i went on to my little piece of ground yesterday morning with dog,3006and a flask of coffee with the intension of shooting asuitable yearling hind for the freezer.i parked the jeep and walked to my hide and watched night turn to day.the sun came up and burnt the mist away to reveil 28 hinds ,yearlings and calfs,alhso 2 majestic stags one a 16 pointer and one a 12 pointer .i watched them for a while and selected a yearling as i was about to pull the trigger abuzzard landed on a near bye post unaware of my presence .what with hares in the same field and grouse calling behind me ,i dont know if i am going soft in my old age,but i drew back the bolt ,unloaded my rifle,poured a coffee had a smoke and stroked my black lab ruger and realised how lucky i am to be alive hopefully i whont be so soft next week.
you dont always have to shoot
- Thread starter big eka
- Start date
Gunslingergirl
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a beautiful morning to be out. It also seems that you saw some wonderful things.
I always maintain that the best hunters know that it isn't always about taking a shot. I'd have probably done the same thing in your place.
I always maintain that the best hunters know that it isn't always about taking a shot. I'd have probably done the same thing in your place.
Sikamalcs stopped shooting deer too, I hope its not catching! 
No I have done the same, much to the annoyance of the stalker I was with. I saw a pair of Roe deer in a clearing, the last rays of sunlight on their backs. The Roebuck was a real Prince of the forest and they looked great together. "Shoot the bugger then" said my guide, it was most likely a good silver medal head and he knew it and it would have cost me dearly. I didn't shoot, I walked another 500 yards and shot a scraggy looking yearling instead. Even if I had been able to shoot the good buck for free I'd have said no, It just wasn't his time.
No I have done the same, much to the annoyance of the stalker I was with. I saw a pair of Roe deer in a clearing, the last rays of sunlight on their backs. The Roebuck was a real Prince of the forest and they looked great together. "Shoot the bugger then" said my guide, it was most likely a good silver medal head and he knew it and it would have cost me dearly. I didn't shoot, I walked another 500 yards and shot a scraggy looking yearling instead. Even if I had been able to shoot the good buck for free I'd have said no, It just wasn't his time.What a relief !
I thought it was just me .I became involved in the deer management last year [and am now obsessed] a couple of stags and several hinds so far .
I have tried to explain to others who find my new interest strange that the stalk here is the ultimate thing for me ,if I find a suitable beast to shoot all well and good .
If not then I have had a great day out .
Imagine spending the day on a Scottish hillside surrounded by red deer hinds in groups with a magnificent stag amongst them and then leaving them be untill you find a beast that requires to be shot .
Is there anything better ?
I thought it was just me .I became involved in the deer management last year [and am now obsessed] a couple of stags and several hinds so far .
I have tried to explain to others who find my new interest strange that the stalk here is the ultimate thing for me ,if I find a suitable beast to shoot all well and good .
If not then I have had a great day out .
Imagine spending the day on a Scottish hillside surrounded by red deer hinds in groups with a magnificent stag amongst them and then leaving them be untill you find a beast that requires to be shot .
Is there anything better ?
My Mrs now makes me go the long way to our nearest shops as if I go the direct way I go between two pieces of wood which house a small (approximately 40 head) but perfectly formed population of Sika. She has got fed up with waiting 90 minutes for me to pick up the paper and a few pints of milk!
I reckon that they have probably cost me a few hundred quid in petrol as well due to my yo-yoing backwards and forwards watching the stags with their groups of hinds.
Fantastic! I don't think there is anything better than watching these magnificent animals go about their daily activitys.
This population of Sika are not managed by me though but as their numbers are increasing at a very fast rate, I am keeping my fingers crossed!
The interesting thing is, I have no idea where these Sika came from. They are just north of Tonbridge in Kent. Anyone know?
I reckon that they have probably cost me a few hundred quid in petrol as well due to my yo-yoing backwards and forwards watching the stags with their groups of hinds.
Fantastic! I don't think there is anything better than watching these magnificent animals go about their daily activitys.
This population of Sika are not managed by me though but as their numbers are increasing at a very fast rate, I am keeping my fingers crossed!
The interesting thing is, I have no idea where these Sika came from. They are just north of Tonbridge in Kent. Anyone know?
Sounds like we have all got the bug! I spend most free weekend with the girlfriend (very understanding) walking in the Chilterns, binos around the neck looking for the many deer of this area, simply to enjoy seeing them.
It is a paradox that most non-stalkers cant comprehend, but to be a half decent stalker you need to have this interest in your quarry IMO.
James
It is a paradox that most non-stalkers cant comprehend, but to be a half decent stalker you need to have this interest in your quarry IMO.
James
sikamalc
Administrator
Andy L asked where the Sika come from near Tonbridge. Probably from Knole Park near Sevenoaks, there has been an expanding wild population in the area for sometime.
I have a friend who owns a deer farm nearby, and he told me that the Sika population is expanding fast in West Kent. Fingers crossed Andy L a few years down the road and you will have some stalking for them.
