Following @sikamalc’s giveaway for a novice roe buck stalk the other month, I was able to make it out last week. After driving to Sussex from South Gloucestershire, including a brief stint on the London Orbital “car park”(M25), I felt the anticipation growing as I made my way down the country lanes towards the B+B. I had no idea what to expect having never been out before, but that just added to my excitement. After checking myself in to the B+B I gave Malcolm a ring to let him know I would be with him shortly.
As I arrived at the estate, Malcolm and @Fisherboy were finishing up a spot of lunch. I was welcomed in and we chatted for a while over a cup of tea about my past shooting experience, why I’m interested in stalking, and my plans going forward etc
1800 came around and it was time to go. It would be Jason that guided me. He picked up his .270 Tikka T3x and we made our way to his vehicle. On our way out, I asked if I would have the opportunity to take a few shots at a target beforehand, and was informed it was too late for that. I was slightly worried bout this, as I hadn’t shot for a few years, although I was confident I would be able to get a shot on target.
Upon pulling out, we passed a fallow that had been struck by a car, and had begun to take on a rather offensive aroma. “That’s as good an advert as any to take care driving around here” Jason remarked. We drove for about 5 mins to the first area. We got out, loaded up, and stalked through some woodland out to some arable land. Within 10 mins, we had a call from Malcolm to say he had spotted a mature buck back near to where we started, so we made our way back. After about 40 mins making our way through the pine forest we heard something crashing through the bushes nearby. It turned out to be a group of fallow.
We called it a day in that area and made our way to another farm. As we drove past a gate we saw a flash of reddish brown in the middle of the field. We reversed and parked up for Jason to glass over it. He turned to me, “it’s just a fox taking the ****”. However, we saw some movement further down… hurrah! A roe. We got closer, but it turned out to be a doe. There were a few, in fact.
We made our way to another area and stalked through a couple more fields. Upon turning around, I realised we’d been coming downhill, and that meant going up again… I regretted my limited exercise through lockdown.
As dusk was approaching, we returned to the field in which we saw the doe in the hopes that a buck was nearby. There was, a mature 6 point, yet a great candidate for a cull buck. We climbed the gate in to the field and stalked close to the right hand perimeter as this provided us some tree cover. We set up on the sticks, and noticed the abundance of wildlife that was present. In this one field alone in one evening we had seen 6 foxes, several roe does, our buck, a number of rabbits, birds of prey hovering overhead, and a pheasant strutting about. We were approximately 200m away, and I wasn’t confident I could achieve a humane shot at this range. Jason agreed. We got down and crawled until we were approx 120m away undetected. The buck was laid down, distracted by the doe. We set up once again to ensure I was comfortable to take the shot if one presented. The buck didn’t take long to stand up but seemed to know it was safe as long as it didn’t provide a backstop. A tense wait ensued. “Let me put my phone on silent in case Malcolm calls”, said Jason, a good move as sure enough within 30 secs it was vibrating. “I can’t talk right now Malc - we’re on one”.
After what seemed an eternity, but was more likely to be 30-45 mins, of waiting ready to take a shot, the buck presented beautifully broadside with a safe backstop. I asked Jason if he was happy… safety off… remembered to control my breathing and squeezed the trigger. “Shot mate”, Jason patted me on the back.
I was satisfied that I had hit him straight through the chest at the shoulder. He dropped to the shot. However, as we approached I saw no evidence of him being struck, which disheartened me. “Perhaps he died of a heart attack” Jason suggested. We turned him over nonetheless and saw an exit wound exactly where I thought I’d hit him, and a sense of relief rushed over me. Upon closer inspection, the 6 point buck had 3 additional spikes around his left coronet.
I dragged him to a nearby high seat and Jason performed a suspended gralloch. We then carried him back to the vehicle and drove back to the estate house to show Malcom.
I was still fairly speechless from my first experience I fear I may not have expressed the gratitude I felt as completely as I could have. I returned him to my car and we said farewell. As I was driving out, a group of around 6 fallow ran across the road in front of me. I recalled what Jason had said earlier about careful driving.
I made my way back to the B+B, had a shower, and enjoyed a very comfortable night followed by cereal, toast, tea, and juice in the morning.
After returning home I removed the legs and head to hang in the chiller and currently have the skull boiling away. I will cherish the memory of that evening for years to come as an evening of firsts - First stalk, first roe, first buck, and first time driving to meet a man in the forest I’d only spoken to online!
