Two Days Deer Stalking in Britain, by Dom Moore

A happy hunter after a roe deer cull hunt in Great Britain

We at BookYourHunt.com are always pleased to receive reviews from our clients. We’re ready to receive criticism, because it helps us to improve our service (and our outfitters’ offers, too). But of course it’s best to hear from a happy client. And when the hunter takes the time to write a comprehensive story – why, this is a treat for the gods!

Here is what Dom Moore says about his cull season hunt.

Excellent two days of action packed stalking.

From the original communications to the farewell, Oliver was a professional guide, superb host and great company. I booked two days with him as the location and price looked ideal: as someone who is new to hunting this year (just done the Deer Stalking Certificate 1),  I wanted to gain some experience on a few stalks over two days. This trip delivered everything I hoped for and some things I hadn’t even considered.

The woodland location was beautiful; seeing the sunrise on the second day as we stalked across the lightly frosted ground, listening to the barks of muntjac was an incredible experience. Since zero’ing the rifle on the first morning we’d seen plenty of deer – roe and muntjac with some wonderful roe bucks (out of season of course) within 50 yards. We had many encounters with deer which was what I was hoping for; the chance to watch them through binoculars, by eye, to hear them, and observe their behaviour. Oliver was superb at getting us to the deer, and just as importantly for me, explaining the process behind it.

As the second day was drawing to a close I had yet to connect with a deer but after my excitement on day one I was already reflecting on the great experiences I’d had so far, and that if I went home without a deer I was already happy to have had the chance to see and hear so much, and to practise stalking up to deer on several occasions. The learning outcome was already invaluable.

However, as the sun was preparing to slip behind the hills Oliver suggested one more stake out in the woods. We set up in a promising looking ride to patiently wait for a roe doe that might come out before sunset. Twenty minutes later, nothing. Then some movement, and a lovey doe stepped out into the ride. Broadside on, maybe just 60-70 yards out, I made the shot and was delighted to see her drop right away.

I really liked the efficient field gralloch demonstrated by Oliver, which lead to an interesting chat about keeping it simple. I now had a fantastic conditioned deer for the freezer which I had hoped for but of course you can’t guarantee; so yes you could say I was over the moon! This was an action packed couple of days. The location was ideal – plenty of deer, but Oliver’s knowledge and fieldcraft, and professional approach but with plenty of good chatter really made this a special experience.

There wasn’t one moment of this experience when I wasn’t having a good time.

Thank you very much, Dom, for sharing your experience with us (by the way, check out Don’s Instagram account)

Hunting in Great Britain is often perceived as something prohibitively expensive. It may well be true for some ‘shoots’, but there are also countless opportunities to hunt on the British Isles on a tight budget – like the one described above. As usual, the best deals are found on BookYourHunt.com.

Find your British adventure now!

 

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