Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
Hello everyone!
Last week, I realised that the CWD I’d shot was in fact the 20th deer I’d stalked. Well, technically one of those deer was a wild boar, but it’s the stalking that counts. Then someone asked about the sex ratio of deer that people had shot. So I checked, and before I knew it I’d tripped over a spreadsheet and fallen through a nerdhole. It occurred to me that this is exactly the sort of thing that is likely to get the pixels flowing on here, and so I give you My Decade-and-a-Bit of Stalking For The Pot in Seven Charts.
Important Note: this is a based on a weak dataset where the universe is 49 stalking outings, representative only of the 49 stalking outings I’ve been on. I’ve also tried to represent what numbers I have honestly to avoid trouble with @Mungo. No cross-referencing of such a small number of data points can have any statistical significance. It’s just for fun and discussion. Don’t shout at me please.
Chart 1: Summary of all outings. N=49.
Key findings:
1. I have been successful on 41% of occasions with wildly varying distribution.
2. Frequency of stalking has been affected hugely by babies and pandemics, not always negatively.
3. I don’t actually stalk much.
Chart 2: Summary of species stalked. N=20
Key findings:
1. I shoot little deer that fit in my domestic freezer.
2. Fallow bucks are an imaginary animal like unicorns.
Chart 3: Accuracy of my shooting in the field. N=22
Key Findings:
1. I’ve improved. Of the two misses, the first was the first deer I shot at. The liver shot was the first deer I shot. The gut shot was the first and only boar I’ve shot. Not that I’m proud of these.
2. My rifles are plenty accurate enough.
Chart 4: Effect of my shooting in the field. N=22
1. No lost animals. That at least is happy result. Only one serious follow-up needed on that boar. Not an experience I’d care to repeat.
2. It’s not that hard to kill deer cleanly and quickly. Even the runners here only made it a few metres.
Chart 5: Use of venison. N=20
1. I’ve eaten 87.5% of the animals I’ve shot. I’m happy with that too.
2. I don’t like shooting things I won’t eat. It leaves a feeling of incompleteness.
Two more to follow but that should set keyboards wagging hopefully.
Last week, I realised that the CWD I’d shot was in fact the 20th deer I’d stalked. Well, technically one of those deer was a wild boar, but it’s the stalking that counts. Then someone asked about the sex ratio of deer that people had shot. So I checked, and before I knew it I’d tripped over a spreadsheet and fallen through a nerdhole. It occurred to me that this is exactly the sort of thing that is likely to get the pixels flowing on here, and so I give you My Decade-and-a-Bit of Stalking For The Pot in Seven Charts.
Important Note: this is a based on a weak dataset where the universe is 49 stalking outings, representative only of the 49 stalking outings I’ve been on. I’ve also tried to represent what numbers I have honestly to avoid trouble with @Mungo. No cross-referencing of such a small number of data points can have any statistical significance. It’s just for fun and discussion. Don’t shout at me please.
Chart 1: Summary of all outings. N=49.
Key findings:
1. I have been successful on 41% of occasions with wildly varying distribution.
2. Frequency of stalking has been affected hugely by babies and pandemics, not always negatively.
3. I don’t actually stalk much.
Chart 2: Summary of species stalked. N=20
Key findings:
1. I shoot little deer that fit in my domestic freezer.
2. Fallow bucks are an imaginary animal like unicorns.
Chart 3: Accuracy of my shooting in the field. N=22
Key Findings:
1. I’ve improved. Of the two misses, the first was the first deer I shot at. The liver shot was the first deer I shot. The gut shot was the first and only boar I’ve shot. Not that I’m proud of these.
2. My rifles are plenty accurate enough.
Chart 4: Effect of my shooting in the field. N=22
1. No lost animals. That at least is happy result. Only one serious follow-up needed on that boar. Not an experience I’d care to repeat.
2. It’s not that hard to kill deer cleanly and quickly. Even the runners here only made it a few metres.
Chart 5: Use of venison. N=20
1. I’ve eaten 87.5% of the animals I’ve shot. I’m happy with that too.
2. I don’t like shooting things I won’t eat. It leaves a feeling of incompleteness.
Two more to follow but that should set keyboards wagging hopefully.
