Anyone heard anything yet about the first week?
The first stalkers will be arriving home today, and I"m going tommorrow. A couple of friends saw and heard stags roaring today in Co Fermanagh so I"m getting excited!
Surely some news is seeping out!?
good shooting

I believe the first couple of days were very wet I believe so it may have been a slow start..

I'm hoping for some colder weather to help kick the rut into full swing..

I spoke to Griff on thursday and they had 8 stags to press. Not sure how many they finished up with. Atleast one 14 pointer too.

Have a good trip BT. Look forward to seeing the pics.

Thanks folks, I think it"s to be cool next week(and wet!)
good shooting

Happy Hunting Sam ... Leave a few beasts for the week three boys, we have the prayer beads clicking away for crisp, dryish weather. Maybe Griff will give us a heads up if he's home this weekend.

Griff's up there for the next 4-5 weeks so I cdon't think he'll be about. I might be speaking to him later though so I'll see if he has last weeks final numbers.

Who else is going up next week?

FB

The Marx Brothers ( otherwise known as Puntgunner, 9.3 Nige and Mr Evans) will be gracing the isle from sunday.

Those stags don't have a chance !!!

Rifles zeroed & boxed up for the hinds!

Where abouts on Arran do they shoot?Was over for a wedding this summer at Blackwaterfoot,fantastic scenery.Wont be my last visit,was excellent watching gannets diving for fish just off the shoreline.Did manage to see two roe on a trip cross country but no reds.-Toby

Stag week 1
Total of 9 stags shot for the week.
biggest stag was shot by Sanjar & Karen a cracking 14 pointer and weighed 130kgs hung up in the larder there was also a 12 pointer shot by Roy & Nigel a father and son team from Ireland.There was the usual run of spikers weighing in at around 70kgs each..
The weather was absolutely atrocious, with heavy rain and low cloud for Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday brightened up and 6 stags were shot for that day, Thursday saw a return of drizzle and low cloud which put paid to most of the stalking, quite a few decided that they would let their hair down on Thursday night and were somewhat delicate on Friday morning.
Will keeep you posted on the following weeks..

regards
Griff
Bob Logan

We"re back from our very successfull week on Arran!
Good weather, good company, and excellent stalking was enjoyed. The weather may have been a little too warm for the stags, as they seemed to be showing only at first and last light. We had no rain at all, unlike the previous week, and our beat had good visibility most days despite it"s high altitude.

We had our briefing on monday morning and my mate Mark and I were the first off the range and onto the hill.
We made our way to the top and sat out glassing, ranging and studying our map until the sun dropped behind the hill and we moved across the hill towards the footpath leading back down. On our way accross the heather we spotted a couple of deer in the last bright spot on the hill, just catching enough light to show them up about half a mile away. We could"nt tell if the were all hinds, but we got on the other side of the ridge and scurried across the heather as fast as we could to close the distance.
When we ran out of cover from the hill we dropped down into the deep heather until we were close enough to glass again. The deer I had saw now turned into a parcel of hinds, and the big hind and calf I thought I saw turned out to be a big 12 point stag and a mature hind!
The hinds had saw us, but milled around for a few seconds as we put a small ridge between them and us. We crept up to the ridge which gave us a little cover, and a chance to go prone with muzzle clearance from the heather.
I new that in this now very poor light that they were probably closer than they looked, but I was still shocked when I ranged them at only just over 180 mtrs. With the rapidly chilling air, optics were fogging up and the deer were becoming more agitated and about to bolt. I had to wait for a hind to come out from behind the stag, my lense cover fell down again, I could"nt get comfortable, but after what seemed like an eternity I could see the stag clearly, withe the reticle settled behind his shoulder and nothing else in the way.
I sqeezed off the .243 and heard the thud as the 100 gr Speer Grand Slam punched through both lungs. He jumped a little on the front shoulders and started a trot over the horizon just behind him, but we could see him slowing down already as he dropped down out of sight.
We checked around our feet for all the hastily dropped gear and walked over the face of the hill. He had"nt went 50 yards, and was lieing in the grass already dead.
Unfortunately it was too dark to take pics, but even in the dark I could see this was a great beast. A quick bleed and gralloch and we left him with Mark"s sticks stuck beside him, marked with trail tape, for Bob Logan(forestry ranger) to pick up in the morning.
We stayed on lower ground on Tuesday morning, which showed tracks but no deer. We climbed a lower part of the hill on Tuesday night, but saw little sign of anything.
Wednesday night we saw one deer in the dusk and could"nt identify it as a spiker or hind(it may have been a Hummel, as it grunted back when I called it)
On thursday morning we set off up the hill as daylight broke, and just cleared the treeline before 8am.
Literally as we walked out of the trees, a hind ran up the steep face in front of us followed by a 10 pointer and about 4 more hinds.
Mark was trying to get his footing, unsling his rifle and set up his sticks all at the same time, so I whispered "just get your rifle" as I reached in front of him with my sticks. I stepped back to see the first hind clear the top of the hill with the stag close behind. Mark had his head on the rifle, so I barked and the stag froze. Immediately his 243 cracked and the stag folded and tumbled off the face and down the hill.

