I have spent a goodly proportion of the last 2 weeks up a high seat observing the edges of a fallow rutting stand.

I never cease to be amazed at the dedication the bucks show. The master buck has been groaning and rutting without break for a week and a half. He is never ever still, running other bucks off, chasing does or just commuting between areas. Occasionaly he really runs another buck off or just has a darn good thrash at the trees. It's exhausting just to watch it!

The does slip in and out at last light. Often a little party of 3 - Mum, teenage daughter and fawn. They look bright eyed and bushy tailed. Later on in the evening or the next morning they slip out looking distinctly second hand. Often a pricket will be following in their trail hoping for a chance.

If you shoot a lesser buck or a pricket it is not unknown for the master buck to come and investigate what caused all that crashing about. It is a strange sight to see the master buck fighting with a dead deer lying on the ground.

It takes a bit of care not to overdo things or to overly disturb the stand. If the seat is on the outskirts and single shots are taken at lesser bucks or prickets, the master buck left alone, disturbance minimised and a balanced cull extracted then it is both fun and a useful time of year to cull an otherwise frustratingly elusive beast. Once the does are in season I generaly pack up and move further away to avoid the multiple shots and greater disturbance.

And that noise at first/last light..... sends shivers down my spine!

Good post 1894! I have always found the sound of the rutting Fallow to be somewhat "bovine" for lack of a better expression. Interesting, but with none of the majestic feeling conjured by either reds or wapity in rut (as different as the latter two may sound).
- mike

I had two memorable experience with rutting fallow. The first was sitting in a forest near Cirencester waiting for it to get light. There were deer all over the place and a groaning buck walked within 20 feet of me upwind. I could just make him out in the half light. Magical.

The second incident happed mid-morning in the same forest. I was drawn to the sound of two bucks fighting and managed to get within 40 metres of them. There was a pricket standing by watching the bucks. After a few minutes I shot the pricket and the bucks simply took their fight away by 20 metres or so. I field dressed the pricket with the buck continuing their fight within full view. I eventually threw some stones at the bucks to make them move away.

I have not shot any fallow for over a year.

But I will be shooting a few sika over winter.

A mate of mine called on Saturday morning while we were dogging in, to say he had been charged by a buck. The Old boy put in 3 false charges until he was about 10yds away. At this point the words:
"Well, If you're gonna be like that" were muttered, and he was proptly dealt some therapy.

Not a bad buck in the end, but quite scary by all accounts.

FB