Dear All,
Just got back this afternoon (fri 20th) Stags finally finished, Total of 46 shot.
The first two weeks were a washout and there was only two and three teams out for those weeks, hence the low numbers shot.

Yes we have relaxed the rule only one shot at a time,this was becuase the FC increased the cull, as the scheme has progressed we have found that limiting them to one at a time was counter productive, plus we also felt that the level of competency seems to have improved. We are having repeat booking's which is good to see, and the familiarity with the scheme inspires more confidence.. thus the relaxing of the rule, but feel free to shoot only one at a time!!!

The bookings on the hinds are fairly well booked early on, there places left and a call to Andrea on 01244573047 will give you the latest..
We have just had a meeting with Vicky at the Eden Bar Hotel and she has confirmed that there are 6 rooms available with breakfast (at anytime) and of course evening meal,at a very reasonable rate, she did mention room service but I think (hope) that it only applied to me!!

Puntgunner, send me your e-mail and i will send you the pic's

Thanks to all who have participated in the scheme, which has been very enjoyable especially for me, to see the faces of those that have shot there first red stag, grinning from ear to ear (all week) is especially rewarding,I wish that all who attend the scheme could be successful, but that is the nature of the beast,some of you shoot more than on, some shoot none at all, thats stalking!!

Roll on the hinds..

regards
griff

P.S
forgot to mention that if Puntgunner was ever a tank commander giving you directions from the turret your F****d.

regards
griff

griff.

You have PM.

Just a couple more from the week....


Paul with the smile that is still on his face.



Me and Paul



La la la, la lala la( the banana splits for the OLD amongst us)



The picture says it all.... what a result!

No wonder there was plenty of smiles in that last picture!

Is Paul still set on getting his trophy shouldered mounted?

Obviously if the beast is to be caped out, it can't be gralloched in the usual manner...did that cause you much problems?

Regards,

Pete

Pete,
Because the FC are signed up to the Scottish quality venison assurance scheme, we instruct all stalkers that they must only green gralloch and bleed them on the hill.The rest is done back at the larder, this keeps the risk of contamination down to a minimun. The feed tube is squeezed and cut off inside the diaphram this also cuts down on contamination, the stags however do not usually feed at this time of year and the risk of the food tube contaminating the carcass is reduced..

regards
griff

Gentlemen,

just a heads up, I had an e-mail from Andrea this morning to say there are spaces available on the hinds in all three weeks of January. Wife permitting, I will be there for one of them.

Griff,

Thanks for that...although I am aware of whats basically involved with caping, its not something I have ever tried...

Regards,

Pete

Andy,
bring your suntan lotion and your bikini
No doubt it will be cracking the flags at that time of year..
look forward to seeing you there..

regards
griff

Still recovering from last weeks hind stalking, a very enjoyable week. My thanks to Bob and Griff for all their efforts and perserverance.
Arran is hard going, not for the faint hearted. My mate Mark and I are both pretty fit, and we were hard pressed at times!
I"ll report more fully when I get onto my own PC which is out of action at the minute.
good shooting

Good write up in the BASC mag this month too

I"d go back, but not everyone who was there on my week would say the same. Some were dissapointed by a lack of deer. My mate and I saw 2 deer on our first beat(saw them ass-on, running for cover!), and on wednesday night Bob and Griff swapped us into another beat. My mate Mark had shot 2 deer wihin an hour of going out on Thursday. I shot mine at about 15.30. If we had been on that beat earlier in the week we"d have had a lot more. I"m not complaining, I enjoyed it, and Mark"s shots at 250 mtrs and 315 mtrs, with a "sissy .243", made the week for us.
It is very hard going, not for salad dodgers!
My advice to anyone who is thinking of going is don"t bring a heavy rifle, do bring lots of changes of clothes, and bring a friend to pair off with. Preferrably someone fit like an SAS trooper for example, or an iron man triathlon winner.(I"m not joking!)
you might get lucky and see deer in the clear cuts or rides, but all but one of the deer that came out on our beats were above the tree line, which can take up to an hour of hiking up steep rides and tracks.
It"s not expensive for what it is, but don"t be dissapointed if you draw a blank, and appreciate that you will work for anything you get, unless you just get lucky.
Having said all that, I fancy a week at the stags next year if I can get time as I have another trip planned elsewhere for late september.
Lastly, Bob and Griff were excellent. Good sports, approachable, pleasant blokes. They made an effort to put people in the right places as much as they could.
All in all I enjoyed it, but if you want easy stalking, lots of shots and opportunities and dry feet, take a week at rutting Roe in Kent!
good shooting