Deer Stalking

fathersymes

I'd like some advice from the 'more experienced' stalkers than myself!

I am on a coillte lease in the silvermines mountains area, I visit every few weeks and see plenty of deer tracks but rarely any deer. I generally arrive about 30-45 minutes after daybreak (when there is plenty of light). The land is mainly dense pine forest with some open areas and rises to a very high mountainous area.

Am I missing the deer because I arrive too late?
Do they retreat for the day to the high area?
Should deer generally be on the move until mid morning (10ish)?
Is it part of the course to blank 9 times out of 10?

bogteal

At that hour you should see Deer crossing roads in fields, do you travel on foot or car there are a lot of reasons why you do not see them wind directon noise what you wear after shave. Deer have great sence of smell and eye sight if you are driving the tend not to take much notice but if walking they will see you first you need to go very slow and if you think your going slow you need to go slower, you might have more luck if you go in the evening ninty minutes before dark and sit up and wait remeber do not move and watch the wind .the best thing to buy for stalking is kids bubbles in woods its very hard to tell wind direction bubbles work a treat and good luck.

Clare gunner

You gotta gotta gotta get up ...earlier in the Morning to hunt deer.:D
Arriving when it is light is a pointless operation.I was taught and have hunted with sucess just at dawn or 10 30 mins after sun up.That is your critical time.You need to be in place at least a half hour before dawn.Deer dont like been out in the open in daylight,they are somwhat nocturnal.They browse and move into cover after dawn,and start to come out around late afternoon ,towards dusk.The rule of thumb is the game moves every three hours,shows itself at dawn or dusk in the open or is in cover resting up during the day.Wind is vital that you stay upwind,ditto for noise,police yourself for noise.Best wind direction teller is still a lit and extingushed match.If you smoke ,give it up.Cigg smoke carries well on the wind,so much that us humans can detect it.The terrain you are hunting on is a awful bllix,and one thing that will get rid of deer quickly in that area and there is plenty of..sheep.Deer will not have anything to do with sheep,the smell or somthing drives deer away.Cattle not so much,but sheep in a forest or deer patch you can call it a day.
Alot of deer hunting is experiance,trial and error and patience.

fathersymes

Thank you for the replies, here is some feedback!

There is some sheep in the area but tend not to be in my area.
I do smoke, so maybe this is the problem!

So, the tactic is to identify known deer tracks and conceal myself and wait?

Moving very slowly on the edge of forestry is a bad idea? I was doing this last week(about 9am) and 'bumped' a deer about 30yards away, he must have been lying out. Not enough time for a shot though.

Bottom line for more sucess is:?

Wind
Lie & wait
Get into place while it is still dark.

triskell

Clare gunner wrote:

You gotta gotta gotta get up ...earlier in the Morning to hunt deer.:D

CG you hit the nail on the head. all of the above i learned the hard way.
i have shot the same coilte forestry in clare galway for the last 15 years it took me half that to be anyway sucessful (to actually see a deer). coilte forestry is a bitch to stalk in the scottish sense. find a good spot and wait. the rut is the best time to see who's about.
best advice i can give you is get there very early

macnas

Hunting forestry is very tricky, I find that if you're being careful with the wind and noise, stopping every 10 to 15 yards, getting down and scanning with your binos(even in thick cover), you will see deer. If you've been hunting the same wood for a while you will get to know the spots, where they're crossin or feeding, lawns, clear fell or the edges of forestry roads. Bright sunny, high pressure days they're out, cold wet days they're in, sheltering in the forestry. Watch your wind/noise, move slowly, scan with your binos.

Clare gunner

fathersymes wrote:

Thank you for the replies, here is some feedback!

There is some sheep in the area but tend not to be in my area.
I do smoke, so maybe this is the problem!

So, the tactic is to identify known deer tracks and conceal myself and wait?

Moving very slowly on the edge of forestry is a bad idea? I was doing this last week(about 9am) and 'bumped' a deer about 30yards away, he must have been lying out. Not enough time for a shot though.

Bottom line for more sucess is:?

Wind
Lie & wait
Get into place while it is still dark.

It helps to know the tracks,or be able to read where the deer will show up.That is why in certain good areas in Germany the Germans build tree stands.Like on the edge of your forest where you bumped into your deer ,or in forestry clearings.It is difficult to do walk up in the Irish forestry terrain,due to the fact that forestry is never cleared or thinned properly and we have thick,dark blocks of pine wood,and it is impossible to get thru this without making a godawful racket.So you have to find possibly a clearing in these blocks or outside them where the game paths cross and consider building a hide or tree stand there. Gold dust if you find in your area a apple tree that has gone wild.Deer love apples and will come from miles in Autumn to eat the fallen fruit.That is an exellent area to stake out.Or if you can find an area that is clear for shooting,you can put out a mineral lick block ,the same as for cattle,deer will come to that as well.All in all there are plenty of things you can do to improve your chances.But simply tramping thru the forest in the middle of the day will get you nowhere fast.
The most important things are smell,sound,shine.Keep them under control and you are on the right path.