Red Stag ! .........In Quebec !!!!!

greywolf · May 15, 2008, 06:19:45 AM

Well Here I was Watching tv last night and found a rather inviting scenario,,,,, there be red stag in quebec ! Huntable population at that ! If anyone is interested check out //www.laurentianwildlife.com these guys have red stag and manitoba elk hunts on a private HUGE wildlife hunting preserve (yes is High fence) but enough land to make it as Fair Chase as possible(I have no prob with that ) they limit thier hunts and so on , rates are dirt cheap ! considering how much it costs to somewhere to hunt red stag , (under 5k in quebec and i mean WAY under), price also includes everything, including 2 hunters Check it out if anyone is interested :) I think i may just do this one, one on one guides , can shoot anything i want ,so long as it is a 6x6 or better. I can deal with that :)

Paul Hoskins · May 15, 2008, 06:30:10 AM

Sure sounds steep to me. I wouldn't pay that for a coastal brown bear hunt even with guarnteed success. ............Paul H

greywolf · May 15, 2008, 07:01:28 AM

Actual price is 3400$ includes everything also is based on 2 hunters not 1 , I have never seen anything cheaper(other than whitetail) but yeah I still kinda would love a hunt that was ME and the deer, no guide , no outfitter , a tent, etc..... I personally prefer a do it yourself hunt , but to go where i can hunt out in the wild no fence, no nothing, for red stag would cost me around the 10k mark, i can drive to quebec. no license needed as is private, so all things considered , is darn cheap , as far as outfitters and the like are concerned. Only place i wouldn't balk at an outfitter is africa , simply because of the unfamiliarity of terrain , and sheer #'s of different predators etc..... So If i want to go there, they kinda got me , but here is a diff matter, for me coastal brown hnut would be around the 10k mark as well, even in canada a grizz hunt is 1200$ for the license and 10k for the outfitter , plus amenities etc.... really sucks , whatever happened to the days of being able to take your rifle , buy a license and head into the bush? Ok, "greenhorns" should be babysat , but what about those "seasoned" hunters? I think if you can prove competancy in the bush , you should be able to bypass the outfitters :) imho.

M.

Brithunter · May 15, 2008, 11:14:36 AM

Heck it would probably be cheaper to fly to Scotland and take a Stag in the Highlands, no fences, you can get a nice Stag for less than $1000 US. Yes the estates charge trophy fees, Game licence is about $10 US and bringing rifle in can be arranged via a visitors firearms permit. Sucess is not guarenteed and you need to be fairly fit as Stalking Red Stag requires a lot of walking and climbing. Unless you chose a lowland canned hunt and yes there are those in Scotland with park fed deer. Huge beasts but????????????????

OH the game licence is brought over the counter at the local Post Office!

Clueless · May 15, 2008, 12:31:25 PM

You watch the video? Seems to me the animals were too used to having humans around. And they mentioned breeding for size of racks.
Too much like a canned hunt.

I've never been on a canned hunt and most likely never will.
I'd rather be on my own hunting.

Take my own chances of getting an animal.

greywolf · May 15, 2008, 12:55:37 PM

no never watched the video yet haven't had a chance to , but watched the show with a hunt from there, the animals didn't look used to humans to me , still gonna check it out more , as for going to scotland , every place i have called so far wants 5k for the hunt plus airfare and amenities , if you can find me an outfitter to book a hunt thru that cheap by all means please . I'd rather go no fence period, but i can deal with a high fence around a thousand plus acres and only x # of animals, if that is not what they turn out to be then i would NOT even come close to patronizing them that is for sure i mean i would not mind a 1 k hunt plus airfare and so on , that would be even cheaper , but also i understand that you cannot keep the meat, (feel free to correct me if i am wrong) was told that the landowner gets the meat and you get the head and rack, not what i really want. If I can find a "true fair chase " hunt somewhere as cheap or cheaper , of course i'd take it . So far any out fitters taking bookings here want 4k just to hunt a lousy whitetail, bear cheapest i have seen is that one in quebec, for 900$ , in and around the western provinces you are looking at 3k at minimum.

