I shot this fellow this morning. He's obviously been to war. The split you can see in his ear had healed completely as had several scars in the neck.
His fangs were of two different lengths, one of about 13mm and quite curved and one of 35mm.

By the time Muntjac bucks get to 4 or 5 they can be prety banged up. Just like the bed of that old pick up. Especially if those shooting that farm have a, its brown so its down policy, and so remove the dominant older bucks. Which can cause major territorial disputes amoungst the lower ranks before some kind of new order is restored.

They heal pretty quick, and the skin from the shoulders forward can be pretty thick too. Built for the job in hand as they say. I've seen a few dogs come off worst when following up a creased muntjac buck. As well as when they were legal quarry for the running dogs.

Muntjac Bucks have quite large ranges and I'm not convinced by the idea that there's some sort of pecking order or stability of population in terms of dominant and subordinate.
I think rather, like foxes, maturing males seek vacant territories of their own, one reason why the munty population is still both growing and expanding its range in the UK.
Fair comment on the Hilux though, beaten but not bowed and there's a lot of miles in that bed yet. The tailgate makes a handy gralloching table for both Munty and Roe and avoids backache.

Davey,

Waidmannsheil, Buddy nice Buck.

Yeah, he appears to be a real Bar Room Brawler.

quote:

Originally posted by Trapper Dave:
Muntjac Bucks have quite large ranges and I'm not convinced by the idea that there's some sort of pecking order or stability of population in terms of dominant and subordinate.
I think rather, like foxes, maturing males seek vacant territories of their own, one reason why the munty population is still both growing and expanding its range in the UK.
Fair comment on the Hilux though, beaten but not bowed and there's a lot of miles in that bed yet. The tailgate makes a handy gralloching table for both Munty and Roe and avoids backache.

Muntjac territory size like most other woodland inhabiting deer species is governed by quality of the habitat(food and cover) and population size. Muntjac does will have their patch which they will share with their off spring.Female off spring will be tollerated but juvenille bucks will be turfed out by the dominant buck soon or later. The dominent buck will travel around doing his duties amoungst these does. Mature bucks will hold the best spots and the largest areas. Younger bucks, the subordinate bucks, will hold territories around the fringes of these areas unless there is another similar aged dominent buck in an abutting territory. If there is they will be pushed out even further If there is no adjacent mature buck the subordinate bucks will spend quite a bit of their time squabbling. When the dominent buck gets slotted the competition heats up for a while as everyone moves around and the pecking order is sorted out again.

The reason why in many locations this territorial system is hard to define is because of the, its brown so its down, attitude to the muntjac population. The shooters/hunters are continually upsetting the balance. What this causes is greater territorial disputes amoungst both those bucks that are hefted to the area and those individuals looking to find some where to establish a territory. The old create a vacum and nature will fill it story line. With Muntjac being regared as only slightly above vermin on many farms and being subjected to the greatest hunting pressure both legal and illegal. I dont expect to see well balanced peer groups being established across much of their current population spread. Just look at South Yorkshire roe for example. There would be a significantly higher population if the dogmen left them alone.

Congrats, Dave! Nice muntie

What Anders said, and to add; I just love that "lung blood" colour you got on your pick up bed

Thanks guys!
I stuck the skull in a tree for the blowflies to clean up.
Maybe I'll hang it in the barn next year.
Now to turn the liver into pate

All in favour of making pate. Not to fine a blend I hope.

As for nailing that head to the barn wall...really?

There doesn't seem to be much length or girth to it. It could just be the camera angle I suppose.

Jools its nowhere near a medal but it had eluded me for far too long like the Roebuck with the bendy antler I still want to meet up with.
So its memories, not medals, that it will mark on the wall.

Yes its ugly, scarred and its teeth are misshapen but the same can be said for me and the truck.

As for the pate, blended 50/50 with coarse chopped backstrap and a couple of rashers of bacon. Yep its well up there with the "Trevor" recipe.

TD

I suppose due to a life time of culling muntjac I'm rather jaded by their appeal. The outside rear wall of my old workshop was covered in them for a number of years. We eventually tired of the sight and they were confined to the bonefire along with the boarding when we replaced all the feather edge timber and roof about 10 years ago. Now unless its of some note heads get dumped in the midden along with the other waste. I occassionally keep the canine teeth which I drill and wire together with a luggage tag noting date and location These get tossed into an old biscuit tin I also keep woodcock pin feathers in a old pocket watch case. That I picked up at a church jumble sale 40 odd years ago for a shilling.I brought the watch complete but the watch itself was junk. Strange what we keep. LOL

I'm not familiar with the "trevor" recipe for pate. I like mine with plenty of black pepper and a splosh of hearty red wine added to the mix.

Jools,

If you get anymore heads to bin then I'd be happy to receive ( and pay) for some to cover a wall in our shoot room.

I shoot mainly Sika, Roe and Fallow both in wild and park but very few Muntjac < 10 a year.

Anything decent goes in my gunroom but am trying to get the shootroom sorted before the winter. Managed to stick a few of my park ( no real hunting memories) in there and some hill stags.

Dorset

I shall keep you in mind. I rarely shoot any heads of note these days. I leave those for others to enjoy. My buck culling is mosly juvenilles and the rubbish. Which I usually head shoot with a .22-250. No wasted fore quarters that way, which are much in demand by my sausage and burger making friends. I give them the front ends and I get sausages, burgers and game pies back in return. Waste not, want not.