Peter Jones gets in touch with his inner 'hunter-gatherer'.
There is something in my DNA, a feeling in my very soul, an urge that grows in me as the sun dips lower and the shadows grow longer - with the approach of autumn I must venture out into the woods and hunt.
The feeling that I must prepare for winter is not confined to hunting, on an unseasonably cold day last week, I found myself mentioning to my wife that I must also get in some firewood, as if my family would be at risk if I didn’t!
It is thousands of years since man truly needed to act on these impulses, but there still remains a residual memory in us to take action ready for winter, to obey one’s instincts, instincts which once upon a time, would have meant the difference between survival or starvation. Even should I wish to supress these feelings, and I have no such desire, I believe that I would find it hard to shake them.
I mention this because I am clearly not alone, as summer turns to autumn, at ‘County Deer Stalking’ we experience a surge in the number of booking enquiries.
To help deal with the added demand, we have recently bolstered our ranks and secured a new Stalker just 45mins down the M3 from West London. Here we now have even more stalking in a location that is super accessible to those traveling from town.
The stalking itself will be guided by a familiar face to many readers of ‘County Deer Stalking’ and takes the form of Dr Simon Lee and his team of under stalkers. I have known Simon for years and having visited his grounds, am confident that he will be able to offer our clients some great accompanied stalking. With guided stalking now available over around 15,000 acres in a number of locations around the south east, we are confident that we will be able to meet demand during the busy season, albeit members of our official members club, the ‘Capreolus Club’, will understandably command the majority of the availability.
So, what are the deer doing at this time of year? Well the Roebuck are spent and exhausted after the summer rut. The opposite is true of the larger species who are becoming restless. Red and Sika Stag ‘break out’ from their usual territory in search of hinds. In the coming weeks Fallow also begin to tire of their single way of life and look to entice females to their ‘rutting stands’ with their vocal, macho display of ‘belching’ and ‘groaning’.
I love my Roe stalking and it is a joy to be stalking during the plentiful summer months however, it is the catharsis obtained from hunting the larger species in the autumn that satisfies the inner ‘hunter-gatherer’ in me.
On to our film and speaking of hunter-gatherers, there is no more historic a destination than Africa, and this month we have a rare treat in the form of a ‘South Africa Special’ during which we are hunting African Plains Game.
If you are interested in Africa then go with someone you trust and hunt with the Capreolus Club, there is simply no better way to visit this hunting ‘Mecca’. To watch the film, please follow this link: youtu.be
IN Season in England & Wales: Roebuck, Fallow Buck, Red & Sika Stag, Muntjac Buck & Muntjac Doe.
OFF Season in England & Wales: Roe Doe, Fallow Doe, Sika Hind, Red Hind, CWD Buck & CWD Doe.
IN Season in Scotland: Roebuck, Red Stag, Sika Stag, Fallow Buck.
OFF Season in Scotland: Roe Doe, Fallow Doe, Sika Hind, Red Hind.
(Peter Jones - Editor)
