Battle scarred Sika.

Grizzly 45

Was out again yesterday at 05:00.I take about an hour to get moving at these ghastly times of the morning,even when I'm hunting.:(
Anyways,loaded up and moved out and at that time in the AM it only takes me a half hour to the shoot.So I arrived just as rifle light was happeninng.Off for an hours walk up forestry and field tracks until about 07;20 when I decided that enough was enough it was now bright and most deer would be heading for cover.So heading back to the jeep,with one last scan I spotted him.With abit of a closer look I noticed the most oddest thing about him we walked with a limp on the rear quaters,had the most oddest rack .Three prongs on one and a spike on the other. Also he was in a field of cattle,which is unusual I thought,as from my experiance deer generally avoid cattle,unless they are desperate or sick.

So into the field and a lepoard crawl up the field avoiding the cow pats and keeping an eye on the deer I got to within appx 90 meters of him.Slinging up tight the deer turned broadside to me,I touched off a round of .243 Hornady Vmax 95 grain and watched the strike.The deer looked up,started to trot ten paces stopped,walked again another five, his back legs gave out and over he went.
So up and off to collect our friend,whose last musclar reflexes were happening as I got there. As I rolled him over,I noticed a oddity as to the limp,the right rear hooves had grown extremly long and there was a huge malformation on the rear leg in the bone.It looked like a break or shot that had healed badly.Worse ,his lower lip and jawline was ripped open somtime in the past,up to the cheek line in that he had a hole where his cheek once was.If you know what a " Limerick smile":D:rolleyes: is for a horrible disfigurement,this lad had one!!
Dont know was this a badly done head shot or accidental ,or rut damage.
But this lad was in the wars and none the better for it.
Best and humane to take out an animal in that condition.

So off to gutting him,and after much fooling around with a DIY gimbal and ropes and pullys on a runty ash tree:mad: that broke in the middle of the proceedings of getting the carcass up off the ground.I found again in the carcass these unusual red pelletts.About the size of a pea,rock hard and these were in the abdominal cavity area.
They turn black as the carcass cools down as well.

This is the second deer I've shot in this area that has these.Anyone got any ideas??Its NOT TB either,as the lungs were clean and the TB pustules are soft and full of pus and grey.

Keeping the heart,whats left of it. [As the Vmax did its work well,and severd the top of the hearts arteries,]the lungs and liver.I might try and sell this fellow,to see whats the story with this new Dept of Ag regulation and paperwork.

As I have been informed most sternly be she who must be obeyd that there is now no freezer space available ,and that if I insist in shooting deer at this rate I am to go forth and purchase a small chest freezer!
Does anyone have such for sale at a reasonable price within a reasonable distance of Limerick??:)

Maybe a vet can throw some light on those red peas as well??As well as recovering the head and liver..As deer liver pate is delicious,and I am partial too to liver dumpling soup too.:D Would be a shame if that was to become a thing of the past too.
So TO BE CONTINUED!

crackcrack30

Could have been hit by car/truck....any food in stomach?
Could they be those red slow type berries?

Birdnuts

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

.I found again in the carcass these unusual red pelletts.About the size of a pea,rock hard and these were in the abdominal cavity area.
They turn black as the carcass cools down as well.

This is the second deer I've shot in this area that has these.Anyone got any ideas??Its NOT TB either,as the lungs were clean and the TB pustules are soft and full of pus and grey.

!

Are there any Yew trees in your area Griz?? - the berries are toxic to cattle and other grazers. The pea-sized hard kernal could be the red pellets you describe

Grizzly 45

Yup,stomach was full of semi digested grasses and leaves.He wasnt emicated at all,est appx 80/100 kgs not field dressed.

No they wernt yew berries or rose hips.Havent seen any yew trees around the shoot.It's mostly hilly and mixed Stika and broadleaves.
Also,they werent in the stomach but in the abdominal cavity,under a membraneous sheen in the upper area near the spine.

First sika I shot had them in the neck area in fatty tissue.I thought they might have been abcessed shotgun pelletts,but in two deer??Very doubtful.

Mauser 308

Sounds unusual, or at least I'v never come across or heard of it. If it was me I would confirm what it was before letting it enter the food chain. Weird...
The scar looks like a rutting injury to me, are they rutting down your way yet?

Tackleberrywho

Is that not a Sika Hybrid out of interest? ?

And have you any better pics from different angles or up close of the injury?

Grizzly 45

Mauser 308 wrote: »

Sounds unusual, or at least I'v never come across or heard of it. If it was me I would confirm what it was before letting it enter the food chain. Weird...
The scar looks like a rutting injury to me, are they rutting down your way yet?

It's started alright.Havent heard any whistling,but this fellah was getting the whiff of love about him if you know what I mean;)
If it is accepted,it will be checked out by a dept of Ag vet,as I got him into a local dealer for Monday.
If it is a rutting injury,I'd say from last year.The back cheek injury was well healed and the front up to the nose is basically white scar tissue with no hair.

Is that not a Sika Hybrid out of interest? ?

And have you any better pics from different angles or up close of the injury

Hard to tell wether he is or not Tack..Is there any specific signs??The rack is certainly odd a two prong and a straight . Will get up some better pics on Monday hopefully of both the leg injury and face.

Tackleberrywho

Then whistling in the Dublin mountains would wake the dead.

I heard at least 2 stags and a pricket this evening.
The light fell before we could pin them down.

I was showing your pic to Paulo and I was saying how it looked weird, he reckoned it was a Hybrid.

I'm not familiar with Sika Hybrids but I'd guess the same due to size, shape and antler structure.

Either way you saved an animal from possible suffering from disease

Traumadoc

Actinomycosis?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinomycosis_in_animals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinomycosis

crackcrack30

pm sent............

