Lost deer

[kieran222]

Unfortunately everyone will have a similar tale of woe every so often. These stalks are unfortunately the most memorable for all of the wrong reasons. But there are always lessons to be learned.

 

[Mungo]

Great news! How on earth did you find it?

Walking transects across the moor. 2m apart, stopping every 4 paces to scan under everything and watch the dog’s behaviour. She started indicating when we were about 30 yards out, but I didn’t see it til we were essentially standing on it.

 

[Mungo]

Unfortunately everyone will have a similar tale of woe every so often. These stalks are unfortunately the most memorable for all of the wrong reasons. But there are always lessons to be learned.

I have learned (or re learned) a lot from it.

It’s funny - I’ve only had a break of about a month, but feel extremely rusty indeed, with a lot of unforced, stupid errors.

I suppose it’s good to be reminded that you really do loose the edge quite quickly and can’t afford to be complacent.

Definitely a humbling few days.

 

[Dave_45]

Glad you found it pal, that’s a weight off.

I’ve had enough similar experiences myself , induced by me of course.

It just serves as a reminder to never get complacent and think you are the pinnacle , we can always learn and improve.

 

[willowbank]

For the first time in a long while, I lost a deer that I knew to be dead. Extremely frustrating.

Head shot on a calm beast, facing away. Couched up in deep heather on more or less featureless moorland. One roe from a group of 3. Saw the top the skull disintegrate and it dropped to shot. Thrashed around on the ground and kicked itself over a little heathery bank so disappeared from view. Kept crosshairs on for 5 minutes, no further movement. Then made a series of stupid mistakes.

First mistake: Took my eye off the spot and turned to follow 2 other deer that had remained in the area. Decided not to shoot them - it was going to get dark soon, and I didn’t want to be extracting all 3 in the dark. Thought I knew where the first had gone down.

Second mistake: sublimely confident I knew where it was, I didn’t immediately go it it. Instead, went back to the truck (only 500m away) to offload rifle and get roe sack. Did mark where I’d shot from, with a direction indicator.

I then spent hours, first in failing light and then in the dark, walking all over the area trying to find it. The two other deer were still there, and hung around until I was almost on top of them. I had a clear view of the area in thermal, and could see the 2 on and off for the next hour - so I’m certain the ‘dead’ one was definitely still dead. I had a both dog and thermal. Several times the dog indicated a strong scent, but seemed to lose it again each time and then get distracted by the foot trace from the live ones.

I am absolutely certain it was stone dead, and that I must have walked within a yard or two of it multiple times. All I can think is that it kicked itself into a hidden gully, under some heather or into a hidden puddle.

This on top of a miss earlier in the day and a miss the day before. Just not a very good weekend

A picking-up trick, learned the hard way, is to take an obvious immovable mark further on, and in sightline from your present position, and your ‘bird’
if you leave your position no worries, just return exactly and walk towards your mark, you cannot fail to walk over the ‘bird’, that’s assuming of course it’s not a runner.

Willowbank.

 

[Mungo]

A picking-up trick, learned the hard way, is to take an obvious immovable mark further on, and in sightline from your present position, and your ‘bird’
if you leave your position no worries, just return exactly and walk towards your mark, you cannot fail to walk over the ‘bird’, that’s assuming of course it’s not a runner.

Willowbank.

Yes - very effective.

Unfortunately, in this case, there was very gently rising ground behind for about 200m - slightly convex slope, so no hard horizon - just diffuse heather and rushes. And nothing in the distance beyond.

The one ‘hard’ landmark I thought I had was a clump of rushes midway between the firing point and the deer. Except there were more than one of these..

 

[Stringer]

Great, honest post. I thought it was just me. I am diabolical at marking the shot site. I have a serious word with myself everytime but adrenalin takes over and I mismark more often than not. Dog usually pulls me out of the ****

 

[eldon]

I have learned (or re learned) a lot from it.

It’s funny - I’ve only had a break of about a month, but feel extremely rusty indeed, with a lot of unforced, stupid errors.

I suppose it’s good to be reminded that you really do loose the edge quite quickly and can’t afford to be complacent.

Definitely a humbling few days.

Funnily enough I came to the same conclusion many years ago.
I was then in a syndicate in D&G and always felt the first few days were a wake up and switch on period. By the end of the week I was ready to go out, only it was now too late and home time.

Nice honest write up on the true reality of how things sometimes work out

 

[Dan Newcombe]

The number of times the dog has been ****ing me off raking away from where I ‘know’ the deer is only to find it 80 yards away - I’ve given up questioning them too much especially in the middle of the night.

Head / neck shots on still nights with a lot of cover are the absolute worst combination.