We gralloched it and climbed up onto the heather, but no more deer showed.
Friday morning brought heavy cloud in, so we glassed some lower ground and headed back to the larder for a chat with the rest of the crew before we headed off. I hope to get back to Arran someday, as it"s a great place
for red stalking.
My thanks to Griff and Bob who put in long hours trying to keep everyone happy and things running smoothly.
The heads!

good shooting

Four lovely smiling faces!!

Good going fellas, see you went with the 100 grainers rather than try the 105 gr round nose?

Looks like the 243 is still knocking deer over though!!

Brassthief

Great report - thanks for sharing.

Any further information on successes of other members of this forum who MAY have been up there with you?

All scandal gratefully received!

Rgds Mod

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Latham:
Four lovely smiling faces!!

I would say, two smiley faces, on the right and left sides; the two in the middle seem to be rather sad

Seriously speaking, congratulations and nice report!

Stag week 2
On stag week 1 there were indications that the rut was finally getting going, although the weather was miserable there was a distinct autumnal feel about it.
That all changed on Mon, the weather broke bathing the island in glorious sunshine with temperatures to match. The rut vanished instantly, although there was some roaring, little moved and the hinds which were seen on all the beats were feeding as per normal.
The national trust had a deer survey on the Northern part of the Island and came across 80 stags in one of the corries that were quite content with each others company..an indication that the rut had not kicked off.
The week started off with two in the bag straight away but died instantly after with the increase in temperature.Dribs and drabs followed with a total of 6 for the week.
Hopefully we will get some cold northerlies or an easterly to drop the temperatures kick start the rut and get rid of these damned midges!

Regards
griff

BT,

Great stage there and great report!! Did you cape him off or will you do a skull mount?

Anyone else for some pics?

FB

Both stags are being mounted by a mate who does some pretty nice work.(I still need a munty and a CWD to complete the set!)
I was"nt aware of any other AR members present, but I know there are some there this week(they should be having their tea and biscuits in the Auchrannie about now!)
Let"s hope they have a good week and bring some good posts.
good shooting

Good on you, Sam !!!

Would post some photos from Arran last week but do not have permission. Can anyone advise me of how to get permission to upload photos.

Cheers

C"mon guys, the silence is deafening!
From the little I"ve heard it was not a good week.
Anyone want to unburden themselves?
good shooting

Final score for week three was four stags, three of which fell to the one stalker over two days. Hinds aplenty but no stags in attendance through most of the beats. No roaring at any time on our beat, Dyemill, unlike previous years when it was impossible to sleep at night in the cottage for the racket. Will leave it up to Griff to impart the expert explanation but the big boys were not coming out to play. Hope week four is off to a good start.

Brass,Goodonya Mate!

quote:

Originally posted by Cohannon:
Final score for week three was four stags, three of which fell to the one stalker over two days. Hinds aplenty but no stags in attendance through most of the beats. No roaring at any time on our beat, Dyemill, unlike previous years when it was impossible to sleep at night in the cottage for the racket. Will leave it up to Griff to impart the expert explanation but the big boys were not coming out to play. Hope week four is off to a good start.

