Getting started: The journey from a beginner to an advanced stalker

[GaelicStalker]

Hi all,

I am new to deer stalking and am undertaking my DSC1 next month as my first step towards being a competent stalker. I was wondering if some more experienced stalkers might share what their route to proficiency in deer stalking and management looked like, and the steps they took, be it courses, lots of practical experience or a combination of the two.

My end goal is to be a skilled, self-sufficient stalker with a well rounded knowledge of all things involved from gralloching to conservation. Any insights and stories are more than welcome and I look forward to learning from you all.

Best wishes,

 

[Outstanding in my field]

I’m not experienced by any stretch, but have learned the most by being out with more experienced stalkers. Books and youtube will only take you so far.

 

[308tikka]

Having a mentor who accompanies you speeds the process up, helps you avoid making common mistakes and gently gets you to think about the process.

You can also do some courses, such as Intermediate Deer Stalker post-DSC1 but it is no different from being guided by a mentor

 

[VSS]

In this order:
First, get out stalking with an experienced guide.
Second, do DSC1.
Third, get out stalking again with an experienced guide.
Fourth, repeat the third step several times.

 

[308tikka]

Also most people start off with too much kit as they watch youtube videos littered with product placement.

You need basic kit, thats all.

 

[gixer1]

also spend time going out with binoculars only…you don’t need a rifle to gain experience stalking deer, looking at them, learning the different shapes.

I started off doing lots of vermin control rabbits and foxes and would sit i high seats for hours watching deer and the way they behave.

You can play the “how close can I get” game and not need to shoot! And the good thing is you can do this on any public land!

 

[Stalker62]

My end goal is to be a skilled, self-sufficient stalker with a well rounded knowledge of all things involved from gralloching to conservation. Any insights and stories are more than welcome and I look forward to learning from you all.

Admirable.

DSCI is a decent place to start.
Get out as much as you can - everyone has something to teach you - you can teach everyone something.

Surrender all thoughts of a happy home-life.
Accept that most women (insert preferred pronoun) will hate the sight and smell of your 'outdoor' clothes.

When you finally buy your first rifle, you will soon find that it is lonely and you will need to buy it several friends.
Reloading - to be avoided like a elderly Uncle at a wedding.

It is a long, long journey. You will never arrive at the destination, so enjoy every moment of that journey.

You will need a 4x4. Do not buy a Landrover. There are plenty of "foreign' 4x4s that are much, much better, than a Landrover.
If you do not buy a Landrover - you are not a real Stalker and real Stalkers will shun you.

Your home County will soon seem small. You will feel drawn to Scotland.
The price of driving to Scotland will ensure any children you have, are denied a Private education, and damned to State schooling. They will not thank you for it.
Your first wife will blame you for their subsequent poor job prospects.

A few years down the line, and suddenly Scotland seems too small. What then?

Africa.

Africa is the answer. It is horrendously expensive, hard to get there and you will spend some of your unhappiest hours in Jo'Burg (which in a world of hate and Hell) is the shittiest place on the planet.

Africa is the 'crack cocaine' of Stalking. You think you can just 'try it once' and walk away. You fool. Go there once, and you are addicted for life.

Nothing else matters. Friends, family, home or career - you will do anything for your next 'fix' of Africa...


I am lost and beyond salvation. My life has been an unhappy series of disasters - all because of stalking.

You are young. It is not too late for you. You can still turn your face away...

 

[VSS]

also spend time going out with binoculars only…you don’t need a rifle to gain experience stalking deer, looking at them, learning the different shapes.

Definitely this ^^^
When I was first getting into stalking I took to carrying my binoculars all the time when out and about doing my usual daily stuff, until carrying them and using them became second nature. As an added bonus, I also learned to enjoy my immediate surroundings a lot more as a result.

 

[GaelicStalker]

Admirable.

DSCI is a decent place to start.
Get out as much as you can - everyone has something to teach you - you can teach everyone something.

Surrender all thoughts of a happy home-life.
Accept that most women (insert preferred pronoun) will hate the sight and smell of your 'outdoor' clothes.

When you finally buy your first rifle, you will soon find that it is lonely and you will need to buy it several friends.
Reloading - to be avoided like a elderly Uncle at a wedding.

It is a long, long journey. You will never arrive at the destination, so enjoy every moment of that journey.

You will need a 4x4. Do not buy a Landrover. There are plenty of "foreign' 4x4s that are much, much better, than a Landrover.
If you do not buy a Landrover - you are not a real Stalker and real Stalkers will shun you.

Your home County will soon seem small. You will feel drawn to Scotland.
The price of driving to Scotland will ensure any children you have, are denied a Private education, and damned to State schooling. They will not thank you for it.
Your first wife will blame you for their subsequent poor job prospects.

A few years down the line, and suddenly Scotland seems too small. What then?

Africa.

Africa is the answer. It is horrendously expensive, hard to get there and you will spend some of your unhappiest hours in Jo'Burg (which in a world of hate and Hell) is the shittiest place on the planet.

Africa is the 'crack cocaine' of Stalking. You think you can just 'try it once' and walk away. You fool. Go there once, and you are addicted for life.