 

[The Singing Stalker]

RF on Binos or thermal can be useful sometimes when coupled with the compass on a smart phone and an orange latex glove. Ping the range before shot, mark the bearing down the rifle barrel after the shot before you take it off the bipod or sticks then mark the shooting location with the glove on bush or tree or stick etc. Using the range and back bearing to the glove gets you within a few meters if you are precise with these things.

All that said hindsight is a wonderful thing.

My torch app on the phone has a crappy compass on it. Red points north and is very small. So I just pressed it and a 360degree compass appeared. Ffs. Never knew it was there. Live and learn. Will definitely use that.

And as everyone is commenting on the lost one. I shot a fox on a round hay bale at night in a field of round hay bales. It went straight down spreadeagled on the bale. No questions. Could see it on the bale.

Marked the spot and Moved off to go sort some others down the bottom field and couldn’t find it on the way back.
Walked up and down every bale for ages, scratching my head.
Told farmer, he found it a couple of days later, on top of the bale. Flippin infuriated I was. I must have spend an hour walking up and down.
Learn to mark properly. (Edit, I mean me, not anyone else)

 

[Oh6]

A picking-up trick, learned the hard way, is to take an obvious immovable mark further on, and in sightline from your present position, and your ‘bird’
if you leave your position no worries, just return exactly and walk towards your mark

Definitely and all the better if there are two marks that are aligned beyond your bird/deer as you can't or don't always walk in a straight line to pickup

 

[nick.308]

Yes - very effective.

Unfortunately, in this case, there was very gently rising ground behind for about 200m - slightly convex slope, so no hard horizon - just diffuse heather and rushes. And nothing in the distance beyond.

The one ‘hard’ landmark I thought I had was a clump of rushes midway between the firing point and the deer. Except there were more than one of these..

Out of interest is the carcass edible?
I dont think a delayed gralloch matters but if its not bled properly is the meat ruined?

 

[Nickb]

Knew youd find it

 

[Sol]

Its crazy how easy those small deer can disappear last July I went out during the rut it was raining all day literally the last field a buck came bounding out, due to it raining you couldn't see any disruption of the dew on the grass, it was thigh Hight, when I went to walk over I was probably forty meters away from where I actually shot the deer.

drop shots arent always nice... some times the runner gives you a second for the adrenaline to calm down and pay attention.

 

[Heym SR20]

In this sort of situation it really is worth taking a good bearing on the animal before you shoot. Whether it is a landmark, or with a compass, mobile phone, or do modern electronics optics have bearing indicators. And leave a stick or marker at the shooting position.

If you have two sticks, walk forward a distance on the bearing and plant the second stick. Keeping the two in line keeps you in a straight line to where you think the animal is.

Also on open ground it is very easy to get your distances wrong.

But first rule is keep your eye on the animal and don’t take it off till you have found it.

 

[Heym SR20]

Out of interest is the carcass edible?
I dont think a delayed gralloch matters but if its not bled properly is the meat ruined?

Depends on temperature. And a bullet does cause very good bleeding. In case of a brain shot, the brain is very well supplied with blood so a catastrophic head shot will result in most of the blood being pumped out - the heart will keep on beating until it runs out of oxygenated blood. Pretty much same effect as slitting the throat.

 

[sauer]

glad to see an honest write up offering lessons learned by a mistakes

and plenty previous posts / posters admitting the same .... me too.... and again as said if shoot enough things happen..... those who say they haven't made a mistake or lost a beast hasn't shot enough or a lot.

and amazing how you think "its just there" and then takes a bit to find .... they can kick themselves into some undergrowth / holes etc ...

this one ran 10m into chest high reeds and i nearly stood on it to find it ...flattened, moved away lot of reeds for the photo

good to hear you found it and cheers for the honest posting

as said by a previous poster Ronin i think ... RESPECT !


Paul

 

[Ronin]

I’ve used this on clearfell,

Mobile phone with compass or silva compass and take a bearing to the animal (shot point)

Leave some surveyor tape on the highest thing closest to the firing point and also measure with lrf the distance to shot point (Whixh was done before before animal lost from view)

Try and follow the bearing as close as possible to the distance by re lasing back to the firing point

Had worked for me before

But limited to open areas of blandness (used twice and successfully located twice )

 

[Mungo]

In this sort of situation it really is worth taking a good bearing on the animal before you shoot. Whether it is a landmark, or with a compass, mobile phone, or do modern electronics optics have bearing indicators. And leave a stick or marker at the shooting position.

If you have two sticks, walk forward a distance on the bearing and plant the second stick. Keeping the two in line keeps you in a straight line to where you think the animal is.

Also on open ground it is very easy to get your distances wrong.

But first rule is keep your eye on the animal and don’t take it off till you have found it.

Hindsight is a fine thing…

 

[Ronin]

Hindsight is a fine thing…

Absolutely crystal clear after the event