I was on the next beat over from Dyemill, and didn't see a thing all week (not even a hind) although I did hear a couple of half hearted roars.

The weather ranged from wet to very wet most of the time, and was too mild for any serious frosts which might have kicked off more roaring.

I have to confess that due to the lack of deer sightings, I really couldn't get motivated as much this year and even missed a couple of morning stalks.

On the plus side, the place we were staying was excellent (perhaps too comfortable when the alarm when off at 5:30am?) and we did eat and drink like Kings for the week

The only problem is that we had a "visitation" one evening about half way through the week, the result of which was mild nausea, a pounding headache, even less motivation in the morning, and a disappearance of a large amount of our alcohol..

Pete ... Ya big wimp, your luxury "cottage" was just too damn comfortable. I must admit the hospitality, on the night you mention, was mighty. As Gary was driving one did feel obliged to lower the level of your alcohol stocks after that superb feed of stew and dumplings. However the Paddys were up and ready for bear the next morning despite the lack of targets of opportunity. All we can say is that week three was a bit of a damp squib but the craic was as good as ever ...

Arran...one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I just got back from there a week or so ago but did not hunt. Can you send me some information on how to contact those who offer these hunts. I would love to go back next season.

Stag week 3
Already been said, wet, very wet and exceedingly wet!
Four stags shot three to Robert H who put in an exceptional amount of mileage, and to be quite honest and not take anything away from Roberts acheivment most of them committed suicide, by walking across the ride just when he was there.
Roaring was down to a few muffled grunts and seems to have slowed to a stop,the weather is quite warm and rain in abundance.

stag week 4
RAIN! no surprise there!
Roaring seems to have picked up with most beats hearing extensive roaring in the morning,upto press 4 stags have been shot with Peter Shooting a 12 pointer on the morning of his 50th birthday.. Wednesday was the first day that it didn't rain and three of the four fell that morning, the hinds seem to be gathering into larger groups a sign that they are being gathered up by the stags..
The weather is changing as I type and the forecast is abyssmal, so not holding out a lot of hope..

Total 25 stags for now! Only one stag was rutted and the rest have been clean with none of the smell associated with the rut.

regards
Griff

Well, I still haven’t fully unpacked from the trip, as it has taken till now to dry my rifle out !!

Still, the week had its highs and lows. Iet’s get the lows out of the way first.

The weather was less than ideal. Warm and VERY wet. Hotter than the soft south we had just left. The first morning I was back, I had to scrap a really hard frost from the car before going to work.

The lowland beats looked quite different . Less trees and more roads . The beat that we drew; the hill north of Cloud base down to Glenashdale, looked superb.

But the deer did not show. We spotted on stag in the racks at the south of the island, for about as long as it took to cross a rack in the forest. But that was it.

On the highs; we did manage to get onto the Arran estate, (due to some cancellations at a really good price ).

The day was to started leisurely, with an 08:30 rendezvous.
Plenty of time for a good breakfast.
Ours started a little later , after we pulled out of our digs and found we had a total flat on the front tyre !!!!


A frantic pit-crew stop got us under way a half our late.

We met our guide, Jamie, in the pouring rain( what a surprise ), outside the estate larder. No time to waste. Straight on the road again, up the Wire Road, to the beat.

This was my first time on the really open hill. It was fantastic.

We spent about 20 minutes spying the hill. We can see hinds high on the hill above us. A magnificent sight, that soon got our juices flowing.




The view from Brodick of Ben Nuis on the left and Goatfell on the right



Ben Nuis

Like four men in a boat , Into the 8x8 Arga, and off we went!
And like a boat it was. Sailing across the sea of saturated heather, effortlessly. They even said that if you plugged the drain holes in the back , you could take it across a lake.

We headed out onto the hill.




Soon we were aware that we were not alone. Groups of hinds, then stags , appeared over the horizon .

This all appeared too easy. So, I whispered into Jamie’s ear that we wanted to work for our beasts.
“ So, you want to walk do ye ?†he said.

How we were to regret this !!!

The Argo turned toward a massive rock face in the distance.




