Buck and call

We were about to enter the third week of July and I was hopeful that I might see some roe rutting activity from my planned high seat session. As the outing was to follow a full day’s work, I selected my kit the evening before and both the Buttolo Blatter and the Faulhaber roe call set took pride of place. 

Like most modern deerstalkers, I frequently use a weather app and over the past three years I have learned to trust the information that the HuntStand Pro places at my fingertips. Once all the land boundaries and high seat positions are uploaded, it has become my go-to tool to plan a stalk — or the best way to reach a seat without spooking quarry. The hourly wind direction information has proved accurate, although you must remember that the wind is fickle and unreliable, and you can never be certain until your feet are on the ground. 

On the day in question, the wind direction was due to change by a full 180 degrees during the course of the afternoon. The timing of this change would be crucial on my high seat choice. As we have to confirm stalking activity at least eight hours in advance, I made my decision, informed all parties concerned and crossed my fingers. Unfortunately, my timing was out but, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

Midges 

I parked the truck and took a little time to decide what to wear. The weather wasn’t stifling but would probably remain in the high teens for the evening. As always in good conditions, my Hoggs Shire Dealer boots had my feet covered. I slipped my new Härkila Deer Stalker camo cover jacket over my polo shirt. I specifically bought this garment for summer stalking when you need to cover your arms to keep the midges at bay, but at the same time want something very light and breathable. The jacket ticks those boxes admirably. With the Härkila Deer Stalker bino strap on top, I had ample stowage for all my kit. 

I scanned a barley field that was bordered by a strip of woodland. On a recce a few days beforehand, a lively young buck had bounded across the tall crops to the sanctuary of the trees. Today, with no heat signatures detected, I slowly made my way to a gateway and edged along the wide headland that bordered the bean field that was overlooked by my chosen high seat. As predicted, the wind was far from ideal and, although the breeze was only slight, it would be blowing from my back directly out on to the beans in front of me. 

Once in position, I gave a quick puff of the HME Wind Direction Indicator powder. The faint white cloud showed the breeze going out to two o’clock from my position. It could have been worse; at least the situation gave me an opportunity at any deer coming out of the woodland towards my far left. Before I had time to settle, I picked up movement coming out of the left-hand side of the bean field. With the Vortex Diamondback 8×32 binoculars immediately accessible, I quickly identified a roebuck, his rather feminine body shape confirming him as a youngster. 

Agitated 

He was alert and agitated and seemed to be looking back to the tramline from which he came. He quickly scoured his surroundings for any threatening scents or sounds. I soon had the crosshairs on his shoulder but he bobbed and swung his head across his body, again checking the area to his rear. 

Confident the placement was good, I squeezed the trigger of the CZ 557 .308 and loosed off the 136-gr Geco Zero. The buck leaped forward and ran a wide semicircle, then dropped 40m straight in front of my position. 

I fixed my gaze at the point where he had vacated the beans, just in case he had been evicted by an older buck. The scene settled down and nothing stirred. I stared down at the carcass and did a mental postmortem of the act that had played out before me. I came to the conclusion that this buck had winded me on my way to the seat, which was the cause of his anxiety and the reason that he appeared so soon after me entering the seat. I also deduced that his death-run was the result of the adrenalin coursing through his veins. 

So much is said and written about the effectiveness of certain calibres and bullets, but it is vital that the mental and physiological state of the individual deer are taken into account. Bang-flops are usually the result of the quarry being completely at ease before the shot. 

Nasty wound 

Closer inspection of the buck revealed that his right-hand antler was a single spike, perhaps not a true murder-buck but that spike could certainly have inflicted a nasty wound or two during the rut. I was pleased he had been removed. This was my sixth roebuck of the season, three taken from the high seat and three stalked and taken from the quad sticks. Unfortunately, that was my last stalking opportunity before a trip to hospital and a hip operation that would leave me laid up for the rest of the roe rut.

Keith’s roe rut stalking kit 

Buttolo Blatter deercentral.co.uk 

Faulhaber roe call kit (Kitz and Fiep) garlands.uk.com 

HME Wind Direction Indicator powder bushwear.co.uk 

Härkila Deer Stalker Camo Cover jacket harkila.com

Deer Stalker Bino Strap harkila.com

Hoggs of Fife Shire Pro Dealer Boots hoggs.co.uk

CZ 557 in .308 sportsmanguncentre.co.uk

Geco Zero 136-gr geco-ammunition.com

Vortex Diamondback 8×32 csw-online.co.uk