first ever stalking trip.......

[martin 332]

Went out to the New Forest for my first ever stalking trip this morning,still tired now haha.....up at 0300hrs and in the high seat at 0530hrs.there was a hard frost and a very clear sky,the woods were absolutely teaming with pheasants,and,I was tingling with excitement.the stalker had a gsp and it was pulling hard on the lead,and,seemed to know where he was going.As we stopped at the high seat,the dog just led down and went to sleep.We climbed up,and made ourselves comfy,in a very roomy german style wooden double high seat.I was being shown around the estate on this occassion,and,I was very impressed at the set up they had.We were looking out onto a long narrow field with woodland on all sides,and,the blackbirds were starting to flit through the trees as th elight began to appear slowly.A lone stag walked very slowly through the shadows at the far end of the field,but,careful not to walk out into the open for a decent shot,so he was allowed to carry on his morning feeding for another day.

My eyes were everywhere,and,out of the corner of my eye I saw a slight movement,just enough to draw my attention.It was a young pricket,and he was approximately 113yds down the field.For a moment I thought he was gonna just keep walking as he went from left to right across the field,but,he stopped took a few chews on the frosty grass,raised his head,and......BANG!!! he chewed no more.It was a perfect neck shot,and,he fell were he stood...stone dead.

We stayed quiet for a few minutes,and then we got down from the high seat,and the dog was sat up waiting to be sent out,but he was put on the lead and we walked out onto the grass which was still white with the frost.As we were approaching the deer,I saw a pair of ears pop up at the far end of the field as there was a bit of a hump in the field,and there was another pricket,he saw us and froze,this gave the stalker enough time to set his tripod and raise the rifle to it.It was aproximately 100yds,and,just as I thought the deer was going to leap away....BANG!!! and,another bit the dust...this time though it was a heart lung shot,and it leapt up and charged away into the edge of the woodland,it was found by the dog about 25yds away from where he was shot.We dragged the last one over to the other,and,gralloched them...

.

Head and feet off,and,it was time to get the truck and pick them up.We drove back to the larder,and,the dog ran alongside for the 1 1/2 miles,and,he seemed to enjoy that more than being in the truck,until we cam eacross about 200-300 pheasants and I had to have him on my lap,and he licked my glasses right off my face and behind the seat.LOL. We weighed the carcases and they went 37kilo and 28kilo.I grabbed a pluck out of one of them,and a few rib bones out of the bone bin for my dogs that were probably still asleep at home.

I am going to join the syndicate this year,£200 till the end of February,and then £500 for the next 12 months.That might seem a lot of money,but,there is a very well equipt larder with hoist and all.And if you shoot a large deer that might not fit in your own motor,there is an L200 pickup with a detatchable hoist that you can use as well.There are 12 german style double high seats,and a further 15 steel framed single seats,and,there are no maintenance fees or anything like that,so,I think it is a very reasonable price,Oh and the woods are stuffed with Fallow Sika CWD Roe and munties.o say I am chuffed is an understatement,and I can't wait until I get out again next week.The stalker is going to supervise my Fac for me,so,I will be looking hard for some stalking land near to me now.Thanks for letting me waffle on and good hunting everyone.........martin.

[SNAP SHOT 194]

Glad to hear you got one on your first trip, it makes it worth while, good luck with the rest of the year,

[foxdropper 17,092]

Good luck with the f.a.c mate .You had a nice introduction to the sport and i hope you stay with it .You arnt too far away from me and if theres anyway i can help i will ,just pm me .

[novice 25]

What acreage are you shooting over for that price mate?

[blacklab 0]

I'm going on my first stalk on sunday in farham, hope i have a simalar experiance as you, cant wait.

 

Lee

[martin 332]

What acreage are you shooting over for that price mate?

 

Hi mate,it's 1100 acres mate,and heaving with deer. ................martin.

[Ricky-N.p.p 0]

WELL DONE MARTIN, GREAT READ TOO !

[Yokel Matt 918]

Fantastic stuff Martin and great pic from the high seat! Congrats on your first deer... thats a morning you won't forget.

 

Matt

[Guest john2007oliver]

I have no experience with stalking so this is probably a stupid question. But when on an estate like that, who takes the deer you or the estate?

[martin 332]

I have no experience with stalking so this is probably a stupid question. But when on an estate like that, who takes the deer you or the estate?

 

That's the only downside to it mate,the Estate take the deer,but,you can buy it back off them for a decent price,so it aint too bad.

[foxdropper 17,092]

Just to clarify something .It costs £700 a year and you dont get a single carcass? .Maybe ive got it too good but thats not my idea of money well spent .

