Shooting Times & Country Magazine

Breaking new ground

Al Gabriel has a new permission that’s just 50 acres but it has everything you could want to be a real deerstalke­r’s paradise

There is nothing more exciting than acquiring new stalking ground, particular­ly if it’s in a new county. New terrain, different land uses and fresh scenery are exhilarati­ng. New stalking ground is much more than just ground: it is a gateway to the next set of adventures and progress in one’s stalking career. There are new farmers nearby as well as fellow shooters — who knows what it may lead to? One thing in the shooting world tends to lead to another. Top of the list is, of course, which deer species are present. For a northerner like me, that fact is particular­ly true. Everyone needs a break from roe once in a while.

“Ask and you shall receive”: an absolute mantra for securing new stalking ground. I was lucky enough to acquire a new permission recently on a small lowland farm in Cumbria near Kirkby Stephen. Although the ground is just over 50 acres in size, the terrain makes up for the small plot. It is shaped like an amphitheat­re, with a meadow in the middle. It’s a stalker’s paradise. To my knowledge the only deer present are roe deer, but you never know.

I’ve been studying the ground on Google Maps for several weeks since my last visit with the owner, who had shown me around the perimeter and described land use and the kind of impact he is experienci­ng from deer. Deer have been tucking into pheasant feed and damaging hoppers. The ground has some broadleave­s and livestock. There is a small bridlepath, but I have not seen any walkers to date, which is perfect.

Given the time of year, stalking in the evening seemed more sensible. But the minute I left my house and joined the motorway, I got stuck in

traffic for two hours due to an incident 10 miles away. That only gave me just under an hour of stalking time, but I had already committed; better late than never. As I got to the ground, which I had not seen since spring, the vegetation had grown and it might as well have been a different ground: the grass was knee-high and visibility was difficult.

While preparing the rifle, I saw a hint of something suddenly move near to a pheasant feeder, 200 yards away. It seemed like a deer. I couldn’t see any thermal signature, so I decided to circle around it. As I looked through my Pulsar Merger thermal scanner I could see sheep, cattle and various birds; even a cock pheasant holding his ground not too far from me. A small beck cut the ground in half as it meandered down the hill.

The wrong path

I continued to gain more elevation in search of the mysterious sighting, but the dry weather had made the ground crusty. I was making too much noise moving through the vegetation. I knew I had picked the wrong path but all I had to do was circle around the animal while keeping a 150-yard distance.

Like all things new, I didn’t miss an opportunit­y to take a few pictures of deer tracks, potential sites and images of boundaries for my record. Such outings are great opportunit­ies to assimilate as much informatio­n as possible. There is value in collecting such informatio­n from each stalk, not just from a legal perspectiv­e but also from a health and safety one as well. I did have to stop a couple of times to make sure my location was within the boundary. Google Maps is of no use once you are inside dense vegetation.

On this outing I was armed with 100-gr copper ammunition in

.243 called Peregrine, supplied by Edinburgh Rifles. It is an unusual bullet that is very long and flat-nosed; it almost looks like the bullet has been inserted the wrong way around. The proof, however, is in the pudding. If it does the job, who cares about how it looks? I’ve only shot two roebucks with it so far, but both animals were culled successful­ly with minimal meat damage. The only problem seems to

be with my rifle. Bolt lift seems near impossible following a shot, so high pressure must be the likely issue.

I managed to circle a third of the way, but a significan­t challenge awaited me. Cows. I’m not ashamed to admit that I am terrified of cows. My African childhood with longhorn cattle that used to chase us while playing remains in my head, which often amuses most of my guests, who seem to treat cows like puppies.

“While preparing the rifle, I saw a hint of something move near to a pheasant feeder”

I mustered the courage to walk by the fence. I got close to the boundary where I had spotted roe on my last visit. Behold, I could spot a brown blob in the corner of the field. It was getting dark but there was no mistaking it, it was a mature sixpointer covered in a majestic summer coat, probably ‘lord of the manor’.

I only had 10 minutes of daylight left, and he was grazing very close to a thick patch of wood that I had not yet investigat­ed. It was that time when one must ask the question, “Is it wise to pull the trigger?” It was a new

ground, new bullets and there were no dogs with me nor friends I could call on at short notice should tracking be required, not to mention that the rut was on the way and taking him after that seemed more fitting. There were no young plantation­s on this ground, the only damage was to bird feeders, and I knew I could wait until I got a full picture of the ground and had a deer management plan in place.

I must have unwittingl­y been on the wrong side of the wind because he stopped in his tracks and turned as if he had seen a ghost. He knew I was there and barked at me a couple of times. I had already decided not to pull the trigger, and the buck was now vocally challengin­g me. No good deed goes unpunished. At 100 yards, he had had enough and barked away deep into the woods.

Suddenly, I was ‘Al the merciful’, and the beast had earned the chance to pass on his genes.

Social capital

Acquiring new ground is always challengin­g and whether you can find any at all depends on where you are. However, there’s one thing that is common to all acquisitio­ns: you must ask people. All your relevant contacts must be aware that you are actively looking for stalking opportunit­ies. You should knock on doors. Social capital is everything, and one should invest significan­t time in building one. If I were to take this opportunit­y to pass on my three top tips for acquiring stalking ground, I would say the following.

First, utilise aerial maps like Google Earth to identify potential areas near you that may hold deer. Second, pay particular attention to large estates. Estates are usually major landowners and hold the key to most deerstalki­ng. Tenant farmers usually don’t have the stalking rights.

“I must have been on the wrong side of the wind, because he stopped and turned”

Third, estate grounds look different in real life, so make some time to visit your chosen area in person. This will allow you to run into estate personnel and farmers to start that oh-so-important conversati­on.