Well I’ll start this again after the site froze on my rubbish internet somewhere in the North Sea.
Meant to post this weeks ago but things always get in the way. Bit of a long one but hope I have conveyed the experience as best I can.
I planned a second stalk of the area to try and catch up with some of the older bucks two weeks after the last (27[SUP]th[/SUP] May), giving the area plenty of time to relax. The days previous were unusually warm (especially for Aberdeenshire) and the forecast was set to be another scorcher. Thinking it may be best to catch them out when it was cool was the aim and with the almost perpetual daylight up here, I was in the car by 2.45am to make the 45min drive to the ground. Already it wasn’t far away from being nearly light enough to see so I set off down the road.
On the way down I stopped off past another area where there has been some tree damage. Driving up the driveway to the big house I spotted a nice young 6 point buck which normally I would like to leave but unfortunately the management plan here is to try and take out as many as possible. They keep planting new trees every year and the deer are either eating them or ripping the protectors off and scoring them to death. I stopped the car, loaded the rifle and made my way to try and get into a safe shooting position. The buck had other ideas though and made his way slowly towards the house, almost knowing he was safe with the large residential backstop! Time was moving on so I left him be and carried on my way.
I made it down to the intended ground by around 4am. Daylight was well up now but it was still cool. On the way down I can’t remember ever seeing so many roe including some decent bucks so was hopeful they were still on the move. I made a different approach this time to last, coming round the back of the pine plantation and scanning the open areas. This revealed a couple of does but nothing else. I continued down the track past a field to a small dry pond area. It is surrounded by a 5ft high bank with birch trees around 3 sides of it only 2 fields from where I took the last buck a couple of weeks earlier. Slowly moving past it I could make out the back end of a roe in the trees just before the bank obscured it for me from the car. Leaving the engine running I got out the binoculars to take a better look. I made my way to the bank and peeped over the top to see standing there at 25 yards the largest set of antlers I have ever seen on a roe in the field. I have seen and taken a few decent bronze medal bucks but for someone who has never seen anything bigger standing looking at them it was amazing. I think it’s the thickness that I didn’t expect and after watching hundreds of other bucks over the years it truly was something really noticeable. I understand that we are not all in it for the trophies but with the amount of roe on the ground my mind was made up.
I crept back to the car only a few metres away and quickly made ready the rifle. Getting back to the bank I couldn’t believe he was still standing there broadside on at 25yds and making for the quickest, easiest shot ever, almost completely unbefitting of such an animal. He didn’t disappoint and no sooner did I get the rifle up to the fence did he bolt out of the trees and into the field. I quickly got across the fence to see 2 roe bucks, the other a young 6 pointer, making a fairly leisurely run across the barley down towards the steep bank before the river. Both bucks had run past where I could see from the contours of the land so hoping that the older buck would make a mistake, I took after the 2 of them across the open field, planning to get a rest on the bipod should the opportunity arise. I had made around 80yds before I caught sight of them again but saw the young buck now heading straight for me! He had turned and was making his way back to the pond, only stopping to quickly check me out before continuing. They had not barked yet and with the older buck now down the steep bank near the river and looking fairly calm, the challenge was on!
I got back to the car where the engine was still running and the doors wide open (thankful of no early morning country thieves!), parked up and got my kit ready. It was 4.30am by now and starting to warm up a little. I made my way quietly down to the last place I saw him and scanned the area down the bank and to the river. Nothing. The leaves on the trees and the cover getting higher was making it difficult to see everything so just to satisfy myself, I backtracked up the river to the boundary to make sure he hadn’t doubled back on himself. Seeing nothing and hoping he was where I had hoped he had gone, I set off at a very slow pace scanning every nook and cranny for possible ear flicks, antler movement, white bums or brown deer like shapes. There was about half a mile of river, steep bank, flats on river bends and of course the hill side all spotted with gorse and rushes above me to explore before I got to the farmhouse meaning lots of potential hiding places for roe.
