A doe in the snow

[Gimli 0]

A cold and icy morning in Hertfordshire. Although it hasn't snowed for a few days, most of the fields and woods near Tring were still under a cruncht white blanket. The backroads to the wood where I have stalking rights were a still v icy and treacherous.

 

When I got to the wood I was surprised none of the snow had melted and that no one had been in on the track by car or on foot since the last snow fell.

 

I made my way to the high seat - noting a mass of roe and muntjac slots in the snow and a few piles of droppings. As I'd been lazy and stayed in bed too late, I wasn't there for dawn - a mistake. After nearly two hours in the high seat I hadn't seen hide nor hair of anything - bar one very busy squirrel. I needed to warm up and my flask of coffee was not enough. So I decided to walk round a bit and see if anything was about.

 

As I started off, I feared it would be a waste of time - every step on the snow was like crushing a bowl of cornflakes underfoot. I presumed every deer in southern England could hear me. After 45 minutes I was beginning to think tthat it would be back to the high seat and freeze there until dusk.

 

Then I saw a flash of tawny fur against the snow about yards away. I looked again and could see a shape moving beyond a patch of luckily thinned out brambles. It was a muntjac, just ambling around.

 

I set up the sticks and waitied for it to emerge into a patch of clear snow beyond the brambles and easily within range. She did. I got a good look through the binos - a young looking doe. Quite fat and possibly pregnant. I judged that given the cold, the resulting food scarcity and her plumpness that she couldn't have recently given birth - or she'd be thinner. No obvious sign of enlarged teats either. She had conveniently halted in the clear patch of snow and I was able to get a very good look through the binos. She stayed fairly well side on, too, so I lined her up, fired and she went straight down - no movement at all for some minutes, so I went over (counting out 75 yards from sticks to deer).

 

 

 

She was stone dead - shot through ribs. When I gralloched her, I found the bullet had gone in above and just behind the foreleg, had destroyed one lung completely and she had died of massive and immediate bloodloss.

 

A very good result, clean, quick and in a beatiful, snow-filled wood.

 

So pleased that when I found out later in the day that I needed two new tyres (£250) for the X trail it didn't shift the smile from my face

[Guest hpool_hunter]

good shooting mate -

[martin 332]

Nice one chap,there seems to be a lot of munties getting dropped recently.......taste great too..........martin.

[artic 595]

Good read, and well done.

 

I was out yesterday walking the dog, in one field there was 5 CWD feeding. The field opposite that were 3 muntys feeding well away from cover.

 

Since this snow has arrived there are deer feeding everywhere, and places that you would not expect them to be.

 

Im going back there today, this time with my camera, hopefully get some good pictures.

 

[deer stalker 2008 3]

well done mate.

[Gimli 0]

In a couple of weeks' time I'm off for my first shot (if I'm lucky) at stalking CWD up in Bedfordshire. I'm addicted. How did I exist pre-stalking?

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

In a couple of weeks' time I'm off for my first shot (if I'm lucky) at stalking CWD up in Bedfordshire. I'm addicted. How did I exist pre-stalking?

 

Yep stalking is definitely addictive. So much so I couldnt stop til Id shot all 6 species.

 

Enjoy the CWD Im sure you wont fail in Beds ..............

[artic 595]

In a couple of weeks' time I'm off for my first shot (if I'm lucky) at stalking CWD up in Bedfordshire. I'm addicted. How did I exist pre-stalking?

 

Gimli, you wont need to stalk them down here!

 

Have fun!

 

[Squirrel_Basher 17,102]

Good read mate and good luck with the CWD.

[outdoors kid 1]

congrats mate nice munty there