I went out in my lunch break today to put up a high seat in an area where I had seen some thrash marks. I had to clear some of the dead pine branches to get a view onto one area. I just bashed them off with a bit of stick. Shortly after a fallow appeared to investigate my rutting activity!

I might try this later with a rifle in my hands. I had heard of Roe investigating noises in the rut but had never experienced this with fallow.

Rutting deer will do the strangest things! I guess any noise that might be another buck could entice a deer (of any flavor) to investigate.

Interesting story, thanks.

I have never called fallow bucks but I have been called by them!

I was out looking for prickets in a large wood with a coppiced hazel understorey, and was drawn to the sound of two bucks locking antlers. I moved upwind to within 30 feet but the bucks paid no attention to me whatever, they just kept on fighting. It is often the case that pricket will watch a fight too and, behold, on the other side of the bucks, stood a pricket. We both watched the two fighting bucks for a couple of minutes then I shot the pricket. The bucks broke off and moved off 50 feet before resuming their fight. In full view of the two bucks I openly walked up to the dead pricket and started a full gralloch, while the bucks continued. They eventually moved off after I threw stones at them.

The lesson here is to investigate the noise of fighting fallow as there is frequently a pricket in attendance also.