Available: FREE stalk opportunity for someone who hasn't shot a deer before.

bloody great offer this!! fair play that man! just out of curiosity, if they are fenced in how would there be a chance of not shooting one? would you not stay there until the opportunity presents or am i missing the point?

atb
 
muntjacmad said:
bloody great offer this!! fair play that man! just out of curiosity, if they are fenced in how would there be a chance of not shooting one? would you not stay there until the opportunity presents or am i missing the point?

atb
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The deer still have to be stalked before they can be shot.
These are not tame deer.
Stalking in a park situation comes with many additional challenges not encountered in the wild.
For example, the deer are likely to be well aware that we are in the park. They'll have heard the gate, if nothing else! So although they may not have seen us they will be on high alert. And with the stocking density being at its highest point of the year right now the chances of not being seen are slim.

There's also the issue of deer behaviour being a bit different in enclosed herds. If spooked, they tend to bunch up in a tight group. Trying to chest shoot one out of a tightly bunched group is challenging due to overlapping bodies. (This is one of the reasons I head shoot, but obviously I won't be asking my guest to do that).

And then there's the fact that there are only a limited number of safe backstops in the park, and unless the deer is in front of one of those backstops the shot is not on.

Plus it's not a case of "see deer shoot deer". We'll be selecting a specific animal from the herd. And wind direction can be an issue too, as we have to enter the park by the same gate whether the wind is blowing on our faces or the backs of our necks.

So yes, you could just stay there until an opportunity presents. But it doesn't always present. Just like in the wild, but for different reasons.
But as I said, if the stalk is unsuccessful the guest will be able to try again another time.
So one way or another, I'm confident that they will get their deer.
 
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VSS said:
I'm not expecting anyone to have extensive prior shooting experience, but on the other hand I don't want to be having to teach someone which end they put on their shoulder and which end they point at the deer. There won't really be time for that. So some previous experience is needed, if only a little.
Likewise, some knowledge of safe shots etc. DSC1 isn't essential, but if someone has DSC1 then I do at least know what their base level of knowledge is, so I'd prefer it. However, I'm happy to consider any of the other options by which someone might have attained the little bit of basic prior knowledge that's required for their name to be put in the hat.
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I've got my shotgun certificate, been shooting clays for a wee while. shot with air rifles for most of my life so i'm good with safety etc.
 
It is a great offer, and please don't think there aren't people here who are appreciative of your offer.

I'd love to throw my name into the hat, even if it is a long run for me to North Wales (guessing that is the location from your profile, as it doesn't state location in the OP), but just so happens I'm already committed to a major birthday celebration for Mum & brother about that time. (Absolutely no chance of a variation on my .308 coming through in time, 10 weeks so far for a 1-4-1 on a moderator...)

Whoever is lucky enough to benefit from the experience will, no doubt, learn a huge amount to help them on their path.

Again, huge kudos to you, @VSS, for making the offer to the SD community.
 
fixedwheel said:
It is a great offer, and please don't think there aren't people here who are appreciative of your offer.

I'd love to throw my name into the hat, even if it is a long run for me to North Wales (guessing that is the location from your profile, as it doesn't state location in the OP), but just so happens I'm already committed to a major birthday celebration for Mum & brother about that time. (Absolutely no chance of a variation on my .308 coming through in time, 10 weeks so far for a 1-4-1 on a moderator...)

Whoever is lucky enough to benefit from the experience will, no doubt, learn a huge amount to help them on their path.

Again, huge kudos to you, @VSS, for making the offer to the SD community.
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Date to be mutually agreed, so no need for you to worry about that. Could be any time, within reason.
Estate rifle provided, so no need for you to worry about your variation, either.

Location may well be a consideration (yes, it's North Wales, as per my profile), but if that doesn't put you off (no passport needed, and most of us speak English), then by all means put your name in the hat
 
VSS said:
I thought so too, but perhaps I've missed the mark somehow? Plenty of likes, but surprisingly little genuine interest so far.
At this rate it's going to decided by a flip of a coin rather than a draw!
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Sad to hear but hopefully someone deserving will take you up on it.

