Here is a report from a cull hunt in Poland, that took place back in December 2011.
It’s a translation from Danish writeup I made back then. I hope some of you will find it interesting to read about stalking in other counties even when it’s a long writeup.
This was my first cull hunting I Poland and I arrived at the territory in Poland at noon after 7 hours of driving around 1:30 p.m.
Since individual hunting in Poland is a "new" for me, I was quite worried about how it would go in terms of language and the like. I speak South Jut and Danish as my first languages, where German is my second and English my third, but none of those come any close to Polish.
On arrival at the hotel, however, I was already awaited by the lady who was to be my interpreter. She spoke perfect English and was able to immediately introduce me to the Forest boss and the Forrest worker/stalker who was to be my guide, as Polish law specifies individual stalkers has to be accompanied by local guide.
The forest boss spoke both English and German, while my guide only spoke German, combined with my English-speaking interpreter, it was a real international conversation. The interpreter was not to accompany while hunting, but stay in the hotel and sort out any unclear issues.
The people of the forest were very good at explaining a bit about the area, which was Ca. 25,000 hectares, and the game species that were found here.
I was informed that no more wild boars should be shot right now, as the quota for them had largely been used, and the last ones should be kept free for a driven hunt that was to take place right after I returned home. Now I had also come to shoot cull animals, mainly fallow deer, but in this area, there was a lot of reds and roes, so I had no problem letting the pig go and i had shoot plenty of pigs in Gemany over the season.
It was agreed that the guide would pick me up at 3:30 p.m., and then there would be hunting. After a quick dinner, I therefore used the time to get an hour's sleep.
When it was 3.30 pm, the interpreter woke me up by knocking on the door, I had overslept, and it just took a little time to get dressed and ready, so set of shortly after 3:30. When we arrived at the hunting site, the remnants of the last few days' storm still hung over the forest, so there was a good wind in the trees.
Since it is new for me to be accompanied by a guide, I was quite excited to see how it would go. The guide, however, asked me if I wanted to walk around, or sit in a tower, and if I preferred forest, forest edge or open field. He would like us to start by shooting a red deer. Red deer is the game species I have by far the least experience with, so I asked him what he would suggest. Yes, then we had to sit in a tower in a dense, young pine forest, with this wind the deer would walk restlessly around the dense forest.
We sat up in a tower from where we could see out 3 ways and then the wait began.
It wasn't because we had to wait more like 10 minutes before a couple of fallow deer came across the road. However, they were back in the woods before I even got the good old BSA rifle up, so I then kept it up, with the barrel pointing out over one road.
It didn't take many minutes after the fallow deer had passed before suddenly a group of red deer came walking calmly along one of "our" roads. This time, however, I was ready with the rifle and quickly got it to my shoulder. The shooter tried to direct me to a specific piece of game, but it was virtually impossible to pinpoint a specific animal when moving in a tight group like this. There were a couple of fallow deer in between and I just had to watch out for it.
I had been told that what they lacked most in the plan was +1year hinds rather than calves. I had the group in the rifle scope, and the distance was approx. 100 meters, so when a hind was free, I sent the bullet off.
The hind gave a mighty jump, and the whole pack disappeared into the forest.
Shortly after they came over the next road, where my rifle now pointed. One of them stopped for a brief moment and I got another hind. This time the hind dropped on the spot and lay visible from our tower.
Phew, now it was time to smoke a cigarette. The Guide wasn't sure which animal I had shot at in first shot, but I explained to him that it was a 3 or 4 year old hind, he wasn't so sure though. The most important thing was that it was not a stag that had been shot at. The second one we could see lying just around 60-70 meters from our tower, he estimated was a 2 year hind.
I did not finish the cigarette before 2 hinds came walking directly against our tower. They got to within 50 meters when the suddenly turned and walked into the forest. The last one stopped for a minute and in my head it was already lying dead, as this would be so easy a shot. But I send the bullet of and the hind jumped up and disappeared.
After the shots, we sat again in Ca. 10 minutes, and then suddenly there was a new group of reds on one of the roads. This time I was ready again, and when a young hind was free, I released the bullet, which acknowledged with the sound of a fine bullet impact.
The shooter wanted us to sit a little longer, but he could sense that I was impatient to come down and look at the animals.
First, we went down to the first victim, I was sure that the bullet was sitting on the shoulder. However, there was no blood, we only found a little hair at the shot site, so it was a little difficult to get confirmation of where the bullet sat. However, after we had searched for 10-15 minutes we found the piece of lung membrane Ca. 75 meters into the rather dense forest. Then after a few meters more I found it, so after I had shouted to the shooter that it was here, I gralloched it, and we could helped each other to drag the animal out to the road, and come up and look for the other one.
Then the trip went up to the place where I had shot the last. After a long search we found a few individual hairs, but again no blood, but there was doubt as to whether these hairs were fresh or old. Now the light was also starting to get bad so the shooter decided to call for a tracking dog. However, there was a group of Germans on their last day's drift hunt and they used the dog, so we had to wait until tomorrow. Besides, it was getting pretty dark now.
The second deer was lying on the forest road to be picked up directly to the car. The shot was sitting high on the shoulder, but luckily without touching the spine, so acceptable meat damage.
In the car on the way back to the hotel, we spoke about how far the red deer usually run with shoulder hits. He told about big old 200kg+ deer running several hundred meters before dropping, even when hit well on the shoulder. This also corresponds very well with a very big old hind I saw being shot in Germany last year on a driven hunt. It traveled almost a kilometer, and when it broke open it could be ascertained that the bullet had gone straight through the heart. The Germans thought at the time, however, that it was quite rare that they went that far with a good bullet, but certainly not unheard of.
When we got back to the hotel, we were greeted by the interpreter who wished us luck and told me I could eat in 20 minutes.
After a quick shower, it was time to eat. At a long table in the restaurant sat a group og German hunters on driven hunt, who were going home the next day, enjoying themselves immensely.
After the meal I naturally got into a chat with them, and they could tell that they (13 hunters) had shot 52 pieces of game in 3 days. 1 of them had shot a very large red stag, so he had to give several drinks to the happy German group.
Since I was behind with sleep, I already went to bed at 7.30pm. The guide had said he would pick me up at 7 the next morning and then I would be fresh.
6.30 on day 2, I got up and had a cup of coffee and a roll before the guide came to pick me up.
We drove out near the place where I had shot the reds the day before. The weather was now completely calm and I decided to sit in a shooting tower. The guide suggested a tower where he thought fallow deer would come. We had only been sitting for 10 minutes when 3 deer wildly, quietly crossed the road 150 meters away.
It wasn't really bright, so neither the guide nor I could tell if it was doe/calf, so they were allowed to live.
After another quarter of an hour, a large herd of fallow deer came on the other side of the tower.
Now it was getting good light, so I quickly found them in the binoculars as they crossed the road. There was a small skinny tree by the side of the road, exactly in the line of fire to the place where the animals crossed. I simply didn't want to do anything bad, so I refrained from shooting through the branches, but instead tried to get hold of one at the edge of the road. The guide eagerly tried to direct me onto one of the of the deer he wanted me to shoot, although it was difficult in the dense herd. I didn't manage to get one of them properly into the crosshairs, so there were no shots this time either.
We probably sat for 10-15 minutes longer without seeing anything. Then I thought we should try stalking. We soon looked out into a fairly open, high-stemmed pine forest. Here we quickly spotted a herd of fallow deer, which had also spotted us, so they were quickly gone. After a kilometer of stalking, we found a large number of fallow deer. We whispered back and forth a bit trying to figure out why one I should try to shoot.
I managed to get into a good position, approx. 120 meters from them. When I found a doe in the scope I pulled up on the blade and released the bullet. The moment the shot went off I knew it was a miss, I jerked the shot off and the bullet went into the ground between the hinds legs.
The guide had followed along and came laughing to me and said "Föllig Forbei", I knew that well myself, so I could only agree with him.
We went back to the car and drove a bit. Then a fresh stalk started in some swamp area. We only got to walk about 4-500 meters before 6-7 fallow deer was standing in the swamp. I had been told to shoot doe before calf, so when we got within Ca. 120 meters a good tree was chosen to rest the rifle on. When the shot was fired the doe run of with its head hanging down so there was no doubt it had been a good shot. To my relief it dropped after running 20-30 meters.
I now asked if we shouldn't drive out and look for the red hind that I had shot at the night before. He agreed, so after a phone call to the dog handler we drove out there. When we got out there in broad daylight and found the scene of the shooting, I could immediately see lung tissue, and quickly found large amounts of blood a few meters into the forest.
However, we did not manage to follow the blood, as the dog handler arrived at the same time.
The dog was a Bavarian dog, and as soon as it was let out of the car it went straight on the track, into the forest.
The dog handler looked at the blood and asked what I had shot at. I explained that it was a young hind. He simply said that if it was really a young hind it would be 75-100 meters in, and if it was an old one it would have gone twice as far.
Quite rightly, the dog found the young hind, Ca. 75 meters into the very dense young pine forest, with a good bullet at the backend on the shoulder.
When I broke open the animal, I saw that the lungs were completely shattered, and a single fragment had struck the heart, so the shot had been good. It had been a very good morning, now that the animal had been found.
When we got back to the hotel, the interpreter was waiting with a huge breakfast. After eating, I struck up a conversation with a couple of Germans who were going home by bus that morning. The red stag one of them had shot had been measured at 8,9 kg, and a silver medal, so of course I wanted to congratulate it.
That afternoon we already drove into the forest at 2 p.m. and started walking around. The forest where a mix of Pine and Larch, where the mostly soft damp ground gave good dampening of our footsteps. There was some undergrowth of ferns, and patches with tight bushes to use as cover when we were to approach a possible chance to get at animals. We hadn't walked more than a quarter of an hour before we found fallow deer. They were quite far away between high-stemmed pines, and since it was completely still weather, I really had to do hard work to get into a good position to fire a shot, even with the soft underground.
We managed to get within 130-140 meters and find a good tree to lean against. Now the problem was just that the animals walked very close together, and every time one was free from the others, trees got in the way. I stood for a very long time with the rifle up, and had the crosshairs, on several different occasions.
Eventually I became so tense that I could no longer hold the rifle still, so I had to take it down to rest. Several of the animals must have seen the movement, because they all fled within a few seconds.
We continued, and several times found deer, but we did not manage to get at them properly, as we were making noise in the completely calm weather.
After several unsuccessful attempts in the forest, the guide suggested that we go out hunting in the field, so that we could see far and make less noise. We then went out to a field and followed a fence, where no deer was to be seen. There were an incredible number of deer tracks, so I had no doubt that the place was good. Now that it was getting dark, the gunner suggested that I should sit up in a tower that stood by a country road. Very clear instructions were given that I should be absolutely sure not to shoot a stag if deer came out. Then I got explained that if I saw a fox, it should be shot immediately. If Hubertus wanted a fox shot, he would send one over and it would give good hunting luck if I shot it.
10 minutes after, a fallow deer suddenly came out of the forest on the opposite side of the field. There were 19-20 fallow, but all the way out at 300-350 meters, so I had to content myself with observing them through the binoculars.
After a minute or two, I swung the scope all the way around to look for any animals. Then I spotted the fox, which came slyly along the dirt road heading straight towards me. When it was at 50 meters, I gave a whistle and it stopped for the last time in its life.
After the shot, I could see the fallow deer running into the forest, which I also expected they would do when I shot.
It just didn't take more than 5 minutes before a new herd of fallow deer of 14-15 pieces came on the opposite side of the field. They were quite fast, but clearly wanted to pass very close to the tower where I was sitting.
They passed right over the dead fox at a fuse trot, so I kept a little in front of a good doe. When the shot went off, it immediately collapsed. I repeated and saw to my horror that it had got back on its feet and ran away. The angle was very bad, but it should have had another bullet as it was clearly badly angled. It kept running away at a bad angle and it was already out at Ca. 200 meters so I couldn't wait any longer. I pulled forward well, held a little high, and released the bullet.
The doe went right down, and the sound of a “smack” good shot met me at the same time.
Now it was time to smoke, and before I had burned out my cigarette, a group of 4 young (1-2 years) pigs came running along the field. They did not come any closer than about 150 meters to the tower, but the guide said I could shoot one of them if the opportunity came, there was good room on the list for 2-3 yearlings. I explained my involvement in a German syndicate located in Hessen, where no one else wanted to do night hunting. For that reason, I shot a lot of pigs there, and just this season I got 92 pigs so far and had come here to Poland for hunting deer.
By the time we had cleaned the doe it was getting dark, and we decided to stop for the day.
The next morning it rained, and we decided to start in a tower with a roof over us. Already on our way to the tower which stood at the edge of the forest, out to a glorious meadow, we saw lots of fallow deer. There was not much we could do as it was still too dark to be able to select the right animal for shooting. After 15 minutes in the tower, 8 pieces of fallow deer came out on the opposite side of the meadow. The distance was only approx. 100 meters, and the light had become good, so it was easy to spot a good doe in the herd. I had a really good setup for the rifle in the turret and could put a perfect shoulder bullet in the animal. We just sat for 5 minutes after the shot and then we went down and looked. There was plenty of blood and it was just a matter of following it into the dense thicket. We found the doe 35 meters from the shooting site and forgot all about rain and bad weather. Now we decided to try to stalk in the forest, as the rain would dampen our footsteps. This forest was very different from the one we stalked the day before and consisted of mostly beech and Oak trees with a lot of patches where thick undergrowth where dominating, the terrain was also quite hilly and crossed by some small low water streams. In this forest however it was a lot easier to get close to the deer than we had experienced in the more open pine/Larch stalked the day before.
Several times we came close to fallow deer in the forest, and the first time I got a good chance to shoot, there was simply so much rain on the binocular lens that it was impossible to get a safe shot. There were several shooting opportunities, but I had great trouble keeping the lens free of water and fog.
Lesson learned, I must go out and buy a lens-flap to put over the front lens.
I had got a deer this morning, so even though I had a few chances in the woods without firing a shot, I was quite satisfied.
For dinner at 1 p.m., the interpreter had made sure that there was a BIG wiener schnitzel with chips for me. It was just nice to have some food like that before we started the hunting again at 2 p.m.
