Fallow Stalking.

[jaeger88]

So, a Fallow Deer stalking tale.

The beast I shot on this outing had the biggest set of antlers of all the Fallow Ive shot, & the only Fallow head Ive ever kept.

I'm not too serious about keeping trophies, but I do hang on to  the exceptional ones.  

 I was out before  day light. In those days I had time to go stalking before I went to work  for 09.00.

 I parked my company van at my mate the keepers  cottage, got my gear together and set off to the nearest wood ( Angel  Wood ), stopping every few yards to "glass" for signs of a brown patch  or a black & white tail moving among the trees.
 Id not gone more  than 50 yards when I made out some shapes ahead. They were maybe only  30 yard off, & I'd doped the wind correctly, & though it wasn't a  very dense wood, I really couldn't make out anything I was happy to  take a shot at. I got down prone, & made out maybe 4 sets of legs.  Could,t tell if they were Bucks or Does though.
I knew there was a  ride off to my left about 50 yards that ran from the bottom of the wood  to almost the top, was hoping they would cross it at some point, & I  could maybe take a shot. So I headed quietly that way, found the ride  & got down behind the rifle. After maybe 10 mins, a lone pricket  walked out onto the ride only 50 or 60 yards away & started feeding.  I was waiting for it to turn side on for a Heart shot, and as it  turned, a Muntjac scented me & started barking, which spooked the  the buck & it took off PDQ. I whistled at it to try & make it  stop long enough for a shot, but it was having none of it &  vanished. I knew there probably wasn't a Fallow left in the wood now, so more out of spite than anything I stalked the offending Muntjac, not to  shoot it, just to let it know I wasn't happy !. Well she took off when I  got about 10 yards from her, & didn't bark again.
I headed for  the next wood ( Far Angel ) & the next ( Ash Wood ) & never saw a  thing, so started heading home, which was maybe a mile away.
Id  kind of given up seeing anything more, so wasn't really trying, &  was ambling down a hedgerow in a grass field, when I noticed 2 two  beasts wander out of a a wood about 400 yards away, so I dropped into  the ditch  on my left & crept closer. I got to a spot where I  thought I was close enough, & had a peep over the top. Half  expecting them to have wandered off. But no, they were still there  feeding, only 100 yards away. A good Buck, & one maybe in its second  year. So I took aim at the big one, squeezed off a 130G Hornady Spire  Pint, & he dropped on the spot. The second beast took off, went  maybe 75 yards & stopped to look back at his mate. Bad mistake !. I  struck him in the boiler room, but he took off and fell in the ditch I  was standing in. He didn't climb out, & we couldn't get him out by  hand, but had to drag him out with my mates Subaru.

Ive still  got the head, from the big one, but as there was no place to hang it on the wall, it  languished on top of the wardrobe in my bedroom for several years. Until  it fell off one day & hit me on the head, since then its lived in  the shed.

My wife laughed & said it was just getting its own back, I  said there was room in the :cens:shed for her as well.

[gitano]

I'll make just one 'translation' for those not familiar with English English (EE), as opposed to American English: "ride" in EE equals "trail" in AE. I think the word "trail" in EE refers to what is a "footpath" in AE, and a "ride" is what would be a "trail" in AE but a trail made from a motor vehicle. Correct me where I'm wrong, please. I am not familiar with the term "pricket". Is that a young buck?

That is a gorgeous fallow buck! I have always really liked fallow deer both for their spotted coats and their palmated as well as non-palmated antlers. I have always considered them one of the prettiest of the deer.

Thanks for the story and the pictures! Keep it up, please!

Paul

[JaDub]

Nice going Jaeger.  Beautiful  rack as well.
 
   Now, about that _ _ _ _ ing shed...............

[jaeger88]

Thanks guy,s, I enjoyed recounting that story.

It actually happened about 20 years ago. So it was good to recall old memories.

Sorry, I tend to forget the differences  in American English & English.

Your pretty much right there Paul.
A  "Ride" is generally a track made through the woods, for access. The  word probably came from the days before motor vehicles, when they rode  Horses as everyday transport, hence a "ride".
 They are a good place  to set up a high seat. ( tree stand ? ). As they are generaly grassed  over, & provide good eating for Deer.
In a big wood, they serve  as a place to stand a line of guns, (shooters) on a Pheasant drive.  A  ride can be anything from 5 to maybe 20 yards wide.

A "Pricket"  is indeed a young Buck, which is not old enough to grow a full set of  antlers. Also called a "Spiker" In some places I believe ?.

