Make the right call

There are many good reasons for the great enjoyment that deerstalkers derive from their pursuit of deer. High among them are the unique opportunities that stalkers have to enjoy the countryside in its quieter hours around dawn and dusk. Strolling through the purple loosestrife, tracking through the dew and appreciating nature undisturbed all have to be high on the list of deerstalker’s perks. However, such nature study does not stand comparison with the absorbing interest provided by the engagement of the rifle with the deer he hunts. The lessons to be learned from these encounters are limitless.

I remember years ago hosting a friend with whom I had not previously stalked. We were after fallow does. Our morning outing had been unproductive so, after breakfast, I installed my friend in a high seat overlooking a deer lawn of rough grass and walked a wide loop with the intention of moving any deer in the adjoining woodland within range of his high seat. Whilst returning to him I heard a single shot. On reaching the high seat my friend said a fallow doe had come on to the deer lawn about 80 yards in front of him, had stopped broadside and presented nicely for his shot after which she had