Thank you guys for a fantastic time, I couldn’t be more greatful.
All the best
J
As I arrived at the estate, Malcolm and @Fisherboy were finishing up a spot of lunch. I was welcomed in and we chatted for a while over a cup of tea about my past shooting experience, why I’m interested in stalking, and my plans going forward etc
1800 came around and it was time to go. It would be Jason that guided me. He picked up his .270 Tikka T3x and we made our way to his vehicle. On our way out, I asked if I would have the opportunity to take a few shots at a target beforehand, and was informed it was too late for that. I was slightly worried bout this, as I hadn’t shot for a few years, although I was confident I would be able to get a shot on target.
Upon pulling out, we passed a fallow that had been struck by a car, and had begun to take on a rather offensive aroma. “That’s as good an advert as any to take care driving around here” Jason remarked. We drove for about 5 mins to the first area. We got out, loaded up, and stalked through some woodland out to some arable land. Within 10 mins, we had a call from Malcolm to say he had spotted a mature buck back near to where we started, so we made our way back. After about 40 mins making our way through the pine forest we heard something crashing through the bushes nearby. It turned out to be a group of fallow.
We called it a day in that area and made our way to another farm. As we drove past a gate we saw a flash of reddish brown in the middle of the field. We reversed and parked up for Jason to glass over it. He turned to me, “it’s just a fox taking the ****”. However, we saw some movement further down… hurrah! A roe. We got closer, but it turned out to be a doe. There were a few, in fact.
We made our way to another area and stalked through a couple more fields. Upon turning around, I realised we’d been coming downhill, and that meant going up again… I regretted my limited exercise through lockdown.
As dusk was approaching, we returned to the field in which we saw the doe in the hopes that a buck was nearby. There was, a mature 6 point, yet a great candidate for a cull buck. We climbed the gate in to the field and stalked close to the right hand perimeter as this provided us some tree cover. We set up on the sticks, and noticed the abundance of wildlife that was present. In this one field alone in one evening we had seen 6 foxes, several roe does, our buck, a number of rabbits, birds of prey hovering overhead, and a pheasant strutting about. We were approximately 200m away, and I wasn’t confident I could achieve a humane shot at this range. Jason agreed. We got down and crawled until we were approx 120m away undetected. The buck was laid down, distracted by the doe. We set up once again to ensure I was comfortable to take the shot if one presented. The buck didn’t take long to stand up but seemed to know it was safe as long as it didn’t provide a backstop. A tense wait ensued. “Let me put my phone on silent in case Malcolm calls”, said Jason, a good move as sure enough within 30 secs it was vibrating. “I can’t talk right now Malc - we’re on one”.
After what seemed an eternity, but was more likely to be 30-45 mins, of waiting ready to take a shot, the buck presented beautifully broadside with a safe backstop. I asked Jason if he was happy… safety off… remembered to control my breathing and squeezed the trigger. “Shot mate”, Jason patted me on the back.
I was satisfied that I had hit him straight through the chest at the shoulder. He dropped to the shot. However, as we approached I saw no evidence of him being struck, which disheartened me. “Perhaps he died of a heart attack” Jason suggested. We turned him over nonetheless and saw an exit wound exactly where I thought I’d hit him, and a sense of relief rushed over me. Upon closer inspection, the 6 point buck had 3 additional spikes around his left coronet.
I dragged him to a nearby high seat and Jason performed a suspended gralloch. We then carried him back to the vehicle and drove back to the estate house to show Malcom.
I was still fairly speechless from my first experience I fear I may not have expressed the gratitude I felt as completely as I could have. I returned him to my car and we said farewell. As I was driving out, a group of around 6 fallow ran across the road in front of me. I recalled what Jason had said earlier about careful driving.
I made my way back to the B+B, had a shower, and enjoyed a very comfortable night followed by cereal, toast, tea, and juice in the morning.
After returning home I removed the legs and head to hang in the chiller and currently have the skull boiling away. I will cherish the memory of that evening for years to come as an evening of firsts - First stalk, first roe, first buck, and first time driving to meet a man in the forest I’d only spoken to online!
Thank you guys for a fantastic time, I couldn’t be more greatful.
All the best
J
I'll know to be more careful for next time. If anyone has any top tips for getting the last couple of stubborn bits of meat from the back/underside or the last tufts of hair from around the coronets I'd really appreciate hearing them 
