ACCURATERELOADING.COM WORLD HUNTING REPORT FORUMS


Moderators: T.Carr
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Traditional Scottish Red Deer Hunt
 Login/Join
 
new member
posted
Outfitter: http://www.sportinglets.co.uk/
Hunt Area: Braeroy Estate, Scotland
Hunt Dates: Sept. 11 – 13, 2017
Game Taken: (2) Red deer stags
Game Seen: Red deer, Roe deer, Red grouse
2017 Price: £650 per deer harvested. £250 outing fee if no shot opportunity



Travel: I flew from Salt Lake City to New York, then onto Dublin, and finally Glasgow. I picked up a rental car from the airport and drove the 2.5 hours to the estate. My rental car had Wi-Fi so it was very easy to use google maps and navigate the roads. The hunting lodge at the estate is currently under renovation for the foreseeable future, but there are numerous hotels and Airbnbs in the town of Roy Bridge. I stayed in a small hotel with a good restaurant and then drove 25 minutes to the estate each morning. I enjoyed the daily commute since there was zero traffic on the remote road and it was a good time for my clothing and boots to dry out.

Hunt Overview: The Braeroy Estate is a traditional Scottish hunting estate. Vehicles are only used to access different hunting areas on the 23,000-acre estate, but all hunting is done on foot. Once a stag is harvested a ghillie and his garron pony will come to the kill site and pack the stag down to the vehicle. This is also not a trophy hunt. Harvested stags are selected based upon age, or malformed antlers. The estate is not high fenced.







Day 1: The hunt started off with the standard introductions and shooting of the borrowed estate rifle at the estate shooting range. We then headed to the portion of the estate we’d be hunting that day in the Land Rover. Once we arrived at the hunting area we parked the Land Rover and started a long hike up a beautiful canyon. A ghillie and his garron pony followed a couple miles behind my stalker and I to pack down a stag if we were successful. It didn’t take long and we started seeing groups of hinds and stags on the hills above us, and after a 4-mile hike we found a couple stags in the age class that we were looking for. The stalk included an hour-long crawl, but it was the most pleasant stalk I’ve ever done. There were no rocks, stickers, thorns, or branches to worry about. It was like crawling across a mattress. We crawled to 112 yards from the stags and one offered a perfect broadsided shot. The stag was 11 years old. Overall, on day one, we saw about 400 deer. It was an incredible sight.









Day 2: The second day started off much as the first, but we hunted a different area of the estate. This area had a much higher percentage of stags in each herd we glassed. Within the first hour of hiking we glassed well over 200 stags in multiple herds. The rut had just begun and most stags were still in bachelor herds. My stalker and I hiked 14 miles on day 2 with 4 unsuccessful stalks. These ruined stalks were caused by us bumping hinds that in turn caused all other deer in the immediate area to move out, and by an inconsistent wind that gave us away on more than one occasion. We returned to the estate lodge empty handed, but we covered a lot of beautiful country and saw over 600 deer.

Day 3: On my final day of the hunt we quickly located a couple bedded stags in a saddle, high on a ridge. We crawled to 175 yards of the deer and I shot an old white-faced stag from the group. My stalker examined his teeth and believed he was 15-16 years old. I couldn’t ask for a better ending to my quick hunt in Scotland.



Other Information: Before my hunt, I tried to gather as much information as I could so that I could be prepared for the type of hunting I might encounter in Scotland. In this section, hopefully I can give a few pointers to anyone looking to book a Scotland hunting trip for the first time.

Waterproof gear is crucial to an enjoyable Scottish hunt. It rained 80% of the time that I was hunting, and the ground is more liquid than solid and I spent hours crawling while stalking deer. I brought a pair of Kenetrek boots, but by day 2 they were soaked all the way through. I wore a pair of Kuiu gaiters and they really helped in the numerous stream crossings. My camera isn’t waterproof so I kept it in a small dry bag in my jacket. I would have hated myself if I didn’t have a camera always at the ready in my pocket.
I had read about the biting midges that are so numerous in the Scottish Highlands, so I came prepared with a head net, but we always had enough of a breeze that I never once saw a midge, but my stalker said they can be unbearable on a calm day and before a frost kills them all.

I hunted September 11 – 13, so the rut wasn’t in full swing yet and the stags were typically in large bachelor groups that made hunting difficult. I understand that a few weeks later and the rut would be in full swing and the hunting very easy.