The rain had stopped, and the weather had become really nice with a very light wind to help us with to dampen the footsteps when stalking.
The first fallow deer we found in the forest was a good fallow stag. The guide estimated it to weigh around 2.9 Kg and asked if I wanted to shoot it. There was extra price on shooting trofees so explained to him that the finances had more to do with such a decision than the desire, so I politely declined.
He then asked if I wanted to shoot a “select” (bad trofee), if we came by one, they are much cheaper. And in this case, my financial situation would permit me to be less choosy.
It wasn't long after this decision was made before we actually found 3 fallow deer walking together. The one on the far right was a selection, weighing almost 2 Kg, he explained to me, and I decided to try.
We actually managed, after a short but very slow stalk, to get in good range of the deer. The problem was now that the deer I had been assigned was behind the other two so I couldn't shoot.
Suddenly there was a roar in the forest and a large number of deer came running. They had been just downwind of me and passed, now noisily 200 meters on the other side of the fallow deer. The result of the disturbance was that the deer we had come upon immediately took flight.
We continued, and after a short time we came to a clearing which sloped slightly downwards, where a narrow stream ran at the other end. An old roe doe was down there calmly grazing away.
You haven't shot roe deer in Poland yet, so if you want you can try shooting the one down there. Since I'm not hard to persuade, I laid down on a knoll and had a perfect setup for the rifle.
I challenge you to make a headshot the guide whispered while I was getting ready.
There were about 200 meters down to the animal, and I perceived that as a long shot. Yes, 200 meters +/- 10 meters, he meant. You're a good shooter, you'll do that without any problems, he assured me. Well, I concentrated really on the shot, the bullet has to sit 5.5 centimeters below the point of aim, at that distance with the home-loaded 180 grain RWS H-Mantel I use.
There were no problems with keeping the crosshair completely still, but the head of such a roe deer is just not very big at 200 meters, even if the binoculars are turned all the way up to 9 in magnification.
When I released the bullet, I knew that the shot was good, but I had concentrated so much on the shooting that I did not have a proper grip on the rifle. Of course, the punishment came immediately, in the form of a split eyebrow. That 3-9x50 Leupold VX-II scope has steel edges, and now I know it is very good at splitting eyebrows.
It was bleeding badly even though the wound wasn't very big, the guide started talking about the hospital and stitches. I didn't want to waste good hunting time on a hospital visit, so I assured him it was insignificant.
We then found a good herd of fallow deer walking on an open piece of land. The guide explained that I should try to get closer myself, and if I got a chance to fire more than one shot I should do so. I sneaked into the woods and made an arc that should get me out about 100 meters from the herds. The plan worked, and the fallow deer walked calmly and grazed, the distance was about 120 meters, and I found a crooked tree, which was very nice to rest on.
I got a good hold on a doe and released the bullet. The doe gave a jump and ran a few meters forward, after which it stopped and looked back. It was strange enough, I thought, so I reloaded and shot again. This time the whole pack ran out into the middle of the open space and then stood still.
I thought I had a really good hold with both shots myself, so I was quite shocked. When I got reloaded again, the whole group stood still at approx. 150 meters and I sighted on them again. They were just so close that I couldn't get any of them free, and had to refrain from shooting.
After a while, I would think 3-4 minutes, the whole herd calmly turned their backs on me and went into the forest on the opposite side of the clearing.
The guide came up and said that I had not hit with the shots, he was quite sure of that, otherwise the game would not have reacted as it did.
Now I had probably gained a notch in my confidence, and that twice in a row.
The guide suggested we find a tower to sit in to take advantage of the last daylight. That was fine with me, especially after the episode that had just unfolded.
We got to the tower and had probably been sitting for 20 minutes when it started to get dark. However, a few does came along with the darkness, and in the last light I could pick out a nice doe.
I myself thought that the shot I fired on that occasion should have been good. The guide just tell me that the bullet had hit the ground a full meter in front of the animal. We went down and found exactly where the bullet had gone into the ground.
It's because you've become afraid of the rifle, because of the eye thing, the shooter told me. He thought for sure that the shooting would be all right again tomorrow. The eyebrow was actually still bleeding a little, and hurting, so even when I don’t like to admit it, he was right.
On the way back to the hotel, my guide got a call. It was a guide who had gone together with a man from the Czech Republic. The man had shot a fallow deer and since my guide/forest worker was responsible for this particular piece of forest, they wanted him to join the search. The guide asked if I wanted to go out and search, otherwise he would drive me back to the hotel first. I naturally wanted to go out and experience a search, so the hotel could under no circumstances come into question.
We arrived at the shot site at the same time as the dog, and I again had the opportunity to see the Bavarian blood dog in action.
The dog had no problems at all in finding the fallow deer, which by the way had walked almost 1 kilometer with a good bullet of shoulder. The Poles assured both the Czech and me that the shot was well placed, sometimes such an old fallow deer only runs very far, they explained.
The stag was a real big, and of course I wished the lucky Czech well. He himself was clearly very relieved that the animal had been found.
It was good to see a good tracking dog at work, after some of the negative stories I have heard about Poland and search for wounded animals, I can now say that they have good dogs, if they decide to use them.
When I got back to the hotel, the interpreter provided hydrogen peroxide and a piece of skin colored patch, so the eyebrow didn't look so bad anymore.
After dinner the boss of the forest came and visited me in the hotel. He had heard about my eyebrow's involuntary meeting with the scope, so he wanted to see how bad it had gone.
When I had assured him that it was no problem, he took it easy again. Then he also wanted to ask if I wanted to take part in a driven hunt the next morning. It was the forest's own people who would make the hunt to cull roe deer and fallow deer, which were the only game that had to be shot. It was I other words the forest workers own traditional driven hunt and they wanted to invite me along.
After all, I don't say no to a polite invitation, and of course I said yes.
At 8 o'clock the next morning we were supposed to meet at the forest boss´s residence. There were approx. 35 shooters, and 15 drivers, who had to drive through without dogs.
The drive was supposed to last 3 hours, and he had selected a good tower that he would offer me to sit in, for which I said many thanks.
During the parole (rules read up), I was introduced to the other shooters, like colleague Jensen, from Denmark, and everyone was very nice and wanted to talk. I was also the only foreigner present.
However, there was a hunt that had to be carried out, so the conversation was interrupted and we had to get started.
The guide knew where the tower was and when we drove out there, we already saw plenty of game.
The tower I had been assigned was right in the middle of an intersection, so I could shoot down all four roads. Otherwise, there was high-stemmed pine forest, with strong self-seeded undergrowth all around. It was obvious that I couldn't shoot in the forest, as the undergrowth was so tight it prevented good shots in most places, so the shooter suggested that he would watch two of the roads, then I should take the other two.
The drive was approx. 450 hectares, so I don't know when the drivers started, because we could hear nothing, but after 5 minutes the first herd of fallow deer crossed a road, 70-80 meters down. I was ready and because they kept coming, I was able to get a good hold on one of them on the narrow road and I released the bullet, to a snapshot on the running doe.
The shooter asked if I hit, and I told I thought I did, which he agreed with.
