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…
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.
Do muntjac attack dogs?
Long, sharp teeth can pose a genuine threat to gundogs when muntjac attack. I well remember my first serious encounter with a muntjac. It was on a rough day in Northamptonshire in the 1990s. At the time, I lived in Kent, where we had no muntjac, so my spaniels had…
Deer seasons in the UK. When can deer be hunted?
The deer seasons in the UK have been precisely organised to give deer protection when they need it, to produce a sustainable and healthy population. The law allows hinds and stags to breed and move around different breeding grounds at key times – with the deer hunting season differing between…
Shooting deer near houses. Is it legal?
Q: We’ve all heard of the proliferation of the deer population over the last few years. Where I live muntjac are starting to be a real nuisance in local gardens. My neighbours know that I go deer stalking and have asked me to come over to do something about controlling…
Muntjac cull with Geoff Garrod
Geoff’s kit list: Optics: – GECO 4×3-12×5 Gun: – Sako M591 .243 Win Clothing: – Deerhunter Cumberland Pro Jacket – Deerhunter Bavaria Cap Accessories: – CENS Digital Ear Defenders With thanks to sponsors Swarovski Optik Eley Hawk Deerhunter Pulsar BASC
Can I shoot a muntjac with my air rifle?
What can I use for shooting muntjac? Q: There are loads of muntjac around where I live and I know you can shoot them all year round. My neighbours have asked me to do some culling because the muntjac are eating everything in their garden. I have recently bought a…
British deer: A guide to identifying the six species found here and where to stalk them
The six species of deer to be found in England, their origins and locations.
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…
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:…
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.