The going was slow and I daren’t move any more hastily in case of missing the animal. Scanning both up the hill and down the face to the river every couple of steps was a big change from my usual stalking methods but necessary I thought, making my way to a fence before a steep bank overlooking a flat on the river bend about 200yds x 80yds wide. I scanned meticulously for him but could not make out anything. I stepped forward to ready myself for climbing over the fence when the foliage erupted below me in an area that had been obscured by a birch tree. Barking he ran across the flat to the far side, up the steep bank and stopped broadside at the top, barking at me the whole time still in his dark brown winter coat. He stayed there at around 200yds for what seemed like ages, giving me plenty of time to weigh up how good a shot I was off of twin sticks at that range. The equipment I knew was capable, but I was certainly not, especially with nothing to put my back on as further support. I stood there watching him, heart in my mouth. He knew exactly where I was but casually lowered his head, turned and walked away out of sight down another bump in the hill. I gave him a couple of minutes before following after him at a slightly quickened pace across the top of the embankment.
I got to the point where I last saw him where there was another flat in a different river bend, I had only begun scanning when I got barking from behind me. Had I walked past him? Surely not! I turned to see the something running back through the reeds so I ran to get a better vantage point. It was a doe, stopping after crossing the shallow river to have a look back. She was heavily pregnant so let her on her way without causing anymore unnecessary disturbance. By this point the place had been truly disturbed and my thoughts on seeing him again were starting to reduce.
I made my way back to the last place I saw him and continued my scanning. With nothing there I rounded a tree and saw a little brown shape drop in the grass about 40yds in front of me followed by a doe running up the slope to get a good vantage point clear of the gorse and give me good telling for being there. I watched her for a second but she continued up the slope barking all the way. I looked back to where the kid had dropped into the grass but there was another brown shape up ahead, rear end sticking out behind a clump of gorse. It was moving. I put the binoculars up just as it cleared and came into the open. It was a buck. The buck. I was in the open and there was 100yds of hillside interspersed with gorse bushes between him and me. Although I had tried to do it slowly he spotted me move the binoculars from my face and I could see him come alert; ears up and neck stretched a little. I extended the legs on the bipod and he started up the hill after the doe. There was a gap about 15yds ahead where I could get prone and have a clear shot so I made for it and nearly threw myself on the floor as quickly as gravity would allow. In classic style the buck stopped for his last look back as so many do. The ground was sloping from left to right so I had to clench my fist under the right leg to get it level. He was above me but with the backstop good I got the cross hairs on him and as soon as they touched the vitals I squeezed the trigger, almost not aware of me doing so but not rushed, I wouldn’t dare. He dropped on the spot letting out a single kick before relaxing.
I watched him for a couple of minutes to be sure, contemplating the experience the whole time and thankful that he didn’t just stand there at the pond. I had gone about 500yds which had taken me an hour and a half to cover, eventful from the start. I checked out the kid briefly as I backtracked to get the sticks I had strewn somewhere in the grass. Not long born and looking gorgeous in the sunshine. I left it be and continued up to inspect the animal. Shot was a little forward in the shoulder but clearly sound. I performed the gralloch, cursed myself for only bringing my decathlon ‘body bag’ style sack instead of the purpose bought roe sack and made my way back to the car. The sun was now fully up and I was soaking by the time I got back, feet from the dew in my rubbish boots and the rest of me in sweat.
Completely worth it. A good animal and one of the best stalks I have ever had.
He is due for measuring now so will update once I know. The biggest I have shot to date and certainly high silver I would think. Not going to post the dry weight just yet in case I decide to have a little guessing game at it (with the mods approval of course). Have some stuff that is surplus to requirements at home, some of which came from this site for free so would be good to give back.
Anyway, had to get that written before I forgot all the detail. Hope it was worth the read.