At the base, the Argo stopped. I knew what was coming.

Led by Jamie, hands in pockets as if he was on a Sunday stroll; we set off up the Crag of Ben Nuise .

Soon, Nige and I were flagging. We knew we were in presents of a mountain goat ! The climb took the best part of an hour. Punctuated by hail, sun wind and rain!

Half way up , we had to wait for the guide.
Like hell ! We needed oxygen !!






Jamie gave us that look you do when your wife says, “ it’s only a small job†, as we floundered behind him.

At the top of the first crag we stopped. Jamie took Nige round to spy on a couple of stags that were roaring on the far side.





Several minutes went by before they came back , only to say that after much calling they could not get the beasts close enough for a shot.

So, up we went. The wind swirled around , but as we were higher than the beasts , our sent trail did not seem to matter.

My legs were burning by now, not used to the incessant climb.
But the lure of the stags is unbelievable. We dug in.. Step after step. Calf breaking, step by step. Agony.

Finally we reached the next crag. Jamie shuffled forward to spy over the edge. He soon came back to say that a good beast was over the edge , happy in his wallow, with a few hinds in attendance .

Nige moved forward and we waited for the shot .

The crack of the .308, and the dull thud after, signalled a good hit.







We all scurried to the edge of the crag and looked down . Below , some 200 meters off, we could see the wallow and then , about 100 metres further on beyond that, next to a heart shaped rock , the rack of an 8 pointer. Laying dead .

Congratulations all round. Especially to Nige for a perfect heart shot.





After the messy bit , Jamie indicated that we( I ), would have to go higher to get my beast .

Higher ment a shear granet face.




By now the cloud had started to draw in. The top of he peak was now shrouded in mist. At first, I tried to keep up with Jamie. But my legs were not up to this relentless up hill climb. Soon I was training behind. The next time I looked up , I could see that Jamie had taken up a spying stance behind a large bolder overlooking the next corrie. He turned and started to silently bid me forward.

I covered the ground as quickly as I could. Looking over the rock we could see a stag on the far face, some 300 metres away. Below him was a group of hinds with a more slender 8point stag .

“Take the wee stag when ya ready .†said Jamie, as I fought to regulate my breathing and prepare the rifle.

The big stag , at the top of the carrie , was roaring his dominance for all to hear. But unfortunately he had either seen us or caught our sent in the swirling wind.

He took off , pulling the other stag and hinds over the top with him.

“Nye mind, “ said Jamie, “ wirl just go after him.â€

How these near 20 stone beasts manage to ascend an almost shear face, at such speed, defies me. We climber up to the point where the deer had departed to, only to be met with another steep climbing into the mist.

Eventually the assent levelled out. We had reached the top.





I was now greeted with the fantastic view from the top of the peak. I had reached the top of Ben Nuis . The second highest peak on Arran .

No time to waste. We began the descent of the far side straight way. The mist now cleared and the roaring in the distant corrie soon made the pain in my legs fade away.

As we nipped and tucked behind and made the best use of the rock cover , I became aware that the ground was now opening up in front of us. Soon we were overlooking the huge west face of Ben Nuis . Below we could spy groups of hinds, with stags , for as far as we could see.



I was overwhelmed. So we just sat and glassed until it was too much to take. A big 14 pointer was just below us. Too big to take, as he would make good breeding stock. Something smaller was our target.

A frontal attack would have given our position away, so we had to traverse the ridge to come in at an angle .

As we covered ground, we used the roaring to guide our path to the spy point.


We were crawling now to keep our shapes off the skyline
As we approached the next crag , Jamie moved forward to have a look. He indicated that we were on !!

About 200 metres away below us , on open hill was a stag with about a dozen hinds in attendance.

“ He be a good’un ta take ,“ said Jamie. “ The hinds will move onto the big stag roond the corner . “

Enough said. I popped the bipod legs out and made ready on the nearest bit of granite that would aid a steady shot.

Wait till he turns broadside on. This seemed to take ages.
The scope was lined up on the edge of the shoulder and the shot was taken. The 30/06 coughed , but the shot hit well back. The stag went down , but was not dead. The shot had immobilised the stag, clipping near the spin. A second shot was needed . This too was well back, but hit the liver, resulting in death.

