First of all, HNY to all 
Despite still having the tail end of the dreaded lurgy, and still recovering from a nerve issue in my neck, I resolved that I’d get out in the morning on 1 to start 2026 off with a bang.
Dark o’clock saw me nice & settled in a raised ground blind that has a view over a pasture between two woods to the front, a nice wide ride to one side & some regen to the other. The thermal showed a couple of Muntjac at the far end of the ride but too far to do anything other than note their presence. There was a could have small heat sources in the pasture which I assumed to be rabbits & at the back of the regen in the woods there were multiple large heat sources - Fallow with any luck.
The clock ticked into the ‘magic hour’ but nothing was happening, it was cold & frosty, no wind, but the Fallow were all still lying down inside the wood at the end of the regen. A fox trotted across the regen & there was a Muntjac barking behind me to the right as the sun just about started to turn the sky a pale colour to my front. Muntjac on the ride had long since disappeared & there was movement at the back of the regen, nothing serious just the odd animal wondering about. Nothing I could make out with the binos as the light hadn’t come up enough yet, give it another 10 minutes & I’d know what was going on.
Still the clock ticked on & then, out of nowhere, deer in the thermal in the edge of the wood at the side of the pasture. A quick look into the regen & the other lot were still there - OK, I’m going to go with whichever lot appear first! Three shapes out on the edge of the pasture so up comes the rifle, bugger, they’re Roe not Fallow - I have a self imposed rule to leave Roe till February & concentrate on Fallow for the first three months of the doe season. They looked nervous & the first one bolted across the pasture while the other two looked into the wood, then it happened, a Fallow appeared & another in the wood too. The two remaining Roe legged it & the fallow both moved out into the pasture.
I pinged the first one with the LRF & the second aiming mark popped up on the screen so I settled down, squeezed the trigger & ‘bang flop’. Right, where’s the other one? I’d seen it leg it out into the pasture after the shot so scanned across as I reloaded & there it was, a doe walking back towards the one on the deck, foot stomping as she stopped. Another quick ping & the second aiming mark settled before what I was sure was going to be a second ‘bang flop’. Well, the bang bit was right but the reaction to shot was not what I was expecting, the doe didn’t flinch but instead turned 180 degrees in the spot & took off across the pasture at full gallop before disappearing into the wood the other side.
Had I missed? - I played the video back several times, I’d definitely used the second aiming mark & it was definitely in the right place. I wondering if the zero was out so watched the video of the first shot several times & unless it’d lost zero as I reloaded it was all good. So, what had just happened? - a doe that should have been lying on the grass where she’d been stood wasn't! I was confident the shot was good so sat for 15 mins before unloading & heading back to get the Disco, it’s now 0815.
Picked the first Fallow up, a Buck fawn, shot placement bang on & a nice easy recovery. Now to find what I’d now guessed was mum. I’d marked the position she had been stood in as five fence posts left of a water trough so went to the fifth post, lined up with the blind & walked towards it looking for sign. Nothing!? Watched the video back again & realised she was a bit further away from the fence so followed the line a bit more & bingo - blood & lung all over the frosted grass, should be a dead deer, she’s not out in the field so reckon she’ll be dead just inside the wood.
Follow the blood trail across the field & it’s all over the place, first heading left then right then left again before suddenly it’s stopped - wtf, I’m about three quarters of the way across the field & the blood has stopped. I mark the spot by stamping down a big patch of frosted grass & start to cast around in ever increasing circles from that point but still no sign. Pity I’d left the old dog at home as I didn’t think it’d be fair on him, even with his nice dog coat on, to leave him in the car for a couple of hours in freezing temps.
OK, so think about what next - it’s a good hit & shes been pumping out blood so I’m definitely looking for a dead deer, but where? The blood trail just stopped so I’m thinking the exit hole has been blocked up, so where’s the best place to find it again? - wherever she’s gone through the fence as that’s where it’s most likely that body movement will dislodge the blockage. Sure enough, as I walk down the fence line I find blood again & pick up the trail as it goes into the wood, there’s plenty of it & the wood is fairly open so I scan around with the thermal, nothing, & keep following the trail which now looks as if it’s heading for the big ride - if she’d gone across that I’d have seen her surely?
