General help/info appreciated

Suffolk Shooter

Well-Known Member
Right, this may have been covered elsewhere by other newbie/wannabe stalkers so bear with me if it has been but..................

I'm interested to find out what people think newbies to the sport of stalking should have as bare basic equipment when starting off. Just so you know where I am at I'll tell you.

I am in the process of applying for my FAC, just have to pop round one more referee to get photo's et al signed off. My FLO is looking to arrange meeting for back end of next week/week after. I'm going for co-terminus (SGC/FAC) licence so I know I will have minimum of 6 weeks to wait (at least).

A friend, Monkeyspanker, has kindly agreed to be my mentor (he's DSC1/2, DMQ and I believe an accredited witness :confused: ) to make gaining my FAC easier as I'm going for both .22 (vermin) and .243 (Fox and Deer). As I discussed with him, I'd like to eventually do DSC1/2, but financial reasons don't allow me to do so at the moment, plus there is nothing like actually being outside doing something to give you the true experience.

I have trawled the BDS and DMQ websites for info and today brought Graham Downings (Fellow Suffolkian) Deer Stalking book on Amazon which should be delivered tomorrow. I have all the clothing gear except boots as I need a new set (Well its a good excuse, just don't tell the wife 8) ).

I'll worry about the gun itself once the FAC comes through and I've consulted MS when I've found one I like.

I have watched and indeed skinned deer myself (muntjac & Roe) with another friend of mine. Never actually shot (or at) one or gralloched one in the field though.

So rather than me pester MS for all the info, I'd like to hear what you other guys/Gals are recommending from your experiences. After all we all started out not owning or knowing anything before we began shooting.

SS
 
Get the Best Practice guide from the Deer Comission for Scotland. You go veiw it on-line or buy a hard copy all laminated for £ 15.
It goes through everything from shot placement , gralloch etc.
www.dcs.gov.uk

A good place to start reading up.

All the best
Jonathon
 
Buy the essentials then add to your set up. Monkey spanker will point you in the right direction, use his recommendations and hopefully the shop will reward him for putting business their way.
To give you an example. You have a budget of £2000 and you spend £1000 on a rifle, £500 on a pair of binos and £350 on "accessories"
This would only leave you with £150 for a scope.
Now, you can spot it, you can dress it and you could of shot it if you could see it properly through the scope.
See what i mean!!
Put up a few "Wanted" adds up, you`ll be surprised what some folk can come up with.
The list is endless, spend wisely as you don`t need it all at once. Trust your mentor and you won`t go far wrong.
basil.
 
Hi SS

I was in your posistion a year & a half ago & the best advice I took was buy the best scope & knife you can afford, the rest will follow naturally bit by bit as you get more into this stalking malarkey. :D

After a lot or research I took the 6.5x55 route & have certainly not regretted it.

As Jonathon has said The DCS Best Practice Guides are a very good source of info, I use them a lot.

Best of luck

Chris
 
Why is it that I never see anyone advise new stalkers to go to a range with at least a 100 metre distance and see if they can actually hit the target with these high powered rifles ? You can have all the best gear in the world but it's no good if you miss, or worse still, wound a deer.

This is not a malicious post at all - just trying to bring a point of focus to the aquisition of a seriously deadly weapon.
 
To start with, nothing needs to be brand new, that keeps initial costs down. If you start with a good second hand rifle and look after it, it should keep its value. Try and get the best scope you can afford. This could be Swaro, S&B, Meopta, Bushnell Elite, Leupold, doctor. The meopta and bushnell elite are excellent scopes at a fraction of the price of a swaro. Great to get started with.
One of the best knives I have ever owned cost me £7, and I still carry it as a spare to my Puma. If I lose it who cares!!
Again with the binos, buy the best you can afford. With you living in East Anglia, I dont think you need to concern yourself with foul weather and constantly misting glass that we in Scotland might have to think about, but buy the best you can afford and again go down the second hand route to save yourself a few hundred quid. Eventually, like the people that have done it for years, then you can save up and spoil yourself.

I buy many of my items second hand and they can see years of service when looked after.

By the way, if you go to looking at a 6.5 I will have a Pro Hunter mk2 (Steyr Mannlicher) for sale on my return from my travels. PM me for price details, but I guarantee it will not disappoint.

Cheers,

J
 
Sound advice from jingzy, new is nice but not necessary. Take your time and choose spend wisely. A good second hand rifle and optics will do you very well, bino's may be more difficult to find second hand but they are out there. With regard to knives frost clipper / Moreno and the like about a tenners worth can't go wrong, cheap enough to be lost without tears.

John
 
Blot,

Just so you know, I have shot plenty of FAC over 1000 yards at Bisley stickledown and century, ok NATO ammo and certainly not 1000's of rounds (I know there is nothing like the real thing and "Buck Fever"), and your post is not taken the wrong way, trust me. My air rifle is re-zero'd everytime I go out, and whilst not practical with a rifle when out stalking, it will be zero'd just the same before I do and then trust in the scope as we all do when out). I've also shot the running deer a number of times at Bisley, but won't even be thinking about doing that sort of thing when out in the field.

Guys,

Thanks for the advice, it is all welcome. I will be going down the 2nd hand route for both .22 and .243. Bino's I have for my Pigeon shooting/general outdoors. A decent knife I have as well, one that I made as well!

Basil,

I hope the shop doesn't reward him too much as I reckon I shop there more than he does (Except for the clay club kit he buys).

Frax,

Cheers for the link, I just knew someone would have done it before me :lol:

Keep it coming, I'm like a sponge ;)

SS
 
The guys offer good advice.

I would recommend a decent synthetic rifle in 6.5x55. Does not need to be expensive or new. Howa, Mannlicher or Sauer in rising cost. Any will be fine. Make sure it is threaded for a mod.

I would always suggest a good second hand fixed power scope over a variable. 6x42, 7x50 or 8x56 from meopta or one of the german / austrian makers. Check out this guy for scopes: http://www.rmacleod.co.uk/shoptics.htm.

The nest Bino you can afford - Minox seem to be hard to beat for the price.

A good knife or two - you will lose them.

Warm boots and coat. Gloves and a hat with a peak or brim.

Spend several weekends putting as much lead down range at targets as you can afford to get familiar and confident with the new rifle.
 
If it were me i would get all the study material for the DMQ 1 and make sure that i not only studied but that i sat and past it. It is the manual to deerstalking and before you go out with Monkey wpanker you real should be up to speed with the safety side of stalking witch is nothing like shooting at Bisley.With regards the other stuff the best knifes are only a £5 and will work better than any expencive on rifle a reasonable rifle will do the job . That said top scope and binoculars should be bought from the out set they will be with you forever and will move from rifle to rifle and even if you hate deerstalking a good set a binoculars will always be handy.
 
suffolk shooter as for stalking sticks
just come back from the garden centre two plastic canes
three pounds sixty pence and thats all i use
twist a pipe seal or inner tube around and ajust for height
not that im a tight wad all my optics are swaros
just everything dosent have to be expensive
regards pete .
 
ss
this is all goog advice the other the other site member have given you !

ive got an old roe sack i can give you , needs a new washable lineing but ure welcome to it ...... that will get the pinifore government ( the other half .lol ) off my back !
live in south norfolk not far from diss can post or you want to pick it up , up to you
its in good servicale nick and ure if you want it just drop me a pm
lee
 
A coppy of DEER: Law & Liabilities by charlie parkes & john thornley .
Everything from the use of firearms to deers leagal status and ownership yours Martyn52
 
Back
Top