From that moment, both roe/fallow/red deer and lots of wild boar kept coming. It was clearly a super tower that had been assigned to me here. However, I was so afraid of shooting a stag that I didn't dare to shoot on the narrow roads at all, in the second the chances on running deer are there.
Among other things, a lone sow with 7 very small striped pigs came and crossed the road. The shooter expressed concern at this sight. One more drive hunt was to be held for foreign hunters in another part of the forest, where pigs would be allowed to be shot. If the sows already have pigs, it is quite unfortunate, as not all foreign hunting guests have the same good morals and would shoot such a sow without hesitation, resulting in the piglets dying.
At one point, I was lucky enough to have a couple of deer run straight towards me. Now there was no doubt that these two were does, so I found them in the rifle scope. When they were approx. 50 meters from the tower they turned into the forest and presented the shoulder towards the tower. I already had them in the scope, so it was just a matter of pulling out a little and pressing trigger.
This time the guide didn't think I had hit. Well, it's a low heart shot, I assured him.
Only 5 minutes after a doe and calf came from another road running straight towards the tower. At a range of about 30 meters, I send a bullet in “tie” position on the doe, who immediately collapsed, and only just gave off 2 kicks with the hind legs. The calf ran of into the forest, but I was ready for it when it crossed the next road. The calf was running fast, but at a range of only 20 meters I got a snapshot into the shoulder, and it flipped over on the spot.
After a while, a couple of beaters passed by and after that there wasn't much game. I had to climb down from the tower to make room for the food we would have after the hunt. When I was now sitting there with my trousers down, of course a group of fallow came 30 meters from the tower, and on top of that they stood still right in the middle of the road. That's how hunting is, and that's how hunting should be, so instead of being upset, I enjoyed the sight of the beautiful animals.
The guide was called and told the drive was over. Then a search had to be made.
There was disagreement about the one I shot and believed was a low heart shot, so we started with that one. When we reached the place of the hit, however, there was no doubt. There was plenty of blood, and we could just follow it straight to the animal, which was 40 meters in, lying dead with a low hear bullet, as I had said.
Number 2, we both agreed, had had a good shot, so there was no big surprise when there was blood. The blood, however, stopped after approx. 20 meters and that was not so good. The guide decided to go into the dense undergrowth and look for the deer, and only 2 minutes passed before he shouted it was lying there.
Remember what I told you last night, about your shooting skills and the eyebrow. Yes I had to admit, my shooting skills improved a lot, now eyebrow didn’t hurt so badly anymore.
Before the parade we had a good hearty meal at the parade ground, and looked at the game that was presented.
Then it was time to end the hunt and we gathered for the final words. Unfortunately, I can't understand what was said, but I think the forest boss was quite satisfied.
Then a shooter king was named, who was presented with a medal for 4 deer. Then I was called up and given a medal for the 4 deer I had shot. Number 2 shooter had got 3 deer, so I had clearly been given a real good tower. .
The conversation was lively, but I was interrupted by the guide. There was still an hour and a half of daylight left, and we might as well use it for some hunting.
Then we drove out into a fresh piece of forest and again quickly found a herd of fallow deer. I got into a good position, but they moved pretty quickly, and I didn't get a shot off.
However, it didn't take more than 15 minutes before we found a large number of wild game. This time it was all perfect and I got really good hold on one deer. It just stood with its head behind a tree, and I just wanted to see if it was a stag before I shot. That decision saved the animal's life, so again I didn't get shot.
However suddenly a small group of 4-5 deer came out behind us, and I immediately found a doe in the sights. They where only 30-40 meters away, and had clearly sensed something was wrong, so I quickly pressed the trigger sequence, and the doe made a high jump before falling to the ground. Before I could repeat the whole forest was suddenly alive with deer, running I several directions, and in the confusion a did not get to fire a single shoot at this opportunity.
Now it was quickly getting dark, and when we again got in touch with a herd of fallow deer, I could no longer see what it was I had in the binoculars, so I refrained from shooting.
Thus, the evening passed with another great stalking experience, and I will not forget how the deer suddenly was all around us without we expected them.
Then came the last morning. I had until 10 o'clock to go hunting, and of course I had to make the most of it. The guide explained that in this piece of forest we would stalk today, calves should be shot rather than does, the opposite of the days before.
I suggested we sit in a tower and the guide was fine with that. He led me to a tower which stood in the corner of a large square clearing of Ca. 250X250 meters. For the first time I sat in a tower for longer than 20 minutes without seeing deer. After approx. After 3 quarters of an hour a doe came out.
I quickly got the doe in my scope, but figured there would be a calf with it. After a while, the guide whispered to me, shoot, shoot. Well, it looked like it was alone, I put the crosshairs on the shoulder and pulled the trigger. The distance was about 100 meters and I had no doubt that the shot was good.
At the same moment the doe started to run, a calf came out of the forest and followed. The doe ran across the clearing and when it had run about 75-80 meters it stopped, dangled a bit and then fell. The calf stopped at the doe, but stood with its rear towards me, so I could not shoot. After 15-20 seconds, however, it ran on across the clearing and disappeared into the forest. The guide made some Polish curses, that clearly told me he did not expect the doe to have a calf.
Then we sat for about 10 minutes again before deer arrived, this time a roe buck and a roe. The guide asked me to shoot the roe, as they still needed quite a lot of female roes to complete their shooting list. The roe deer dropped in the shot when I put a high shoulder bullet from the .308 old BSA rifle. But instead of going down to her, we decided to stay put in the tower.
The reward for sitting put came after a few minutes. The calf came back.
It came quietly walking on a course that would take it 20-30 meters past the tower. I waited until it was right next to the tower and then I released the bullet. This time there was a bang and fall effect, the animal never heard the shot.
Then there was time to have the animals dragged out to the road and do gralloch. Up until this point I had gralloched what I shot myself. Now the shooter suggested that we should try to see who could gralloch a piece of fallow deer the fastest. The guide won of course, despite the fact that he had the doe, and I had the calf, he only used about a minute to finish it.
There was only a quarter of an hour before we had to go back, so we sneaked into the forest. We had only got a few hundred meters in when we spotted a 2 rede hinds and 2 calves. I quickly found a good tree to lean on, but there were still branches between the target and me.
I watched them through the binoculars for a long time, waiting for a good chance. Then one of the hurdlers took a few steps forward and stood perfectly with the shoulder towards me, at approx. 100 meters. I started to pull the trigger, but stopped again, and shoulderd my rifle, I had a lot of good experience on this trip, and wanted to stop for now.
The guide asked what now. And I explained to him that it was just like that, and now I wanted to go back to the hotel and pack.
At the hotel, the forest boss arrived at the same time as me, and we made an inventory of what had been shot. He was very concerned about whether I had been satisfied. I could reassure him that it was probably not the last time I visited his forest as a hunting guest.
Before I started the drive home, I got a bottle of Bison vodka and Polish chocolate from the interpreter. Then the forest boss gave me a DVD and a map of the area, which showed the entire forest district, and I could now see exactly where the hunt had actually taken place.
It was a long drive home and there were many good memories to process. Now the big problem is just that there is a long time until the new season starts, and I can go back again.
Pictures will follow soon.
Sonny
Found some photoes from that trip
It’s a translation from Danish writeup I made back then. I hope some of you will find it interesting to read about stalking in other counties even when it’s a long writeup.
