I would be interested in hunting muntjac and cinese water deer in the UK but I would like to find out a few things first; is there any particular area that produces bigger trophies, and what sort of a fees should I expect to pay?
Are they interesting animals to hunt? I'd expect them to be somewhat reclusive and shy.

[ 11-09-2002, 23:55: Message edited by: EXPRESS ]

Express.

Both Chinese and Muntjac have no defined season in the UK - this eases the problem of when to arrive in the UK!

The major problem with Muntjac can be seeing them during periods when cover is thick. Chinese tend to appear at last light - as the females have hairy whiskers resembling the tusks sported by the males, this can make identifying the target somewhat of a problem.

I have hunted both species and certainly the chances of getting both are almost 100% - provided you book with someone with access to good ground.

Mail me and I will be glad to pass on a details of an outfitter who I trust and would recommend.
Discuss the costs with him - as with most things, trophy fees tend to reflect the rarity of the animal as well as the quality of the trophy.

Muntjac are very prolific and trophy fees for representative bucks are VERY reasonable. Chinese can be a very different matter! Even so, total costs for your hunt are likely to be well below $1000.

The outfitter I mentioned has sole access to the ground that provided the current world record chinese - England of course, being the only place in the world where they can legally be shot. Likewise, there are many of the larger Munjac bucks have been taken in that part of the country - so trophy quality will not be an issue!

Best regards. IanF

Muntjac are tremendous fun to stalk. They are small, rarely pause for long and challenging to stalk.

I don't know about prices but you shouldn't have to pay for bucks with knobs only I think. The key to a good trophy is age. Old bucks get big. Unlike roe it is very hard to manage a muntjac population for quality other than leaving some bucks to get old and keeping numbers down.

They originated in Bedfordshire which is still a very good area but most parts of the South East are good especialy Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire etc.

If you can mix high seats with stalking. The most fun is to stalk one by locating it from it's territorial bark and trying to get close enough to identify it and shoot.

A whistle will often stop them for 5 seconds or so. It can be a good idea to aim quite far forward in case they move just as you shoot.

Legal calibre 6ppc upwards. Often in heavy cover/dawn/dusk so good light gathering (42mm euro optics) a good idea.

Good luck!