Then the blood thins out, a lot… & I’m looking for tiny spots instead of the big splashes I’d found after the fence. This is where being long sighted & leaving my reading glasses in the car was a mistake! Fortunately, whilst I was struggling to find little spots up close I could see them a bit further away & from a combination of this & disturbed leaves & undergrowth I keep following the trail which has now swung away from the main ride & almost looped back on itself. I keep stopping & scanning with the thermal but nothing - this is a dead deer but where is it? - any minute now I’m going to stand on it! We’re now almost full circle to where she came into the wood & this is hard work. Then I lose the blood again, bugger! So I decide to leave my hat hung on a branch over the last spot I’d found & cast about again - if I need to reset I can come back to the hat & if I pick the trail up I can find the hat easy enough as it’s hanging clearly visible.
Still casting around I decide to look along an access ride the land owner has cut to help with extraction - she’d been heading in that general direction & if she’s crossed the ride I should find some indication & hopefully pick up the trail again. Bingo, not only has she got to the ride she actually went back down it, again doubling back on herself, but this time there was lots of blood to follow. How is she still bleeding like that when she’s come this far? - why can’t I see her either by sight or using the thermal?
I follow the trail for about 20m & it heads off to the side from the ride & into some thick brambles, great this’ll slow her up & I bet she’s hung up in the middle of them. But no, shes not, shes skirted around the edge, little spots of blood here & there but mainly upside down leaves, slot marks & instinct to follow. I’ve now been in this trail for getting on for 45 minutes & I can’t fathom out how I’ve not found a dead doe yet!? Then her path reaches a game trail which has a lot of trade on it, bugger, if shes gone down that I’m going to struggle. I tie my scarf around the branch above where her trail meets this one & start off along it, no sign & I keep on along it for a good 20-30m step by step before deciding she didn’t come this way.
Back to the scarf which I put in my pocket & another cast about, some overturned leaves & bending down it looks like a track but still no blood, I follow & then bingo, shes bumped into a small tree & blood again, yippee! I follow but still no sign of the doe - she must have magic powers to get this far. The trail heads towards some more bramble & suddenly, there she is. As someone I know of old would have said ‘thank fooook for that!’.
The shot placement is exactly where the aiming mark was in the video, there is a hole big enough for me to stick my thumb into on the exit side & it’s in the right place - how did she manage to go what I reckon is getting on for 250-300m in cover, that’s is after crossing the field to start with?
For those who haven’t already guessed, the clue is in that foot stamp just before I squeezed the trigger - her senses were raised big time as she’d watched her fawn drop & her adrenaline was pumping. The lack of reaction to the shot was also a sign of what was to follow. I knew as soon as I could see there was no dead doe out in the pasture that this was going to be a fun follow up.
I drag her out to the nearest access ride & head back to get the Disco.
Both deer sorted & in the chiller, but it’s not over yet… where’s my hat!? It’ll be easy to find it’s hung on a branch not far from that extraction ride. Can I find it, can I heck! Then I get an idea, the dog needs a walk, I’ll go & get him & he can follow the trail from the fence & it’ll lead me to my hat.
The old boy was fast asleep when I go to get him but once he’s in the back of the Disco he knows somethings up. When I open the door the other end he hops out like a dog ten years his junior - normally he has to be lifted out as he doesn’t land well when he gets out under his own steam, he has a cast about then stops for a pee - first things first, before I lead him to the start of the trail. Don’t need to tell him twice, he’s off, boy do I wish I’d just gone to get him in the first place
He makes following the trail I’d been struggling on look like it’s set out with big signs ‘deer this way’ & before long I’ve got my hat back
. I decide to let him keep on the trail as he’s in his element & he follows it right up to the game trail which he then heads down before stopping & looking confused at the next extraction ride. He’s right to be confused, I’d dragged her down that trail before collecting her at the ride so the trail stopped dead at that point.
To me watching that old half deaf, half blind spaniel work that trail with such confidence was pure joy. He’s into his fifteenth year now, he’s showing his age & I know I’m on borrowed time with him so I’m making the most of it while I can.
Despite still having the tail end of the dreaded lurgy, and still recovering from a nerve issue in my neck, I resolved that I’d get out in the morning on 1 to start 2026 off with a bang.
