You will, I hope, excuse me, if I fall asleep whilst knocking out this latest drivel; I am rather sleepy - I will of course excuse you for falling asleep whilst trying to read it.
Having just arrived home from my latest Trek 'North of the Wall', the odometer on the jalopy, tells me I have driven just shy of 1,500 miles. My old bones tell me it is much further.
Three days on the Sika Stags; with another two blokes who are old enough to know better. They may be a tad older than me; it turns out they may also be wiser than me (not difficult), they flew up.
I am not new to Sika, neither am I new to the Highlands. They are (in my view) the hardest of the "Six' to stalk. They live (when not in Dorset), in the deepest darkest forests, on the hardest, shittiest, ankle-snapping, water-logged ground known to man. It short, it is a stupid way to spend any of your limited time on this earth.
Knowing all that.
Knowing all that, let me tell you what is stupid.
What is stupid is to take a rifle (.375 Sako 75 as it happens), that is wearing a scope that is manifestly unsuitable for stalking in the forest, in the gloaming, in the dark, in the dusk, in the pitch-fcuking black. Now that is stupid. Ask me how I know.
Doing so, makes a difficult job almost impossible. I will not bore you (too late I hear you mutter), but I missed the chance of a good Stag at the last knockings on my first outing, because I could not make it out in the scope. Stupid man. Stupid schoolboy error. No one else to blame, I just have to own it.
So why do I keep going back?
There is a sky in the Highlands that is just stunning.
I love to be out when it is still dark, just so I can see the sun rise...
Crashing, stumbling and falling through the forests, you will come across a 'wallow'. These are always worth the investment of a wee bit of time.
Don't forget your 'Sika Calls'. Guaranteed to bring in the biggest Sika Stag at the gallop.
If using the 'Nordic Sika', don't forget to extend the pipe section. Failure to do so, results in the mating call of a Mallard Duck, and will only attract water fowl. Again, ask me for details!
Yomping to the highest part of the forest, leaves me heaving for breath, my calves scratched to buggery (yes I also forgot my gaiters), and my spit tasting of iron. I have just enough about me, to see that in cresting the skyline, I have 'spooked' two Sika off the top plateau. Bugger.
I console myself with a petrol station bought pastie, and settle into an 'overwatch' position with a good view of a clearing. It is a beautiful spot, but unvisited by any deer that morning.
It is a pattern that will repeat itself over the coming days...
Stalking is not always just about the deer.
Just as well really...
Having just arrived home from my latest Trek 'North of the Wall', the odometer on the jalopy, tells me I have driven just shy of 1,500 miles. My old bones tell me it is much further.
Three days on the Sika Stags; with another two blokes who are old enough to know better. They may be a tad older than me; it turns out they may also be wiser than me (not difficult), they flew up.
I am not new to Sika, neither am I new to the Highlands. They are (in my view) the hardest of the "Six' to stalk. They live (when not in Dorset), in the deepest darkest forests, on the hardest, shittiest, ankle-snapping, water-logged ground known to man. It short, it is a stupid way to spend any of your limited time on this earth.
Knowing all that.
Knowing all that, let me tell you what is stupid.
What is stupid is to take a rifle (.375 Sako 75 as it happens), that is wearing a scope that is manifestly unsuitable for stalking in the forest, in the gloaming, in the dark, in the dusk, in the pitch-fcuking black. Now that is stupid. Ask me how I know.
Doing so, makes a difficult job almost impossible. I will not bore you (too late I hear you mutter), but I missed the chance of a good Stag at the last knockings on my first outing, because I could not make it out in the scope. Stupid man. Stupid schoolboy error. No one else to blame, I just have to own it.
So why do I keep going back?
There is a sky in the Highlands that is just stunning.
I love to be out when it is still dark, just so I can see the sun rise...
Crashing, stumbling and falling through the forests, you will come across a 'wallow'. These are always worth the investment of a wee bit of time.
Don't forget your 'Sika Calls'. Guaranteed to bring in the biggest Sika Stag at the gallop.
If using the 'Nordic Sika', don't forget to extend the pipe section. Failure to do so, results in the mating call of a Mallard Duck, and will only attract water fowl. Again, ask me for details!
Yomping to the highest part of the forest, leaves me heaving for breath, my calves scratched to buggery (yes I also forgot my gaiters), and my spit tasting of iron. I have just enough about me, to see that in cresting the skyline, I have 'spooked' two Sika off the top plateau. Bugger.
I console myself with a petrol station bought pastie, and settle into an 'overwatch' position with a good view of a clearing. It is a beautiful spot, but unvisited by any deer that morning.
It is a pattern that will repeat itself over the coming days...
Stalking is not always just about the deer.
Just as well really...
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... but utterly brilliant at the same time and fair play to you 
