The FAC finally landed on the doormat again last Tuesday. Quiet, numb exultation at a moment I never thought would happen again this side of glory. A Sako S20 in 6.5 was picked up the same afternoon from Dauntsey Guns and was followed by a cracking couple of hours load developing with Paul & Sallyann at Corinium Range, Kemble on Sunday. The health already wobbling after a week of great excitement and significant improvement in Light Sporting Rifle scores from the Lantac Raven 22LR, there was mercifully just enough left in the tank to risk a long awaited first solo stalk in nine long years yesterday morning. Wind was minimal and the perfect direction, very rare for the ground. Speaking to the farmer late afternoon the day before, he commented that there were Roe everywhere across a field at the top of the ground and several down that had been mowed for hay. So, a change of plan from the usual approach, which hadn’t failed yet across the five previous outings and so leaving me rather nervous.
Bed at 18:00 with alarm set for 02:30, I didn’t even make it waking at 01:00. Too excited to get back off, I just lay resting playing the gameplan over and over due to the unfamiliar approach. 02:00 and I couldn’t wait any longer, musing that the new thermal would help if still too dark arriving earlier than planned. Popping dog in with the missus, a tinge of sadness he couldn’t join me owing to his joints being destroyed by four years of high steroid use for apparently incurable Inflammatory Bowel Disease that a Naturopath Vet fixed in three short months with two simple powders of natural ingredients late last year.
Creeping downstairs, rifle and rounds were extracted from the cabinets, fresh ice packs for the new cooler to get Roe/Muntjac home without worry in the summer heat and the obligatory couple of coffee’s and I was ready to go. Just exiting the kitchen, I almost jumped out of my skin as the lad appeared on the stairs asking to come. He was supposed to be otherwise engaged but had changed his mind and so stayed up all night to make sure he didn’t miss me. Bless him! This made my day before it even started, stalking having been thoroughly ‘our thing’.
Barely able to control the grin from having my lad sat next to me the entire hour and half drive to the ground, although still short of sunrise it was already fully light when we arrived. Entering the farm track and pulling up to the first field entrance just off the main road, I immediately found the thermal doesn’t like looking through glass and so hopped out to scan the field. A white/red object, clearly a Roe showed at the far end. Retrieving rifle, ear defenders and sticks, but consciously deciding to leave the seat pack as we would return to the wheels immediately after, we hopped over the gate and started the slow stalk in. The obvious approach was to go left to approach obscured from view behind the pond in the middle of the field. However, that would mean a shot back towards the main road so instead, we opted to creep down the hedgerow running adjacent to the road.
Despite having stood still for several minutes, as soon as we started creeping towards, the Roe sensed all was not well and started to make its way down the far hedgeline. We consequently adjusted and started to drop down the field to get behind the pond after all. That worked and we were able to significantly close the distance. Still unfamiliar with the controls and stupidly not even thinking of zooming in, the sex still wasn’t clear from the thermal but the Roe appeared to be limping and so I resolved to take regardless. However, trying to get closer for positive identification was too much and it hopped into the hedge.
The stalk now well and truly underway we decided to continue to the next field, stupidly not thinking that my knives were in my seat pack with everything else. A fox was mooching around at the bottom of this field, but no sign of Roe so we proceeded to the next. This field hadn’t been mown yet and there were Roe couch spots the whole way down the hedge but still no Roe. So, we proceeded to the next field to where we would have started our stalk if we had come from our usual entry point. As we were working our way down the hedgerow I couldn’t believe my eyes to see a dog walker cross the gated gap at the end of the field some 300m away. Pausing wondering what to do as the field beyond where the walker had passed was the start of the main Roe area running adjacent to the elevated railway track. Reaching the conclusion it would be unlikely to expect a flurry of walkers at 05:30, I resolved to continue.
