Is deer stalking affordable for the Average Joe?

[Dazb1967]

I think stalking is a very cheap fieldsports activity to get into.
You can kit yourself out with everything you need for under £500 by buying 2nd hand rifle, scope, binos, boots etc, and there's plenty of free stalking to be had if you're prepared to go door knocking, particularly if you're an established and known member of the rural community in which you live.
Insurance isn't compulsory, and neither is any qualification. The cost of a FAC isn't prohibitive, particularly when spread over the lifetime of the certificate.
And you can sell carcasses to offset costs.

What other hobby offers all that for so little?

I suppose all this is dependant on location, The area I shoot has lots of deer but you will never get permission to shoot them by knocking on doors In our area and I have tried and covered hundreds of miles trying on neighbouring farms over the years, I have also got to know a lot of farmers and people in farming through beating etc but shooting land is premium around Northumberland.

There is a huge expanse of land up here but there is also a lot of shooters to cover this land, I have carried out pest control and beating in the area for over 30year but we are not allowed to take the deer as this is for the landowners the farmers and their friends, It would also be easy to say well if I can't take the deer I'm not shooting the vermin but like I say it is very hard to gain permission and there is a queue of people who would jump at the chance to get the vermin shooting if I was to give it up.
Myself and a few mates have stalking permission but this is on a paid syndicate up in the borders and by the time you add fuel on top of your syndicate price it all adds up throughout the year into the thousands and not hundreds but If I want to do it I have to be prepared to pay it because there is people waiting for a slot on the syndicate.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

The trick is developing a reputation as being someone reliable who does what the landowner wants, when they want itit

And there lies the problem. People from hours away holding land they don't shoot!

Farmer messaged me a few weeks back, want a fox shot. Be up there tonight was the answer, a mere 10 minutes away. The neighbouring farm I've been on for years and do have a good relationship with the owners sent me a message last year. Theres deer in the fenced area. They were all dealt with the following morning and he had a freezer filled for the privilege with burgers + sausage.

Gotta put the time in because if you say no, someone else will do it

 

[Donkey Basher]

If you go to an "expensive" place and stalk you are perpetuating the sport being expensive. Try and find a "reasonable" place, and give them your custom. Otherwise it just encourages the "reasonable" to become "expensive".

Regrettably, & I apologise for those who own one or more of the following but otherwise don’t fit the stereotype, there is a certain group of people who are only too happy to go to their local gunmaker, buy a top of the range Blaser with a Zeiss or Swarovski scope on top, a couple of hundred Norma factory rounds, get kitted out in the latest Harkila or Kuiu outfits, with matching boots, buy a set of Blaser carbon fibre quad sticks & the latest all singing all dancing multi-spectral binocular to augment their top of the range Zeiss/Swarovski/Leica glass binocular & pay thousands of pounds a year to join a club that then charges them for each outing much like the OP sets out but with a 1 in front or a 0 after the prices so they can turn up in their shiny new Full Fat Range Rover once or twice a year when their secretary has managed to find a small window in their diaries in between a business meeting & dinner with their wife!

All the time these people are willing to pay for this sort of access to stalking there will be people happy to provide it to them, people who only see £££ on a balance sheet & have no interest in deer management etc.

Please note this is not a rant at the genuine businesses who take people out commercially at sensible rates & who are just as committed to managing deer & habitats as they are keeping a good reputation & using the combination to maintain & promote their business & livelihood.

I count myself very lucky to have the opportunity I have right now, as well as those I’ve had in the past, but if the time comes when I have no alternative than to pay silly money it’ll be the time I sell all my kit.

 

[VSS]

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There is a huge expanse of land up here but there is also a lot of shooters to cover this land, I have carried out pest control and beating in the area for over 30year but we are not allowed to take the deer as this is for the landowners the farmers and their friends,

One of those friends should be you.
That’s the answer.
Be part of that community, and the opportunities will just appear.