Grizzly 45

Traumadoc wrote: »

Actinomycosis?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinomycosis_in_animals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinomycosis

Nope! No running sores or scabs.It is physical scar and a literal hole or missing cheek piece.

Traumadoc

When the abcesses burst they leave holes just like in the photo.

Grizzly 45

Ok some up dates on this...Got this fellah into the dealers on Sat and the Vet had a look at him today.So from a call from the Game dealer today.

@Tackelberry
You were close..It is a genuine red deer rather than a hybrid.:)
The hybrids havent apprently made it over to the Midwest yet,and their arse patches are apprently a brown black in colur,this lads was white.[D'OH!! Why the fk didnt I notice that one!!:o].
Because of his small size ,I took it for a Sika,but this is even better as this is my 1st Irish Red stag!!:D:D

@Traumadoc.
Spot on for the diagonsis of lumpy jaw!!:D.It was a major abcess that burst and took away the cheek. Yes the leg injury was a broken leg that didnt heal very well and calcified into a massive fist size protuberence.

The red ,that turn black pellets are nothing to worry about according to the vet.They are internal blood cysts,and apprently all mammals have them in one shape or the other.
Vet reckoned with the jaw damage,broken leg,and overlong rear hoof nails.This fellah suffered badly ,and that stunted the growth and it was a mercy to shoot him.

Next mystery is where do Red deer come from in the North /Mid Clare region??Know there were a few in parks and deer farms in the Killaloe/Ballina area and Galway area?? An escapee from somwhere??


Ok some updates on the Dept of Ag paperwork.

Pretty simple,name ,addy,phone number, where shot,breed and animal type,deer stalking permit number[bring the cert,as they will want a photocopy] carcass number,usually inhouse from the Game dealer,blah,blah.Nothing too alarming in that.Keep the head on the carcass,lungs,liver and heart,if any left after the shot in a seperate bag.

No need to individually bag each.If you like liver or kidneys,half a liver and/or kidney is good enough for them.Obviously if you cut the liver,and there are flukes falling out of it ,you aint going to want to eat it,and can send the whole lot in.

As to what this proposed course is supposed to teach us...I've no idea!!!Neither has the GD or Dept Vet!!As the carcasses will still have to be passed by a dept of Ag vet before hitting the food chain,as does any other carcass in a slaughterhouse!

So unless we had the right to sell directly past the GD,this course will be somwhat superflous,as it is now a double up on work,paper and otherwise.Ok so we bone up on liver fluke,heart worms,TB,
etc etc.It still gets nowhere as a qualified vet has to still pass the carcass.And the usual suspects names were mentioned as to who might be teaching this.....Dont think you need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out this one ,and who is making a move for more power and money,outside their remit!!!:rolleyes::rolleyes:
As for the trophy/rack,you can have straightaway once the vet has finished his poking and prodding of the glands etc.:cool:

BTW,they Dept of Ag are picky about field contamination..IE muck or dirt on the carcass,so it is proably wise to invest in a pully rope system and gut the animal off the ground.[Use a strong tree limb too!]No need to skin it either,they want it in the wrapper with the head still on it.

Be intresting to see the price and wether the Revenue want to audit me next Nov too for selling one deer carcass as extra income too..:pac:

Will this stop poaching??Not a hope!!!:(

All it does is give a name as to where a carcass came from and who shot it.It is a commercial system heath robinsoned into a deer hunting system.This would work fine if say John Joes beef cow was discoverd full of TB foot&mouth etc.And there is accountability and traceback to JJ buying in dodgy cattle from across the border or somthing.

If Grizzly shoots a deer legally or illegally in Nth Clare,and sells it in season.It wont show that it was poached or legally shot,just that Grizz certified it as a clean carcass,and had that certified by a vet.

Now wether I arrive with 20 or one doesnt prove much,unless I have a load of deer in my let or I am a good shot,[with or without a jacklight] is still open to debate and evidential proof of me being caught in the act.

So what I see of it it is a food hygine procedure that has the potential as a money spinner for some group,nothing else.
Grizzly

Tackleberrywho

Ok some up dates on this...Got this fellah into the dealers on Sat and the Vet had a look at him today.So from a call from the Game dealer today.

@Tackelberrywho
You were close..It is a genuine red deer rather than a hybrid.
The hybrids havent apprently made it over to the Midwest yet,and their arse patches are apprently a brown black in colur,this lads was white.[D'OH!! Why the fk didnt I notice that one!!].
Because of his small size ,I took it for a Sika,but this is even better as this is my 1st Irish Red stag!!

Ok, good to hear you dispatched a very poor quality animal and saved it from agony.

Well done on first Red Stag.
I "hope" to get one the week after next all things going well.

At least you were not in kerry and things were straight forward

My biggest fear in kerry is mistaken identity.

Much easier when just have to shoot Antlered animals.


You are getting good returns, I have only one animal shot this month and it is nearly over.
I would like to get 1-2 more Sika, 1 Red and a few fallow this season.It should become slightly easier in November touch wood.

God Bless the Semi .243 in Remington Country

Grizzly 45

Best I could get with a cam phone!
The cysts are the cluster of black dots in the centre of the pic.They are bright red when the carcass is gallroached.Totally harmless apprently.

crackcrack30

Hungarian red stags brought into dromoland castle demese in late 1990s
( I heard a funny story about a guy who shot one - worth 20k at the time)

Grizzly 45

PM me that story would you?I started out my working life as game keeper/lumberjack,and general dogsbody on Lord Inchiquins farm in the 1980s.:D All they had then were Fallow,and not very hectic ones either.

A 20 K Stag???:eek: He must have been a right monster!!!!

crackcrack30

Mid 90's sorry, I suppose it cost dromoland 20k to get him on the ground, I wouldnt have a clue about that kind of thing/costs .........cc30