New ground, good start.

[Yokel Matt 918]

I had a email out the blue the other day asking if I would be prepared to help out with the deer management on the estate 5 mins from my house. I thought it was a wind-up at first as it seemed too good to be true. Anyway, I replied to the person who turned out to be  the head forrester and from there the farm manager. 

They're obviously taking things seriously over there and the deer are hammering the new hedges and natural re-gen they’re trying to encourage. The Forrester was pulling his hair out but I was finding it hard not to grin as we drove round... seeing 4 roe in the process.

Risk assessment, indemnity insurance, gralloch site - the whole 9 yards. Anyway, I hadn’t heard back so called them for an update and I was invited over this evening to get started?

It was cold, windy and the evenings are still quite short so I wasn’t holding out too much hope and decided to drive round the 200 acres of deciduous woodland to re-familiarise with what was where... more of a recon session than anything. 

A doe and a buck were right where the Forrester had told me to keep an eye on and fortunately the doe was obliging enough to walk to a safe area where I could head shoot her off the wing mirror at around 60m. 

She was in the back of the truck minutes later and off the the gralloch site. 

The estate is delighted with the good start... I’m off to buy a Lottery ticket as It must be my lucky day!

[Tyla 3,179]

Well done mate. Opportunities like that don't happen every day!

[Yokel Matt 918]

3 hours ago, Tyla said:

Well done mate. Opportunities like that don't happen every day!

Dead right - Ironically I’d been trying to enquire about the stalking there for years but couldn’t even get the name of the person to talk to!

Im not really a fan shooting this late in the season so it’s a bit bittersweet. I want the stalking but the estate wants results and it’s hard to argue the case for an excess of pregnant does when they’re doing so much damage to the estates interests. 

[j j m 6,559]

well done mate

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Hopefully provide you with years of sport mate and on the doorstep too ?

[The one 8,507]

Nice going mate  , but why off to the gralloch site ?. unless it means something different than how im thinking 

[Yokel Matt 918]

The estate owners have a dog and regularly walk the ground. They want to avoid any risk of it retrieving a manky gralloch back to them wagging its tail or, worse still, wolfing it down and throwing it up on the living room rug later... a dedicated site seemed like the solution.

[sussex 5,777]

On 09/03/2018 at 10:01, Yokel Matt said:

Dead right - Ironically I’d been trying to enquire about the stalking there for years but couldn’t even get the name of the person to talk to!

Im not really a fan shooting this late in the season so it’s a bit bittersweet. I want the stalking but the estate wants results and it’s hard to argue the case for an excess of pregnant does when they’re doing so much damage to the estates interests. 

Hopefully a couple of years culling will get you into a place where you can pack up at the end of Feb , like you I’m no fan of March doe’s but at times needs must ..

I had a gralloching area on one of my places , about four big concrete ring dug in the ground with Concrete lintels as the lid ,  the farmer at the time used it for the occasional dead sheep so for me it was ideal ..

well done on the perm ...

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

Do you have to bury the guts mate ?

[Tyla 3,179]

On 09/03/2018 at 10:01, Yokel Matt said:

Dead right - Ironically I’d been trying to enquire about the stalking there for years but couldn’t even get the name of the person to talk to!

Im not really a fan shooting this late in the season so it’s a bit bittersweet. I want the stalking but the estate wants results and it’s hard to argue the case for an excess of pregnant does when they’re doing so much damage to the estates interests. 

It's always the same. As soon as people start going out side in the spring they see all the game that's been there all winter. I've had more ferreting requests in the last few weeks than all sesson

[forest of dean redneck 11,720]

Are  the deer used to the estates vehicles,meaning you can get close to them?

[Yokel Matt 918]

They do move when he see a vehicle and to be honest it doesn’t have to be too far for them to put some vegetation between you and them and watch you through it. This one obviously forgot about that bit and paid the price. 

I neither like shooting from vehicles or through cover so it doesn’t look like I’ll be using this tactic too often. 

[forest of dean redneck 11,720]

17 minutes ago, Yokel Matt said:

They do move when he see a vehicle and to be honest it doesn’t have to be too far for them to put some vegetation between you and them and watch you through it. This one obviously forgot about that bit and paid the price. 

I neither like shooting from vehicles or through cover so it doesn’t look like I’ll be using this tactic too often. 

 Ah I did wonder if a 4x4 was used to feed some livestock so the deer were bit complacent around one,but like you say there’s always one that has an off day ,or it gets distracted ?

[fireman 10,993]

On 12/03/2018 at 07:43, foxdropper said:

Do you have to bury the guts mate ?

If you want to protect the buzzards you should as fragments of lead are lethal to carrion eating bop's...

[The one 8,507]

Maybe  being Scottish or call me tight but every deer i get the dogs get the head and legs and i take the tripe home and wash it out for them the only thing that's left if a small  bit of guts to gralloch so its going to be a small hole for me