I had a very unusual experience stalking Roe deer a short while ago on one of my favourite permissions. I took a friend’s son with me who hadn’t experienced stalking before. He is nineteen and very keen to find out more about it. We arrived mid afternoon, a good hour and forty five minutes before sunset. We set off from the barns where I park and approached the first field, looking through the hedge from the the path I commented quietly that I never see deer in this field and as I finished my sentence I exclaimed “Oh a doe!”. It was dropped with a neck shot and with it gralloched and left cooling the lad asked if we were going after another as it was early, to which I replied “definitely!” He was quite pleased that he hadn’t been at all squeamish and I think it helped that it was completely clean and blood free due to the clean neck shot.
We entered the next field and as we crossed it three deer ran across the adjacent field and out of site. There’s a little valley between the two fields and I suggested that we stand still and wait a few minutes to let them stop and we could try and find them in the farther field. Whilst we waited one of them, a doe, reappeared back through the hedge half way up the rise looking at us. It was about 165 yards and I had a clear side on shot. I adjusted for the drop and took the shot off my quad sticks aiming for the heart. The animal bolted back across the field in the reverse direction from where we had first seen three run, followed by another slightly smaller doe. They disappeared from sight on the right side of the field but the smaller on reappeared and kept looking back. I could see it wasn’t the one I had shot at so I left it even though I had a couple of clear shots. I was focussed on the deer I had shot and don’t like to shoot another until I recover the first.
After about ten minutes I was quite confident that the second deer had been waiting for a fallen relation and that I would find it upon entering the field. We didn’t see it and the lad was convinced it had left the field to the right and I let him go that way whilst I went to the point of impact. I found two large tufts of hair but no blood. I kept looking around but no blood trail. It was still early and there was plenty of light but nothing. I was sure that the smaller deer MUST have been looking back for the other so I kept looking and eventually found it in a dip in the field dead but still no blood trail.
We gralloched the deer which was a very different experience for the lad as this one was full of blood. The bullet had pierced the lungs and severed the whole heart at one of the main arteries. No blood seemed to have left the carcass but then the heart could not have pumped it out.
I’ve never had this before, usually a chest shot produces a very clear blood trail but the lad enjoyed the experience immensely, he told me he especially enjoyed being part of the hunt for the fallen deer.
We carried both deer back to the car and left with still a half an hour to go before sunset. A very fruitful and enjoyable evening.
We entered the next field and as we crossed it three deer ran across the adjacent field and out of site. There’s a little valley between the two fields and I suggested that we stand still and wait a few minutes to let them stop and we could try and find them in the farther field. Whilst we waited one of them, a doe, reappeared back through the hedge half way up the rise looking at us. It was about 165 yards and I had a clear side on shot. I adjusted for the drop and took the shot off my quad sticks aiming for the heart. The animal bolted back across the field in the reverse direction from where we had first seen three run, followed by another slightly smaller doe. They disappeared from sight on the right side of the field but the smaller on reappeared and kept looking back. I could see it wasn’t the one I had shot at so I left it even though I had a couple of clear shots. I was focussed on the deer I had shot and don’t like to shoot another until I recover the first.
After about ten minutes I was quite confident that the second deer had been waiting for a fallen relation and that I would find it upon entering the field. We didn’t see it and the lad was convinced it had left the field to the right and I let him go that way whilst I went to the point of impact. I found two large tufts of hair but no blood. I kept looking around but no blood trail. It was still early and there was plenty of light but nothing. I was sure that the smaller deer MUST have been looking back for the other so I kept looking and eventually found it in a dip in the field dead but still no blood trail.
We gralloched the deer which was a very different experience for the lad as this one was full of blood. The bullet had pierced the lungs and severed the whole heart at one of the main arteries. No blood seemed to have left the carcass but then the heart could not have pumped it out.
I’ve never had this before, usually a chest shot produces a very clear blood trail but the lad enjoyed the experience immensely, he told me he especially enjoyed being part of the hunt for the fallen deer.
We carried both deer back to the car and left with still a half an hour to go before sunset. A very fruitful and enjoyable evening.
