Country hunted: Scotland
Outfitter: Mike McCrave CMS Hunting
Stalker: Ian
Ghille: Will
Estate: Sherramore Lodge on the Alcan Estate
located one hour southwest of Inverness

My wife and I got back in the States last weekend after a very enjoyable hunt with Mike McCrave, the Man in the Kilt, in the Scottish highlands just southwest of Inverness.

The countryside was absolutely stunning and the lodge was very comfortable. Meals were great and well-executed by chef Wendy. This hunt appealled to me because of the tradition surrounding the stalk and the ability to bring the wife along to enjoy her company and do some sightseeing also. I may have created a monster because her inquiry to me on the flight home was "OK where are we going next?"






Not all bad because I think I've convinced her we just HAVE to tour New Zealand... think red deer, chamois and tahr!

But back to Scotland, there are usually four couples sharing the lodge and we all got along famously. The pace is very laid back... your stalker and ghillie do not pick you up to go stalking until 9:00 or 9:30 after a leisurely breakfast with the other couples.

I chose to use a rifle supplied by the estate to keep things simple flying through Gatwick. I flew BA over and enjoyed their usual fine service however FLYBE, the carrier used to get you to Inverness was another story.

I shot a Parker Hale .270 topped with a fixed Leupold 6x and using Winchester 130 grain powerpoints. Both stags were killed with one shot but I am not bragging on my shooting because your stalker will get you within 150 yards of your stag and you will probably shoot prone so will be extremely steady.

The hunt is traditional and is done properly. A morning would begin by driving to the back of the estate and glassing the hills. Once we spotted stags up in the hills and declared them a stalkable group, we offloaded an argo which we would use to get us at least halfway up the hill. The final approach is always on foot and the last portion is almost always crawling on hands and knees to use the open terrain to close the distance. These stalks can take one to three hours depending on what the quarry is doing and where they are on the hill.





Not all stalks are successful and the stags are very wary. Early in the season they are still running together and we saw groups from 3 to 115! That many eyes and noses can be tough to overcome if the wind shifts or you run out of cover. We averaged seeing about 200 deer a day.







Once you work into position on the stags, your stalker will look for the stag he wants you to take. In Scotland trophies are measured by age and weight, not inches of antler. The carcass belongs to the estate and are sold at market. The stags we shot ranged from 8 to 12 years of age. When the stalker says to shoot a particular stag... you shoot him. You may see bigger stags, but if he is in his prime, he is a breeder and is off-limits. If you have a thing about shooting inches of antler this isn't your hunt! If you enjoy hunting for the sheer joy of stalking the mountains the way it has been done for years, you can't pick a finer adventure.






In the end, everyone ends up with two stags and a fine hunt. Again, a neat tradition was the "Parade of Horns" honoring the fallen stags and hunters on the last day at the lodge. Not the kind of event we host in south Texas!



In the end I would highly recommend this sortie to any of you who have wanted to hunt and sightsee in Scotland. Mike and his partner Mitch do a great job of organizing this trip to be fun for hunter and non-hunter alike. Your significant other will really enjoy this adventure... just remember to tell her it's a sightseeing trip with a little hunting thrown in to get her approval!

Very nice pictures, story, and country!

Great pictures -- the scenery is outstanding. But who is that guy in the bluejeans in the last picture?




Thanks for the report!

quote:

But who is that guy in the bluejeans in the last picture?

Charles, you can take the boy out of Texas but...

What no rain!
Great to see the Highland in all their glory.
Your right that its a very special place to hunt and the manner in which the estates run there hunts is a tad different to other places,which is exactly why these hunts have so much appeal.
Good beasties to boot.
Thanks for sharing the photos

Weidmannsheil

quote:

Originally posted by bwanamrm:
I may have created a monster because her inquiry to me on the flight home was "OK where are we going next?"

Beware

Good on yaaa, great report, great hunt..

Thanks for sharing.

Best regards Chris

Thanks for the report.

Even though you weren't hunting for inches, that second stag looks a real corker for a hill stag!!

Congratulations,
FB

Good report, glad you enjoyed it. At least you got to go home, me? I have to live here about 50 miles North of Inverness to be exact.

John

Great pictures Russell and it sounds like a wonderful trip w/the Mrs. How many days did you spend hunting at the Estate, and assuming your wife did not accompany you into the field did she enjoy the time back at the lodge? How was the rest of the trip touring Scotland?

I'll be in touch when I get around to one of these holiday-hunts to the "homeland".

Hi Bill,
It is a seven day trip... I spent five of those days hunting and fishing. The lodge sits on the River Spey so don't pass up the chance to fish for brown trout near it's headwaters! A true adventure within an adventure. Cindy toured several castles, Loch Ness, went shopping and was practically as busy as I was doing things she found much more exciting than climbing soggy hills after deer! She did fish one day on the loch near the lodge and proved herself equal to yours truly by catching two trout in less than an hour! The last day, Saturday was the Distillery run so guess which day I toured with the group! Lots of fun for everyone and the trip was just the right length...

Russell, that sounds like a great trip. Thanks for taking the time to post those beautiful photos.

How did you decide on this particular estate? Did you inquire about bird shooting?

Thanks Forrest. Several other AR members, including Mark Young have hunted with Mike and were good references. Mike McCrave also advertises in Safari and I have seen his ads for a number of years in that publication leading me to conclude he has been around awhile. He advertises as "the man in the kilt".

Mike had an itinerary for the ladies which was important for us. Bird hunting is a little tougher to get on to however I saw grouse and pheasant every day. Ithink the estate keeps the bird hunting for the Alcan execs...

quote:

At least you got to go home, me? I have to live here about 50 miles North of Inverness to be exact.

Oh and JAYB, I am jealous...the Highlands are magnificent! What a place to call home!

Russell,

Congratulations! Super hunt & photos!

The Scottish country side is breath taking. What a place to stalk in the traditional fashion.

Was there any opportunity for salmon fishing?

Best Regards,
Dave

quote:

Was there any opportunity for salmon fishing?

Thanks, Dave... just brown trout in this part of the river. The salmon are closer to the coast as I understand it.

A brownie that was released after the picture was taken.

That is a great trip to take your spouse on...and I agree with your Kiwi idea. Looks like a lot of fun and I would really like to see Scotland someday.

No traditional photo with the spring in the stags mouth? Did you see hogs?

Ay the highlands are grand. JAYB, I hunted north of Inverness and also discovered another great product produced by the 16 men of Tain. I have been lucky to hunt the area twice and hope to do at least once more. It is second only to Africa and the funny thing is that the outfitter I hunted with , Malcolm Harmon, set me onto Africa witha friend of his, Mark DeWet. Well maybe just a wee dram, eh.

Russell,

That Brown will surely do!

Now that the cooler weather has arrived in New England I am getting ready to hit the rivers & streams again and try to issult some trout with my poorly tied flies!

I always like hunts where fishing is also an option if you tag out early....

Really wonderful trip you had!

Best Regards,
Dave

Nice stag! I love to see the European hunting posts.

Bwanamrm.

You following me around? I hunt the Save Conservancy; you hunt the Save Conservancy. I hunt with Mike McCrave in Scotland; you hunt with Mike McCrave in Scotland. Kind'a got a pattern develop'n here! Only difference is I didn't leave any wounded red stags for you to finish off in Scotland like I did cape buffalo in Zimbabwe.

Seriously, I was there with my wife in October of '05. We hunted and were lodged at Ben Wivis Estate, just north of Inverness (Mike said he was not going to lease it again). We had a great hunt, with everybody in the party getting their two stags by the third day, leaving time in the rest of the trip for the hunters to accompany their wives with Mitch on his daily site-seeing trips. Wife had a ball, as did I.

Only drawback was that Ben Wivis did not have any Argos, and we had to get to the top utilizing our feet. I did not train before this hunt like I normally do (was promised an Argo) and I damn near died on the first day. I was so beat up physically, I missed the second day of hunting as I recooped from the first. But I got two very good stags anyway.

Great pictures BTW. Your estate and countryside looks very much like where we hunted. Mike is the consement host, and knows how to treat traveling sportsmen, and more importantly, traveling sportsmen's wives!

If you used the Parker Hale .270, who used the Rem. Model 700, .308 with the Schmidt and Bender scope. I assume Mike still has this rifle in his arsenal. I frankly was very, very glad I didn't try to bring my own gun to hunt in Britain. Mike's worked just fine without the inevitable hassle bringing my own would have created.

GAHunter, did you post a report or can I see photos from your trip? This hunt interests me. Thanks.

Yukon,

I can't remember if I posted a report or not. Know for a fact I didn't post any pictures, as this took place before I knew how it was done. I think all I have are prints, as the only camera I took was my film camera. I'll have to rummage thourgh the picture drawers to see if they supplied any CDs with the prints.

This is a particularly good place to take your wife. As far as the stag hunting goes, you will not be allowed to shoot a true trophy-class, crowned stag should you encounter one (at least we weren't), and we saw several. They would only let us shoot uncrowned stags. It's kind of like a Texas management-buck hunt.

Funny, but I never got a straight answer from Mike or the Stalkers to the question as to just who, if anybody, ever gets to shoot the trophy stags. My hunt was $4300 plus my wife, so I think a true trophy hunt must cost much, much more.

Thanks. That info helps.

