not to be going to plan.Well not my plan, that’s for sure.
Crossing over the track and through a gap we walked down another hedge line. Looking over into the sheltered field bounded on three sides by woods we saw a roe doe with 2 kids being followed by a fallow pricket, yes that’s right a, fallow pricket. He seemed intrigued by the kids and he kept chasing one. He didn’t look like he was trying to kill it, just looked…... confused. What is it? Can I play with it? The stray pricket lost the kid in the field. Anyone seen this before? New one to me. We watched this go on for about twenty minutes until the kid was safely reunited with it’s mother and the pricket disappeared off in a different direction to the roe.
Continuing along the hedge line we were losing the light and as we slowly headed back towards the cars and looking between a gap in the hedge line we spotted 2 foxes despite the fact that we were talking loudly as we were about 20 yards from the cars and I was thinking about my next cuppa.
You could do me a favour and shoot one of them if you like. Righty ho then.
One fox down, no munties removed, but plenty of wildlife there, that is for sure.
So overall impressions.
I liked the way he pointed things out, the tracks etc, we discussed pricing and in comparison to pricing some others charge I think his pricing is definitely reasonable,
So good scenery, good company, and good pricing.
You could do a lot worse…….
Now, in between being invited out and the actual date we were to meet, I managed to do my back and was walking around for a few weeks like I had pooped myself. You know the feeling? You turn over in the bed and scream!!!
Not feeling the best or really wanting to be carrying a rifle around I arranged for a newbie to take my place as that would be a good experience for a new stalker and I would simply tag along and listen in which would mean I could concentrate on note taking.
Unfortunately events transpired against me and my newbie friend pulled out (doesn’t he know people would mug me for a free stalk?). Anyway rather than cancel I said that I would come in and take over despite my obvious frailty. That is the physical not mental, thanks for asking.
Now it would be nice to think he chose me because of my years of pretending, err knowing what I’m on about but in reality, he already knew me as I have taken him out on my land for both rabbits and deer. So he was paying me back.
Declarations of interest up front. You there, we don't know each other do we? No Dad….
But that aside if I didn’t think it was good enough I wouldn’t write this article. Well not unless there was some green stuff changing hands, wink wink.
The rules were simple, I would meet him at a predefined location and he would treat me as a sort of new client. Whilst exercising social distancing. We were still to keep our distance at 2 meters.
On the day, I arrived a bit early and had a cup of tea whilst waiting. I carry a flask these days. Priorities. Tom arrived not long after, so quick chat and then off to see if I could hit a barn door at 100 yards, which, I was happy to do as the rifle had been apart so I could oil the stock over the lockdown and this gave me a chance to check zero. As I expected, the rifle was off, 3 shots later and ready to go. So everything not needed was packed away in the vehicle (Even my cuppa) and off for a mooch.
Now before I go into the stalk let me try to give you the lie of the land. A mixture of fields surrounded on 2 to 3 sides with trees that were planted in the seventies I think, and then it opens out to arable land with a wide plantation about 40 to 50 yards deep running alongside the motorway.
I have my own predefined idea of when the deer tend to appear on my ground, usually relatively late and often where I’m not. With my ground I tend to know the likely areas, I tend to get an idea when I am out foxing or rabbiting as to what is on the land. So I will try to be there later in the evening, I tend to find with woodland it can be different, they may be more active but may well tend to stay in the woodland in the summer, well why come out in the open when you have loads of lovely food in the woods itself? My experience only, feel free to disagree if you like.
I like highseats because, again on my land you can get comfortable and see over a good area, let nature settle down and so you don’t cause disturbance and of course you can always get down and move towards the deer if they are not where you want them to be. Highseat positioning is all important.
Anyway it can be different on a paid stalk, with the guide under pressure to get results for the client. So they may feel the need to walk and if nothing is there then move on. How many times have I moved from a spot to look back and, oh look, it has now come out, if I had just stayed there.
We started off and walked along field hedge lines making our way slowly to the edge of the woodland and after about twenty minutes we were in the corner and we decided to go around the woodland and have a look down the track which separates the woodland from the motorway. Just in time to bump into a nice healthy roe buck with dried velvet still dangling from parts of his antlers despite the fact they should have been long cleaned. (Not on tonight’s list) We left him to it and moved back around to the other side of the woodland where it opened out to the fields. We walked slowly down, stopping and scanning, There were loads of small Muntie sized gaps along the woodland with tracks leading out to the field but they just seemed to be hiding from us.
About the halfway point my back was really giving me gyp so we sat down to watch the world go by. I like these moments, I tend to find them quite productive because if you sit there quietly then nature settles down and just gets on with it. After a while, maybe 15 minutes or so we heard rustling behind us in the wood, I would guess less than 3 meters away. No chance we would ever get in there to see what it was as the branches were too close together, so we just sat there looking out.
Off in the distance, 2 roe feeding in the neighbours field about 1,000 yards away, a couple or kites flying overhead , apparently they have a nest in the trees here and are welcomed despite there being a pheasant shoot there. Try telling that to the antis.
Once my back was feeling a bit better we continued down the line coming nearly to a point where the woodland was L shaped. Decided that was as good a place as any to loiter for a while to see if anything fancied showing. And show they did, 2 more sodding Roe bucks popped out of one side of the woodland and ran off into the L of the wood. Things appeared not to be going to plan.Well not my plan, that’s for sure.
Crossing over the track and through a gap we walked down another hedge line. Looking over into the sheltered field bounded on three sides by woods we saw a roe doe with 2 kids being followed by a fallow pricket, yes that’s right a, fallow pricket. He seemed intrigued by the kids and he kept chasing one. He didn’t look like he was trying to kill it, just looked…... confused. What is it? Can I play with it? The stray pricket lost the kid in the field. Anyone seen this before? New one to me. We watched this go on for about twenty minutes until the kid was safely reunited with it’s mother and the pricket disappeared off in a different direction to the roe.
Continuing along the hedge line we were losing the light and as we slowly headed back towards the cars and looking between a gap in the hedge line we spotted 2 foxes despite the fact that we were talking loudly as we were about 20 yards from the cars and I was thinking about my next cuppa.
You could do me a favour and shoot one of them if you like. Righty ho then.
One fox down, no munties removed, but plenty of wildlife there, that is for sure.
So overall impressions.
I liked the way he pointed things out, the tracks etc, we discussed pricing and in comparison to pricing some others charge I think his pricing is definitely reasonable,
So good scenery, good company, and good pricing.
You could do a lot worse…….