This was my first cull hunting I Poland and I arrived at the territory in Poland at noon after 7 hours of driving around 1:30 p.m.
Since individual hunting in Poland is a "new" for me, I was quite worried about how it would go in terms of language and the like. I speak South Jut and Danish as my first languages, where German is my second and English my third, but none of those come any close to Polish.
On arrival at the hotel, however, I was already awaited by the lady who was to be my interpreter. She spoke perfect English and was able to immediately introduce me to the Forest boss and the Forrest worker/stalker who was to be my guide, as Polish law specifies individual stalkers has to be accompanied by local guide.
The forest boss spoke both English and German, while my guide only spoke German, combined with my English-speaking interpreter, it was a real international conversation. The interpreter was not to accompany while hunting, but stay in the hotel and sort out any unclear issues.
The people of the forest were very good at explaining a bit about the area, which was Ca. 25,000 hectares, and the game species that were found here.
I was informed that no more wild boars should be shot right now, as the quota for them had largely been used, and the last ones should be kept free for a driven hunt that was to take place right after I returned home. Now I had also come to shoot cull animals, mainly fallow deer, but in this area, there was a lot of reds and roes, so I had no problem letting the pig go and i had shoot plenty of pigs in Gemany over the season.
It was agreed that the guide would pick me up at 3:30 p.m., and then there would be hunting. After a quick dinner, I therefore used the time to get an hour's sleep.
When it was 3.30 pm, the interpreter woke me up by knocking on the door, I had overslept, and it just took a little time to get dressed and ready, so set of shortly after 3:30. When we arrived at the hunting site, the remnants of the last few days' storm still hung over the forest, so there was a good wind in the trees.
Since it is new for me to be accompanied by a guide, I was quite excited to see how it would go. The guide, however, asked me if I wanted to walk around, or sit in a tower, and if I preferred forest, forest edge or open field. He would like us to start by shooting a red deer. Red deer is the game species I have by far the least experience with, so I asked him what he would suggest. Yes, then we had to sit in a tower in a dense, young pine forest, with this wind the deer would walk restlessly around the dense forest.
We sat up in a tower from where we could see out 3 ways and then the wait began.
It wasn't because we had to wait more like 10 minutes before a couple of fallow deer came across the road. However, they were back in the woods before I even got the good old BSA rifle up, so I then kept it up, with the barrel pointing out over one road.
It didn't take many minutes after the fallow deer had passed before suddenly a group of red deer came walking calmly along one of "our" roads. This time, however, I was ready with the rifle and quickly got it to my shoulder. The shooter tried to direct me to a specific piece of game, but it was virtually impossible to pinpoint a specific animal when moving in a tight group like this. There were a couple of fallow deer in between and I just had to watch out for it.
I had been told that what they lacked most in the plan was +1year hinds rather than calves. I had the group in the rifle scope, and the distance was approx. 100 meters, so when a hind was free, I sent the bullet off.
The hind gave a mighty jump, and the whole pack disappeared into the forest.
Shortly after they came over the next road, where my rifle now pointed. One of them stopped for a brief moment and I got another hind. This time the hind dropped on the spot and lay visible from our tower.
Phew, now it was time to smoke a cigarette. The Guide wasn't sure which animal I had shot at in first shot, but I explained to him that it was a 3 or 4 year old hind, he wasn't so sure though. The most important thing was that it was not a stag that had been shot at. The second one we could see lying just around 60-70 meters from our tower, he estimated was a 2 year hind.
I did not finish the cigarette before 2 hinds came walking directly against our tower. They got to within 50 meters when the suddenly turned and walked into the forest. The last one stopped for a minute and in my head it was already lying dead, as this would be so easy a shot. But I send the bullet of and the hind jumped up and disappeared.
After the shots, we sat again in Ca. 10 minutes, and then suddenly there was a new group of reds on one of the roads. This time I was ready again, and when a young hind was free, I released the bullet, which acknowledged with the sound of a fine bullet impact.
The shooter wanted us to sit a little longer, but he could sense that I was impatient to come down and look at the animals.
First, we went down to the first victim, I was sure that the bullet was sitting on the shoulder. However, there was no blood, we only found a little hair at the shot site, so it was a little difficult to get confirmation of where the bullet sat. However, after we had searched for 10-15 minutes we found the piece of lung membrane Ca. 75 meters into the rather dense forest. Then after a few meters more I found it, so after I had shouted to the shooter that it was here, I gralloched it, and we could helped each other to drag the animal out to the road, and come up and look for the other one.
Then the trip went up to the place where I had shot the last. After a long search we found a few individual hairs, but again no blood, but there was doubt as to whether these hairs were fresh or old. Now the light was also starting to get bad so the shooter decided to call for a tracking dog. However, there was a group of Germans on their last day's drift hunt and they used the dog, so we had to wait until tomorrow. Besides, it was getting pretty dark now.
The second deer was lying on the forest road to be picked up directly to the car. The shot was sitting high on the shoulder, but luckily without touching the spine, so acceptable meat damage.
In the car on the way back to the hotel, we spoke about how far the red deer usually run with shoulder hits. He told about big old 200kg+ deer running several hundred meters before dropping, even when hit well on the shoulder. This also corresponds very well with a very big old hind I saw being shot in Germany last year on a driven hunt. It traveled almost a kilometer, and when it broke open it could be ascertained that the bullet had gone straight through the heart. The Germans thought at the time, however, that it was quite rare that they went that far with a good bullet, but certainly not unheard of.
When we got back to the hotel, we were greeted by the interpreter who wished us luck and told me I could eat in 20 minutes.
After a quick shower, it was time to eat. At a long table in the restaurant sat a group og German hunters on driven hunt, who were going home the next day, enjoying themselves immensely.
After the meal I naturally got into a chat with them, and they could tell that they (13 hunters) had shot 52 pieces of game in 3 days. 1 of them had shot a very large red stag, so he had to give several drinks to the happy German group.
Since I was behind with sleep, I already went to bed at 7.30pm. The guide had said he would pick me up at 7 the next morning and then I would be fresh.
6.30 on day 2, I got up and had a cup of coffee and a roll before the guide came to pick me up.
We drove out near the place where I had shot the reds the day before. The weather was now completely calm and I decided to sit in a shooting tower. The guide suggested a tower where he thought fallow deer would come. We had only been sitting for 10 minutes when 3 deer wildly, quietly crossed the road 150 meters away.
It wasn't really bright, so neither the guide nor I could tell if it was doe/calf, so they were allowed to live.
After another quarter of an hour, a large herd of fallow deer came on the other side of the tower.
Now it was getting good light, so I quickly found them in the binoculars as they crossed the road. There was a small skinny tree by the side of the road, exactly in the line of fire to the place where the animals crossed. I simply didn't want to do anything bad, so I refrained from shooting through the branches, but instead tried to get hold of one at the edge of the road. The guide eagerly tried to direct me onto one of the of the deer he wanted me to shoot, although it was difficult in the dense herd. I didn't manage to get one of them properly into the crosshairs, so there were no shots this time either.