Dark o’clock saw me nice & settled in a raised ground blind that has a view over a pasture between two woods to the front, a nice wide ride to one side & some regen to the other. The thermal showed a couple of Muntjac at the far end of the ride but too far to do anything other than note their presence. There was a could have small heat sources in the pasture which I assumed to be rabbits & at the back of the regen in the woods there were multiple large heat sources - Fallow with any luck.
The clock ticked into the ‘magic hour’ but nothing was happening, it was cold & frosty, no wind, but the Fallow were all still lying down inside the wood at the end of the regen. A fox trotted across the regen & there was a Muntjac barking behind me to the right as the sun just about started to turn the sky a pale colour to my front. Muntjac on the ride had long since disappeared & there was movement at the back of the regen, nothing serious just the odd animal wondering about. Nothing I could make out with the binos as the light hadn’t come up enough yet, give it another 10 minutes & I’d know what was going on.
Still the clock ticked on & then, out of nowhere, deer in the thermal in the edge of the wood at the side of the pasture. A quick look into the regen & the other lot were still there - OK, I’m going to go with whichever lot appear first! Three shapes out on the edge of the pasture so up comes the rifle, bugger, they’re Roe not Fallow - I have a self imposed rule to leave Roe till February & concentrate on Fallow for the first three months of the doe season. They looked nervous & the first one bolted across the pasture while the other two looked into the wood, then it happened, a Fallow appeared & another in the wood too. The two remaining Roe legged it & the fallow both moved out into the pasture.
I pinged the first one with the LRF & the second aiming mark popped up on the screen so I settled down, squeezed the trigger & ‘bang flop’. Right, where’s the other one? I’d seen it leg it out into the pasture after the shot so scanned across as I reloaded & there it was, a doe walking back towards the one on the deck, foot stomping as she stopped. Another quick ping & the second aiming mark settled before what I was sure was going to be a second ‘bang flop’. Well, the bang bit was right but the reaction to shot was not what I was expecting, the doe didn’t flinch but instead turned 180 degrees in the spot & took off across the pasture at full gallop before disappearing into the wood the other side.
Had I missed? - I played the video back several times, I’d definitely used the second aiming mark & it was definitely in the right place. I wondering if the zero was out so watched the video of the first shot several times & unless it’d lost zero as I reloaded it was all good. So, what had just happened? - a doe that should have been lying on the grass where she’d been stood wasn't! I was confident the shot was good so sat for 15 mins before unloading & heading back to get the Disco, it’s now 0815.
Picked the first Fallow up, a Buck fawn, shot placement bang on & a nice easy recovery. Now to find what I’d now guessed was mum. I’d marked the position she had been stood in as five fence posts left of a water trough so went to the fifth post, lined up with the blind & walked towards it looking for sign. Nothing!? Watched the video back again & realised she was a bit further away from the fence so followed the line a bit more & bingo - blood & lung all over the frosted grass, should be a dead deer, she’s not out in the field so reckon she’ll be dead just inside the wood.
Follow the blood trail across the field & it’s all over the place, first heading left then right then left again before suddenly it’s stopped - wtf, I’m about three quarters of the way across the field & the blood has stopped. I mark the spot by stamping down a big patch of frosted grass & start to cast around in ever increasing circles from that point but still no sign. Pity I’d left the old dog at home as I didn’t think it’d be fair on him, even with his nice dog coat on, to leave him in the car for a couple of hours in freezing temps.
OK, so think about what next - it’s a good hit & shes been pumping out blood so I’m definitely looking for a dead deer, but where? The blood trail just stopped so I’m thinking the exit hole has been blocked up, so where’s the best place to find it again? - wherever she’s gone through the fence as that’s where it’s most likely that body movement will dislodge the blockage. Sure enough, as I walk down the fence line I find blood again & pick up the trail as it goes into the wood, there’s plenty of it & the wood is fairly open so I scan around with the thermal, nothing, & keep following the trail which now looks as if it’s heading for the big ride - if she’d gone across that I’d have seen her surely?