![IMG_0475[1].webp](https://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/data/attachments/45/45464-be68104ea78733937e0c93e2dda1f456.jpg?hash=5v6YpSsth0 "IMG_0475[1].webp")
![IMG_0476[1].webp](https://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/data/attachments/45/45465-7a43fd57379275a94c25c6205b2b14f8.jpg?hash=-29C5hu6Yj "IMG_0476[1].webp")
Meant to post this weeks ago but things always get in the way. Bit of a long one but hope I have conveyed the experience as best I can.
I planned a second stalk of the area to try and catch up with some of the older bucks two weeks after the last (27[SUP]th[/SUP] May), giving the area plenty of time to relax. The days previous were unusually warm (especially for Aberdeenshire) and the forecast was set to be another scorcher. Thinking it may be best to catch them out when it was cool was the aim and with the almost perpetual daylight up here, I was in the car by 2.45am to make the 45min drive to the ground. Already it wasn’t far away from being nearly light enough to see so I set off down the road.
On the way down I stopped off past another area where there has been some tree damage. Driving up the driveway to the big house I spotted a nice young 6 point buck which normally I would like to leave but unfortunately the management plan here is to try and take out as many as possible. They keep planting new trees every year and the deer are either eating them or ripping the protectors off and scoring them to death. I stopped the car, loaded the rifle and made my way to try and get into a safe shooting position. The buck had other ideas though and made his way slowly towards the house, almost knowing he was safe with the large residential backstop! Time was moving on so I left him be and carried on my way.
I made it down to the intended ground by around 4am. Daylight was well up now but it was still cool. On the way down I can’t remember ever seeing so many roe including some decent bucks so was hopeful they were still on the move. I made a different approach this time to last, coming round the back of the pine plantation and scanning the open areas. This revealed a couple of does but nothing else. I continued down the track past a field to a small dry pond area. It is surrounded by a 5ft high bank with birch trees around 3 sides of it only 2 fields from where I took the last buck a couple of weeks earlier. Slowly moving past it I could make out the back end of a roe in the trees just before the bank obscured it for me from the car. Leaving the engine running I got out the binoculars to take a better look. I made my way to the bank and peeped over the top to see standing there at 25 yards the largest set of antlers I have ever seen on a roe in the field. I have seen and taken a few decent bronze medal bucks but for someone who has never seen anything bigger standing looking at them it was amazing. I think it’s the thickness that I didn’t expect and after watching hundreds of other bucks over the years it truly was something really noticeable. I understand that we are not all in it for the trophies but with the amount of roe on the ground my mind was made up.
I crept back to the car only a few metres away and quickly made ready the rifle. Getting back to the bank I couldn’t believe he was still standing there broadside on at 25yds and making for the quickest, easiest shot ever, almost completely unbefitting of such an animal. He didn’t disappoint and no sooner did I get the rifle up to the fence did he bolt out of the trees and into the field. I quickly got across the fence to see 2 roe bucks, the other a young 6 pointer, making a fairly leisurely run across the barley down towards the steep bank before the river. Both bucks had run past where I could see from the contours of the land so hoping that the older buck would make a mistake, I took after the 2 of them across the open field, planning to get a rest on the bipod should the opportunity arise. I had made around 80yds before I caught sight of them again but saw the young buck now heading straight for me! He had turned and was making his way back to the pond, only stopping to quickly check me out before continuing. They had not barked yet and with the older buck now down the steep bank near the river and looking fairly calm, the challenge was on!
I got back to the car where the engine was still running and the doors wide open (thankful of no early morning country thieves!), parked up and got my kit ready. It was 4.30am by now and starting to warm up a little. I made my way quietly down to the last place I saw him and scanned the area down the bank and to the river. Nothing. The leaves on the trees and the cover getting higher was making it difficult to see everything so just to satisfy myself, I backtracked up the river to the boundary to make sure he hadn’t doubled back on himself. Seeing nothing and hoping he was where I had hoped he had gone, I set off at a very slow pace scanning every nook and cranny for possible ear flicks, antler movement, white bums or brown deer like shapes. There was about half a mile of river, steep bank, flats on river bends and of course the hill side all spotted with gorse and rushes above me to explore before I got to the farmhouse meaning lots of potential hiding places for roe.