We probably sat for 10-15 minutes longer without seeing anything. Then I thought we should try stalking. We soon looked out into a fairly open, high-stemmed pine forest. Here we quickly spotted a herd of fallow deer, which had also spotted us, so they were quickly gone. After a kilometer of stalking, we found a large number of fallow deer. We whispered back and forth a bit trying to figure out why one I should try to shoot.
I managed to get into a good position, approx. 120 meters from them. When I found a doe in the scope I pulled up on the blade and released the bullet. The moment the shot went off I knew it was a miss, I jerked the shot off and the bullet went into the ground between the hinds legs.
The guide had followed along and came laughing to me and said "Föllig Forbei", I knew that well myself, so I could only agree with him.
We went back to the car and drove a bit. Then a fresh stalk started in some swamp area. We only got to walk about 4-500 meters before 6-7 fallow deer was standing in the swamp. I had been told to shoot doe before calf, so when we got within Ca. 120 meters a good tree was chosen to rest the rifle on. When the shot was fired the doe run of with its head hanging down so there was no doubt it had been a good shot. To my relief it dropped after running 20-30 meters.
I now asked if we shouldn't drive out and look for the red hind that I had shot at the night before. He agreed, so after a phone call to the dog handler we drove out there. When we got out there in broad daylight and found the scene of the shooting, I could immediately see lung tissue, and quickly found large amounts of blood a few meters into the forest.
However, we did not manage to follow the blood, as the dog handler arrived at the same time.
The dog was a Bavarian dog, and as soon as it was let out of the car it went straight on the track, into the forest.
The dog handler looked at the blood and asked what I had shot at. I explained that it was a young hind. He simply said that if it was really a young hind it would be 75-100 meters in, and if it was an old one it would have gone twice as far.
Quite rightly, the dog found the young hind, Ca. 75 meters into the very dense young pine forest, with a good bullet at the backend on the shoulder.
When I broke open the animal, I saw that the lungs were completely shattered, and a single fragment had struck the heart, so the shot had been good. It had been a very good morning, now that the animal had been found.
When we got back to the hotel, the interpreter was waiting with a huge breakfast. After eating, I struck up a conversation with a couple of Germans who were going home by bus that morning. The red stag one of them had shot had been measured at 8,9 kg, and a silver medal, so of course I wanted to congratulate it.
That afternoon we already drove into the forest at 2 p.m. and started walking around. The forest where a mix of Pine and Larch, where the mostly soft damp ground gave good dampening of our footsteps. There was some undergrowth of ferns, and patches with tight bushes to use as cover when we were to approach a possible chance to get at animals. We hadn't walked more than a quarter of an hour before we found fallow deer. They were quite far away between high-stemmed pines, and since it was completely still weather, I really had to do hard work to get into a good position to fire a shot, even with the soft underground.
We managed to get within 130-140 meters and find a good tree to lean against. Now the problem was just that the animals walked very close together, and every time one was free from the others, trees got in the way. I stood for a very long time with the rifle up, and had the crosshairs, on several different occasions.
Eventually I became so tense that I could no longer hold the rifle still, so I had to take it down to rest. Several of the animals must have seen the movement, because they all fled within a few seconds.
We continued, and several times found deer, but we did not manage to get at them properly, as we were making noise in the completely calm weather.
After several unsuccessful attempts in the forest, the guide suggested that we go out hunting in the field, so that we could see far and make less noise. We then went out to a field and followed a fence, where no deer was to be seen. There were an incredible number of deer tracks, so I had no doubt that the place was good. Now that it was getting dark, the gunner suggested that I should sit up in a tower that stood by a country road. Very clear instructions were given that I should be absolutely sure not to shoot a stag if deer came out. Then I got explained that if I saw a fox, it should be shot immediately. If Hubertus wanted a fox shot, he would send one over and it would give good hunting luck if I shot it.
10 minutes after, a fallow deer suddenly came out of the forest on the opposite side of the field. There were 19-20 fallow, but all the way out at 300-350 meters, so I had to content myself with observing them through the binoculars.
After a minute or two, I swung the scope all the way around to look for any animals. Then I spotted the fox, which came slyly along the dirt road heading straight towards me. When it was at 50 meters, I gave a whistle and it stopped for the last time in its life.
After the shot, I could see the fallow deer running into the forest, which I also expected they would do when I shot.
It just didn't take more than 5 minutes before a new herd of fallow deer of 14-15 pieces came on the opposite side of the field. They were quite fast, but clearly wanted to pass very close to the tower where I was sitting.
They passed right over the dead fox at a fuse trot, so I kept a little in front of a good doe. When the shot went off, it immediately collapsed. I repeated and saw to my horror that it had got back on its feet and ran away. The angle was very bad, but it should have had another bullet as it was clearly badly angled. It kept running away at a bad angle and it was already out at Ca. 200 meters so I couldn't wait any longer. I pulled forward well, held a little high, and released the bullet.
The doe went right down, and the sound of a “smack” good shot met me at the same time.
Now it was time to smoke, and before I had burned out my cigarette, a group of 4 young (1-2 years) pigs came running along the field. They did not come any closer than about 150 meters to the tower, but the guide said I could shoot one of them if the opportunity came, there was good room on the list for 2-3 yearlings. I explained my involvement in a German syndicate located in Hessen, where no one else wanted to do night hunting. For that reason, I shot a lot of pigs there, and just this season I got 92 pigs so far and had come here to Poland for hunting deer.
By the time we had cleaned the doe it was getting dark, and we decided to stop for the day.
The next morning it rained, and we decided to start in a tower with a roof over us. Already on our way to the tower which stood at the edge of the forest, out to a glorious meadow, we saw lots of fallow deer. There was not much we could do as it was still too dark to be able to select the right animal for shooting. After 15 minutes in the tower, 8 pieces of fallow deer came out on the opposite side of the meadow. The distance was only approx. 100 meters, and the light had become good, so it was easy to spot a good doe in the herd. I had a really good setup for the rifle in the turret and could put a perfect shoulder bullet in the animal. We just sat for 5 minutes after the shot and then we went down and looked. There was plenty of blood and it was just a matter of following it into the dense thicket. We found the doe 35 meters from the shooting site and forgot all about rain and bad weather. Now we decided to try to stalk in the forest, as the rain would dampen our footsteps. This forest was very different from the one we stalked the day before and consisted of mostly beech and Oak trees with a lot of patches where thick undergrowth where dominating, the terrain was also quite hilly and crossed by some small low water streams. In this forest however it was a lot easier to get close to the deer than we had experienced in the more open pine/Larch stalked the day before.
Several times we came close to fallow deer in the forest, and the first time I got a good chance to shoot, there was simply so much rain on the binocular lens that it was impossible to get a safe shot. There were several shooting opportunities, but I had great trouble keeping the lens free of water and fog.
Lesson learned, I must go out and buy a lens-flap to put over the front lens.
I had got a deer this morning, so even though I had a few chances in the woods without firing a shot, I was quite satisfied.
For dinner at 1 p.m., the interpreter had made sure that there was a BIG wiener schnitzel with chips for me. It was just nice to have some food like that before we started the hunting again at 2 p.m.
The rain had stopped, and the weather had become really nice with a very light wind to help us with to dampen the footsteps when stalking.