About 150m from the gate I jumped for the second time of the morning. A Muntjac had suddenly appeared 30m from the gate right out in the open, somehow being missed by all the glassing all the way down the hedgeline. Quickly distancing at 109m I decided to stalk a little closer. Getting to just under 90m the rifle was brought up onto the sticks. A nice buck appeared in the sight picture, although previously quite stationary, was now making its way steadily towards the hedgeline. I tracked the whole way and was just wondering whether it would stop at all and it did. The briefest pause to steady the sight picture over the neck with a split-second decision musing that if it did step forwards on the shot release, the round would at least strike right in the boiler room. The recoil from the 6.5 not unpleasant but still more than the .243 I was used to obscured the shot and it took my lads excitement behind me to reassure of a solid strike, the buck having dropped on the spot, just slightly obscured by a dip in the ground.
Approaching cautiously, it was very clear the buck was stone dead. A quick eye check with the sticks confirming to be the case. Now, what blithering idiot had left his knife in his seat pack in the car. So, no quick gralloch as we were now over 1km from the car and since we were there to thin the significant Roe numbers we would continue and so pulled into the edge of the hedge for retrieval later, nicely in the shade as the heat was slowly building.
Several fields on our usual stalk route later with nothing seen and we came to the final ‘big field’ at the bottom right of the ground. This field was thigh high with weeds and absolutely full of very skittish doe’s and followers heading back towards the railway bank as soon as we advanced even just a few steps into the field. As we worked slightly further into the field a young buck still following its mum but clearly of a size and maturity that was more than ready to branch out on his own, would be an ideal cull. Raising the rifle onto the sticks for a second time and I couldn’t even get a sight picture. The sun, almost directly behind and still comparatively low in the sky was shining so strongly into the scope a shot was simply not possible. I quickly moved 10m to the right into the lee of a piece of hedge but by then he and his mum were out of sight. Disappointment palpable, a brief conflab on what we would do next and not having previously ever investigated the full extent of this field as success had always been realised far sooner, we decided to continue.
As we moved slowly across the field, we pushed the mum’s and fawn’s ever further towards the thickets at the base of the railway embankment. Getting to within 120m of the thickets, my lad who was now sporting the thermal (I had my previous set of binos in a carrier for him, but hadn’t thought to bring, him having only decided to come at such short notice) quietly hissed that he could see a head poking out of the thicket. Taking the spotter off him and now having the presence of mind to zoom in, it was a fence post, raising a wry smile. Pausing here, the lad soon hissed again that he could definitely see several heads just short of the thicket. Taking the spotter again, he was right. Switching to optics I still couldn’t see any bucks but there were clearly quite a number of deer in that little corner and so we resolved to just stand and observe and try a few peeps from the Hubertus I was trying for a first time. My lad keenly observing through the spotter noted that every time I squeaked, a doe would raise it’s head, but nothing more than that. After eight or so squeaks she clearly decided all was now safe and started out into the field again with both followers in tow. As they worked their way diagonally out into the field they got to within 30-metres as we appreciatively watched on before finally sensing our presence, mum led them off directly away from us. Reaching the thicket at the bottom of the field I could finally see why the absolute perfect spot for the Roe to retreat to if disturbed elsewhere on the ground. Thick and dense it was absolutely ideal for the Roe to safely hide in without fear of anything following them into.
We worked our way along the base of the field parallel to the railway embankment and eventually found a crossing into the adjacent field. As we worked our way down this field, I was stunned at the sheer amount of rabbit droppings. Clearly totally undisturbed like the Roe, they lay so thick on the ground there literally wasn’t a spot not completely covered. Putting numerous rabbits back into the embankment as we passed, I mused with the lad we perhaps bring the FAC Air Rifle next time so he could harvest some for the local Farm Shop he works at on a Saturday.
Just as we were nearing the hedgerow at the end I jumped for yet a third time that morning. A huge set of antlers (for Roe) were rustling away at the base of a bush a comparatively short distance away, the body completely obscured by the weed and grass growth. Range finding with the binos to 80m, the sticks were quickly deployed and rifle brought onto. Switching to optics, the Roe Buck completely oblivious to our presence was enjoying his breakfast and slowly browsing down the hedgeline. As I tracked through the scope I was trying to work out a shot but soon had to accept he was always working his way away from us and would never present broadside. His rack was also simply superb and I agonised over taking when unlikely to be bettered by any other buck on the ground and therefore almost certainly the master buck, nothing the like I had ever seen on the ground ever before.
The ground having just been sold to have a housing estate built on in two year’s time, I had discussed with Paul on Sunday that there really was sadly no point in leaving any deer remaining as they had existed in this little ~two miles square parcel of land for time immemorial. We also wanted the meat and so I consequently reluctantly resolved to take, but also realising that a high neck shot was all that was going to be possible, was calculating likelihood of success and weighing up whether worth the risk of wounding. Having placed the shot on the Muntjac in the neck with absolute precision at the same distance I was confident and so steadied the stance and paused the breathing. The scope again rising sharply obscuring the sight picture as the trigger was squeezed, I looked sideways to my lad who just smiled broadly, telling me all I needed to know. We worked our way over and once again the buck had dropped stone dead on the spot, shot precisely and directly below the atlas joint just as aimed.
I paused and stood with hunter’s regret, just admiring this magnificent animal with best rack I’ve ever seen on the land, absolutely pristine in every way, just like every Roe I’ve ever taken there. Now unloading and removing the bolt as we simply wouldn’t take any more today even if presented, I handed the rifle to the lad to carry as I sought to drag the Roe to join the Muntjac about 400m away before retrieving the car. I made the first field but now wheezing badly, swapped with the lad who dragged over the next. Swapping for a final time, I just stepped into the next field into the path of a dog walker coming down the bisecting hedgeline. A brief good morning and we just continued only to bump into another just 20m down the track. The look on their faces as I dragged the buck past them by the antlers was a picture, welcome to the countryside townies. Reaching the gate, the lad hopped over as I passed everything to him including the Buck and we finished the short distance to where we had left the Muntjac.
Leaving the carcasses deep in the shade we started out for the car, bumping into the farmer on his bike coming for his morning cattle inspection in the next-door field. Pleasantries exchanged along with his congratulations on the success, we made the mile back to the car in good time although my remaining wherewithal was now well and truly gone and the aircon more than appreciated in the ever-growing heat.
Back at the carcasses, so exhausted now everything felt in slow motion. Deciding to undertake the Roe gralloch first and hoisting off the ground for a first time with the Tow Bar mounted stand with integrated hoist from a member on here, also deciding on head at the bottom for a first time, it ended up a bit of a mess. Although only about 40-minutes between shot and gralloch, the Roe’s stomach was already blowing up in the heat. I took as much care as I could to avoid puncturing as I opened the gut cavity coming up from the neck, but still not enough, rupturing the stomach and having to swap to come down from the back end to finish. Learning on the fly, coming down from the back end made it much easier to protect the knife tip from the intestines and stomach. Once down to the ribs, I was able to swing the stomach and intestines over the top and out of the carcass for a rough field gralloch. Then deploying the chest saw to get to the red offal and the carcass was clean except the small spillage of stomach contents over the very end of the base of the ribs. I cut away all I could and washed the rest away with water bottle, resolving to fully cut around that meat during processing later to ensure absolutely no contaminated meat proceeding to next stages - I’m very open and indeed appreciative of any further counsel on this from more experienced members. Pretty much on my last legs now, I knew I needed to get the Muntjac gralloch finished quickly and was relieved that with the learnings from the Roe, it did indeed go considerably quicker, better and without incident.
Having also just replaced the ageing car with a newer Defender to make stalking with the M.E. more achievable, being able to take car to carcass had made a significant difference. The gralloch stand and winch had also taken all the heavy lifting out of the carcass handling and the 90l ice cooler fitted both Bucks comfortably. The drive home was also considerably more comfortable than the previous vehicle. The final investment was a simple drinks chiller to store the carcasses a few days while I recover from the stalk and avoid having to take my body even deeper into energy deficit by completing processing within 24-hours.
Now to recover and appreciate the processing more when less physically spent. At least the supersize dose of three curcumin and three turmeric have controlled the overnight inflammation and three magnesium the awful muscles ache such that I slept unusually well following such an exertion. The massage therapist also really kindly did a lighter pass all over this morning, which should hopefully help a better than normal recovery. Assuming of course that sadly common delayed post exertional malaise doesn’t take it’s toll over coming days. Here’s hoping…….