 

[Chris Richardson]

I think stalking is a very cheap fieldsports activity to get into.
You can kit yourself out with everything you need for under £500 by buying 2nd hand rifle, scope, binos, boots etc, and there's plenty of free stalking to be had if you're prepared to go door knocking, particularly if you're an established and known member of the rural community in which you live.
Insurance isn't compulsory, and neither is any qualification. The cost of a FAC isn't prohibitive, particularly when spread over the lifetime of the certificate.
And you can sell carcasses to offset costs.

What other hobby offers all that for so little?

This 100% I hear time and time again I’ve got dsc 1&2 etc but I’ve no land most landowners don’t even know what they are

 

[finbar]

It’s took me 30 years to be an over night success
Started way back in the day ferrets terriers lurchers met some good old boys sadly some are gone but left family with same values
Hunt ban came thought still like to hunt but now with shotgun rifle & spaniels
Like a lot of lads of a certain age that’s how we got into it
Miss them carefree days
Never a dull day with a pack of terriers

 

[Dave_45]

There's people in a syndicate from Yorkshire that Drive 8 hours and locals can't get a look in

I don't begrudge anyone their interest and hobby but cmon

A lot of it is,/was greedy foresters

 

[Shabz]

It’s an absolute myth that ‘all of the shooting is sewn up’. I’ve lived all over the country throughout my life and I’ve always managed to find shooting wherever I was. Usually it’s free, sometimes they’ve paid me a contribution to the ammo!

Drive about, notice a problem, find out whose problem it is and go ask them if they want you to sort it out. Make it not a problem any more and then ask them if they have any other problems that you can sort out for them. It’s that easy. Once you’ve sorted some problems out, then ask them if they can help you out with some deer, assuming the deer aren’t a problem in the first place. The alternative is driving about with wads of cash and offering it for permission.

I think a lot of people could do with some self awareness training before they go for DSC1, I’m constantly amazed at how entitled or demanding some people are when they’re trying to motivate people to do something for them.

 

[Dazb1967]

It’s took me 30 years to be an over night success
Started way back in the day ferrets terriers lurchers met some good old boys sadly some are gone but left family with same values
Hunt ban came thought still like to hunt but now with shotgun rifle & spaniels
Like a lot of lads of a certain age that’s how we got into it
Miss them carefree days
Never a dull day with a pack of terriers

Worked with some great terrier lads from down your way, Lost touch with them a bit when the ban came into force.
A few of them still work the farms with the terriers for the rats, Great sport.

 

[Dazb1967]

One of those friends should be you.
That’s the answer.
Be part of that community, and the opportunities will just appear.

Yep I totally agree I should be one of those friends but I haven't been invited into the house of lords just yet so I'll have to wait a bit longer for my peerage.
I also do play a part in the community and help out where I can that's how I gained the vermin control but I guess I'll just have wait a bit longer than 30+ years for the deer stalking to come along and for now I'll just keep paying my syndicate fee's.

 

[Ratel]

I suppose I have been lucky since my mid teens. Protecting lettuce and root crops from Fallow with a .22 rf borrowed from the farmer who I helped cutting lettuce and at shearing time. From then on beating and eventually as a Keeper has kept me stalking relatively free.
When I retired and moved to my present location I was put in touch with a farmer having problems and from that got to look
after the estate which now occupies my time, as the farmer does all their agricultural work.
What amazed me was when on here I posted that I required help on a "You must have time, a 4wd and to be able to come whenever I need help, at short notice" basis. Sure I got a lot of replies but generally not a lot of folk who lived local enough or couldn't fulfil the time obligation. Eventually I got a couple of good lads and an old friend but was amazed at the lack of interest locally. I have also got a young lad who I have helped get started in stalking and he is as keen as mustard. It's a funny old world the stalking one and takes a lot to get going, but there are chances still out there.

 

[bottletopbill]

Here the farmer charges £150 a day, fill your boots and keep the carcasses.

all seat work, I do all the organisation and deal with it all and then return. I get my own stalking on my doorstep for nothing all is fair and above board.

Admittedly, we only have 1 male group of stalkers the east are all female stalkers from the Artimis stalking group, and the days have been sold out now for years and continue to be sold out for years to come.