Finally, Braeroy Estate is unable to find a shipping company in the U.K. that will ship hunting trophies to the U.S., so I left my trophies there. I’d rather save the money anyway and go back and shoot more deer, but I understand that this could be a deterrent for a lot of hunters.

I’ve never wrote an online hunting review, but I learned a lot about the anti-hunting sentiment and massive deer culling happening in Scotland right now, and thought I could help spread awareness of the hunting possibilities in Scotland. Hopefully, one day, locals and the government will see the benefit of the deer, and hunting with more hunters putting money into the local economy.
 
Posts: 6 | Registered: 28 February 2017Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of Fjold
posted Hide Post
Beautiful old stags! You guys are making me regret not hunting while I was in Scotland.


Frank



"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money."
- Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953

NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite

 
Posts: 12500 | Location: Kentucky, USA | Registered: 30 December 2002Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of Antlers
posted Hide Post
Nice stags....man that looks interesting.


Antlers
Double Rifle Shooters Society
Heym 450/400 3"
 
Posts: 1990 | Location: AL | Registered: 13 February 2002Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Charlie64
posted Hide Post
.

Enjoyable write up and great pictures.

Something about a pony to carry the stag off the hill
just makes it all that bit more fun! Congratulations
on a successful trip.

Charlie

.


"Up the ladders and down the snakes!"
 
Posts: 2242 | Location: South Africa & Europe | Registered: 10 February 2014Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Charlie64
posted Hide Post
And as an add on - we visited Scotland in 2015 with a party of 12 inc a couple from Texas. They boxed their 2 heads with cut garden hose over the points and checked them in as hold luggage. No issues whatsoever in the US on arrival. There was a recent thread on roe and red heads to the USA as luggage somewhere here on AR.

Cheers

.


"Up the ladders and down the snakes!"
 
Posts: 2242 | Location: South Africa & Europe | Registered: 10 February 2014Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
congratulations! a great experience


mario
 
Posts: 1421 | Location: northern italy | Registered: 01 June 2002Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Cazador humilde
posted Hide Post
Excellent hunt and a great report. Very well done.

Your experience got me thinking about going again.

But that last part about not being able to get the trophies home - I came close to having the same experience.

Is it that they can't find a shipping company, or they won't (can't be bothered)? I do not understand the lack of follow through from a hunting culture, if you will, that seems to have absolutely every other detail covered!
 
Posts: 1278 | Location: Texas Hill Country | Registered: 31 May 2007Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of bwanamrm
posted Hide Post
Great report and trip. Only hunted hill stag in Scotland once but absolutely enjoyed the tradition of it all. Not to mention the single malts and pubs!


On the plains of hesitation lie the bleached bones of ten thousand, who on the dawn of victory lay down their weary heads resting, and there resting, died.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch...
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
- Rudyard Kipling

Life grows grim without senseless indulgence.
 
Posts: 7503 | Location: Victoria, Texas | Registered: 30 March 2003Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Good stuff! Thanks for posting.
 
Posts: 1782 | Location: Sinton, Texas | Registered: 08 November 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of samir
posted Hide Post
tu2


DRSS
Searcy 470 NE
 
Posts: 1427 | Location: San Diego | Registered: 02 July 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of L. David Keith
posted Hide Post
Pics are awesome! My ancestors came from NE Scotland. Our castle still stands and is now owned by an attorney...lol, probably doesn't hunt.


Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris
http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333
Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com
NRA Benefactor
DSC Professional Member
SCI Member
RMEF Life Member
NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor
NAHC Life Member
Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer
Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262
Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142
Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007
16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409
Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311
Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941
10 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322
Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232

"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson

Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......

"If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you."
 
Posts: 6804 | Location: Tennessee | Registered: 18 December 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Jan Dumon
posted Hide Post
Great report sir.
I have been fortunate enough to do a similar hunt a few years ago. It is an awesome experience. Your pictures brought those memories right back.
tu2


Jan Dumon
Professional Hunter& Outfitter
www.shumbasafaris.com

+27 82 4577908
 
Posts: 774 | Location: Greater Kruger - South Africa | Registered: 10 August 2013Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of PD999
posted Hide Post
Thanks; great report and fantastic photography.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition” ― Rudyard Kipling
 
Posts: 1231 | Location: London, UK | Registered: 02 April 2010Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Great report - thanks for posting.

