Muntjac harvest

Jim7

Well-Known Member
Finally got round to making a short film about stalking muntjac. Hope you like it. It was a great couple of days and the location was full of both muntjac and roe. Saw a particularly nice roe buck but had to let him go as we were after the Muntjac so needed to be very strong willed!

 
Finally got round to making a short film about stalking muntjac. Hope you like it. It was a great couple of days and the location was full of both muntjac and roe. Saw a particularly nice roe buck but had to let him go as we were after the Muntjac so needed to be very strong willed!


Really excellent - very professionally produced and some great content.

I loved hearing about the history (all our muntjac came from just 4 females) and learning about where they fit in the ecosystem. How great, too, to then see it taken all the way through to being cooked and served on the plate.

So much better than the normal “look at me shoot this monster buck” type video!

Have subscribed, and looking forward to the next episodes.
 
I've moved it in General, really good content and they are... tough to skin, little, but very good eating! :thumb:
 
Very interesting and informative, thank you.

There was a post the other day about muntjac stalking, and leaving the does in favour of taking a buck. I have been told by my cousins in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire that these small deer are now a major problem. When is this likely to translate to stalkers shooting the does? For this is what is required to control populations.
 
Very interesting and informative, thank you.

There was a post the other day about muntjac stalking, and leaving the does in favour of taking a buck. I have been told by my cousins in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire that these small deer are now a major problem. When is this likely to translate to stalkers shooting the does? For this is what is required to control populations.
I don't discriminate between bucks or does but I prefer to shoot heavily pregnant as not to orphan a youngster20210521_064053_compress22.jpg
 
Sure, I do the same with red hinds unless I can be sure to get the fawn as well. Our red fawns drop in November. As soon as the Roar is finished in late April, any red hind will be shot until the following November. It was good to learn about the breeding cycle of muntjac and the challenges this presents.

We’ve been having a good debate at this end about red deer control, and the tendency of many recreational stalkers to pass on a hind in favour of waiting for a chance at a stag. This approach is highly likely to result in the authorities taking far stronger action and organising helicopter calls, whilst blaming recreational stalkers for not doing their bit. This is exactly what happened with the Tahr population in the South Island. The only way to control a population is to dramatically reduce the engine room of production - females.

Occasional recreational stalkers’ selective hunting practices (i.e. wanting those antlers) will in the long run come back to bite them in the bum. It also is worth mentioning that in terms of choice of venison across the range of age / gender in any given species, I know what I would rather be eating.
 
Very interesting and informative, thank you.

There was a post the other day about muntjac stalking, and leaving the does in favour of taking a buck. I have been told by my cousins in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire that these small deer are now a major problem. When is this likely to translate to stalkers shooting the does? For this is what is required to control populations.

If we are talking of the same thread then I think that I offered exactly that observation.

I included our stats accumulated over the last 20 years, which was roughly 53% bucks and 47% does. Those numbers include a good proportion of guided stalks, where it is certainly the case that some clients may be after a buck. However that also puts the onus on others to focus on shooting the does.

It is really no different to how red deer are managed in Scotland. By and large the guests want a wall-hanger of a stag, whilst the stalker manages the hinds.

Given the choice, I will always take a muntjac doe over a buck. Apart from having a bigger impact on managing the population it also means less work in the larder without the faff of preparing the head. That said, the last two muntjac I've shot have been bucks, as that is what has walked out in front of me. In the first case, no antlers, in the second, 2cm per side. So no heads to prepare either ;)
 
I shoot everything on sight but obviously try not to leave the kid by shooting it first. Given the choice of a buck and doe together I take the doe first as there's a better chance that the buck will hang around to be shot rather than the other way round and of course, populations are controlled by shooting does. Bucks move around more so even if it does run off there's a better chance that I will show up in the future.

On another point, am I the only one who saw the rifle reloaded whilst pointing to the sky or am I just the only one to mention it?
 