The first fallow deer we found in the forest was a good fallow stag. The guide estimated it to weigh around 2.9 Kg and asked if I wanted to shoot it. There was extra price on shooting trofees so explained to him that the finances had more to do with such a decision than the desire, so I politely declined.
He then asked if I wanted to shoot a “select” (bad trofee), if we came by one, they are much cheaper. And in this case, my financial situation would permit me to be less choosy.
It wasn't long after this decision was made before we actually found 3 fallow deer walking together. The one on the far right was a selection, weighing almost 2 Kg, he explained to me, and I decided to try.
We actually managed, after a short but very slow stalk, to get in good range of the deer. The problem was now that the deer I had been assigned was behind the other two so I couldn't shoot.
Suddenly there was a roar in the forest and a large number of deer came running. They had been just downwind of me and passed, now noisily 200 meters on the other side of the fallow deer. The result of the disturbance was that the deer we had come upon immediately took flight.
We continued, and after a short time we came to a clearing which sloped slightly downwards, where a narrow stream ran at the other end. An old roe doe was down there calmly grazing away.
You haven't shot roe deer in Poland yet, so if you want you can try shooting the one down there. Since I'm not hard to persuade, I laid down on a knoll and had a perfect setup for the rifle.
I challenge you to make a headshot the guide whispered while I was getting ready.
There were about 200 meters down to the animal, and I perceived that as a long shot. Yes, 200 meters +/- 10 meters, he meant. You're a good shooter, you'll do that without any problems, he assured me. Well, I concentrated really on the shot, the bullet has to sit 5.5 centimeters below the point of aim, at that distance with the home-loaded 180 grain RWS H-Mantel I use.
There were no problems with keeping the crosshair completely still, but the head of such a roe deer is just not very big at 200 meters, even if the binoculars are turned all the way up to 9 in magnification.
When I released the bullet, I knew that the shot was good, but I had concentrated so much on the shooting that I did not have a proper grip on the rifle. Of course, the punishment came immediately, in the form of a split eyebrow. That 3-9x50 Leupold VX-II scope has steel edges, and now I know it is very good at splitting eyebrows.
It was bleeding badly even though the wound wasn't very big, the guide started talking about the hospital and stitches. I didn't want to waste good hunting time on a hospital visit, so I assured him it was insignificant.
We then found a good herd of fallow deer walking on an open piece of land. The guide explained that I should try to get closer myself, and if I got a chance to fire more than one shot I should do so. I sneaked into the woods and made an arc that should get me out about 100 meters from the herds. The plan worked, and the fallow deer walked calmly and grazed, the distance was about 120 meters, and I found a crooked tree, which was very nice to rest on.
I got a good hold on a doe and released the bullet. The doe gave a jump and ran a few meters forward, after which it stopped and looked back. It was strange enough, I thought, so I reloaded and shot again. This time the whole pack ran out into the middle of the open space and then stood still.
I thought I had a really good hold with both shots myself, so I was quite shocked. When I got reloaded again, the whole group stood still at approx. 150 meters and I sighted on them again. They were just so close that I couldn't get any of them free, and had to refrain from shooting.
After a while, I would think 3-4 minutes, the whole herd calmly turned their backs on me and went into the forest on the opposite side of the clearing.
The guide came up and said that I had not hit with the shots, he was quite sure of that, otherwise the game would not have reacted as it did.
Now I had probably gained a notch in my confidence, and that twice in a row.
The guide suggested we find a tower to sit in to take advantage of the last daylight. That was fine with me, especially after the episode that had just unfolded.
We got to the tower and had probably been sitting for 20 minutes when it started to get dark. However, a few does came along with the darkness, and in the last light I could pick out a nice doe.
I myself thought that the shot I fired on that occasion should have been good. The guide just tell me that the bullet had hit the ground a full meter in front of the animal. We went down and found exactly where the bullet had gone into the ground.
It's because you've become afraid of the rifle, because of the eye thing, the shooter told me. He thought for sure that the shooting would be all right again tomorrow. The eyebrow was actually still bleeding a little, and hurting, so even when I don’t like to admit it, he was right.
On the way back to the hotel, my guide got a call. It was a guide who had gone together with a man from the Czech Republic. The man had shot a fallow deer and since my guide/forest worker was responsible for this particular piece of forest, they wanted him to join the search. The guide asked if I wanted to go out and search, otherwise he would drive me back to the hotel first. I naturally wanted to go out and experience a search, so the hotel could under no circumstances come into question.
We arrived at the shot site at the same time as the dog, and I again had the opportunity to see the Bavarian blood dog in action.
The dog had no problems at all in finding the fallow deer, which by the way had walked almost 1 kilometer with a good bullet of shoulder. The Poles assured both the Czech and me that the shot was well placed, sometimes such an old fallow deer only runs very far, they explained.
The stag was a real big, and of course I wished the lucky Czech well. He himself was clearly very relieved that the animal had been found.
It was good to see a good tracking dog at work, after some of the negative stories I have heard about Poland and search for wounded animals, I can now say that they have good dogs, if they decide to use them.
When I got back to the hotel, the interpreter provided hydrogen peroxide and a piece of skin colored patch, so the eyebrow didn't look so bad anymore.
After dinner the boss of the forest came and visited me in the hotel. He had heard about my eyebrow's involuntary meeting with the scope, so he wanted to see how bad it had gone.
When I had assured him that it was no problem, he took it easy again. Then he also wanted to ask if I wanted to take part in a driven hunt the next morning. It was the forest's own people who would make the hunt to cull roe deer and fallow deer, which were the only game that had to be shot. It was I other words the forest workers own traditional driven hunt and they wanted to invite me along.
After all, I don't say no to a polite invitation, and of course I said yes.
At 8 o'clock the next morning we were supposed to meet at the forest boss´s residence. There were approx. 35 shooters, and 15 drivers, who had to drive through without dogs.
The drive was supposed to last 3 hours, and he had selected a good tower that he would offer me to sit in, for which I said many thanks.
During the parole (rules read up), I was introduced to the other shooters, like colleague Jensen, from Denmark, and everyone was very nice and wanted to talk. I was also the only foreigner present.
However, there was a hunt that had to be carried out, so the conversation was interrupted and we had to get started.
The guide knew where the tower was and when we drove out there, we already saw plenty of game.
The tower I had been assigned was right in the middle of an intersection, so I could shoot down all four roads. Otherwise, there was high-stemmed pine forest, with strong self-seeded undergrowth all around. It was obvious that I couldn't shoot in the forest, as the undergrowth was so tight it prevented good shots in most places, so the shooter suggested that he would watch two of the roads, then I should take the other two.
The drive was approx. 450 hectares, so I don't know when the drivers started, because we could hear nothing, but after 5 minutes the first herd of fallow deer crossed a road, 70-80 meters down. I was ready and because they kept coming, I was able to get a good hold on one of them on the narrow road and I released the bullet, to a snapshot on the running doe.
The shooter asked if I hit, and I told I thought I did, which he agreed with.
From that moment, both roe/fallow/red deer and lots of wild boar kept coming. It was clearly a super tower that had been assigned to me here. However, I was so afraid of shooting a stag that I didn't dare to shoot on the narrow roads at all, in the second the chances on running deer are there.
