He's there... somewhere

[Yokel Matt 918]

Popped out the other day before the silage had been cut to assess the deer movement at a small patch near me which can hold some suprisingly good bucks when you strike it lucky. I've found the window of opportunity is quite narrow here as you've got to time it just right. The pasture and meadow has got to be long and lush enough to lure in the does in from the surrounding area looking for areas to fatten up and drop their young... with any luck keeping a buck in tow. Alternatively the previous years followers will have been given the elbow and the good browsing and quiet fields give them a place to cut their teeth away from the guidance of the doe. Either way as soon a the silage is cut you're buggered as the angus beef is let out their winter holdings and its lottery time which fields they'll be in.

 

Hoping to earmark a decent buck and knock off a pricket I popped out on a nice sunny evening. There were deer about and no mistake, a pair of young does, twins recently given the boot i suspect were milling around one small paddock with the sun on their back. I got a couple of pics from feet away but sadly most of them came out rubbish - these were the best of a bad bunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving down to the lower ground I saw a doe couched against the hedge so I stalked in to a position so I could lay prone and view the area from a safe shooting position. The evening had just hit the sweet spot where things start moving so I was hoping she held a buck or still had a pricket with her in the vicinity. Not long later a decent 6 pointer emerged from within the hedge next to her he was nice... very nice actually. Meaty, wide span with a big neck, even looked like he had a bit of a mane... In a rare moment of restraint I decided he wasn't what I was after so gambled that something else would appear.

 

Taking me totally by suprise a fox almost brushed against me as it made its was towards a hole in the hedge the deer had made towards my waiting deer. I whistled softly and stopped it in its tracks against the hedge and put one in him with the 6.5x55 and it dropped without a twitch at 40 meters.

 

 

To my suprise the deer remained where they were without showing much alarm and continued contentidly blinking in the last of the evening sun. Something eventually spooked them and they all pounced up and split, the buck and mature doe vanishing down the line of the hedge and the two youngsters coming towards me, stopping at the hole to sniff the recently deceased fox. No other buck was present They eventully came within feet of me but I didn't want to alarm them by moving to talk a picture - the idea being that they'd keep to the area and hopefully entice that decent buck back where i'd know where to find him..........

 

Needless to say the plan's all gone to shit as I haven't seen the b*****d on my ground since and now the silage in now cut, wrapped and stacked and the feckin cattle are out in the fields. Where's that decent buck?... back on the neighbouring ground Of course there's the outside possibility he might be back in the right place at the right time but from previous experience I've got more chance winning on a scratchcard! Thats the problem with small permissions which hold livestock and are surrounded by better ground. Still - thats stalking.

 

I was back there last night to look for a fox that had been, amazingly enough, chased out from within the chicken fence perimeter (during the day) before it had had a chance to kill anything

 

This years youngster - not a tiddler anymore though.

 

 

This post has been promoted to an article

Edited June 8, 2012 by Yokel Matt

[Fisheruk 1]

Thanks for the account.

[mattydski 560]

Good stuff........

[The one 8,489]

Ive got the only rough patch between a few farms and it always holds a good number of deer ,but the farmer likes to see them

[Caprelous 217]

Good write up Matt most enjoyable read.

Thanks for that I am sure I am not the only one who thinks so as well

 

Regards

stu

[tomano1 80]

NICE PICS AND WRITE UP MATE ATB TOMA

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Nice read Matt but you should always take your chance when it presents itself as may never get another

[dymented 2,220]

good read bud

[Yokel Matt 918]

Cheers all - reccon the deer will be swimming down there at the moment with all the damn rain recently.

 

Nice read Matt but you should always take your chance when it presents itself as may never get another

 

You're probably right mate. On a small parcel of land with no special features to actually hold the deer I think there's nothing to be lost by taking them as they appear. You're kidding yourself if you think you can 'manage' such a small area. The vaccume will always be filled again, especially with all the does milling about. Its the cattle which have shafted me as I knew they would. Still, its nice to know a good buck is in the area, just hope a car or someone's dog doesn't have it.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Maybe later in the year mate ,if he leaves a bit for hay .