I have a lovely bit of ground about 10 mins up the road but my word, it's a pia to shoot! It's in the Peak District National Park and is very public. It's open access and easy access! Whilst quite high up, it's easy to walk across relatively flat paths from a good sized car park. It has its fair share of red deer and they are pretty iconic to this part of the Peak District. No one wants to see them eradicated (well my farmer might have a different view, but he does tend to be black or white about most things!) but they do cause lots of issues around here. It's not widely publicised but there are some decent numbers shot in the area by some big landowners and charities.
At this time of year the place is crawling with photographers bothering the stags; many of which have names - I kid you not! Not far away we have Bruce (sadly no longer with us!), Wideboy, Twister and Wonky just to name a few. Oh and Snowy the "mythical" white one. There is so much shite written about that poor deer on Instagram that she must have a serious identity complex.
My best bet is to be out before light, see if I can find some deer then get into position for a quick shot and exit before it gets busy. And "hidden in plain sight" is also the best strategy. I stick to the quad, avoid camo, keep the rifle (and deer) covered as much as possible and usually chuck a pair of bib waterproofs over the top (or some scruffy John Deere overalls). Everyone thinks you're checking livestock not murdering bambi.
The forecast this morning was for a lull between some heavy overnight rain and this storm that's blowing in later. Every forecast I looked at last night said it was clear and dry from about 3-4am through until mid morning. I left the house this morning at 5:30am in a monsoon
At least that should deter all but the most determined dog walkers! Nothing worse for this spot than a beautiful sunrise - it brings folk flocking from miles around! I got chatting to a chap not long back who'd driven well over an hour and was taking photos on a large format film camera. £25 a shot to get developed apparently! He reckoned the morning would cost him north of £500 all in!!
I digress.... The rain gradually eased as I pulled into the track and got sorted with the quad. And then the fog rolled in.... Did I mention the bloody fog?? The place is a fog magnet. I can leave the house under crystal clear skies and twinkling stars, drive 7 mins up the road and visibility is 30 yards. Anyway, by now I have very low expectations but I'm here so might as well have a look around. I have a quick check along one of the main edges; sheer gritstone crags with good views down onto the moorland and farmland below. I can't see any views but I can see with the thermal there are a few deer out. I have no idea what range as the rangefinder tells me they are 4yds away. I have no idea what sex either, as I can't see them through the mist with the binos.
Not to worry, I'll have a walk through the woods. Thick mature woodland on a steep back, full of rocks, crags and boulders. The deer love it. They are a monumental pain in the arse to get out if you shoot any in there, but visibility is generally lots better in there and it is probably the best option on a morning like this. There are no footpaths through it and I've never seen another soul in there but just as I pull up on the quad, a bloke appears from nowhere. Camera bag and tripod at the ready. I have no idea what he was going to photograph as it was a horrid morning but we had an amicable chat and I left him to it. No point me going in there if he's going to clear the place out of deer first. The joys of open access land.
So that's my two options exhausted but the mist is clearing slightly so worth a quick check back on the first bunch of deer before heading home. Sure enough they are still out. But all hinds and calves; the story of my season so far. I have a quick shuffle around amongst the boulders and picked up another heat source in the bracken. Yep, a stag. I get in position, prone on the soaking wet ground, rifle over the edge. Just a vertical drop below me for 40 or 50 feet then the ground flattens out slightly. I'm shooting downhill at about 25 degrees and the deer are about 130 yards away. I've definitely got a safe shot but I can't use the bipod as it's too high so it's a generally horrible, wobbly shooting position. I'm just shuffling to get more comfortable and I hear footsteps. Close footsteps. Oh, FFS, here we go... A bloke walks past with his dog about 6 feet away, gives me a cheery nod and carries on. But the deer clocked him and have retreated into the cover. I can still make out the stag, but I've no shot.
I won't bore you with the next 45 mins of lying in the drizzle waiting for the stag to come out of cover. Or waiting for the mist to clear so I could see the stag once he had stepped out of cover. Everything was against me this morning. It was going to be one of those days!
Then I hear voices. Here we go again... A bloke and his missus appear in view, completely oblivious to me. I'm looking at them, giving them a cheery wave and trying not to give them a fright. They get to about 8 feet away before they notice me but are friendly enough. Too friendly quite frankly.
"Ey up mate, what you shooting then?" say the bloke in a booming voice as he crouches down behind me trying to figure out what I've got the rifle pointed at. They are completely skylined and not a chance the deer won't have seen or heard them.
"I'm just trying to control some of the deer numbers" I reply "but it's a tricky spot with all the folk around".
"Ahh, got you, we'll leave you to it then. Best of luck!" he shouts and off they go.
And that will have brought the morning to a fitting close I expect. Sure enough, the hinds are legging it off into the distance now. Stag in tow.
They are long gone but he's not in a huge rush. He's definitely not going to hang around here any longer though. Game over but I watch him just in case.