Scotland is hunting's best kept secret.

quote:

When the stalker says to shoot a particular stag... you shoot him. You may see bigger stags, but if he is in his prime, he is a breeder and is off-limits. If you have a thing about shooting inches of antler this isn't your hunt! If you enjoy hunting for the sheer joy of stalking the mountains the way it has been done for years, you can't pick a finer adventure.

Excellent way to manage the Estate's herd. Good for them and for the deer herd.

quote:

Bwanamrm.

You following me around? I hunt the Save Conservancy; you hunt the Save Conservancy. I hunt with Mike McCrave in Scotland; you hunt with Mike McCrave in Scotland. Kind'a got a pattern develop'n here

One of these days we will have to arrange our trips to hunt together! Seems we have very similar tastes in hunting!

And the .308 is still there, it went with the other stalking party. I guess Mike told you how much he paid for the Parker Hale? $65 and a little elbow grease... for a true Mauser action and decent shooting rifle, not bad.

quote:

Funny, but I never got a straight answer from Mike or the Stalkers to the question as to just who, if anybody, ever gets to shoot the trophy stags. My hunt was $4300 plus my wife, so I think a true trophy hunt must cost much, much more.

I asked my stalker if anyone shot the big stags and it is restricted to a very limited group of executives of the Corporation that owned our estate. Maybe two or three big stags shot a year on 35,000 acres.... hunting in Europe is more about shooting mature, past prime stags and less about what they carry in antler size. Like 333 says above, not a bad concept!

quote:

Like 333 says above, not a bad concept!

I agree as a a wildlife biologist myself.

Some esttaes sell some of the big stags to visiting sportsmen but they are rare as you like, given the numbers of animals that need to be taken off of the hill the big boys are not a priority. Often the owners enjoy the bigger stags for themselves or for important clients.

The other place they go is to the guys that put the real hard work in when the stag hunters are gone. The majority of most estates cull numbers are made up of Hinds, and calfs. Although there is a dedicated band of sportsmen that enjoy hind stalking, (I think it is better sport than the stags to be honest), most of the culls are carried out by local ghilies and stalkers who help the estate get the beasts in the Larder. They may be rewarded by the ghillie for their help with a decent stag that is past it's breeding prime.

Otherwise they are a closely guarded asset.

Rgds,
FB

That looks like quite the adventure!

I must say this is a hunt I have considered for several years now. This report is about to put me over the top. I will have to look him up in Reno this year.

You or your wife, who is the photographer? The photos are great.

Thanks for the report and pictures. A friend and I have been talking about going to Scotland next year so this was encouraging to me also.

Russell,

Your report was like being there again. An experience particularly for a couple that should not be pasted up.

I do represent Mike and could answer any questions you guys might have.

Mark

I love the gentlemanly look even while in the field.

Great report and beautiful photos!

Hey Russell,

What a great hunt and a great report! You did an excellent job on the photos!!

What did your hunt cost? I assume you flew out of San Antonio??

Good Hunting,

Bob

Bob,

The '07 price for the hunt was $4700 to include 2 stags. There is an insurance charge of I believe $180 but otherwise there are no other costs from pick up in Inverness to drop off for the return home. If you choose to do European mounts they can be prepared so you can take them as extra baggage at moderate costs saving expensive shipping costs.

The observer rate seems high at $2300 but there is a Mercedes van and guide avaiable for an organized tour and shopping each day for anyone not going in the field. Sadie and I found the castles, Lochness, breweries etc. very interesting.

If you have any further questions just fire away.

Mark

Thanks Mark!

I keep reading this one over. the tradition of the hunt gets me the most....I love it. From the hats and outfits to the Parade of Horns. Having the game manager tell me which one to shoot would be an honor not a downer.

The amazing thing is even after you and your stalker have spent an entire day on your belly writhering down rills through the heather, your stalker still looks like he stepped right out of a travel poster. You (meaning "me"), on the other hand, look like you were drug behind a truck through the pig parlor.

On my second stag, we crawled down one of those creeks, and, somehow, I crawled right out of my trousers! In fact, they were retreived 100 meters above where I made my shot in my knickers. Quite a good laugh was had by all at the dinner table that evening when my hunting partner told the story.

Damn, I have to stop comming back to this string it makes me want to go back. I am suprised to see the stalkers in Camo as their tweeds make a much better "camo" for the moors. I don't think they have creeks but rather they call them a burne. I am thinking of the very small streams on the moors. I gues I will just have to settle for a we dramm this evening.

quote:

On my second stag, we crawled down one of those creeks, and, somehow, I crawled right out of my trousers! In fact, they were retreived 100 meters above where I made my shot in my knickers.

That should have made even the hardiest ghillie blush! LOL!