Then the blood thins out, a lot… & I’m looking for tiny spots instead of the big splashes I’d found after the fence. This is where being long sighted & leaving my reading glasses in the car was a mistake! Fortunately, whilst I was struggling to find little spots up close I could see them a bit further away & from a combination of this & disturbed leaves & undergrowth I keep following the trail which has now swung away from the main ride & almost looped back on itself. I keep stopping & scanning with the thermal but nothing - this is a dead deer but where is it? - any minute now I’m going to stand on it! We’re now almost full circle to where she came into the wood & this is hard work. Then I lose the blood again, bugger! So I decide to leave my hat hung on a branch over the last spot I’d found & cast about again - if I need to reset I can come back to the hat & if I pick the trail up I can find the hat easy enough as it’s hanging clearly visible.
Still casting around I decide to look along an access ride the land owner has cut to help with extraction - she’d been heading in that general direction & if she’s crossed the ride I should find some indication & hopefully pick up the trail again. Bingo, not only has she got to the ride she actually went back down it, again doubling back on herself, but this time there was lots of blood to follow. How is she still bleeding like that when she’s come this far? - why can’t I see her either by sight or using the thermal?
I follow the trail for about 20m & it heads off to the side from the ride & into some thick brambles, great this’ll slow her up & I bet she’s hung up in the middle of them. But no, shes not, shes skirted around the edge, little spots of blood here & there but mainly upside down leaves, slot marks & instinct to follow. I’ve now been in this trail for getting on for 45 minutes & I can’t fathom out how I’ve not found a dead doe yet!? Then her path reaches a game trail which has a lot of trade on it, bugger, if shes gone down that I’m going to struggle. I tie my scarf around the branch above where her trail meets this one & start off along it, no sign & I keep on along it for a good 20-30m step by step before deciding she didn’t come this way.
Back to the scarf which I put in my pocket & another cast about, some overturned leaves & bending down it looks like a track but still no blood, I follow & then bingo, shes bumped into a small tree & blood again, yippee! I follow but still no sign of the doe - she must have magic powers to get this far. The trail heads towards some more bramble & suddenly, there she is. As someone I know of old would have said ‘thank fooook for that!’.
The shot placement is exactly where the aiming mark was in the video, there is a hole big enough for me to stick my thumb into on the exit side & it’s in the right place - how did she manage to go what I reckon is getting on for 250-300m in cover, that’s is after crossing the field to start with?
For those who haven’t already guessed, the clue is in that foot stamp just before I squeezed the trigger - her senses were raised big time as she’d watched her fawn drop & her adrenaline was pumping. The lack of reaction to the shot was also a sign of what was to follow. I knew as soon as I could see there was no dead doe out in the pasture that this was going to be a fun follow up.
I drag her out to the nearest access ride & head back to get the Disco.
Both deer sorted & in the chiller, but it’s not over yet… where’s my hat!? It’ll be easy to find it’s hung on a branch not far from that extraction ride. Can I find it, can I heck! Then I get an idea, the dog needs a walk, I’ll go & get him & he can follow the trail from the fence & it’ll lead me to my hat.
The old boy was fast asleep when I go to get him but once he’s in the back of the Disco he knows somethings up. When I open the door the other end he hops out like a dog ten years his junior - normally he has to be lifted out as he doesn’t land well when he gets out under his own steam, he has a cast about then stops for a pee - first things first, before I lead him to the start of the trail. Don’t need to tell him twice, he’s off, boy do I wish I’d just gone to get him in the first place
He makes following the trail I’d been struggling on look like it’s set out with big signs ‘deer this way’ & before long I’ve got my hat back
. I decide to let him keep on the trail as he’s in his element & he follows it right up to the game trail which he then heads down before stopping & looking confused at the next extraction ride. He’s right to be confused, I’d dragged her down that trail before collecting her at the ride so the trail stopped dead at that point.To me watching that old half deaf, half blind spaniel work that trail with such confidence was pure joy. He’s into his fifteenth year now, he’s showing his age & I know I’m on borrowed time with him so I’m making the most of it while I can.
(just don’t tell Mrs DB as she’s looking forward to a dog hair free house… 
).
Cracking read - thank you for posting.
Nowhere as challenging as yours, but I quickly caught up with it and despatched it. Just one of those shots in my case.