Then suddenly he stops for a dump. I wasn't ready for it or expecting it but I'll take the change of luck!
And then the fun really starts. That is not a small deer and that's not an easy extraction...
At this time of year the place is crawling with photographers bothering the stags; many of which have names - I kid you not! Not far away we have Bruce (sadly no longer with us!), Wideboy, Twister and Wonky just to name a few. Oh and Snowy the "mythical" white one. There is so much shite written about that poor deer on Instagram that she must have a serious identity complex.
My best bet is to be out before light, see if I can find some deer then get into position for a quick shot and exit before it gets busy. And "hidden in plain sight" is also the best strategy. I stick to the quad, avoid camo, keep the rifle (and deer) covered as much as possible and usually chuck a pair of bib waterproofs over the top (or some scruffy John Deere overalls). Everyone thinks you're checking livestock not murdering bambi.
The forecast this morning was for a lull between some heavy overnight rain and this storm that's blowing in later. Every forecast I looked at last night said it was clear and dry from about 3-4am through until mid morning. I left the house this morning at 5:30am in a monsoon
At least that should deter all but the most determined dog walkers! Nothing worse for this spot than a beautiful sunrise - it brings folk flocking from miles around! I got chatting to a chap not long back who'd driven well over an hour and was taking photos on a large format film camera. £25 a shot to get developed apparently! He reckoned the morning would cost him north of £500 all in!!I digress.... The rain gradually eased as I pulled into the track and got sorted with the quad. And then the fog rolled in.... Did I mention the bloody fog?? The place is a fog magnet. I can leave the house under crystal clear skies and twinkling stars, drive 7 mins up the road and visibility is 30 yards. Anyway, by now I have very low expectations but I'm here so might as well have a look around. I have a quick check along one of the main edges; sheer gritstone crags with good views down onto the moorland and farmland below. I can't see any views but I can see with the thermal there are a few deer out. I have no idea what range as the rangefinder tells me they are 4yds away. I have no idea what sex either, as I can't see them through the mist with the binos.
Not to worry, I'll have a walk through the woods. Thick mature woodland on a steep back, full of rocks, crags and boulders. The deer love it. They are a monumental pain in the arse to get out if you shoot any in there, but visibility is generally lots better in there and it is probably the best option on a morning like this. There are no footpaths through it and I've never seen another soul in there but just as I pull up on the quad, a bloke appears from nowhere. Camera bag and tripod at the ready. I have no idea what he was going to photograph as it was a horrid morning but we had an amicable chat and I left him to it. No point me going in there if he's going to clear the place out of deer first. The joys of open access land.
So that's my two options exhausted but the mist is clearing slightly so worth a quick check back on the first bunch of deer before heading home. Sure enough they are still out. But all hinds and calves; the story of my season so far. I have a quick shuffle around amongst the boulders and picked up another heat source in the bracken. Yep, a stag. I get in position, prone on the soaking wet ground, rifle over the edge. Just a vertical drop below me for 40 or 50 feet then the ground flattens out slightly. I'm shooting downhill at about 25 degrees and the deer are about 130 yards away. I've definitely got a safe shot but I can't use the bipod as it's too high so it's a generally horrible, wobbly shooting position. I'm just shuffling to get more comfortable and I hear footsteps. Close footsteps. Oh, FFS, here we go... A bloke walks past with his dog about 6 feet away, gives me a cheery nod and carries on. But the deer clocked him and have retreated into the cover. I can still make out the stag, but I've no shot.
I won't bore you with the next 45 mins of lying in the drizzle waiting for the stag to come out of cover. Or waiting for the mist to clear so I could see the stag once he had stepped out of cover. Everything was against me this morning. It was going to be one of those days!
Then I hear voices. Here we go again... A bloke and his missus appear in view, completely oblivious to me. I'm looking at them, giving them a cheery wave and trying not to give them a fright. They get to about 8 feet away before they notice me but are friendly enough. Too friendly quite frankly.
"Ey up mate, what you shooting then?" say the bloke in a booming voice as he crouches down behind me trying to figure out what I've got the rifle pointed at. They are completely skylined and not a chance the deer won't have seen or heard them.
"I'm just trying to control some of the deer numbers" I reply "but it's a tricky spot with all the folk around".
"Ahh, got you, we'll leave you to it then. Best of luck!" he shouts and off they go.
And that will have brought the morning to a fitting close I expect. Sure enough, the hinds are legging it off into the distance now. Stag in tow.
They are long gone but he's not in a huge rush. He's definitely not going to hang around here any longer though. Game over but I watch him just in case.
Then suddenly he stops for a dump. I wasn't ready for it or expecting it but I'll take the change of luck!
And then the fun really starts. That is not a small deer and that's not an easy extraction...
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A substantial proportion of the stalkers on here will never know the hassle of your public access issues and I'm exceptionally thankful that mine don't come remotely close either!
