when to go out

tika.308

Well-Known Member
just wondering,if any of you have any thoughts on weather you think mornings or evenings are better to be out stalking?do you think you get better results early or later in the day?or do find it changes with the weather/time of the year?
 
Hi 308,
all I would say is never go out with a guy who realy wants to shoot his first deer. It's the kiss of death to any stalk! Just ask Malc/stone/ME! :rolleyes:
Hope you break your duck soon mate. For what it's worth I like mornings best. You can allways stay out another half hour without it getting dark! :eek:
Mark
 
Firstly - you can guarantee never to shoot a buck if you first don't take rifle out of cabinet and get out into the woods

Secondly - you will always see lots of beasts if you are just driving past, just have binoculars or have some other critical appointment / mother in law staying etc which means you can't get out stalking

Thirdly - the books say Roe do like warm sunshine

Forthly - the books say they don't like windy wet weather

Fithly - deer can't read.

My advice is just get out when you can and have the attitude that you are out in the country and enjoy it. If you come back with a beast that's a bonus. If you come back without you save yourself a lot of work in the larder.

Last year I had three blank outings for every beast that I shot - sometimes I didn't see a beast, other times I did but not in a safe shot and others just not a suitable cull animal.

I have shot deer in all weathers - actually a bit of wind and rain can help, especially on the hill as it provides background noise to cover your own footsteps.

And in the summer in Scotland - it keeps the midges away.
 
In the spring and early summer if we get one, my preference is to get out of a nice warm bed after a couple of hours sleep and go roe stalking in the morning.

There is just something about seeing the country come alive after dawn. Seeing roe is icing on the cake and suucessfully shooting a buck is the cherry on the icing :D

One of the other reasons I prefer morning stalking is that you are potentially shooting with the light imroving.

In the past I've shot a few roe at dusk and been unable to find them before the light went completely. Knowing that I had hit them meant an early rise the following morning to find them whch I did.

One of my mates who shoots over a hundred roe a year says he always shoots more in the evening but then again because of his opinion he tends only to go in the evening :confused:

We have shot together for over twenty years over various pieces of ground and agree that for some reason roe seem to be more active in the morning on some ground and prefer dusk on others.

I wish they would read the same books as us :)

Nick
 
Stalking

I personaly on average have more success shooting in the m orning than the evening. Having said that I shoot more deer in the evening because I cant always be botherd getting up at 4am especialy when I have work later that day but I am quite happy to go out untill 9pm after work.

I would say if you are going in to a high seat in the morning it is worth being in 10-15 mins before it starts to get light. on average it starts to get light 1hr before the official dawn time if you are stalking be in place ready to start your stalk 20-30 mins before the official dawn time. There is somthing special about being up and the only one about to see a stunning dawn when all the wild life iss going about its business.

I tend to find deer are less warey in the morning I guess they will not have been disturbed for a good few hours where as leading up to an evening stalk the deer may have been disturbed a few times during the day by dog walkers etc dependant on how remote your area is. Often you may go out to stake out an area you know deer frequent at night but see nothing this could easily be because 30 mins befor you went out some idiot had their 2 GSDs run through the wood!! you dont tend to have that problem in the morning!!

All the best of luck with your stalking.

Dave
 
any time i can when it,s not bloody raining :lol:
mornings are better in the summer so there are no ramblers or dog walkers or even farm machinery on the move till atleast 6:30am by that time i on usualy on my way back to the car if by myself, evenings are just as productive for me and i can go to work first before venturing out till about dark just hav to put up with the gnats and mossies and modern farming techniques aswell as the locals family outings walking their over energetic dogs
life in the country is grand, this is what makes it so special
 
Funny you should say that, Buckup. I agree completely with your theory about taking out a virgin (stalker!). I have taken out a mate of mine 4 times last month and have not seen a deer. They seem to of moved off my land until he has shot his first beast, then I reckon they will come back!
 
Hi Tika 308,
Hi matey, maybe if you stopped shouting at your host stalker, 'are we there yet?' 'can we stop now I'm tired and I need a wee'! You may see more deer! :eek: :lol:

Take it slowly young Jedi, feel the force!

I sat out in a monsoon last week up a highseat. The very moment it rain stopped a muntjac doe jumped out of the hedgeline. Unfortunately for her she didn't get to hop back in. ;)
 
I have read most things writtten by Richard Prior and generally regard his work as my bible, but heym is so right, Roe deer just cannot read. I was up in Cumbria a month or so back and the weather was shocking but I saw more that weekend that at any other time. The time of day does not seem to matter on my patch other than mid to early afternoon which does seem to be a little slack.
 
Much depends on what species and the type of terrain, and time of year.

For instance Sika in Scotland, rain no bother, howling wind, ahhhh different, they do not like the movement in the forest or the noise it dulls their senses. Evenings can be more succesful when the rut is on, especially if its been terrible weather all day long, and mornings in Scotland can be a waste if the moon is up all night.

CWD and to a certain extent Munties. RAIN AND WIND waste of time, sun comes out, out will come CWD quite often to dry off, Munties too. CWD hate rain and wind, big time.

Reds on the open hill, any weather they will be out, but if its fogged out or hard rain dont bother, wait till it blows through. Its too bloody miserable :confused: But during the rut the stags will be where the hinds are ;)

Roe can be funny deer, they will appear in bad weather, and other times when you think its going to be a good day, NOTHING!!! I personally think they are the hardest to predict where weather is concerned IMHO.

But you know the old saying no matter what the weather you wont shoot one laying in bed. You have to be out there to get a shot, anyway some good days can be had just stalking without a shot or a chance, and the weather always plays a big part at times.

Good luck
 
I love to be out stalking early on a summers morning, but hate dragging myself out of bed at daft o'clock! I am lucky that I can go back to bed for a few hours when I get back home, otherwise I am useless for the rest of the day.

I have recently being stalking a patch of ground locally and had a half a dozen early mornings last time I was home. Although it is mixed arable land with a number of large woods I only saw two deer out in the open. The others I saw were all in the woodland, with alot of activity, chasing and marking up, but not any feeding. There was a moon at the time so maybe the Roe were feeding during the night?
 
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