Brithunter · May 15, 2008, 01:24:34 PM

Ok I will ask a few folks but by doing a quick search with Google I found these you can always fire off an e-mail and ask:-

http://www.deer-stalking.co.uk/deer-stalking/terms.php

http://www.sportinglets.co.uk/shooting.htm

http://www.braeroy.co.uk/activities/

http://www.alladale.com/staying-at-alladale/activities/deer-stalking.html?gclid=CJHi3PuzqZMCFRqyEAodygSoog

That should give you a good idea. Notice that stalking is often by the day but on some estates it's by the beast and a period of say three days is alloted. The Ghille of keeper knows his ground and will take to where the stags will normally be found at that time of year. They then normally glass the stags from another hill so check for a suitable beast. The best beasts are only shot on good estates when they are past their prime and starting to "go back". The Client or stalker will be required to shoot a test target and must be able to hit the and group in the 3" circle.

The best tine I am told to stalk a Red Stag is during the rutt when they are Roaring, it's supposed to magic on the hill then :smiley: The meat from the Stags is sold by the estate so is not wasted. Oh you can buy the meat from your beast but shippign it to the US is not on, both US and British customs will not allow this that I am aware of.

I have not had any dealings with the sites I posted they are just ones I found on a quick search. I have dealt with this one as I took an introductory Woodland deer Stalking course with them years ago:-

http://www.deerland.co.uk/

Roger is a funny sort but is a good stalker.

Hope that helps some

.

greywolf · May 15, 2008, 01:52:33 PM

checked out the sites that actually had prices on them so far , and found it not all that cheap either, some were down to 500 pounds , which is around 1200 canuck bucks, plus accomodations etc.... the 3400$ included everything, except travelling expenses, included accomodations, processing of your kill, food, all amenities etc...... the actual "Stag Fee" i estimate at roughly 1000$ canuck , the rest id for the accomodations etc.... I called them up and the high fence deal contains only 200 animals per fenced area, and they have a few, a each area is 1000 acres. so not really all that canned , just fenced to prevent the animals from establishing feral populations all over quebec. found that scotland is so far the cheapest for travelling abroad , AU wants 15k plus airfare , argentina , 22k , florida ,25k , with scotland coming in at total cost around 8k including airfare. so yes scotland is a definate consideration , it includes fishing and some bird shooting etc.... in the price. BUT ! I really do want the meat, dang it !

I haven't checked out bolivia yet , or spain . *sigh* I suppose I'll just have to go and shoot another elk this year :) Save my pennies for a year or so down the road (can't cut into gun money y'know) Wife says , to go do scotland , i want closer to home , ummmmm wife will prob win . Either way i'll get a stag hunt yet :)

M.

Clueless · May 15, 2008, 04:33:08 PM

Heck I'd put on my "kilt" and go to Scotland.

Take my camera along for pics of the beautiful scenery.

Do a little fishing.

Spend my nights in small villages and do "walkabouts" all day till I walked over the entire country taking pictures. :smiley:

I can hear them bagpipes already!!!

greywolf · May 15, 2008, 06:00:16 PM

well I wanted the meat and the trophy, she wanted to check out "the Isles" period, I wanted to drive there rather than fly, she couldn't care less so long as she had something to do whilst I hunt (she is totally Blind) , so therefore it (she) has been decided that scotland it is. I don't care I get my deer, no meat but a great vacation and trophy , I still want the meat , i'm not about the trophy thing , but in the end i guess it will do,i'll buy some here in Quebec maybe. No need to hunt the elk there, have plenty of elk here. BUT! she has promised me a grizz/brown bear hunt or a hunt with Ted Nugent:) ! woo! Now ya know why she won (at least I keep telling myself that)

M.

Clueless · May 15, 2008, 08:11:04 PM

Wilt be a great trip!!:smiley:

And don't forget to do a history run while in Scoland. Follow the trail of William Wallace:smiley:

And Charles Stuart?

And say HI to Sir Sean!! He's most likely in the Bahamas but maybe you'll luck up and he be in Scotland.

The things I could think of to do in Scotland!!!

Brithunter · May 15, 2008, 11:50:06 PM

Yes Scotland is beautiful and most of the people are friendly, you'll probably find them more friendly towards you than we did after all your not English

we found in some places anti English feelings

I took Mum and Dad to Scotland three years running as Dad wanted to see it. During WW2 Dad passed through Scotland three time without seeing any of it as it was always at night

. Now on the hills between Glen Coe and Glen Shee there was a huge heard of Red Deer with massive antlers on the Stags, seems that they are not pure Reds by a Red/Wapiti cross. This was in September so they were getting ready for the Rut which takes place late September. I believe October is when the main rutting occurs durign other times the Stags and Hinds live seperatly.

