Annual roe reviews offer a chance for a catch-up — a catch-up on what was recently harvested and, increasingly, a catch-up and a reflection on what has been harvested in years and sometimes decades past, then often left to moulder in man caves and cardboard boxes up and down the…
Deer stalking
English and Welsh roe heads review 2014
Last November, new guidelines for the European species within the CIC’s Red Book — the “bible” of international trophy measuring — were published for internal use. The changes, in principle, will provide greater consistency of measuring throughout a species’ range and provide the trophy judges with clearer technical information. These…
RSPB deer cull under fire from animal rights campaigners
Animal rights activists have tried to stop an RSPB deer cull deer at the charity’s Leighton Moss nature reserve in Lancashire. Campaigners objected to plans to cull eight to 10 red deer before the end of March to protect reeds that provide vital habitat for birds including marsh harriers and…
Is the stalking community unprofessional in its approach to culling?
Kate Gatacre talks to a forester and a deer stalker about the conflict of deer versus crops to discuss if the shooting community is unprofessional in it's approach to culling
Survey confirms deer culling best practice
A new British Deer Society survey provides key pointers for deer culling best practice to help you achieve cleaner kills when stalking
Perhaps it’s time to get a moderator…
Want to shoot more accurately, bag more quarry and disturb the environment less? Perhaps it's time to get a moderator, suggests Charles Smith-Jones
Highland stalking vs lowland stalking
Iain Watson and Chris Rogers debate whether highland stalking or lowland stalking makes for finer sport
No reason not to use open sights on deer
Have you considered using open sights on deer? George Wallace says there's no reason not to and recommends you try "ghost rings"
Bullet placement when deer stalking
Stalking trends come and go. From calibres to optics, all have their time. Fashion also influences the shots we take, and currently the head or high neck shot seems to be in vogue. Of all the decisions a stalker makes, bullet placement is surely one of the most critical. Not…
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
Ladies who stalk
It is a well- established fact that women are better than men at catching heavy and large numbers of salmon. It all began with Diana the Huntress. In Roman mythology Diana was associated with wild beasts, woodland, and the power to talk to and control animals. Though her name was eventually…
How to spot TB in deer
The first recorded instance of tuberculosis having been transferred from a cat to a human was reported recently. I wonder if this surprised any of us whose work involves animals. I have to say, it didn’t surprise me. TB, or to be exact, bovine TB, is what is classed as…
Stalking roebucks in the bluebells
At the start of the 20th-century, roe were almost extinct in southern England. Since then, their numbers have soared thanks to an increase in woodland planting and strategic reintroduction. In fact, roe are now the most widely distributed deer species in the UK, according to the most recent population survey…
A tick-ing time bomb
Turnstone writes: Two days ago I set about skinning and dressing a roebuck, a two-year-old, shot the previous evening. I have a suitable beam in a general tool-shed from which I can suspend and work on carcases and the animal was duly suspended. The little deer was still in the remains…
How to choose the right camouflage
By Jon Snowdon Guests preparing to visit Greenlee for deer stalking often ask what they should bring with regards to equipment, especially clothing. They query if it is acceptable to wear camouflage – to which the answer is yes, of course. We do, however, stalk over some ground where those…
Stalking Chinese water deer in Bedfordshire
Irish stalker and invasion ecology professor Jaimie Dick stalks his first Chinese water deer
Stalking red and roe deer during the rut
The period of the rut is thought to be arriving later and later each year
Step by step: Bullets for deer stalking
Deer stalking: People often spend hours pondering over which rifle, grade of wood and scope they want to buy, but pay little attention to the bullets that they will shoot through it.