The six species of deer to be found in England, their origins and locations.
Muntjac
Muntjac tend to be most active for around three hours before dusk and two hours afterwards
Muntjac deer are a non-native species also known as Reeves’ deer.
They arrived in England in the early 20th century from China, brought into Woburn Park in Bedfordshire. After escaping (and being deliberately released) they prospered and are now to be found across south and central England and Wales.
Muntjac are small and stocky and found in forests, scrub and overgrown gardens.
It is open season on Muntjac all year round but care should be taken to use the right gun and ammunition.
Muntjac breed all year round and can conceive within days of giving birth.
They frequently bark loudly, giving them the name ‘barking deer’, particularly when disturbed. They are not strictly nocturnal but peak activity is first thing in the morning and at dusk.
Muntjac deer bucks (males) grow to 44 – 52cm at the shoulder and weigh 10 – 18kg. Does (females) are 43 – 52cm at the shoulder and weigh 9 – 16kg.
Deer seasons
The deer shooting season If you’re a keen stalker, then you’ll need to know which is the deer shooting season for the different species, and the different dates for stags and hinds. It’s also crucial to have the right rifle for deer stalking in the right calibre. (You can check…
Can you shoot muntjac with air rifles and shotguns?
Ignore photographs of foreigners using air rifles to shoot Mubtjac rifles because this is illegal in Britain, George advises
How to call muntjac deer
Learning how to call muntjac deer can be a deadly tactic but you need a strategy, stealth and a good call, writes Graham Downing
All about muntjac
Small, secretive and constantly on the move, the muntjac is a challenging quarry for the deer stalker. Little bigger than a springer spaniel, it offers a difficult target among the thick undergrowth that it prefers to live in. Although its antlers are simple things, usually not more than a couple…
Shooting deer near houses. Is it legal?
Deer have moved into my area and are coming into the garden, damaging plants and vegetables. How high a fence will I need to keep the little ******* out?
Stalking muntjac – a real sporting challenge
The diminutive muntjac deer arrived in Britain in 1900 as a plaything of the 11th Duke of Bedford who added it to his deer park at Woburn Abbey. Rumour has it that the Duke was so fond of this little species that he engineered a series of clandestine releases, driving…
Open seasons for deer
Here is our list of open seasons for the various species of deer when you can go out stalking. (Dates are inclusive.) Red Stags England and Wales: 1 August – 30 April Scotland: 1 July – 20 October Northern Ireland: 1 August – 30 April Red hinds England and Wales:…
The CIC UK 2014 stalking review of fallow, CWC, muntjac, sika and other species
Those who have read the other reviews (English and Welsh Roe and Scottish Roe reviews) in this annual series will be aware that the updated CIC Trophy Evaluation System has now been implemented within the UK. The obvious manifestation of this will be the new measuring forms now in use,…
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
Delicious recipe for muntjac steaks
This simple recipe cooks the perfect muntjac haunch steaks and is served with sauted potatoes, buttered spinach and peas
CIC UK Other Species review
From tusks that didn't break records to those that smashed them, the CIC review of non-natives and other species threw up surprises, especially with the largest set of Chinese water deer tusks ever recorded
Stalking Chinese water deer in Bedfordshire
Irish stalker and invasion ecology professor Jaimie Dick stalks his first Chinese water deer
Is deer stalking with a .308 overkill for Muntjac?
I read about deer stalking in another shooting magazine recently and a stalker went in pursuit of a large Muntjac. I was perturbed to read that his chosen calibre was .308. Surely this smacks of overkill?
Where can I stalk Chinese Water Deer?
Do you think there is any chance that the UK’s Chinese Water Deer population might eventually spread to parts of the Midlands?
Chinese water deer stalking at Beckerings Park, Bedfordshire
Chinese water deer: Chinese water deer abound in Bedfordshire.
Shooting census shows large rise in non-native species
Results of the National Gamebag Census (NGC), which shows rising and falling population trends for 20 mammal species, have been published online for the first time by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).
INCREASE IN WATER DEER
Q) The number of Chinese water deer trophies recorded in Shooting Times’s Review of muntjac and other species (February 10) suggests that the species is either increasing or is attracting more attention as a sporting quarry. Should we be culling them more heavily if the first is true, or protecting…