does anyone know of any where that offers guided stalking in centeral england. i have a firearms cert for a .22lr but would need to borrow a deer rifle.

Adam,
don,t take this the wrong way, but do you have any deerstalking experience?
If your answer is no! then I would suggest you look at one of the dsc level 1 courses,
you do not need a deer rifle for this.
There is however the BASC stalking scheme at Thetford run by Peter Pursglove, or Dave Stretton at Donnington Deer Management, both will take you on accompanied outings, you will need to have insurance from Basc or a similar organisation..

regards

griff

quote:

Originally posted by griff:
Adam,
don,t take this the wrong way, but do you have any deerstalking experience?

Griff....dont take this the wrong way but people were stalking deer quite successfully long before DCS money spinners were recommended.

Everyone has to start somewhere, lots of estates have "estate rifles" for the use of clients,and if they can prove themselves on the "iron stag" consistently,why should they not get the opportunity to shoot a beast?
I agree it is benificial to go out with a experienced stalker to learn the ropes as it were,but if you are guided and can actually shoot,they are doing a lot of the work for you,so I dont see the problem.

Adam...do a uk internet search,pretty sure you could yahoo something up.

Roebuck222

Roebuck,
couldn't agree more about the money spinning aspect!!
Unfortunately this is the world we live in.
If the level 1 was free of charge, would you agree that it is a good platform to launch your deerstalking career from?
Any insight into deer legislation, meat hygiene regulations etc would be welcome for the novice stalker, and what cost? the cost of a single outing!!!
Or even worse the COST of your license, because you didn't know the legislation or seasons or you have contravened the new meat hygiene/handling regulations.. the list is endless..
I didn't know that!!! is no excuse when explaining to the Chief Constable who has just revoked your firearms ticket...

regards
griff

Griff,
Being on the ground first hand is the best way in my opinion.
A lot of the dcs1 is learnable from literature without ever seeing a deer ie .243 min cal in England 100Gr bullet,seasons etc.
But anyway if someone could prove to me they could actually shoot,then I would give them a go at a broadside shot,there has to be a first time,and knowing absolutely nothing about legislation etc wouldn't preclude anyone from participating in a guided stalk.
There is way to much red tape as it is,and lets be honest here...how hard is it with modern rifles,optics and ammo to drop a beast cleanly(providing you get close enough and have a clear shot)

Regards
Roebuck222

thanks for your responses

i was planing on doing a dsc 1 course but it seems very thearetical and i didnt want to fork out the cash and then still be looking for somewhere to stalk, as non of the land i have permission on holds any deer and i dont know any stalkers

do you think it is worth doing a dsc and trying to get a variation on my cert for a rifle just to have to hire stalking by the day.

Adam,

Where abouts are you exactly? I know of a chap offering stalking for fallow (prickets and does)
and he is based near Welshpool. I have not been stalking on the estate myself for several years so I don't have an recent first hand expirence, but it used to be pretty good.

If Welshpool is within traveling distance, drop me a PM or an email at peter_h_evans@hotmail.com
and I will see if I can dig up his number...

Regards,

Pete

Adam,

With regards the second part of your question, I would book two or three outings and see if you enjoy them before trying to get a variation.

Each time you book an outing, try to get something in writing from the Estate to confirm you've been. You can forward this to the Police when you apply for your variation as evidence of your "good reason"...

Some Police Forces are actually asking for a DSC1 before granting a variation...I am actually very much against this as I see it as manditory testing by the back door, but I am not sure what you can do about it...

Regards,

Pete