Nothing else matters. Friends, family, home or career - you will do anything for your next 'fix' of Africa...


I am lost and beyond salvation. My life has been an unhappy series of disasters - all because of stalking.

You are young. It is not too late for you. You can still turn you face away...

Thanks for commenting, I enjoyed the read and advice haha! Funnily enough, I grew up in Johannesburg so at least I have some experience there.

 

[Jamouk]

I quite liked Johannesburg personally

 

[Sealgair nam fiadh]

A bheil Gaidhlig agad?

 

[NullMac]

The only people I have met who I would describe as advanced have been full time professionals. The best amateur guys I have met I would describe as competent. Nothing wrong with that and I have not met everybody !

It's a really good question and a really good start.

DSC1
After that you need to learn to a) Spot Deer b) Stalk c) Shoot and d) Prepare deer for the food chain. So there are 4 skills you can break out and practice individually as well as collectively when you are out stalking.

You need to learn off people that really know what they are doing. Paid stalks are great as a) you get some stalking in and b) you have several hours with someone who knows his stuff and is (generally) very happy to share/show/coach and c) maybe has a larder that you can learn in. Don't be shy in telling him/her what you don't know and what you would like to learn. Go with different people, in different areas, for different species. There are always things to learn.

Having said that, it is another step up having to do it all for yourself. So after a while you need to find your own ground. That's when you really learn to think and act a bit like a deer so your success probability increases. Probably worth still doing some paid stalking preferably for the same species on similar ground, then you will be more aware of the things he does that you don't.

Get your own gear so you can get familiar with it, particularly rifle and scope. Shoot a lighter recoiling rifle to start with so 65CM or similar in a normal rifle not a 300WM in a Featherlite. Other than rifle/scope/mod/sling all you need are bipod/sticks, drag rope, sharp knife, boots and clothes. Could argue dog? Defo not rucksacks, belts, wind puffers, butt outs etc

Do the deer a favour and go learn to shoot properly please. Join a rifle club? Learn the fundamentals. Get a load of rounds down range until your are properly confident, not stupidly confident. Humane killing is at the heart of stalking, gone are the days of the "sporting" shot. Like all other forms of shooting if you put stuff on the ground without any drama you will get asked back and get opportunities that others don't.

If you are lucky enough to have a mate that can help you with all of that buy him a nice Christmas present !

 

[Utectok]

Always listen to people with experience you will learn a lot. I’m no expert but I think having your own ground or a modestly priced syndicate is really helpful because you can do a lot of stalking and his really helps. Paid guided stalking is useful and a good start but it’s not till you really start doing it by yourself that you take on board all that’s required to put deer in the freezer. There will be lots a guide does without thinking about and all the little things you only learn by doing it.
Invite skilled stalkers to go with you if allowed on your ground they will enjoy a change and teach you for free!
Dsc1 and 2 are useful even if it might be because of the people you meet !
By the time you’ve shot 50 or so a few of the skills will be second nature. Remember to enjoy the journey!

 

[Erik Hamburger]

Go out in the woods and countryside and spent some time stalking deer and photographing them.
The skills required are the same, whether you're making a picture or taking a shot.
However you do not have to deal with the huge pain of finding a permission and getting a FAC, rifle, and a deer condition on your FAC.

Enjoying it? Have a look at:

• DSC1 course
• Multiple outings with a professional guide.
• Some target shooting sessions on deer targets on a range, under professional instruction.
• Get some butchery skills.
• Get a more advanced Food Hygiene certification than the DSC1 offers...
• Do the 1-day EFAW+Forestry First Aid course
• Consider what you will do with a carcass once you have shot your first deer: Own Larder fridge? Game-dealer? Consider extraction of the larger deer species (how?) and transport.

 

[GaelicStalker]

A bheil Gaidhlig agad?

Tha mi a' gabhail leasanan. But not very good yet!

 

[Jon P]

I quite liked Johannesburg personally

Bloody awful place - can’t even go for a pee without being accosted in the toilets by someone for money.- The officials are a lot more obliging when you palm there hand with silver. We got an 8 hours wait there on our trip home this year. , Africa trip is still worth it though

 

[Sealgair nam fiadh]

Feumaidh tu toiseachadh an aiteigin

 

[Pine Marten]

Welcome GaelicStalker!

After a decade-and-a-bit of stalking, it’s clear to me that what experience and proficiency you gain depends a lot on what you have the opportunity to practice. In my case, I live in London and have a young family (although when I started this I didn’t, but I didn’t have any transport: similar sort of impact on ability to actually go stalking). I started out doing DSC1 when I’d been stalking maybe a couple of times. This was to do with availability of courses, I took the one I could make, but also I had to start somewhere and apart from books and magazines and this forum, I didn’t actually have anyone to show me the ropes, so it seemed a good place to start. It was, again, down quite a lot to opportunity and context. Since then, let’s say I have been out stalking maybe 50-60 times. Doesn’t seem like much for a decade, but that’s what I could do. I don’t have my own ground, and it wouldn’t be sensible to take it on as I don’t have the ability to commit to looking after it properly. So I did lots of paid stalks, still do the odd one, over time I’ve had more invitations, it sort of snowballs. One thing I have not had the chance to do is stalk much on my own (except high seats). It has happened on occasion, but not really enough to be confident that I’m self-sufficient. The chances are I could be, but I don’t know that for a fact. So if I break down what I can actually definitely do, that I couldn’t ten years ago, it pretty much boils down to this:

1. I can spot deer. Seems obvious but wasn’t true at the beginning. “Can you see the muntjac in front of us?”. “Where?”. “Behind the big tree.” “Which tree?”. “The one with the broken branch”. Erm no. Oh, it’s gone.
2. I can quite often spot deer before they spot me
3. I can identify deer species, and reasonably confidently whether they’re male, female, juvenile, old, young, pregnant, well, not so well.
4. I now know the importance of checking the wind, how to stay discrete, quiet, walk quietly, even half-decently plan a stalking route to get closer (although there’s nothing you can do about the two does right between you and the buck in buck season, and the opposite in doe season).
5. I can put the rifle up on sticks and the deer in the crosshairs reasonably quickly and quietly. I used to not be able to find the deer in the scope.
6. I can shoot well enough but I also know when a shot is probably too risky for me to take. BUT, I really need to become confident at shooting offhand. The absence of that has cost me a few opportunities in the last couple of years and I need to fix that. In lowland woods and fields, you will quite often come across deer very close, and then there are only a few seconds to make something of it. No time for sticks. Shouldn’t need them so close anyway.
7. I can DEFINITELY turn a dead deer into food. Competent enough gralloching, skinning, butchering, packing, storing and cooking. As verified by small children which is my main test.

So let’s say I’m competent enough after a decade. But really experienced and self-sufficient? Certainly not. And there’s a good chance it will never happen because you just need more practice at everything than I can get.

But good enough is good enough. We can’t all be Olympians. Good luck on your never-ending journey!

 

[Outstanding in my field]

Welcome GaelicStalker!

After a decade-and-a-bit of stalking, it’s clear to me that what experience and proficiency you gain depends a lot on what you have the opportunity to practice. In my case, I live in London and have a young family (although when I started this I didn’t, but I didn’t have any transport: similar sort of impact on ability to actually go stalking). I started out doing DSC1 when I’d been stalking maybe a couple of times. This was to do with availability of courses, I took the one I could make, but also I had to start somewhere and apart from books and magazines and this forum, I didn’t actually have anyone to show me the ropes, so it seemed a good place to start. It was, again, down quite a lot to opportunity and context. Since then, let’s say I have been out stalking maybe 50-60 times. Doesn’t seem like much for a decade, but that’s what I could do. I don’t have my own ground, and it wouldn’t be sensible to take it on as I don’t have the ability to commit to looking after it properly. So I did lots of paid stalks, still do the odd one, over time I’ve had more invitations, it sort of snowballs. One thing I have not had the chance to do is stalk much on my own (except high seats). It has happened on occasion, but not really enough to be confident that I’m self-sufficient. The chances are I could be, but I don’t know that for a fact. So if I break down what I can actually definitely do, that I couldn’t ten years ago, it pretty much boils down to this:

1. I can spot deer. Seems obvious but wasn’t true at the beginning. “Can you see the muntjac in front of us?”. “Where?”. “Behind the big tree.” “Which tree?”. “The one with the broken branch”. Erm no. Oh, it’s gone.
2. I can quite often spot deer before they spot me
3. I can identify deer species, and reasonably confidently whether they’re male, female, juvenile, old, young, pregnant, well, not so well.
4. I now know the importance of checking the wind, how to stay discrete, quiet, walk quietly, even half-decently plan a stalking route to get closer (although there’s nothing you can do about the two does right between you and the buck in buck season, and the opposite in doe season).
5. I can put the rifle up on sticks and the deer in the crosshairs reasonably quickly and quietly. I used to not be able to find the deer in the scope.
6. I can shoot well enough but I also know when a shot is probably too risky for me to take. BUT, I really need to become confident at shooting offhand. The absence of that has cost me a few opportunities in the last couple of years and I need to fix that. In lowland woods and fields, you will quite often come across deer very close, and then there are only a few seconds to make something of it. No time for sticks. Shouldn’t need them so close anyway.
7. I can DEFINITELY turn a dead deer into food. Competent enough gralloching, skinning, butchering, packing, storing and cooking. As verified by small children which is my main test.

So let’s say I’m competent enough after a decade. But really experienced and self-sufficient? Certainly not. And there’s a good chance it will never happen because you just need more practice at everything than I can get.

But good enough is good enough. We can’t all be Olympians. Good luck on your never-ending journey!

Still struggle with #5. Any tips welcome!

 

[VSS]

Still struggle with #5. Any tips welcome!

Don't take your eye off the deer while faffing around with the rifle and sticks. If you're already looking in the right direction then it's an easy enough matter to bring the rifle into place in your line of sight, rather than first looking through the scope and then trying to locate the deer.
That's my take on it anyway, but it's something I really struggled with initially.