When roe does and red hinds season started in Scotland I concentrated mainly on red deer. I wanted to get a hind before the snow as without 4×4 it is nearly impossible for me to get close to the forestry and even longer drag to get it from there. I saw quite a few red deer, but they were not easily accessible. They were staying near the far end of the forestry and often stayed the whole day on the hill, not coming back to the forestry during daylight, or spending the day at neighbouring plantation. In both cases it was a waste of time, so when we finally got a nice sunny evening I went after roe deer on the other side of the wood.
In theory that part of the ground supposed to be sunny in the afternoon and I thought maybe a roe would come out on the sun on this frosty and cold day. Stalking was not going to be easy as it was very crunchy and I decided to find a good spot where I could sit and watch.

I was glad I took a jacket on top of my fleece as when the sun was coming down the wind was not very pleasant. I soon was a bit cold. I sat under the tree, set up my sticks for a sitting shot and waited. I was above the place where I could see a bit sheltered corner of the forestry and I hoped some roe would come out early. For some reason roe deer favour this part of the forestry and I never see roe deer in this part. Similarly far side of the forestry holds mainly red deer with very few roe.

The sun hid behind the hill (so much for my theory about roe coming out to enjoy sunshine… :roll:) and I was getting a bit cold. I looked at my watch and decided to give it 10 more minutes.

Suddenly, I noticed a movement on the edge of the forestry. It was a white patch, an instant give away of a roe deer. It was a doe coming down along the forestry. Unfortunately, she was moving away from me… I put my rifle on the sticks just in case. I was sitting with my back against the tree and both elbows against my legs and the position felt very stable and I started thinking maybe it was not too far, but the doe was going away and not really offering a broadside shot what felt between 150m and 200m.

I was looking at the doe through the scope when a doe kid appeared. She ran to the doe and they both were now even further. The doe went behind the slope, but the kid paused for a few seconds. She was slightly quartering away, but I thought I could try a shot behind the shoulder from the position. I squeezed the trigger and saw a bullet strike. It looked like the kid was hit well and struggled on its feet for a moment and slowly walked in between the trees…

I watched the edge of the forestry for a while and saw the doe between the trees, but she did not offer a shot. It was getting late and it was better to start tracking that kid. I was confident I did not go far, but under the canopy it was difficult to see any blood.

When I was maybe 100m away from the place the kid disappeared the doe popped out the trees and stood long enough for me to take the rifle off my shoulder, put it on sticks and squeeze the trigger. I could not see any reaction whatsoever and I though I missed.

I got to the place I saw the kid walked into the forestry and saw good blood trail, but it was soon difficult to see anything. I used my torch and soon found one deer. However, it was the doe! I was confident the kid was down and the temperature well below freezing, so the meat would have not spoiled. I quickly gralloched the doe and went back to the car.

Following day my wife volunteered to help me track the kid. When we got to the place it was obvious in daylight there were two blood trails disappearing in the forestry. My wife found the kid after a couple of minutes and it was no more than 50m away from the place I shot it. I was near it a few times the previous night and never saw it. It was already cold and after quick gralloch we were on our way back to the car.

The doe was 12kg and the kid was 9kg which was above average for this area.

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