Trophy shipping - this is just "can't be bothered" - there are plenty of companies able to ship - mostly through taxidermists. There is a cultural aspect to this though - most folks (stalkers and 'keepers) involved directly with the taking of deer will be seeing several hundred deer through the estate larder each year. Very, very few of these will be taken as trophies in the sense you understand - most will be processed, lardered and the heads put in the "midden" - the shit heap. I have to confess most of the roe I take are treated in this way.

If you want to take the trophies home you need to make this known in advance. As others have said if you simply tape on some garden hose to the tips of a clean boiled head these can be checked as luggage no problem - especially at Inverness and Aberdeen - no-one will take a second glance.

Weather - well yes!! But you did pick the wettest place in Scotland (indeed one of the wettest in the world) to hunt - average rainfall in the area around "the Fort" (William) is around four metres per annum....

Great hunt though - if you want to experience the real highs and lows of highland hunting try culling hinds in January or February.
 
Posts: 191 | Location: The frozen north of Scotland | Registered: 01 July 2015Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Very Cool!
 
Posts: 225 | Location: North Texas | Registered: 08 May 2013Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Kuwinda:

If you want to take the trophies home you need to make this known in advance. As others have said if you simply tape on some garden hose to the tips of a clean boiled head these can be checked as luggage no problem - especially at Inverness and Aberdeen - no-one will take a second glance.



If you want a shoulder mount, you better be prepared to cape it yourself; my stalker really had no idea how to do this.


Don't Ever Book a Hunt with Jeff Blair
http://forums.accuratereloadin...821061151#2821061151

 
Posts: 7570 | Location: Arizona and off grid in CO | Registered: 28 July 2004Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of juanpozzi
posted Hide Post
This is very ineteresting hunt ,ill hunt with you i love scotland and its hunting culture and greatly admire the ghillies .
Kind Regards Juan


www.huntinginargentina.com.ar FULL PROFESSIONAL MEMBER OF IPHA INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL HUNTERS ASOCIATION .
DSC PROFESSIONAL MEMBER
DRSS--SCI
NRA
IDPA
IPSC-FAT -argentine shooting federation cred number2-
 
Posts: 6362 | Location: Cordoba argentina | Registered: 26 July 2004Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
I love Scotland and the whisky and the haggus and black pudding, but the weather is fierceSmiler. I remember lying in the rain in the wet grass for 3 hours so the stag could stand up before i shot it at 50 yards which i could have done 3 hours ago!
 
Posts: 2527 | Location: New York, USA | Registered: 13 March 2005Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of Fallow Buck
posted Hide Post
Guys

A little bit of info regarding the shipping of trophies.

The problem is that taxidermists here are not really used to exporting items especially to the USA. As such they tend to consider the process daunting and they shy away from it which makes the outfitters job tricky.

As a result I now choose to take on the job of the taxidermist and mount skulls myself and then ship them through and experienced courier.

I should add that this is for European mounts. The estates simply are net set up for camping and shoulder mounts as a rule, so my advice is always to go with a skull mount where possible.

Rgds,
K
 
Posts: 4096 | Location: London | Registered: 03 April 2003Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Bud Meadows
posted Hide Post
Why do Scotsmen wear kilts? Their sheep can hear a zipper a mile away!


Jesus saves, but Moses invests
 
Posts: 1381 | Location: Lake Bluff, IL | Registered: 02 May 2008Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Fallow Buck:
Guys

A little bit of info regarding the shipping of trophies.

The problem is that taxidermists here are not really used to exporting items especially to the USA. As such they tend to consider the process daunting and they shy away from it which makes the outfitters job tricky.

As a result I now choose to take on the job of the taxidermist and mount skulls myself and then ship them through and experienced courier.

I should add that this is for European mounts. The estates simply are net set up for camping and shoulder mounts as a rule, so my advice is always to go with a skull mount where possible.

Rgds,
K


Or learn to cape your own; it isn't that hard.


Don't Ever Book a Hunt with Jeff Blair
http://forums.accuratereloadin...821061151#2821061151

 
Posts: 7570 | Location: Arizona and off grid in CO | Registered: 28 July 2004Reply With Quote
  Powered by Social Strata  
 


Copyright December 1997-2023 Accuratereloading.com


Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia