Heavy fallow

Went back at first light to the farm from my previous write up, after giving it a rest for 10 days or so. Was greeted by two bucks in the first field. As said before, it’s shoot on sight. Set up on the sticks at the side of a slatted shed and ranged them at 185 yards. Decided to take the bigger of the two as his had one deformed antler. The second buck didn’t stand for a shot when his partner hit the ground.
Took him straight to the game dealer and his larder weight was 74kg, in very good condition. On inspection, his pedicels were nonexistent. He was an old boy, but doing well.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Certainly looks to have had a very FULfilling last supper!

The thought of dragging the beast does little for me.

Well done

K

 

[Smellydog]

Chunky fella

 

[SikaSeeker]

Certainly looks to have had a very FULfilling last supper!

The thought of dragging the beast does little for me.

Well done

K

I could say I dragged it up hills and over drains, but I drove the motor right to it.

 

[lochty]

Tonight's one only weighed in at a measly 55kg, lardered, but felt at least double that going uphill on the end of a rope.

 

[Tim.243]

Went back at first light to the farm from my previous write up, after giving it a rest for 10 days or so. Was greeted by two bucks in the first field. As said before, it’s shoot on sight. Set up on the sticks at the side of a slatted shed and ranged them at 185 yards. Decided to take the bigger of the two as his had one deformed antler. The second buck didn’t stand for a shot when his partner hit the ground.
Took him straight to the game dealer and his larder weight was 74kg, in very good condition. On inspection, his pedicels were nonexistent. He was an old boy, but doing well.

Good stuff, they are quite heavy! How is your dealer with the layers of fat as they are just full of the stuff this time of the year!

 

[hendrix's rifle]

I could say I dragged it up hills and over drains, but I drove the motor right to it.

Best way.

 

[SikaSeeker]

Good stuff, they are quite heavy! How is your dealer with the layers of fat as they are just full of the stuff this time of the year!

I take as much off as possible inside against the fillets, but sure it was full of fat under its skin. My dealer isn’t too bothered, as long as it’s presented well.

 

[Ratel]

A large buck and looks in good nick. The biggest I have shot.in my time was
193 lbs to the dealer (sorry don't do foreign weights or lengths). He took some hauling over plough for about 600 yds a big old boy to get on hooks.

 

[SikaSeeker]

A large buck and looks in good nick. The biggest I have shot.in my time was
193 lbs to the dealer (sorry don't do foreign weights or lengths). He took some hauling over plough for about 600 yds a big old boy to get on hooks.

That’s 90kg, that was some buck!!

 

[Tim.243]

I take as much off as possible inside against the fillets, but sure it was full of fat under its skin. My dealer isn’t too bothered, as long as it’s presented well.

My local dealer has a scale of deductions including fat which we all know and mutter about but it does drop off later in the season also tbh
anything under 60k dressed does not come under the fat deduction.
A good example was one I shot for a farm at 78kg they gave it to a farmer friend who had a charity do so it went to a butchers and was cut up.
They cut and weighed 11 kg of fat that went in the bin and on the labour bill. He rang me up and I laughed...
Simple fact for us is shoot the smaller ones but sometimes that doesn't work out that way.
I saw a pricket around 10pm on my second drive around for foxes after deer o'clock going in the farmers garden lol

 

[Ratel]

That’s 90kg, that was some buck!!

It was indeed, I still have nightmares about the drag, but I was 40 and very fit and strong.
I now look for the smallest pricket or doe in the bunch.

 

[SikaSeeker]

My local dealer has a scale of deductions including fat which we all know and mutter about but it does drop off later in the season also tbh
anything under 60k dressed does not come under the fat deduction.
A good example was one I shot for a farm at 78kg they gave it to a farmer friend who had a charity do so it went to a butchers and was cut up.
They cut and weighed 11 kg of fat that went in the bin and on the labour bill. He rang me up and I laughed...
Simple fact for us is shoot the smaller ones but sometimes that doesn't work out that way.
I saw a pricket around 10pm on my second drive around for foxes after deer o'clock going in the farmers garden lol

Their words were “they’ll be lean enough for long enough”. His main gripe is that they are presented well, clean fillets, no excess blood on the rib cage and no bluebottle eggs. Apparently there’s a lot of chancers putting in carcasses!

 

[SikaSeeker]

It was indeed, I still have nightmares about the drag, but I was 40 and very fit and strong.
I now look for the smallest pricket or doe in the bunch.

I’m 41, it’s when you get to drains or especially rushy fields around here, pulling them through thick rushes is a right disaster even at my age. I’d a 40kg buck shot in a rushy field last week, it was hard going pulling him through it. Getting caught all the time.

 

[Ratel]

I’m 41, it’s when you get to drains or especially rushy fields around here, pulling them through thick rushes is a right disaster even at my age. I’d a 40kg buck shot in a rushy field last week, it was hard going pulling him through it. Getting caught all the time.

I know that feeling well, dragging Reds and Sika across clearfells covered with brash and plenty of ditches. I used to stalk about 60 Fallow a year on the Game fair site which at that time had swimming pools on all the rides due to tree removal and I also managed a deer park as well. This together with many Roe and Muntjac elsewhere kept me busy.
The wild deer were heavy animals both bucks and does but the Fallow from the park were less than two thirds their weight. It's amazing how Fallow weights vary and I remember as a youth shooting 90 + lb wild prickets whilst the local park animals came in at about 65-70 lbs.

 

[VSS]

.
The wild deer were heavy animals both bucks and does but the Fallow from the park were less than two thirds their weight. It's amazing how Fallow weights vary and I remember as a youth shooting 90 + lb wild prickets whilst the local park animals came in at about 65-70 lbs.

Park deer don't have the advantage of access to people's farm crops, and can't move around to take advantage of wild crops such as acorns, chestnuts and beech mast, so will tend to be lighter unless supplementary fed (which goes against the principles of park herd management, although a lot of people do it), or kept at very low stocking densities.

 

[dryan]

Had them to 90kg larder weight, one last week was heavier than a red spiker shot the same weekend-although the red looked bigger it was hollow, the fallow are much stockier. Must’ve been on good pasture, mountain border animals barely make 50kg.

A jeep, winch and quad make extraction a doddle, too tough dragging big animals in this heat!

 

[SikaSeeker]

Had them to 90kg larder weight, one last week was heavier than a red spiker shot the same weekend-although the red looked bigger it was hollow, the fallow are much stockier. Must’ve been on good pasture, mountain border animals barely make 50kg.

A jeep, winch and quad make extraction a doddle, too tough dragging big animals in this heat!

In general our bucks don’t make big weights this part of the country

 

[Mike1979]

Nicely done and a fair lump of an animal