Young buck shot after the rut. Fourth roebuck of the season 2011. Scotland.

I had not had much luck on the syndicate ground here in Scotland. Deer were elusive and when I saw deer it was either a doe or something was preventing me from taking a shot. I cannot complain as I saw bucks, but either too far away, not broadside, behind vegetation or simply they saw me first and it was all over…

To be honest I find stalking in this particular forestry block quite challenging. When I first came there to have a look at the ground it was all covered in snow, with plenty of roe and red deer tracks. All looked very promising, but when I returned in Spring on my first solo stalk I found out how the ground really was like. Really boggy to say the least. The rides are generally full of water at times, quite tiring to walk, but also not easy to walk quietly. Maybe it is just me, but I have not embraced the art of silently walking swamps. 🙂 On a quiet day stalking is not an option and it is far better to wait on a high seat or in a busy place and wait for deer to come.

The rut had already finished on lower grounds in Scotland, but as our land is quite high and usually everything is later here, I thought it would be a good idea to give a Buttollo a try once again. It was still quite early, but rather quiet so I opted for waiting in an ambush on one of the rides.

I got there quite early, could not decide which place to choose, and eventually sat under a small sitka spruce on the ride. I put the camcorder on the tripod, turned it on to adjust and spotted something on the ride looking on the LCD screen. Took binoculars instead and there he was, a young buck. Still about 300m away, but coming closer.

I tried to call him in, but he was not interested in and soon disappeared between the trees. I started regretting not taking a long shot, but it was still early and after 10-15 minutes the buck appeared again and a good bit closer! I put the rifle on the sticks and waited for it to move out a bit as his shoulder was behind the branches of a small tree.

He made a few more steps and I squeezed the trigger. He dropped on the spot. New 150 grain Hornady SST bullet did a good job.

He was 13kg, a typical weight for this area.

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