At last, I feel able to concentrate properly on deer stalking, rather than comment on the affect of the Coronavirus on our field sport.
With the 2020 Roebuck season now firmly underway, we can look forward to the best of the Roebuck season to come and with a beautifully warm start to the summer and a respite from being pressured, the forthcoming Roe rut looks like it has the potential to be one of the best that we have had in years. That however, is in late July and early August so I must not get ahead of myself.
June – has traditionally not been the most exciting of months to be stalking Roe, the temporary lull in activity between May and the rut, mean that finding Roebuck amongst the thick vegetation, whilst they enjoy a period of repose, can be challenging.
That said, with the absence of stalking having taken place in April and early May, there will be more animals around, so for those that have been itching to get out after lockdown, provided you are patient and make a cautious approach into the woods, you may be rewarded with a result.
And that is the Key to successful hunting in June, ‘still hunting’. Take your time, use your binoculars and utilise your available ‘High seats’, from which vantage point you will be able to improve visibility.
As for the only other species that is in season - Muntjac, here again ‘high seat’s’ and ‘still hunting’ is key to overcoming the challenges that arise from waste high grass and thick foliage.
Alternatively, if you’d rather leave the Roebuck until the rut, unbeknown to many, June is in fact, the optimum time to be hunting the most unusual of all deer species the Pere David’s deer.
Chinese legend refers to Pere David’s deer as an amalgamation of a Horse a Donkey an Ox and a Deer and it is in fact a miracle that this animal has survived at all. In its native country China, the deer had been hunted to near extinction and this could have been a tragic end to this strange creature however, as fortune has it, it was a number of UK deer parks that came to the rescue and became responsible for saving the Pere David from extinction. Today Pere David’s Deer, also known as the ‘Milu’ or ‘Elaphure', is doing well amongst various private collections in the UK, where the financial returns invested from the hunting of this magnificent beast continue to insure its ongoing survival.
You can read more about Pere David’s Deer by following this link: pere-david-s-deer
If you are interested in hunting a Pere David deer this June, an arrangement can be made through the Capreolus Club. Please contact me for more details:
IN Season in England & Wales: Roebuck, Muntjac Buck & Muntjac Doe.
OFF Season in England & Wales: Roe Doe, Fallow Doe, Fallow Buck, Sika Hind, Sika Stag, Red Hind, Red Stag, CWD Buck & CWD Doe.
IN Season in Scotland: Roebuck
OFF Season in Scotland: Roe Doe, Fallow Doe, Fallow Buck, Sika Hind, Sika Stag, Red Hind, Red Stag.
(Peter Jones - Editor)