[martin 332]

Just to clarify something .It costs £700 a year and you dont get a single carcass? .Maybe ive got it too good but thats not my idea of money well spent .

 

The cost is £500 for a full year,but,the main reason for me going there is....I am new to the game,and the stalker is going to mentor me,and the estate will be put down as my main shooting area,until he signs me off,at which time I do have a couple of places already with some deer on.But,the amount of deer that I will be able to shoot on the estate will mean that I should get signed off pretty quick. Hopefully anyway.It is actually the first time I have ever had to pay for shooting in my life,and,I thought it would be a better way to get signed off than spending nearly £400 to do the dsc1,and still not get any deer,and most likely not even get to shoot one??

Mind you 'FD' I do wish I was as lucky as you mate,and,had loads of deer of my own to shoot,but,it's early days as of yet,and,I do have some feelers out.........................martin.

[v-max 2]

Well done hope you enjoy the next few years.Wait till you have few years under your belt & ground & you end up playing the No. game & the fun becomes hard work.

[mudman 14]

£500, I would say that was an excellent deal on first sight! I would have snapped there hands off. I don't take paid days but I would not expect to get much change out of £200 for a single day shooting cull beasts.

[BIGPETE 0]

Went out to the New Forest for my first ever stalking trip this morning,still tired now haha.....up at 0300hrs and in the high seat at 0530hrs.there was a hard frost and a very clear sky,the woods were absolutely teaming with pheasants,and,I was tingling with excitement.the stalker had a gsp and it was pulling hard on the lead,and,seemed to know where he was going.As we stopped at the high seat,the dog just led down and went to sleep.We climbed up,and made ourselves comfy,in a very roomy german style wooden double high seat.I was being shown around the estate on this occassion,and,I was very impressed at the set up they had.We were looking out onto a long narrow field with woodland on all sides,and,the blackbirds were starting to flit through the trees as th elight began to appear slowly.A lone stag walked very slowly through the shadows at the far end of the field,but,careful not to walk out into the open for a decent shot,so he was allowed to carry on his morning feeding for another day.

My eyes were everywhere,and,out of the corner of my eye I saw a slight movement,just enough to draw my attention.It was a young pricket,and he was approximately 113yds down the field.For a moment I thought he was gonna just keep walking as he went from left to right across the field,but,he stopped took a few chews on the frosty grass,raised his head,and......BANG!!! he chewed no more.It was a perfect neck shot,and,he fell were he stood...stone dead.

We stayed quiet for a few minutes,and then we got down from the high seat,and the dog was sat up waiting to be sent out,but he was put on the lead and we walked out onto the grass which was still white with the frost.As we were approaching the deer,I saw a pair of ears pop up at the far end of the field as there was a bit of a hump in the field,and there was another pricket,he saw us and froze,this gave the stalker enough time to set his tripod and raise the rifle to it.It was aproximately 100yds,and,just as I thought the deer was going to leap away....BANG!!! and,another bit the dust...this time though it was a heart lung shot,and it leapt up and charged away into the edge of the woodland,it was found by the dog about 25yds away from where he was shot.We dragged the last one over to the other,and,gralloched them...

.

Head and feet off,and,it was time to get the truck and pick them up.We drove back to the larder,and,the dog ran alongside for the 1 1/2 miles,and,he seemed to enjoy that more than being in the truck,until we cam eacross about 200-300 pheasants and I had to have him on my lap,and he licked my glasses right off my face and behind the seat.LOL. We weighed the carcases and they went 37kilo and 28kilo.I grabbed a pluck out of one of them,and a few rib bones out of the bone bin for my dogs that were probably still asleep at home.

I am going to join the syndicate this year,£200 till the end of February,and then £500 for the next 12 months.That might seem a lot of money,but,there is a very well equipt larder with hoist and all.And if you shoot a large deer that might not fit in your own motor,there is an L200 pickup with a detatchable hoist that you can use as well.There are 12 german style double high seats,and a further 15 steel framed single seats,and,there are no maintenance fees or anything like that,so,I think it is a very reasonable price,Oh and the woods are stuffed with Fallow Sika CWD Roe and munties.o say I am chuffed is an understatement,and I can't wait until I get out again next week.The stalker is going to supervise my Fac for me,so,I will be looking hard for some stalking land near to me now.Thanks for letting me waffle on and good hunting everyone.........martin.

Prices aside, Good read and very well done.

I am in the same boat with regards having to pay for any stalking but enjoy every second of it. It just shows the actual worth we attach to our sport.

Good luck with your future plans.

Pete.