I would throw my hat in the ring for pure fun and bring my custom creedmoor just to upset you...however I have shot plenty of deer and am far to old and grumpy to be considered a newcomer ...plus I am not deserving 😅
 
Cracking offer that is bud, great thing to see.

If I were a little further down the line with my FAC / stalking journey I would absolutely throw my hat in the ring. I've been shooting shotguns (clays and game) for a few years now, and I'm fairly sure of my gun handling / safety (not to take that for granted), but I've yet to complete DSC / PDS, so I probably wouldn't be confident putting myself forward for something like this without at least some formal training / education under my belt.

But it's definitely something I'd consider in the near future, I'm over in Shropshire so not too far from north Wales really.
 
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Getting a few names in the hat now, which is nice.

I'll just answer a few of the questions that are cropping up:

Closed certificate: If you want to bring your own rifle, but only have a closed certificate, that's fine. All of the land here is cleared for far bigger calibres than any of you are likely to have.

"Authenticity" of park stalking experience: As I explained in post #22, stalking deer in an enclosed area has its own unique set of challenges over and above stalking in the wild.
Ok, so there have been occasions when I've shot a deer within 5 minutes of entering the park, but equally (in fact probably more often) there have been times when it's taken me all day, or longer, to get the deer I wanted. So, to settle the question, this evening I did a mock stalk (without rifle). The stalk included an hour and a half of belly crawling to get within range of a shootable animal, and would have been significantly more difficult and time-consuming if encumbered by rifle and sticks. So I reckon that's pretty much on par with any other stalking experience.

What's included: The stalking experience is FREE.
The day of butchery tuition is FREE.
All consumables (eg, vacuum bags, burger ingredients, etc) are FREE.
The only thing you have to pay for is the carcass, which will be at the same price I pay for any carcasses that I buy in. I'm not going to put the detail here (PM me if you want to know), but suffice to say that the value of the venison you take home with you will be more than double what you paid for the carcass (assuming of course that your shot placement is good and we don't have to waste too much).
If the cost of the carcass is likely to be an issue for you let me know, and I'll do my best to get you onto a smaller (ie, not so heavy) deer.

Accommodation: If you want to stay in this area between shooting and cutting up you'll have to make your own arrangements for that, unless you'd like to wild camp somewhere on my farm, in which case it will be FREE (but you'd need to be completely self-contained).

Any more questions, just ask.

I'm going to be busy with farm work for the next week or so, so I'll let this run until end of first week in August before drawing a winner. So there's still time for a few more names to be dropped in the hat.
 
Decent lad. Thats a very generous offer. Love to take it up for the challenge but sadly I’m in another country and have shot a few deer.
 
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Smithyithy said:
Cracking offer that is bud, great thing to see.

If I were a little further down the line with my FAC / stalking journey I would absolutely throw my hat in the ring. I've been shooting shotguns (clays and game) for a few years now, and I'm fairly sure of my gun handling / safety (not to take that for granted), but I've yet to complete DSC / PDS, so I probably wouldn't be confident putting myself forward for something like this without at least some formal training / education under my belt.

But it's definitely something I'd consider in the near future, I'm over in Shropshire so not too far from north Wales really.
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You've got a week to get your post count up if you want to be considered 👍
 
A couple more questions cropping up in PMs, so I'll post them here to save anyone else asking the same:

- Firearms storage: If you're bringing your own rifle, and are planning on staying in the area for a couple of days between shooting and butchering, firearms storage is not a problem. I have space.

- Would I consider offering the same experience for a fee? No.
 
VSS said:
A couple more questions cropping up in PMs, so I'll post them here to save anyone else asking the same:

- Firearms storage: If you're bringing your own rifle, and are planning on staying in the area for a couple of days between shooting and butchering, firearms storage is not a problem. I have space.

- Would I consider offering the same experience for a fee? No.
Click to expand...

Wouldn’t you need to be an RfD to store someone else’s firearm?
 
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