Among other things, a lone sow with 7 very small striped pigs came and crossed the road. The shooter expressed concern at this sight. One more drive hunt was to be held for foreign hunters in another part of the forest, where pigs would be allowed to be shot. If the sows already have pigs, it is quite unfortunate, as not all foreign hunting guests have the same good morals and would shoot such a sow without hesitation, resulting in the piglets dying.
At one point, I was lucky enough to have a couple of deer run straight towards me. Now there was no doubt that these two were does, so I found them in the rifle scope. When they were approx. 50 meters from the tower they turned into the forest and presented the shoulder towards the tower. I already had them in the scope, so it was just a matter of pulling out a little and pressing trigger.
This time the guide didn't think I had hit. Well, it's a low heart shot, I assured him.
Only 5 minutes after a doe and calf came from another road running straight towards the tower. At a range of about 30 meters, I send a bullet in “tie” position on the doe, who immediately collapsed, and only just gave off 2 kicks with the hind legs. The calf ran of into the forest, but I was ready for it when it crossed the next road. The calf was running fast, but at a range of only 20 meters I got a snapshot into the shoulder, and it flipped over on the spot.
After a while, a couple of beaters passed by and after that there wasn't much game. I had to climb down from the tower to make room for the food we would have after the hunt. When I was now sitting there with my trousers down, of course a group of fallow came 30 meters from the tower, and on top of that they stood still right in the middle of the road. That's how hunting is, and that's how hunting should be, so instead of being upset, I enjoyed the sight of the beautiful animals.
The guide was called and told the drive was over. Then a search had to be made.
There was disagreement about the one I shot and believed was a low heart shot, so we started with that one. When we reached the place of the hit, however, there was no doubt. There was plenty of blood, and we could just follow it straight to the animal, which was 40 meters in, lying dead with a low hear bullet, as I had said.
Number 2, we both agreed, had had a good shot, so there was no big surprise when there was blood. The blood, however, stopped after approx. 20 meters and that was not so good. The guide decided to go into the dense undergrowth and look for the deer, and only 2 minutes passed before he shouted it was lying there.
Remember what I told you last night, about your shooting skills and the eyebrow. Yes I had to admit, my shooting skills improved a lot, now eyebrow didn’t hurt so badly anymore.
Before the parade we had a good hearty meal at the parade ground, and looked at the game that was presented.
Then it was time to end the hunt and we gathered for the final words. Unfortunately, I can't understand what was said, but I think the forest boss was quite satisfied.
Then a shooter king was named, who was presented with a medal for 4 deer. Then I was called up and given a medal for the 4 deer I had shot. Number 2 shooter had got 3 deer, so I had clearly been given a real good tower. .
The conversation was lively, but I was interrupted by the guide. There was still an hour and a half of daylight left, and we might as well use it for some hunting.
Then we drove out into a fresh piece of forest and again quickly found a herd of fallow deer. I got into a good position, but they moved pretty quickly, and I didn't get a shot off.
However, it didn't take more than 15 minutes before we found a large number of wild game. This time it was all perfect and I got really good hold on one deer. It just stood with its head behind a tree, and I just wanted to see if it was a stag before I shot. That decision saved the animal's life, so again I didn't get shot.
However suddenly a small group of 4-5 deer came out behind us, and I immediately found a doe in the sights. They where only 30-40 meters away, and had clearly sensed something was wrong, so I quickly pressed the trigger sequence, and the doe made a high jump before falling to the ground. Before I could repeat the whole forest was suddenly alive with deer, running I several directions, and in the confusion a did not get to fire a single shoot at this opportunity.
Now it was quickly getting dark, and when we again got in touch with a herd of fallow deer, I could no longer see what it was I had in the binoculars, so I refrained from shooting.
Thus, the evening passed with another great stalking experience, and I will not forget how the deer suddenly was all around us without we expected them.
Then came the last morning. I had until 10 o'clock to go hunting, and of course I had to make the most of it. The guide explained that in this piece of forest we would stalk today, calves should be shot rather than does, the opposite of the days before.
I suggested we sit in a tower and the guide was fine with that. He led me to a tower which stood in the corner of a large square clearing of Ca. 250X250 meters. For the first time I sat in a tower for longer than 20 minutes without seeing deer. After approx. After 3 quarters of an hour a doe came out.
I quickly got the doe in my scope, but figured there would be a calf with it. After a while, the guide whispered to me, shoot, shoot. Well, it looked like it was alone, I put the crosshairs on the shoulder and pulled the trigger. The distance was about 100 meters and I had no doubt that the shot was good.
At the same moment the doe started to run, a calf came out of the forest and followed. The doe ran across the clearing and when it had run about 75-80 meters it stopped, dangled a bit and then fell. The calf stopped at the doe, but stood with its rear towards me, so I could not shoot. After 15-20 seconds, however, it ran on across the clearing and disappeared into the forest. The guide made some Polish curses, that clearly told me he did not expect the doe to have a calf.
Then we sat for about 10 minutes again before deer arrived, this time a roe buck and a roe. The guide asked me to shoot the roe, as they still needed quite a lot of female roes to complete their shooting list. The roe deer dropped in the shot when I put a high shoulder bullet from the .308 old BSA rifle. But instead of going down to her, we decided to stay put in the tower.
The reward for sitting put came after a few minutes. The calf came back.
It came quietly walking on a course that would take it 20-30 meters past the tower. I waited until it was right next to the tower and then I released the bullet. This time there was a bang and fall effect, the animal never heard the shot.
Then there was time to have the animals dragged out to the road and do gralloch. Up until this point I had gralloched what I shot myself. Now the shooter suggested that we should try to see who could gralloch a piece of fallow deer the fastest. The guide won of course, despite the fact that he had the doe, and I had the calf, he only used about a minute to finish it.
There was only a quarter of an hour before we had to go back, so we sneaked into the forest. We had only got a few hundred meters in when we spotted a 2 rede hinds and 2 calves. I quickly found a good tree to lean on, but there were still branches between the target and me.
I watched them through the binoculars for a long time, waiting for a good chance. Then one of the hurdlers took a few steps forward and stood perfectly with the shoulder towards me, at approx. 100 meters. I started to pull the trigger, but stopped again, and shoulderd my rifle, I had a lot of good experience on this trip, and wanted to stop for now.
The guide asked what now. And I explained to him that it was just like that, and now I wanted to go back to the hotel and pack.
At the hotel, the forest boss arrived at the same time as me, and we made an inventory of what had been shot. He was very concerned about whether I had been satisfied. I could reassure him that it was probably not the last time I visited his forest as a hunting guest.
Before I started the drive home, I got a bottle of Bison vodka and Polish chocolate from the interpreter. Then the forest boss gave me a DVD and a map of the area, which showed the entire forest district, and I could now see exactly where the hunt had actually taken place.
It was a long drive home and there were many good memories to process. Now the big problem is just that there is a long time until the new season starts, and I can go back again.
Pictures will follow soon.
Sonny
Found some photoes from that trip
![20260329_122130[1].webp](/data/attachments/420/420652-9f3e30b7e6755238ce7b815f63cce0e9.jpg?hash=1mIYE5woql)