Cheers Sikamalc
I have a friend who owns a deer farm nearby, and he told me that the Sika population is expanding fast in West Kent. Fingers crossed Andy L a few years down the road and you will have some stalking for them.
Cheers Sikamalc
paul k
Well-Known Member
In Peter Carne's book, the Deer of Britain and Ireland he records the only self sustaining population of sika in Kent as being in the vicinity of Knole Park but maybe not actually from the park as there had been no large scale break outs in recent years. Knole Park is of course just to the north west of Tonbridge.
A stag was apparently heard whistling for non-existant hinds one autumn and "a local deer enthusiast" ensured that his efforts would not be in vain the following autumn and from that the current population grew and continues to grow.
A stag was apparently heard whistling for non-existant hinds one autumn and "a local deer enthusiast" ensured that his efforts would not be in vain the following autumn and from that the current population grew and continues to grow.
Could be Knole park I guess but we are at least 6 or 7 miles south and these are the only Sika I have ever seen in our area.
There seem to be 3 dominant stags this year with their own group of hinds each. Last year there was only one really dominant stag but this year I saw him about a mile away with only one antler so it looks like he has been in the wars and the young guns have taken over. Fantastic viewing when I get the chance. What worries me is that there have been 3 hit on the A227 this year and I hope a decision is not made to butcher them rather than manage them. Time will tell and I will keep in with the farmer. Hopefully one day......
There seem to be 3 dominant stags this year with their own group of hinds each. Last year there was only one really dominant stag but this year I saw him about a mile away with only one antler so it looks like he has been in the wars and the young guns have taken over. Fantastic viewing when I get the chance. What worries me is that there have been 3 hit on the A227 this year and I hope a decision is not made to butcher them rather than manage them. Time will tell and I will keep in with the farmer. Hopefully one day......
SteveOh
Well-Known Member
I had a converation along the lines of this thread with a shooting pal of mine this morning...
We both were of the same mind on the matter.
Even if I dont see a deer while I am out, I am more than happy to have been out in our great British countryside observing what Joe Public doesn't usually see.....
We both were of the same mind on the matter.
Even if I dont see a deer while I am out, I am more than happy to have been out in our great British countryside observing what Joe Public doesn't usually see.....
Yeah your right SteveOh, on my little patch I'm followed by a Barn Owl. He or she is always there, I think that the mice and voles must run off as I get near to them and the Barn Owl nabs them!
I'd like to say that he is my lucky owl, but the Munties are hard work at the moment.
I settle for watching the sunrise and the company of 'Bernie Barn Owl'. It doesn't get much better than that! 8)
I'd like to say that he is my lucky owl, but the Munties are hard work at the moment.
I settle for watching the sunrise and the company of 'Bernie Barn Owl'. It doesn't get much better than that! 8)
my last two evening outings have both been blank. Withdrawing quietly from the first when the light was gone, we put up three roe round the corner of the wood. Aha thinks me, thats where to go. Two nights later there we were, nothing !
The dogs' happy though. The pheasants all make their way back to the wood, right under his nose - he sits there shaking with excitement, me laying in the ditch getting covered in drool !
The dogs' happy though. The pheasants all make their way back to the wood, right under his nose - he sits there shaking with excitement, me laying in the ditch getting covered in drool !
paul k
Well-Known Member
SteveOh said:
There is no more magical place to be than in a bluebell wood looking for a buck as dawn breaks on a May morning. Even if you don't get a buck you see so much else and the failure to get a buck is only a slight blemish on the day.
I get a kick from seeing these things when 99% of the public have never seen them and I particularly get a kick from watching deer while traffic passes by on a nearby road and the passengers just have to look out of their windows in the right direction but invariably don't.
sikamalc
Administrator
Got to agree with you there Paul K. The scent of bluebells on an early May morning is magic. I am lucky to have such a place in Sussex where I have a nice amount of good Roe.
My other favourite is the Old Caledonian pine forest I have in Scotland. a sharp frosty autumn morning with a clear blue sky, the smell of the pines, a Sika Stag whistling, and a pair of Ravens rolling and calling overhead.
BLOODY MAGIC.
My other favourite is the Old Caledonian pine forest I have in Scotland. a sharp frosty autumn morning with a clear blue sky, the smell of the pines, a Sika Stag whistling, and a pair of Ravens rolling and calling overhead.
BLOODY MAGIC.
it was my first trip out on does this morning, not had this bit of ground long so cautiously headed of down this hedgerow when i spotted something white, thinking there are no sheep on on the farm to my surprise it was a white fallow doe as i got closer i saw she had a black calf and a brown spotted calf. she was stood with three other does who all had two black calves a piece
so shocked was i that i spent 1o mins looking through the scope wondering which family to deprive. finaly coming to my senses ran back to my truck to get my camera thinking you lot would want to see this, got back to the spot puffing like and old billygoat to find they had gone
blood typical but wot a sight
so shocked was i that i spent 1o mins looking through the scope wondering which family to deprive. finaly coming to my senses ran back to my truck to get my camera thinking you lot would want to see this, got back to the spot puffing like and old billygoat to find they had gone
blood typical but wot a sight
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