The glorious roe rut is alive. Proceedings start around mid-July and rise to the peak later in the month and into the first weeks of August. That said, rutting behaviour may be seen earlier and although it is seen on one estate, it doesn’t follow that it is happening to…
Deer stalking
Bushnell Fusion X rangefinding binoculars field tested by Al Gabriel
July marks perhaps the most exciting time of year for roe stalking, though it is too early for the rut and the days too long. But there is a glimmer of hope a couple of weeks away. The Glastonbury of deerstalking — that is, the British roe rut — is…
Stalking medal roebuck in the English countryside
Mud squelches out from beneath my companion’s boot every time it connects with the boggy ground below. Stalker Anthony White is well over 6ft tall and has a shoe size to match. He walks on ahead of me, untroubled by the noise or the giant footprints he’s leaving in his…
Beretta BRX1 field test – Chris Dalton’s stalks red stag
We are into July and with it comes the opening of the red stag season. It’s strange, though, that this date seems to drift past with little interest when compared with the buzz surrounding 1 April and the start of the roebucks. However, I have always eagerly looked forward to…
Fallow deer: an historic feature of the countryside
Unlike those deer species that arrived on these islands as hitch-hikers in the wake of Britain’s 19th-century trading empire, the fallow deer (Dama dama) has a much more complex history. (Read more on stalking fallow deer here.) Present in prehistoric Britain until the onset of the last ice age, when…
Are thermal spotters a necessity or a luxury?
An outing with thermal spotters It was a cooler blip in that series of headlining scorchers. As I passed the yard at first light, the combine stood grey and bulky on the brushed concrete, ready to grunt into life and tackle the first of the barley after months in hibernation.…
The challenge of midsummer muntjac stalking
Religiously every day, I will take my two spaniels for a half-an-hour walk in a loop from my house. We set off down the track through a wide belt of woodland, reaching a duck pond after 15 minutes, where we make a turn for home and head back across two…
How will deer populations adapt to climate change?
A colleague recently sent me some extensive research on deer and hunting. It made for interesting reading, though, to quote Basil Fawlty, parts did seem to be “another MA in the blindingly obvious”. The research was carried out over a 10-year period and involved 65,000 monitored hunting days. When dealing…
How to spot the signs of the roe rut
The roe rut is different from that of other deer species. Here’s how to spot the signs
Why a stalking syndicate is so important
Some would have you think stalking permissions are to be guarded like bank details. Accounts of falling out and “never again” attempts to manage deer collaboratively are easy to come by; you only have to look. It’s a shame, really, because the benefits of sharing the privilege are many. You…
The growing deer population: its impact and the options open to us
I have been thinking about the future of deer and their impact in England. With the COVID-19 pandemic and near-annihilation of the venison market, what lies in store for the English deer population and their abundance in the years ahead? Where is the ‘Goldilocks zone’ in the maintenance of deer…
Tips to improve your rifle shooting and markmanship
So your stalking kit has been cleaned and stowed away, and you’ll likely see more venison on the barbecue than under a cross-hair for the next few months. But the past few months may have given you pause for thought and the desire to improve your rifle shooting. (Read our…
Deer ammunition: does your chosen calibre fit the bill?
Thinking about deer ammunition While driving to the ground on one foggy morning on the A1, I was thinking about a discussion I had with a friend. That discussion was about deer calibres and recent changes in lead-free bullets in the UK deer scene. Before I even got to the…
Summer roebuck stalking – why June is a difficult month
A super blood moon had graced the heavens the night before. With so much cosmological excitement and an early sunrise, I decided to aim for mid-morning. It was an unusually warm and muggy day. There is no mistaking it, it’s buck season. Where I was heading to, the cows are…
The joys of solo stalking
Some years ago, my wife was so busy at work that she proposed to hire somebody to exercise her horse. I remarked that this was like me paying somebody to go to the pub for me. Why not simply get rid of the horse? I was informed that my opinion…
Stalking fallow deer
The sea of bright yellow flowers appearing and the accompanying sweet smell of oilseed rape pollen surely signal a turning point in the year. The heat can finally be felt in the sun as it climbs higher in the sky and all around us the warmth of spring is evident.…
Using trail cams for deer management
Over here on the wetter side of the Irish Sea, April has the potential to be something of a gloomy month for deerstalkers. The seasons for our three deer species don’t reopen until September, so the action still seems a long way off and, as April Fool’s Day arrives and…
Taking advantage of the longer days for roebuck culling
As the days are longer now, there’s more time to get stuff done in the middle of the day. Our estate rifle range is up and running again for use by private clubs or as hourly sessions overseen by yours truly. (Click here to get some ideas for the best…
Why studying your local roe deer population is essential to good stalking
April is always a busy month for stalkers. This year, it is even more so as we return to post-pandemic normality. It has been particularly nice to welcome regular stalking guests whom we have not seen at Garryloop for more than two years, due to the various restrictions. Demand for…
Roebuck stalking using non-toxic ammo
There are plenty of dates in the stalking calendar that I look forward to. I love stalking does during snowy Highland winters, calling roebucks during their rut in late July and listening to the eerie and haunting whistles of sika stags under an October moon. But if I had to…