It's so unbelievably good to be back. The Good Lord has redeemed all the devastation of the past nine years and given the lad and I a special morning I never thought I would see again in this life and the memory of which I shall treasure forever.
Bed at 18:00 with alarm set for 02:30, I didn’t even make it waking at 01:00. Too excited to get back off, I just lay resting playing the gameplan over and over due to the unfamiliar approach. 02:00 and I couldn’t wait any longer, musing that the new thermal would help if still too dark arriving earlier than planned. Popping dog in with the missus, a tinge of sadness he couldn’t join me owing to his joints being destroyed by four years of high steroid use for apparently incurable Inflammatory Bowel Disease that a Naturopath Vet fixed in three short months with two simple powders of natural ingredients late last year.
Creeping downstairs, rifle and rounds were extracted from the cabinets, fresh ice packs for the new cooler to get Roe/Muntjac home without worry in the summer heat and the obligatory couple of coffee’s and I was ready to go. Just exiting the kitchen, I almost jumped out of my skin as the lad appeared on the stairs asking to come. He was supposed to be otherwise engaged but had changed his mind and so stayed up all night to make sure he didn’t miss me. Bless him! This made my day before it even started, stalking having been thoroughly ‘our thing’.
Barely able to control the grin from having my lad sat next to me the entire hour and half drive to the ground, although still short of sunrise it was already fully light when we arrived. Entering the farm track and pulling up to the first field entrance just off the main road, I immediately found the thermal doesn’t like looking through glass and so hopped out to scan the field. A white/red object, clearly a Roe showed at the far end. Retrieving rifle, ear defenders and sticks, but consciously deciding to leave the seat pack as we would return to the wheels immediately after, we hopped over the gate and started the slow stalk in. The obvious approach was to go left to approach obscured from view behind the pond in the middle of the field. However, that would mean a shot back towards the main road so instead, we opted to creep down the hedgerow running adjacent to the road.
Despite having stood still for several minutes, as soon as we started creeping towards, the Roe sensed all was not well and started to make its way down the far hedgeline. We consequently adjusted and started to drop down the field to get behind the pond after all. That worked and we were able to significantly close the distance. Still unfamiliar with the controls and stupidly not even thinking of zooming in, the sex still wasn’t clear from the thermal but the Roe appeared to be limping and so I resolved to take regardless. However, trying to get closer for positive identification was too much and it hopped into the hedge.
The stalk now well and truly underway we decided to continue to the next field, stupidly not thinking that my knives were in my seat pack with everything else. A fox was mooching around at the bottom of this field, but no sign of Roe so we proceeded to the next. This field hadn’t been mown yet and there were Roe couch spots the whole way down the hedge but still no Roe. So, we proceeded to the next field to where we would have started our stalk if we had come from our usual entry point. As we were working our way down the hedgerow I couldn’t believe my eyes to see a dog walker cross the gated gap at the end of the field some 300m away. Pausing wondering what to do as the field beyond where the walker had passed was the start of the main Roe area running adjacent to the elevated railway track. Reaching the conclusion it would be unlikely to expect a flurry of walkers at 05:30, I resolved to continue.
About 150m from the gate I jumped for the second time of the morning. A Muntjac had suddenly appeared 30m from the gate right out in the open, somehow being missed by all the glassing all the way down the hedgeline. Quickly distancing at 109m I decided to stalk a little closer. Getting to just under 90m the rifle was brought up onto the sticks. A nice buck appeared in the sight picture, although previously quite stationary, was now making its way steadily towards the hedgeline. I tracked the whole way and was just wondering whether it would stop at all and it did. The briefest pause to steady the sight picture over the neck with a split-second decision musing that if it did step forwards on the shot release, the round would at least strike right in the boiler room. The recoil from the 6.5 not unpleasant but still more than the .243 I was used to obscured the shot and it took my lads excitement behind me to reassure of a solid strike, the buck having dropped on the spot, just slightly obscured by a dip in the ground.