A suggestion

if your in Scotland during this period then consider a Roe Buck hunt! The meat well you will have to ask your Cutoms about importation, it would have to be processed, packed and frozen the shipped you would not be able to carry it with you. Here we don't have processors like that but a Butcher most likely could/would do it, I know mine would. The problem would be getting a certficate to prove it's free of any infection which is what I would expect Cutoms to want. This I got from the Vet at London Gatwick Airport when asking about shipping my Whitetail mount back from the US. However as the mount is processed and not raw it does not need a certificate.

Oh one thing perhaps I should mention :undecided: is that magnums are not really liked for stalking here, there not needed and are considered noisy and antisocial. If you borrow an estate rifle it will most likely be chambered in 243, 308 or 7x57 and have a sound Moderator fitted to protect yours and the Ghille's hearing. They may look odd but they do work

.

On flights if you can route through Gatwick instead of Heathrow you will probably find it better. Heathrow has a bad reputation for losing stuff and the customs are not as helpful. I found those at gatwick to very helpful even if this was a few years ago. Connecting flights to Scotland can be made through either. I would not recommend driving from down South to Scotland, for one the M25 is a nightmare and cannot be avoided from either Airport and it nearly always had roadworks causing chaos, we locals call it the biggest car park. It's quite common to be stranded for several hours on it due to accidents in the road works. I used to work on it driving a 6.4ton recovery truck

!!! Then there is the price of petrol to consider. Sure get a car in Scotland but fly up there it's cheaper in the long run :smiley: . Have a few days to rest and look round before you start hunting, the jet lag coming this way can be cruel

I didn't suffer going statside by coming home

it was not nice. Needed a couple of days to get over it properly I was sent home from work as being unsafe to drive! Driving Buses at the time.

Oh even in September the weather can change suddenly, we experieinced 2" of hail one hot afternoon which made it really cold quickly. They don't joke when they say you can experieince all four seasons in one day. The outfit you book through should be able to advise on clothing for the stalking but good binos are more than useful, scopes are normal sighting equipment now of course if you shoot iron expect raised eyebrows especially if you plan on adding Roe Buck. Good optics in the scope is a VERY good idea as woodland at first light is testing on them but some Roe Bucks have taken to living more open lives on the lower hills. Bear this in mind and if you want a traditional Roe Stalk in their woodland habitat tell them as they should be able to sort you out. I came across a monster Roe Buck whilst rabbiting with my 22 LR. Sneaking along after rabbits I came round the end of the line of firs and there he was not 60 yards off as surprised as I was.

Of course Scotland reeks of history you wil soon get to reconise the different period Castles, the tall square ones date from the 15th century usually. Lots of them are open at certain times to view, it helps the upkeep as most are still lived in. The Scottish Tourist office should be able to help with advice of the best places in the areas you will be visiitng and with places and things with special help for the blind like audio etc.

Clueless · May 16, 2008, 02:23:52 PM

Well I'm starting an envelope for SCOTLAND!!!:smiley: :smiley:

It's the only country I have ever had the desire to visit. I've been to other countries but have never been able to get to Scotland.

There's a community in PA called Scotsville. And it's seems to be a minature Scotland. It's off I-81 and one day I decided to take a detour and make a visit.

Found out everyone who lives in the community are Scots.

I always go to the Scottish Games on Grandfather Mountain, NC every year. 2 weeks out of the year to hear bagpipes, see the old Scottish Games and see every Scottish Clan represented.

And while I'm in Scotland I'm going to be looking for those Red Stags!!
Not much interested in paying to kill one just for a trophy but would sure like a picture!!!:smiley:

Brithunter · May 17, 2008, 09:42:51 AM

I will try to look out a leaflet I picked up from a conservation place. Scottish Red Deer are under threat from interbreeding with Sika so at one place in the highlands they have fenced in an area and have gathered some tested and true pure Red Deer you can drive round and see them, no hunting as they are a breeding reserve to safe guard them.

If you go to the East side around Perthshire I would recomend Blair castle at Blair Atholl. Inside is a wonderful collection of Brown Bess Muskets as the laird had his own army.

Clueless · May 17, 2008, 10:03:43 AM

Blair Castle. Has a familiar ring to the name. :smiley:

Sounds like it would make a great tour!!

My ancestors are Scots. Came to America before the Revolution. One of the Clan brought 12 sons to America so there are a lot of us floating around in the USA. :smiley:

I'll check my ancestry done many years ago. I'm almost positive Blair is mentioned.

I know they are traced back to before the 1500's.

That's the amazing thing about going to other countries. Their history is so long when we in America have such a short history.