Hi Guys

This time I remembered to take my camera up to Scotland to hunt the roe before they disappear under the bracken until November. While the rest of the UK was being washed out with rain this Bank Holiday we had clear and cold weather in Dumfries, in-fact there was frost on the car at 5 am.



The Pippin + Lola waiting for me to put my boots on.



Leaving the log burner banked up so the cabin would be warm on my return.
Sitting on top of the hill I watched a pair of buck chasing around at break-neck speed in a fight over territory so I started staking them at about 5.30 am. Bumped a single buck crossing the heather before I could get the rifle shouldered. The ground is very irregular and the deer can hide/disappear quite easily. THe pair of buck appeared again at full pelt going the opposite direction until a singler buck was spotted at 400m. I stalked him to were I thought he may be when he suddenly bolted away from me aware of my presence. At 130 m he stopped to look back so I shot my trusty 7x64 from a kneeling position as the heather is too high for anything else and he continued lung/shoulder shot for a further 25m.

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AS mentioned before lots of ticks on all the deer up here but no different from last year.

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On returning to my now warm cabin a Huntsmans breakfast of fresh coffee, fried bacon, fresh kidneys and liver on a bed of fried onions.



The early morning mean all this can also enjoyment can be had before most people have woken up.

Regards

Mark

Lovely pictures, sure looks like a great set-up you have there! Weidmannsheil on your successful hunt.

Is the cabin yours, or did it come with a lease??

- mike

Hi Mike.

Its all mine
By the way the buck was shot with a 7mm all copper bullet (KJG) as per our previous discussion on bullets

Mark

Awesome place! You are a lucky man, Mark!
-mike

Great set up you have there, Mark. That is some beatiful country. Congrats on the buck too!

Terrific hunt, great pics.


Tell me how many tics did you have on you at the return home?


On my last outing I only had some 10 of those deer flyes/tics on me.

Best regards Chris.

Hi Chris

At the last body search - none .
Having said that the dogs always pick up one or two.
I always hunt this area with my Lundhag high-boots and the trousers over the top to stop them dropping off into boot tops or wellies.
I did get a tick lodged under my watch once which got irritated and took a while to heal because of the rubbing.

Mark

Nice set-up.
And two beautiful dogs too! Is that a vizla in front and a bavarian mountain hound at the back?

Congratulations on your hunt.

B.Martins

Hey Mark,

Great place!!! Looks like the ultimate retreat.

Also looks like a good buck to take out before the Rut. A Buck lke that with no tignes could do some damage when they start fighting.

Well done again.
FB

Hi FB

A little bird asked me to post these pics of my new chiller





I have already processed 5 deer through it in the past month and it makes life very civilised indeed. No bloody sticky fly ridden smelly late nights carcass handling.
Hunt-shoot-gralloch-hang in chiller-drink beer-prepare for freezer at ones convenience.
Takes two adult fallow no problem

That little bird keeps tweeting in my ear too on the subject, because he thinks he has first dibs on my current chiller if I get an alternative!!!

FB

FB,

Still trying to be "sensible" on this subject I see?

I predict this will last through summer until the Fallow season opens again and then your resolve will start to crumble!

Mark,

That really is a nice size unit for stalkers like us...Unlike a cool room it is also no hassle to move should that be required...

Regards,

Pete

Mark,

Lovely.

Nice photos, great scenery & Wiadmannsheil on the Roe!

Get thee Behind me Satan!!!

Great Chiller Mark.

FB

Hi B. Martins

You are sort of correct.
Pippin is the viszla and my No. 1 dog for finding lost deer in large areas were it may be difficult to find the exact place you shot the deer. I let her cast into the wind and off she goes.
Lola is a Bavarian/Hannoverian cross but quite a heavy build. I work her on heavier cover with a long line were the wind is unfavourable or ground scenting is required.
Like my hunting these dogs work as a hobby not for a living but have been very successful in the past.

Mark

FB and all those in need of a 'proper job' type of chiller check out

http://www.coolgameuk.com/

Andrew is a avid deer stalker and knows his stuff.

Mark

MarkH.
Looks like a splendid place and a nice way to take some days off.
Pretty tranquile I guess staying in such a place.

Those ticks give me the creeps, I start scratching all over

I really like your cooler.
Not aviable here on my shores I´m afraid.
Could an ordinary big refridgerator be used ?
Drill holes trough the top, install hanging bars, seal with Sicaflex or something...

Another thing is hanging the carcass with the skin on. Saw it for the first time hunting with IanF, FB and Artemis. in Baldoc in February.
We usually strip them naked and let them hang ( the carcasses ).

Nice pics, great looking area, and Waidmannsheil on the Rehbock, Dom.

Here in Slovenia we are bound to some serious health requirements and cooler like that is one of the base equipment that you should have to pass all the paper work needed for colecting dead animals. We have a room that is based in the cellar (4x4 m divided in two separate places - vestibul 4x2 m (in tiles) with temperature app. +12 deg C - with fresh water from the pipe and the cooler place 4x2 m right next to it with temperature that can be set - usually +3 deg. So after the game is brought in we leave it to hang in skin until it cools to room temperature and only then we put it in the cooler (still in skin but heads and legs off), where it awaits for a guy we have contract with to collect it (usually 2 x a week). Cooler can take up to 8 fully grown red stags at once - sometimes can be crowded - here is a pic from Saturday morning (bucks ready to enter cooler):

Mouse93,

Is the average hunter/stalker required to have those facilities or is only those who are selling game commercially?

Here in the UK, unless you wish to sell venison, there is no legal requirement to own a chiller or a larder/cutting room like yours.

Once you start selling game, then depending on whether your selling it unskinned or skinned, and the amount of carcasses you intend selling, then legally you may need facilities like yours..

Arild,

Yes you can use an ordinary fridge if it is large enough. I bought a second hand fridge which is very similar to the one in the link below

LU4500

Mine is slightly smaller, but will still hold two roe or one fallow pricket/doe. Its runs ok, but is slightly tatty looking so you wouldn't want it in your kitchen or on view in a shop; hence its price of under £70 delivered. I think was a bargin and it will certainly tide me over untill I can find something bigger.

Another option is a used drinks cabinet similar to the one below.

Converted Drinks Chiller

These are getting quite popular with stalkers here in the UK especially the larger double door version.

To be ideal, they need strengthing up a little (see the article in that link for ideas) and it helps if the carcasses are at room temp before they go in.

Our Fallow Buck has one of these double door versions, and I've seen it with three fallow bucks hanging in it...A couple of other people who post here also use them as well..

Regards,

Pete

quote:

Originally posted by Pete E:
Mouse93,

Is the average hunter/stalker required to have those facilities or is only those who are selling game commercially?

Here in the UK, unless you wish to sell venison, there is no legal requirement to own a chiller or a larder/cutting room like yours.

same here

Pete,

I managed to get 2 and a half Fallow and 3 munties in it after the trip with Arild, but I would say that it was a bit intimate in there...

By the way Arild Wrote:

quote:

Another thing is hanging the carcass with the skin on. Saw it for the first time hunting with IanF, FB and Artemis. in Baldoc in February.
We usually strip them naked and let them hang ( the carcasses ).

Arild I'm glad you qualified that!!

Yes, we hang all our deer in the jackets. I tend to hang Fallow for about 10-15 days If I can, unless I need the space. If they are jackets off then the outer layer of the meat seems to dry out and blacken. It is easier to skin straight away though.

Rgds,
FB

Thanks for the info guys, guess I start looking for a used fridge for the roe season.

FB... yes I found it right to emphasize that I ment deer