Approaching cautiously, it was very clear the buck was stone dead. A quick eye check with the sticks confirming to be the case. Now, what blithering idiot had left his knife in his seat pack in the car. So, no quick gralloch as we were now over 1km from the car and since we were there to thin the significant Roe numbers we would continue and so pulled into the edge of the hedge for retrieval later, nicely in the shade as the heat was slowly building.
Several fields on our usual stalk route later with nothing seen and we came to the final ‘big field’ at the bottom right of the ground. This field was thigh high with weeds and absolutely full of very skittish doe’s and followers heading back towards the railway bank as soon as we advanced even just a few steps into the field. As we worked slightly further into the field a young buck still following its mum but clearly of a size and maturity that was more than ready to branch out on his own, would be an ideal cull. Raising the rifle onto the sticks for a second time and I couldn’t even get a sight picture. The sun, almost directly behind and still comparatively low in the sky was shining so strongly into the scope a shot was simply not possible. I quickly moved 10m to the right into the lee of a piece of hedge but by then he and his mum were out of sight. Disappointment palpable, a brief conflab on what we would do next and not having previously ever investigated the full extent of this field as success had always been realised far sooner, we decided to continue.
As we moved slowly across the field, we pushed the mum’s and fawn’s ever further towards the thickets at the base of the railway embankment. Getting to within 120m of the thickets, my lad who was now sporting the thermal (I had my previous set of binos in a carrier for him, but hadn’t thought to bring, him having only decided to come at such short notice) quietly hissed that he could see a head poking out of the thicket. Taking the spotter off him and now having the presence of mind to zoom in, it was a fence post, raising a wry smile. Pausing here, the lad soon hissed again that he could definitely see several heads just short of the thicket. Taking the spotter again, he was right. Switching to optics I still couldn’t see any bucks but there were clearly quite a number of deer in that little corner and so we resolved to just stand and observe and try a few peeps from the Hubertus I was trying for a first time. My lad keenly observing through the spotter noted that every time I squeaked, a doe would raise it’s head, but nothing more than that. After eight or so squeaks she clearly decided all was now safe and started out into the field again with both followers in tow. As they worked their way diagonally out into the field they got to within 30-metres as we appreciatively watched on before finally sensing our presence, mum led them off directly away from us. Reaching the thicket at the bottom of the field I could finally see why the absolute perfect spot for the Roe to retreat to if disturbed elsewhere on the ground. Thick and dense it was absolutely ideal for the Roe to safely hide in without fear of anything following them into.
We worked our way along the base of the field parallel to the railway embankment and eventually found a crossing into the adjacent field. As we worked our way down this field, I was stunned at the sheer amount of rabbit droppings. Clearly totally undisturbed like the Roe, they lay so thick on the ground there literally wasn’t a spot not completely covered. Putting numerous rabbits back into the embankment as we passed, I mused with the lad we perhaps bring the FAC Air Rifle next time so he could harvest some for the local Farm Shop he works at on a Saturday.
Just as we were nearing the hedgerow at the end I jumped for yet a third time that morning. A huge set of antlers (for Roe) were rustling away at the base of a bush a comparatively short distance away, the body completely obscured by the weed and grass growth. Range finding with the binos to 80m, the sticks were quickly deployed and rifle brought onto. Switching to optics, the Roe Buck completely oblivious to our presence was enjoying his breakfast and slowly browsing down the hedgeline. As I tracked through the scope I was trying to work out a shot but soon had to accept he was always working his way away from us and would never present broadside. His rack was also simply superb and I agonised over taking when unlikely to be bettered by any other buck on the ground and therefore almost certainly the master buck, nothing the like I had ever seen on the ground ever before.
The ground having just been sold to have a housing estate built on in two year’s time, I had discussed with Paul on Sunday that there really was sadly no point in leaving any deer remaining as they had existed in this little ~two miles square parcel of land for time immemorial. We also wanted the meat and so I consequently reluctantly resolved to take, but also realising that a high neck shot was all that was going to be possible, was calculating likelihood of success and weighing up whether worth the risk of wounding. Having placed the shot on the Muntjac in the neck with absolute precision at the same distance I was confident and so steadied the stance and paused the breathing. The scope again rising sharply obscuring the sight picture as the trigger was squeezed, I looked sideways to my lad who just smiled broadly, telling me all I needed to know. We worked our way over and once again the buck had dropped stone dead on the spot, shot precisely and directly below the atlas joint just as aimed.