The English language is full of different words, used in different regions, all meaning the same thing.
 I live in the county of Bedfordshire, & in the village I grew up  in, mud was called "Sludder", but even in the next village something  like that could have a different name .
 
Then when you get to  Scotland, they have a whole different set of words. For instance, if you  "Pockle" something, you've stolen it !.

For some reason the wife declined my generous offer for her to reside in the shed.
She  was born in London, & used a whole new set of words to describe me,  & her feelings on the subject, that I don't think Id heard before,  but were easily translated.

[gitano]

For some reason the wife declined my generous offer for her to reside in the shed.
She was born in London, & used a whole new set of words to describe me, & her feelings on the subject, that I don't think Id heard before, but were easily translated.

:D:D:D I'm guessing that the phrase, "went all Anglo-Saxon on ya", might describe your wife's response.

Paul

[jaeger88]

Yea that pretty much sums it up !.

[Hunterbug]

Very nice. What is the meat like?

[jaeger88]

They are good eating, I prefer the meat to Red or Roe Deer, but not quite as nice as Sika or Chinese Water Deer.  

But at the end of the day I just love Venison !. I prefer meat pretty lean.

[Jorge in Oz]

Great story Jaeger.

[Paul Hoskins]

jaeger88, good story. The varmints look like a cross between elk & caribou. I'm familiar with "difficult" wives myself. Wore the first two out. Now I'm wearing out  myself. ......Paul H

[jaeger88]

Despite what I may say about my wife Paul, she's a "keeper",  I'm sure nobody else would put up with me like she does.  

She's also my best friend.

Weve been married nearly 30 years, we've 2 great daughters, & I would marry her again tomorrow.

And no, shes not looking over my shoulder as I write this !.
Having said all this, there's nothing we like better than ripping the :cens: out of each other !.

As for Fallow Deer, they weigh in at about 57 kg/125lb, so they they are a bit lighter  your  White Tails.

The Fallow pics you see on Google are I'm pretty sure "Park" deer, as you don't usually get racks that huge in wild beasts.

That rack of mine is a good size for a wild beast. Park Deer obviously get well fed all year round.

[Paul Hoskins]

jaeger88, I was in no way disparaging your wife. I know the feeling of having someone that is always there for you & that is the way a marriage is supposed to be. My present wife is a jewel among a pile of rocks as far as I'm concerned. She is my wife, friend & buddy but she doesn't hunt or fish. That part sucks but we have no problems with it. She doesn't like the taste of any wild game except moose. It doesn't make sense to me that she likes moose since it's probably one of the homliest looking varmints on earth. Undoubtedly one of the tastiest too. .....My grandfather always told me never to disparage a man's choice of wife, dog or tools. Good advice. .....Paul H

[sakorick]

Very nice Jaeger. That's one I never drew in Germany. :no:Whitetails vary greatly in weight and it seems like the further North you hunt, the bigger the deer. I shot a big buck 4 years ago that weighed 200 pounds field dressed. The average Does around here go 140-150 field dressed.

[jaeger88]

Hey Paul, I'm sorry, I really must apologize, in no way did I mean to  imply you were disparaging my wife. When I read back over the words I  used, I see I could have chosen better. Again I apologize.

Sounds  like our other half's have much in common, mine wont eat anything I  shoot or catch, she will eat Chicken from the Supermarket, but will turn  her nose up if I bring home a Rabbit or Pigeon.
She will eat Salmon out of a tin, but if I caught & cooked one she wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft barge pole.

I  tell her, if Ive killed it & brought it home, you can see how well  its lived, & you know how its died, you cant say that about  something from the Supermarket.

My wife used to shoot handguns before they were banned in the UK. Though she never took to rifles or shotguns.

My  eldest daughter ( now 26 yo ), never took to shooting much either, but  will eat, or at least try, most anything you put in front of her !.  

My  youngest daughter ( 24 ) was a pretty good shot with a rifle, &  killed more than her fair share of Rabbits, but would never eat one,  & thinks that Fish are probably the spawn of the devil !.
 
Shes now at university in London & now doesn't find any time to shoot. Which is a shame.

Here,s a few pics of her shooting my Tikka T3 in .223, and slaying Rabbits with my trusty 10-22.

I think your Grandfather was a wise man indeed.

[jaeger88]

Thanks Rick.

I hadn't realized there was such a variation in the size of White Tails, but I guess in an area as vast as the US, that's bound to be the case when herds are quite isolated.

It occurs in the UK too, but to a lesser degree in such a relatively tiny island.

For instance, in nearly all the pics of Fallow Deer you see, they have spots, but in the area I used to shoot, few had spots, & in those that did they were not very pronounced.