If we are talking of the same thread then I think that I offered exactly that observation.
Not the same thread, I was thinking about @T.eddie passing up a doe in his current thread. I don’t know which one you’re referring to so I’ll have a hunt around for it.

I just did some red deer control last month, to give you an idea of ratios, I shot ~50 hinds, one spiker, one male fawn and one stag. The strict focus on females is the only way we’ll remove the dramatic multiplyer effect we’ve seen in the last few years.

We’ll keep going like this and come next Roar, it will be interesting to see what the competition is like; in recent years its been poor because of the excessive number of females. Gonna be a lot harder to get a shag next year.

I guess what I’m wondering is if the same perspective on muntjac numbers is shared across the board - from the video and lots of other sources it seems muntjac numbers have become a real problem. But I guess like here with the reds and fallow plague, that’s in the eye of the beholder.
 
On another point, am I the only one who saw the rifle reloaded whilst pointing to the sky or am I just the only one to mention it?
When the muntjac was spotted, the shooter also appeared to swing the slung and loaded rifle in an arc, with the muzzle passing right in front of the cameraman’s face!
 
Not the same thread, I was thinking about @T.eddie passing up a doe in his current thread. I don’t know which one you’re referring to so I’ll have a hunt around for it.

I just did some red deer control last month, to give you an idea of ratios, I shot ~50 hinds, one spiker, one male fawn and one stag. The strict focus on females is the only way we’ll remove the dramatic multiplyer effect we’ve seen in the last few years.

We’ll keep going like this and come next Roar, it will be interesting to see what the competition is like; in recent years its been poor because of the excessive number of females. Gonna be a lot harder to get a shag next year.

I guess what I’m wondering is if the same perspective on muntjac numbers is shared across the board - from the video and lots of other sources it seems muntjac numbers have become a real problem. But I guess like here with the reds and fallow plague, that’s in the eye of the beholder.
I would be more than happy to take a doe but comes down the land holder and what they perceive to be the target. Where I was the Muntjac population wasn't deemed at an alarming level so we were told leave the does to allow more to come in.

I think as you said its in the eye of the beholder

the other thread your thinking of may be the other one I posted this one I think
 
I guess what I’m wondering is if the same perspective on muntjac numbers is shared across the board - from the video and lots of other sources it seems muntjac numbers have become a real problem. But I guess like here with the reds and fallow plague, that’s in the eye of the beholder.

Exactly. I think one's view of muntjac tends to vary by local area, at least so far as deer stalkers are concerned.

Where muntjac have been around for a long time and the numbers have grown exponentially then controlling them can become all consuming, whereas there are other parts of the country where some look on in envy, wishing they had the same challenge. The geographical expansion of muntjac has received a helping hand or two - hence the tongue-in-cheek comments in the video about muntjac presumably having webbed feet to get to Ireland! They can be a challenging quarry, they are a handy size for lardering, and they produce excellent venison. What's not for a deer stalker to like?

Of course most ecologists tend to think very differently, looking at the muntjac's impact on the broader ecosystem. Hence why muntjac are probably the deer that get the most negative press in the UK.

The authorities outside of their current territory, notably in Scotland, are looking to keep muntjac out as a non-native species. At least so far as that is concerned, I doubt that they stand much chance. There are perfect highways for expansion using both rail and motorway - and here I am talkihg of natural expansion, not just via Transit van. Muntjac are tough, persistant critters, needing land measuring barely more than a pocket handkerchief in size to not just survive but prosper. As was said in the video, eradication is no longer a realistic option. Even the ongoing effective control of their numbers is, I would suggest, questionable.
 
When the muntjac was spotted, the shooter also appeared to swing the slung and loaded rifle in an arc, with the muzzle passing right in front of the cameraman’s face!
Indeed. I hate following someone who carries the rifle muzzle up. No ear protection and no moderator also springs to mind.
 
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