I paused and stood with hunter’s regret, just admiring this magnificent animal with best rack I’ve ever seen on the land, absolutely pristine in every way, just like every Roe I’ve ever taken there. Now unloading and removing the bolt as we simply wouldn’t take any more today even if presented, I handed the rifle to the lad to carry as I sought to drag the Roe to join the Muntjac about 400m away before retrieving the car. I made the first field but now wheezing badly, swapped with the lad who dragged over the next. Swapping for a final time, I just stepped into the next field into the path of a dog walker coming down the bisecting hedgeline. A brief good morning and we just continued only to bump into another just 20m down the track. The look on their faces as I dragged the buck past them by the antlers was a picture, welcome to the countryside townies. Reaching the gate, the lad hopped over as I passed everything to him including the Buck and we finished the short distance to where we had left the Muntjac.
Leaving the carcasses deep in the shade we started out for the car, bumping into the farmer on his bike coming for his morning cattle inspection in the next-door field. Pleasantries exchanged along with his congratulations on the success, we made the mile back to the car in good time although my remaining wherewithal was now well and truly gone and the aircon more than appreciated in the ever-growing heat.
Back at the carcasses, so exhausted now everything felt in slow motion. Deciding to undertake the Roe gralloch first and hoisting off the ground for a first time with the Tow Bar mounted stand with integrated hoist from a member on here, also deciding on head at the bottom for a first time, it ended up a bit of a mess. Although only about 40-minutes between shot and gralloch, the Roe’s stomach was already blowing up in the heat. I took as much care as I could to avoid puncturing as I opened the gut cavity coming up from the neck, but still not enough, rupturing the stomach and having to swap to come down from the back end to finish. Learning on the fly, coming down from the back end made it much easier to protect the knife tip from the intestines and stomach. Once down to the ribs, I was able to swing the stomach and intestines over the top and out of the carcass for a rough field gralloch. Then deploying the chest saw to get to the red offal and the carcass was clean except the small spillage of stomach contents over the very end of the base of the ribs. I cut away all I could and washed the rest away with water bottle, resolving to fully cut around that meat during processing later to ensure absolutely no contaminated meat proceeding to next stages - I’m very open and indeed appreciative of any further counsel on this from more experienced members. Pretty much on my last legs now, I knew I needed to get the Muntjac gralloch finished quickly and was relieved that with the learnings from the Roe, it did indeed go considerably quicker, better and without incident.
Having also just replaced the ageing car with a newer Defender to make stalking with the M.E. more achievable, being able to take car to carcass had made a significant difference. The gralloch stand and winch had also taken all the heavy lifting out of the carcass handling and the 90l ice cooler fitted both Bucks comfortably. The drive home was also considerably more comfortable than the previous vehicle. The final investment was a simple drinks chiller to store the carcasses a few days while I recover from the stalk and avoid having to take my body even deeper into energy deficit by completing processing within 24-hours.
Now to recover and appreciate the processing more when less physically spent. At least the supersize dose of three curcumin and three turmeric have controlled the overnight inflammation and three magnesium the awful muscles ache such that I slept unusually well following such an exertion. The massage therapist also really kindly did a lighter pass all over this morning, which should hopefully help a better than normal recovery. Assuming of course that sadly common delayed post exertional malaise doesn’t take it’s toll over coming days. Here’s hoping…….
It's so unbelievably good to be back. The Good Lord has redeemed all the devastation of the past nine years and given the lad and I a special morning I never thought I would see again in this life and the memory of which I shall treasure forever.
well done.
you will always have the memories. These days more about the field to fork & having a sustainable deer population.
Suffice to say the rifle won't be leaving the car without the seat pack in the future 
If I shot larger species with any frequency I would have chosen the same. However, most of my stalking is on Roe and Muntjac with just a very occasional Fallow. 243 did me perfectly well last time but this time I fancied something slightly bigger slightly more capable of taking the larger species if needed.
