Start To The Season

[sussex 5,803]

The 1st time in quite a few years I have not been able to get out on the first morning of the fallow season so I was looking forward to the evening .Having got all the kit ready ,quad loaded etc I left to do a local permission not much more than 5 miles away .Still only just after 6pm I decided to have a walk round for an hour or so just to see were the deer had been moving , a very warm south easterly breeze gave me only one option along a field of maize with obvious tracks & deer damage along to a huge field of barley .Glassing up as I went , I could see fallow does 200 m out ,walking through ,right to left .& behind each doe was a pair of ears, the fawns completely hidden but for their ears just poking above the crop , to far out to get a picture unless you had a decent camera on you (which I didn't) , leaving them I cut left & walked the hedge row down to one of the seats.I climbed up not intent on staying there more to have a look across another barley field , again another couple of does with the following ears .As I glassed the field in the far left hand corner a movement caught my eye , a buck just exiting the field , although just a glimpse it was definitely a buck .

I got down & made my way to the end of the hedge cut left again down to a small wood & highseat no2 ,just as I was getting up in the seat a pricket trotted down from were I was expecting the buck to come from ...this was not the animal I had seen leave the barley field , standing 4 rungs up the ladder with an empty rifle he was as safe as he could be , what I didn't want was to spook him and have him warn everything else .It turned out no problem in the end he just trotted on by .40 m away with not a care in the world to stop 150 m out in the field .His back to me I made the seat ....he know wasn't in such a safe place .As I chambered the round he was quartering right to left ,coming back to the edge of the wood , I then had visions of him walking straight back and disappearing so I decided to whistle him and as he stopped take the shot . This plan then went on ice , another buck appeared ,3 or 4 year old , big body, not a bad head obviously in velvet , but looked a goodish beast .I then went back to plan A to drop the pricket until the buck moved , he was dragging his back leg , there was no choice ,the plan was now drop the buck & see if there was a chance on the pricket .

Part one worked a treat , the buck folded.Part two see the pricket exit the field asap.I watched the buck kick his last movement by now 8.45ish I glassed the field intending to sort out the buck but now had several deer coming from my right ,seemingly undisturbed by the bang of the 6.5 they filtered out into the field ,as I sat back to watch them the pricket appeared on the far side and seemed like he was going to come over and join them ...by the time he decided this was his move I was already getting down having lost the light ..............& finally a picture .....not very good i'm afraid but its a start ....it weighed in the chiller at 119lb , it also had all the hallmarks of being hooked up on a fence sometime recently ..

Edited August 2, 2013 by sussex

[Rob58 1,614]

great story Rich nice animal keep it up.

[hutchey 147]

Is this a competition between you and Owen to see who does the best write-ups?

Good reading that too!

[sussex 5,803]

Owen , told you they were big enough to saddle ............

[sussex 5,803]

Oh sh.t I was hoping no one spotted that ............did I tell you about the very, very rare breed of short legged fallow we have round here ???..... ...

[seprim 32]

Great read Rich and huge buck !

cheers

 

Andrew