devon deer
Well-known member
@Big Ears has been deer stalking with me for years, he got his first Roe Buck, Fallow Buck and Red stag with me, and we paired up for our Montana hunt in 2018, we have had some great times out hunting.
Right from the start we hit it off, and I could tell he would be great company, including Woodcock/Pheasant shooting and Trout fishing, he had a great hunting dog called ‘Dougal’ a labradoodle.
Whilst the red stags have just about finished rutting the Fallow are still going for it, so the farmer text me yesterday informing me they were still ‘grunting’, the same farm where Stephen shot his last week.
We took the same route in to the farm as there was little wind (well there was but I’ll get to that!), but no deer, and all was quiet, this was going to be interesting.
At the very far end of the farm there are 3 houses, so a shot in that direction is never an option, so we looked up from the steep valley bottom into the dark timber, nothing but squirrels!
So we commenced a very slow stalk, lots of glassing, and just the occasional doe with fawn.
Then we both stopped and looked at each other, we whispered ‘did you hear that?’ Right at the very top we could hear the clash of antlers, then the triumphant buck ‘grunting'.
We reassessed and formulated a new plan, Big ears led with me following, as started to get closer the deer numbers increased, and so did the tension, so much so the wind I mentioned earlier made an unexpected appearance, as walking up the steep hill under the trees caused the guy in front of me to let out a squeaky fart!
I will never know how I contained my laughter, but on we went.
The problem was a young Fallow buck, a typical teenager causing trouble, he saw us, and kept us frozen in the same position before he decided the game was up and ran off barking an alarm, which thankfully the remaining deer ignored.
But it was getting dark now, around 30 minutes after sunset, we had to move to the noise, I stayed put and watched, and to my amazement the buck presented himself through a gap broadside to me, an easy shot, but I looked to my left and the bucks shift in position hadn’t gone unnoticed and Big ears rifle was on the sticks, the Blaser K95 Kipplauf 7x57 barked, the buck never knew what hit it, straight down, with still a bunch of grass in it’s mouth, and more than that only 50 yards from a farm track, well done mate, your best Fallow buck to date.
This is the land where the Fallow frequent
Cheers
Richard
Right from the start we hit it off, and I could tell he would be great company, including Woodcock/Pheasant shooting and Trout fishing, he had a great hunting dog called ‘Dougal’ a labradoodle.
Whilst the red stags have just about finished rutting the Fallow are still going for it, so the farmer text me yesterday informing me they were still ‘grunting’, the same farm where Stephen shot his last week.
We took the same route in to the farm as there was little wind (well there was but I’ll get to that!), but no deer, and all was quiet, this was going to be interesting.
At the very far end of the farm there are 3 houses, so a shot in that direction is never an option, so we looked up from the steep valley bottom into the dark timber, nothing but squirrels!
So we commenced a very slow stalk, lots of glassing, and just the occasional doe with fawn.
Then we both stopped and looked at each other, we whispered ‘did you hear that?’ Right at the very top we could hear the clash of antlers, then the triumphant buck ‘grunting'.
We reassessed and formulated a new plan, Big ears led with me following, as started to get closer the deer numbers increased, and so did the tension, so much so the wind I mentioned earlier made an unexpected appearance, as walking up the steep hill under the trees caused the guy in front of me to let out a squeaky fart!
I will never know how I contained my laughter, but on we went.
The problem was a young Fallow buck, a typical teenager causing trouble, he saw us, and kept us frozen in the same position before he decided the game was up and ran off barking an alarm, which thankfully the remaining deer ignored.
But it was getting dark now, around 30 minutes after sunset, we had to move to the noise, I stayed put and watched, and to my amazement the buck presented himself through a gap broadside to me, an easy shot, but I looked to my left and the bucks shift in position hadn’t gone unnoticed and Big ears rifle was on the sticks, the Blaser K95 Kipplauf 7x57 barked, the buck never knew what hit it, straight down, with still a bunch of grass in it’s mouth, and more than that only 50 yards from a farm track, well done mate, your best Fallow buck to date.
This is the land where the Fallow frequent
Cheers
Richard
Last edited:
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Thanks for the comments about the rifle. Got to say it is a dream to shoot with 162gr ammo it drops everything with mild manners. I’m becoming a fan of the 7x57, or should I call it a 275 Rigby