If you’re reasonably priced, you will always have customers, if you’re greedy in the end they will come a point where you will struggle.

is that £150 for every thing and what deer does he have i may need to book up with you if thats the case

 

[Leec6.5]

is that £150 for every thing and what deer does he have i may need to book up with you if thats the case

Sorry bill my books are full and have been for some time.

 

[bottletopbill]

Sorry bill my books are full and have been for some time.

ok thanks

 

[VSS]

Yep I totally agree I should be one of those friends but I haven't been invited into the house of lords just yet so I'll have to wait a bit longer for my peerage.
I also do play a part in the community and help out where I can that's how I gained the vermin control but I guess I'll just have wait a bit longer than 30+ years for the deer stalking to come along and for now I'll just keep paying my syndicate fee's.

Well I'm a farmer and landowner, and I can assure you that most of us are just ordinary working folk, not peers. You don't need to have been invited into the house of lords to be friends with a farmer, you just have to fit the frame.
It seems to me that there's a barrier that exists in your mind that in reality isn't there. Or you're maybe trying your luck with the wrong sort of farmer first. As others have pointed out on this thread, the smaller landowners are often your best bet for starters, and if you get on well with them you'll pick up the bigger permissions on their recommendation.

 

[Leec6.5]

My post wasn’t in any way an unofficial advert, I was just highlighting the fact that affordable client stalking is out there, like I said if your stalking is affordable you’ll always be busy.

 

[TringSaint]

I suppose I have been lucky since my mid teens. Protecting lettuce and root crops from Fallow with a .22 rf borrowed from the farmer who I helped cutting lettuce and at shearing time. From then on beating and eventually as a Keeper has kept me stalking relatively free.
When I retired and moved to my present location I was put in touch with a farmer having problems and from that got to look
after the estate which now occupies my time, as the farmer does all their agricultural work.
What amazed me was when on here I posted that I required help on a "You must have time, a 4wd and to be able to come whenever I need help, at short notice" basis. Sure I got a lot of replies but generally not a lot of folk who lived local enough or couldn't fulfil the time obligation. Eventually I got a couple of good lads and an old friend but was amazed at the lack of interest locally. I have also got a young lad who I have helped get started in stalking and he is as keen as mustard. It's a funny old world the stalking one and takes a lot to get going, but there are chances still out there.

The reality for @CapeStalker is that, because I know where he lives, there is more chance of Donald Trump flying a rainbow flag on the white house flagpole than there is to get onto one of the huge estates in his area.
I know the area very well is it’s as closed as closed could be.
But, it’s also scattered with landed properties which could be crying out for some deer control, but it will be bits and bobs.
Unfortunately, the pension funds have done the same down here as they have in Scotland and have gobbled up just about every parcel of land going.

 

[Ratel]

Small areas can be very productive. As I may have said before, a late friend of mine used to stalk several small areas in Sussex. Living in his van and using town toilets during his Uni vacations. One area of woodland, very, very small surrounded by houses whose gardens were being ravaged by Roe asked him for help. The first buck he shot was the British record for a number of years, he also shot a nice Silver buck off the same bit.

 

[TringSaint]

Small areas can be very productive. As I may have said before, a late friend of mine used to stalk several small areas in Sussex. Living in his van and using town toilets during his Uni vacations. One area of woodland, very, very small surrounded by houses whose gardens were being ravaged by Roe asked him for help. The first buck he shot was the British record for a number of years, he also shot a nice Silver buck off the same bit.

Yup. Not knocking the large garden permission at all.
I had one in Oxford and it was about 10ac of which 7 was woodland bordering shotover country park. It was a thoroughfare for roe and muntjac and yielded some decent animals.
Unfortunately the chap sold up and the permission was gone.
The biggest issue with small permissions is that if nothing shows in that little block then you can’t move about. It’s binary stalking which if you live around the corner, is just fine. Not so good if it’s an hour drive to see nothing.

 

[wilbert]

I think stalking is affordable for most as you can pay as little or as much as you want for just about all the things you need. The biggest problem for most is getting permission on suitable land that hasn't already been taken on by someone else.