I'm thinking about taking my wife on a trip where she can have a cultural/dining/shopping experience while I go hunting. I think my best options would be in either England or Scotland. Budget is a concern. Can any of you make outfitter recommendations?

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
Budget is a concern.

Are you interested in hunting them here in the U.S. or only in the UK? I can see where hunting them in their homeland can mean something more to the hunt but if you are on a budget, pm me and I can get you details on a good stag hunt here in the USA

I am interested in hunting them in their natural habitat, but thanks.

This may not suit for lots of reasons, first the negatives: there isn't any shopping or even another living soul for miles. On a positive note it is very much an experience to remember and the culture and dining can be great. There is also great stalking for true red stag or hinds. Even better than that is that they do the occasional week in the year when they rent "rooms" rather than the whole castle and so you and the wife could stay for around £200 per night plus the cost of the stalking if you get the timing right.

Access isn't too bad as you can fly into Stornoway from either Glasgow or Edinburgh and it is about a 1 hour drive from there.

http://www.amhuinnsuidhe.com/

You might also consider staying in Edinburgh for a night or two as part of the trip. I can recommend somewhere to stay in Edinburgh that is also very special though it would run probably £300 per night for both of you.

Not the least expensive by a long way but if you are coming all this way it would certainly be a very interesting holiday idea and you save on the "outfitter" by organising it yourself.

SBT,

If your interested in those three particular species, you are probably going to need to hunt in southern England somewhere, possibly at split locations, as there are no Muntjac or CWD north of the border....

Red and Muntjac stalking should be relatively easy to find, but CWD will be harder as its not so widespread and tends to command high prices when booked commercially.

Don't forget we also have Roe, Sika and Fallow to consider as well, and they are a much more widely dispersed across the country than CWD..

I don't know of any commercial outfitters to recommend, but if you do find one, if you post the name and prices on here, I am sure we will be able to say if we've heard of any horror stories about them, and whether the prices sound reasonable or not..

Regards,

Pete

A friend of mine recently hunted CWD with the outfitter listed on this webpage:

http://www.groenlandjagd.ch/England_D_Detail.htm

My friend took an absolute monster, and spoke very highly of the outfitter's ability to spot game. Apparently, this was no simple task, and the guy made use of 15 power binoculars on a tripod for his field spotting - a technique more commonly used in the wide open expanses of the Southwestern US than in the heavy cover of Europe.

As I understand it, the outfitter also offers other deer species (roe, CWD and muntjak free range, other species from deer park?), but I don't have any personal experience with him. The pictures look impressive, though.

- mike

I have sent off enquires to those mentioned and will keep you guys updated. Thanks.

http://www.kingsplot.co.uk/Hunting.htm

A website I stumbled upon.

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
A friend of mine recently hunted CWD with the outfitter listed on this webpage:

http://www.groenlandjagd.ch/England_D_Detail.htm

My friend took an absolute monster, and spoke very highly of the outfitter's ability to spot game. Apparently, this was no simple task, and the guy made use of 15 power binoculars on a tripod for his field spotting - a technique more commonly used in the wide open expanses of the Southwestern US than in the heavy cover of Europe.

As I understand it, the outfitter also offers other deer species (roe, CWD and muntjak free range, other species from deer park?), but I don't have any personal experience with him. The pictures look impressive, though.

- mike

The pictures are impressive as I strongly suspect that most if not all are park deer.

Despite Norwich being close to Thetford Forest home of red deer with some of the largest heads in the UK the wild UK reds very rarely grow racks that size and the bottom photo is of an axis deer which is not found in the wild in the UK.

If you go with this outfitter there must be a very strong possibility that you will hunting inside the wire of an estate and paying a fortune for the priviledge. If that's what you want then fine but it is not representative of UK hunting.

CWD can only really be hunted as free living animals in East Anglia which is the area that this outfitter lives in together with a relatively small area of Buckinghamshire between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes.

Chinese water deer are found all around Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, Bucks, parts of Northamptonshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

However a great many are shot inside Woburn Park, which is were a great many that used to be entered in the SCI book were taken, and still are.

Good Chink hunting is not easy to come by, and many does were shot because people could not be bothered to sex them properly. Now with the new season it will hopefully help the spread of this unusual and at times exciting little deer.

According to Kenneth Whitehead there used to be a population of CWD in Shropshire - has that died out now?

I've often seen them between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard whilst rough shooting but we left them alone there.

Hi Sewinbasher, I am not aware of any Chinks in Shropshire, but I wouldnt be suprised. I also believe there is a population in or near Oxford, as I had a Spanish client last year with me who took 2 nice Chinks with me, but showed me a photo of a huge buck his friend shot in that area.

It may be that a few where put down some years back and they are begining to make their prescence known. Much like the Wild Boar we have here in Kent, there are a good many now, and the population is growing fast!!

Rather too late for DEFRA to do anyhting now I believe, if they choose to try and eradication policy, but as we know they still have not made their mind up!

Sikamalc,

You should see them in the Forest of Dean. I've seen over 30 in one field when I was out after them, I've also got a photo of 34 in another part of the forest and yet DEFRA think there's about 60 in the whole area - they have no idea! There might even be more now in the Forest of Dean than there are in Kent/Sussex.

There's some big boys been taken, up to 375lbs clean, and one ratified gold medal (possibly another unratified as yet) although there is a much bigger one in the area. I've heard of a 465lber down on the Sussex/Kent border.

It's really exciting stuff as we hunt them on the ground under moonlight and not from a high seat. To be only a few yards from a big boar that can do you some damage is an incredible buzz.

Incidentally you would know me on the Stalking Directory forum under another name.

Hi Sewinbasher,

Did we meet last week in Dorset? I have an invatation to your part of the world by someone off the forum. I hope to be able to get up that way in the new year!

I have shot Elephant, Buff and plenty of Warthog, but Wild Boar; not yet. There are quite a few in Dorset as well, but it would appear that the Forest of Dean has the highest concentration. Look forward to our meeting, hopefully sometime in the new year?

Regards
Sikamalc