Lisa shares her experience from a recent Stalk in the Scottish Highlands.
...
Stalking for me is about the whole experience; the art of getting as close to these majestic amazing animals as possible without them knowing you are there.
I was out with the Head Stalker of the Estate who makes the decision on which animals need to be taken from the hill.
This day was very wet and cold, we set out at 09:00 and had a long, hard climb into an area of the Estate, which resembled a natural amphitheatre. It was the Rutting Season and as we crawled onto the top of the ridge and looked down through the valley we had a full surround-sound experience of Stags bellowing out to their females and to other males to proclaim their territory. The mist from the rain and the echoing sound made this an amazing place to be. We continued on but this was a difficult Stalk as it was hard to stay hidden with where we were and if the Deer realise you are there - game over - everything through the valley in front of you will be gone.
After about 4.5 hours we were lucky enough to get within 150 yards of the chosen Deer. I crawled into a good safe shooting position. I was comfortable and calmed my breathing. I took a deep breath in and then squeezed the trigger. My shot was good and leading to a clean kill.
I always have mixed feelings at the end of a Stalk. I never take it lightly taking an animals life but they have to control numbers and today we had a successful hunt. I am also pleased to say there are many days when that does not happen but the experience is still amazing seeing these beautiful animals in their stunning surroundings and enjoying the time spent, just getting to be close to them.
Equipment on the Day:
- Rifle Howa 6.5 Creedmore
- Shooting with 140 grain Hornady SST custom loads
- Scope Schmidt & Bender Classic 2.5-10x56 Rifle Scope
- Mounts Burris 30mm XTR
- Clothing Ridgeline Bushmaster Jacket
