I went out Tuesday evening hoping to get a pricket that had shown some interest in one of our game crops.About 7pm as dusk was imminent this stag appeared out of some gorse and walked out into the bracken on the side of the hill.
I was well placed for a shot and a bullet in the back of the neck grassed him.
He was a large beast.Gralloched I had a struggle to load him on my own.
The funny thing is I spent Saturday and Sunday stalking and did not see a thing.Still thats hunting isn,t it ?

Congratulations

I´m complitely blank about sika, can you tell a bit more about age, weight and so on?
Looks like a nice beast?

Waidmannsheil

or as we say in Sweden, gratulerar till god jakt.

That must have felt good after two outings with out a sighting.

BTW what weight did it dress out to?

Best regards Chris

Nice,
look like you got something to put in the pot, during the depression ahead.

Very nice, well done. is that a normal size for your sika? the sika I seen on my ground were smaller than the Fallow

I "ghillied" my buddy into his first stag last Saturday night. Nice little six point Sika.

They look small lying on the ground. Then you try and drag them out of the bog they are hiding in and you think the bloody thing is made of lead.

Is it possible that Sika are "denser" than Fallow?

This one took a 130gr BT to the heart and still ran 80 yards.

outstanding sika !!!!

weidmannsheil

peter

Sika98k-

Great job and a very nice Sika!!! What rifle and caliber did you use?

Thanks all.
That is a good,fully mature sika in pretty much his prime,5 or 6 years old.I dont weigh them myself but as I couldnt lift in 1 go into the Disco I would guessstimate 65-70 kgs,maybe a bit heavier.
There are some nice stags about here.One in particular I named O,Sullivan some years ago on account of him having lost his left eye.
To those who are perplexed O,Sullivan is an Irish surname.In Irish O,Suilabhain or of one eye!
He used to carry a fantastic rack on his head but he,s a bit lopsided this year on one side.I reckon he got a kick in the nuts.
Still out lamping foxs about 2 weeks ago I saw 2 stags walk out of a wood into a stubble field and set into each other.I was able to drive up to within 30 yards and watch with the lamp while they beat the stuffing out of each other.
The clash of antlers and the grunting as they pushed each other was awesome.I could see the steam rising off their bodies from the exertion.
Eventually one broke away and sprinted off.One of them neighed like a horse.
The victor strutted around and when i shone the lamp on him I was glad to see it was my one eyed friend.
I,d love to say I was using my old Mauser but it was my Howa Varmint S/S in 22/250.Topped of with a Kahles CL 4X12X52 using Sako 55gr gameheads.I recovered the bullet,perfect deformation.
Solvi,stags in the rut are a bit strong tasting.Hinds are a lot easier on the taste buds but we have to wait until November for their season.
Sika are a strong deer.Friends/venner from Denmark have come to hunt with me.My instructions have always been break the shoulders like a boar.They have and are amazed to see them still run up to 100 yds if they,re pointing in the right direction.

quote:

My instructions have always been break the shoulders like a boar.They have and are amazed to see them still run up to 100 yds if they,re pointing in the right direction.

Sika's are incredibly tough animals. A ranching family that are great friends of mine were instrumental in bringing the species to the states 50-60 years ago. The managing partner of the ranch told me that if there were ever a nuclear holocast, that the only creatures besides cockroaches that would survive would be Sika, and I believe it.

I love that high pitched throaty whistle that they make. They will scare your pants off at night.

I would love to see a picture of O'Sullivan.

Thanks for the info Sika.
Saw quite a few deer (It could have been sika ? ..) in Wicklow Mountains a couple of year ago on our way down to Glendalough.

Complitely OT...
When I first did hear about this Barac Obama fella, I thought he was of though Irish blood.
But he was not an O´Bama after all... it was pretty clear when I saw the first picture of him

That's a nice beast well done. I shoot more sika than anything and they are hard to kill. Well they are not so hard to kill it's just that they never believe it and just keep going!

I always tell people to shoot them through the shoulders if we are anywhere near forestry, it is no joke dragging one out of there. Brian is right they may look small but they weigh a ton, I think they have lead bones.

I never eat a stag unless it is a young one early season, but a hind is a different story altogether, the best of eating.

John

A good Sika, Waidmannsheil Sika98K. I've been out and seen and heard them in the Czech, but was Mouflon hunting. Very interesting animal, thanks for sharing, hope to hunt for them someday, Dom.

Nice one Angus, good to see you have christened the new 22-250. Have you shared the demise of it's predecessor with our forum experts? ...