The going was slow and I daren’t move any more hastily in case of missing the animal. Scanning both up the hill and down the face to the river every couple of steps was a big change from my usual stalking methods but necessary I thought, making my way to a fence before a steep bank overlooking a flat on the river bend about 200yds x 80yds wide. I scanned meticulously for him but could not make out anything. I stepped forward to ready myself for climbing over the fence when the foliage erupted below me in an area that had been obscured by a birch tree. Barking he ran across the flat to the far side, up the steep bank and stopped broadside at the top, barking at me the whole time still in his dark brown winter coat. He stayed there at around 200yds for what seemed like ages, giving me plenty of time to weigh up how good a shot I was off of twin sticks at that range. The equipment I knew was capable, but I was certainly not, especially with nothing to put my back on as further support. I stood there watching him, heart in my mouth. He knew exactly where I was but casually lowered his head, turned and walked away out of sight down another bump in the hill. I gave him a couple of minutes before following after him at a slightly quickened pace across the top of the embankment.
I got to the point where I last saw him where there was another flat in a different river bend, I had only begun scanning when I got barking from behind me. Had I walked past him? Surely not! I turned to see the something running back through the reeds so I ran to get a better vantage point. It was a doe, stopping after crossing the shallow river to have a look back. She was heavily pregnant so let her on her way without causing anymore unnecessary disturbance. By this point the place had been truly disturbed and my thoughts on seeing him again were starting to reduce.
I made my way back to the last place I saw him and continued my scanning. With nothing there I rounded a tree and saw a little brown shape drop in the grass about 40yds in front of me followed by a doe running up the slope to get a good vantage point clear of the gorse and give me good telling for being there. I watched her for a second but she continued up the slope barking all the way. I looked back to where the kid had dropped into the grass but there was another brown shape up ahead, rear end sticking out behind a clump of gorse. It was moving. I put the binoculars up just as it cleared and came into the open. It was a buck. The buck. I was in the open and there was 100yds of hillside interspersed with gorse bushes between him and me. Although I had tried to do it slowly he spotted me move the binoculars from my face and I could see him come alert; ears up and neck stretched a little. I extended the legs on the bipod and he started up the hill after the doe. There was a gap about 15yds ahead where I could get prone and have a clear shot so I made for it and nearly threw myself on the floor as quickly as gravity would allow. In classic style the buck stopped for his last look back as so many do. The ground was sloping from left to right so I had to clench my fist under the right leg to get it level. He was above me but with the backstop good I got the cross hairs on him and as soon as they touched the vitals I squeezed the trigger, almost not aware of me doing so but not rushed, I wouldn’t dare. He dropped on the spot letting out a single kick before relaxing.
I watched him for a couple of minutes to be sure, contemplating the experience the whole time and thankful that he didn’t just stand there at the pond. I had gone about 500yds which had taken me an hour and a half to cover, eventful from the start. I checked out the kid briefly as I backtracked to get the sticks I had strewn somewhere in the grass. Not long born and looking gorgeous in the sunshine. I left it be and continued up to inspect the animal. Shot was a little forward in the shoulder but clearly sound. I performed the gralloch, cursed myself for only bringing my decathlon ‘body bag’ style sack instead of the purpose bought roe sack and made my way back to the car. The sun was now fully up and I was soaking by the time I got back, feet from the dew in my rubbish boots and the rest of me in sweat.
Completely worth it. A good animal and one of the best stalks I have ever had.
He is due for measuring now so will update once I know. The biggest I have shot to date and certainly high silver I would think. Not going to post the dry weight just yet in case I decide to have a little guessing game at it (with the mods approval of course). Have some stuff that is surplus to requirements at home, some of which came from this site for free so would be good to give back.
Anyway, had to get that written before I forgot all the detail. Hope it was worth the read.