The stag was a 10 pointer. Going back, indicated by the fact that the crowns at the end of the antler did not have cups and estimated as a veteran of 10 years or more, on the hill.







Pictures were taken , but my thoughts were of the fact that the shots had not been perfect.





When we got back to the larder , and had dressed out the 130Kg ( hill weight ) beast , I was able to check the zero on the rifle. Having been test fired two days before, I was amazed to find that it was 26 clicks out to the left when checked.

We had been on some serious ground the previous days, and the rifle must have taken a serious knock. Even though I could not recollect when .

All in all this was a fantastic trip. Great friends and times to remember . Happy days.


Here are some of the views that make it so worth while

Excellent report puntgunner and great pictures. Did you have to drag the stag up and over to recover it? I'd imagine the recovery is more of a story than the stalk.

Puntgunner
Thanks for a very good report and pictures.

The terrain reminds me of the landscape on my native coastline.
No wonder the vikings found them self at home on these isles

Great report Paul, super pics. I wonder if the rolly baccy we slipped to Bob along with comments on your love of high places had anything to do with Jamie's chosen route

quote:

Originally posted by billinthewild:
Arran...one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I just got back from there a week or so ago but did not hunt. Can you send me some information on how to contact those who offer these hunts. I would love to go back next season.

For your information, Try; The Estate Office, Dougarie Isle of Arran, Scotland, KA 27 8EB telephone U.K. NO. 01770 840259 e-mail; office@dougarie.com or alternatively join the B.A.S.C. & apply through Andrea Green, P.A. to A. McCormick Deer officer at , e-mail enquiries@basc.org.uk Regards Steve across the pond.

quote:

Originally posted by puntgunner:

PS If anyone shoots a deer on this hill in the future, and the nokia tune can be heard from inside it, Nigel would like to know.........

Thanks PG for the excellent report - much better than I could have done.

In actual fact my ringtone on the lost mobile is that of a goat bleating (I know - very sad). But it does conjure up a comically sureal image of my lonely phone in the heather surrounded by puzzled sheep and deer wondering what its saying!

Somehow I don't think I'll be seeing that phone again.

Nige

Stalking via the Estate won't be a problem, but to stalk via the BASC scheme, not only do you need to be a member of BASC, but you also have to hold the DMQ Level 1 which makes it difficult for people from overseas.

Good news that you had the advantage of technology Puntgunner, I had this image of you having to drag them up and over the top!

I was talking to a chap recently who had some experience of stalking with guests who were using a helicopter to drop the guest and stalker on the hill. Once the shot was taken the helicopter would come back and reposition the stalker and guest and would then go and lift the dead beast while the guest got another shot.

I'm relatively new to stalking but used, in a past life, to be on the hill 3 days per week over the year and like you I find it always feels a bit better to have worked for your kill. As you say you just can't beat a day out there on the hill, even if you don't get a shot.

I imagine it will not be long until you are back in Scotland. The hinds can offer great sport and can put you on the hill in some amazing conditions. The other advantage with hinds is that the winter days are so short it limits the time the stalker has to punish you!

Lovely trip by the looks of it and the pics are great. Beautifull beast, really long Lower Tines and big body. Still I believe I hold the record for the most points on a Red within the Dead Animal Club !! Ha Ha

Take care mate

quote:

Still I believe I hold the record for the most points on a Red within the Dead Animal Club !! Ha Ha

K

Red points from leisurely strolls across the Exmoor countryside don't count the same as for Red points at the top of a windswept mountain!!
Wait till we get you to Scotland one day mate!

All the best

Nige.

Well done guys that looks like a great day on the hill! Nice rack on that hill stag too.

quote:

Originally posted by 9.3 Nige:

quote:

Still I believe I hold the record for the most points on a Red within the Dead Animal Club !! Ha Ha

K

Red points from leisurely strolls across the Exmoor countryside don't count the same as for Red points at the top of a windswept mountain!!
Wait till we get you to Scotland one day mate!

All the best

Nige.

Right you are sir, well done the pair of you !!