Professional stalker glassing deer Ardnamurchan Estate Scotland 01

Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

on foot with the intention of

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

for

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

, for

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Lei ...

trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, i ...

, or to control their numbers. As part of

wildlife management Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. It attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best availabl ...

, just as with rabbiting and

boar hunting Boar hunting is the practice of hunting wild boar, feral pigs, warthogs, and peccaries. Boar hunting was historically a dangerous exercise due to the tusked animal's ambush tactics as well as its thick hide and dense bones rendering them diffic ...

, the aim of deer stalking is to help reduce crop damage and obtain

venison Venison originally meant the meat of a game animal but now refers primarily to the meat of antlered ungulates such as elk or deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edibl ...

. Also, as with other types of

, deer stalking has long been considered a pastime

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

. Stalked deer are commonly shot with a high-powered bow (in countries other than the UK; in the UK, it is illegal to hunt any animal with a bow). Or a

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

; prior to the invention of the modern centerfire rifle, deer were stalked with the aid of a

sighthound Sighthounds, also called gazehounds, are a type of dog, hounds that hunt primarily by sight and speed, rather than by scent and endurance as scent hounds do. Appearance These dogs specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overp ...

, such as the Scottish Deerhound. Stalking sticks are often used to steady the aim of the rifle and to steady the binoculars when scanning the ground. The term " deer hunting" is used in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

to specifically describe the hunting of deer without using hunting dogs, but in Britain and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, the term generally refers to the pursuit of deer with

scent hounds An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their sense ...

and unarmed pursuers, typically on

horseback Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

History

"Stalking" is defined as to pursue or approach stealthily, which is often necessary when approaching wild deer or the high seat overseeing the area where the deer are likely to be passing. Scottish deer stalking is often done under the guidance of a professional stalker or a resident expert. Deer stalking is not the only form of control, or

culling In biology, culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is the process of removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific tr ...

, for the six wild species of deer at large in the UK. The six species are

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

, Sika deer,

Muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years a ...

and

Chinese Water Deer The water deer (''Hydropotes inermis'') is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer than a true deer. Native to China and Korea, there are two subspecies: the Chinese water deer (''Hydropotes inermis inermis'') and the Korean wa ...

, and there have never been more deer at large or more widely distributed in the UK than there are now. The first two species are indigenous; new populations have appeared after deliberate releases and escapes from parks or farms. A result of this is that both Red Deer and Roe Deer are now present in several parts of Wales, a country from which both have been absent as wild animals for several centuries. Fallow deer have been at large in many parts of the UK for at least 1,000 years, added to by more recent escapes, but the other three species have solely originated from ornamental collections and deer farms, principally from

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

, escaping through damaged fences or sometimes by deliberate release. A number of deer escaped in southern England following damage to fences by the hurricane of 1987. Apart from the stalking of Red and Sika Deer on the open hillsides of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or '' fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

, which takes place in daylight, most deer stalking takes place in the first and last two hours of daylight and most people never come into contact with it, although it occurs almost everywhere. The only English county without any wild deer is

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, and in all other English and Scottish counties, as well as most Welsh counties, there are deer populations controlled by deer stalking. Antlers are measured by one of several scoring systems used to compare the relative merits of the heads. In Europe, including the UK, the Conseil International du Chasse (CIC) system is used; in America it is either the Boone & Crockett or

Safari Club International Safari Club International (SCI) is a US organization composed of hunters dedicated to protecting the freedom to hunt. SCI has more than 50,000 members and 180 local chapters. SCI members agree to abide by the organization's code of ethics, whi ...

(SCI), and in Australia it is the Douglas system.

Purpose

Professional stalker standing next to red deer stag Ardnamurchan Estate Scotland darker 01

There are no natural predators of deer in Britain. Therefore, to maintain a stable and healthy population of deer, a cull of some of them is required each year. This is not random, however, and a deer stalker will have carried out a population count/census to determine the age and sex profile of those to be culled. So then, during the correct deer season, barren, genetically odd, or very old animals are taken. This selection results in a balanced pyramid profile with a few healthy older animals of each sex at the top and increasing numbers of each sex down to the yearlings at the bottom. The males with outstanding antlers are sometimes referred to as trophy animals, and as part of the cull, can be shot as part of a purchased sporting package to bring income to help with the management of the deer population as a whole. If population reduction is required, more females will be culled. If a population increase is required, only a select few will be culled. Deerstalkers have the humane despatch of the deer at the forefront of their mind (right behind safe shooting practice), and there are many scenarios which prevent a shot from being taken, such as no safe backstop, no clear shot, the deer does not stop, there are other deer behind the chosen deer, the deer which is visible is out of season, it is not an appropriate animal to cull, it is a good healthy specimen which would be worth keeping to spawn future generations of healthy deer or it is a trophy animal which could bring in much needed funds. This means that not every stalk results in a killed deer, and so it must be borne in mind that elements of selection can result in a "walk with a rifle" which in itself is rewarding as much can be learned by the stalker in the process. Injured or sick animals are given priority at any time of year whereby a humane exemption in law allows a person to humanely kill any deer out of season or at night "by any reasonable means", if it is so seriously injured or so seriously diseased that to kill it would be an act of mercy. A rifle is used that complies with the minimum requirements of the Deer Act (1991) in England and Wales or the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 in calibre and ballistic performance. Not only are there differences in the law regarding the calibre and ballistic performance between Scotland and England & Wales (popular calibres are

.243 The .243 Winchester (6×52mm) is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Developed as a versatile short action cartridge to hunt both medium game and small game alike, it "took whitetail hunting by storm"Ron Spomer.Whitetail Deer Cartridge Shoot-Out ...

.270 The .270 Winchester is a rifle cartridge developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1923 and unveiled in 1925 as a chambering for their bolt-action Model 54The Complete Reloading Manual for the .270 Winchester, Loadbooks USA, Inc., 2004, ...

.303 .303 may refer to: * .303 British, a rifle cartridge * .303 Savage, a rifle cartridge * Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the B ...

.308 The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

, 6.5×55mm,

.25-06 Considered by many as the most balanced of the "quarter bores" for hunting medium-sized game, the .25-06 Remington remained in obscurity as a wildcat cartridge for nearly half a century before being standardized by Remington in 1969. Its design ...

, and .30-06) there are differences in the deer open seasons too. In recent times, the use of sound moderators has greatly increased as a health and safety measure.

References

External links

The British Deer SocietyThe Deer InitiativeDeer Stalking ScotlandThe Stalking Directory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deer Stalking Deer hunting Hunting and shooting in Scotland

History

Purpose

See also

References

Further reading

External links