Deer permit, help needed!

James23H

Hi all,

As the title states I'm currently trying to obtain a deer permit. I'm based in north Tipperary and unfortunately there is a lack of farmers with deer on their land or farmers who have already giving there permission to a select few.

This is a long shot but if there any people who read this thread interested in giving me permission to hunt deer on there land it would be greatly appreciated. I have a deposit down on a .308 rifle and i am already a licence holder of a .223 and regularly hunt foxes. I wish to purchase the 308 for deer hunting and target shooting, unfortunately I cannot afford the cost of membership to the midlands range which is the closest range to myself.

I'm a genuine person and you wouldn't encounter any bulls##t with me. I just need a hand getting started and would greatly appreciate any help.

If someone was kind enough to give me permission I would be more than willing to return the favour in deer meat or vermin control on your land. Thanks.

LIFFY FISHING

I am in the exact same boat, and find that lads are so not willing to help a decent lad get a start with deer stalking, unless you have a grand to join a syndicate and thats when you start arousing their interests.
I have years of hunting and competative shooting behind me , & have slso comitted to buying a 6.5 x 55, but in my case I have a range to fire it on which I am a member of.
Good luck with your search, we can only keep trying

arrowloopboy

This may seem ****ty lads,but basically ye are looking for something for free that most people have to pay for.If ye knock on enough farmers doors ye may get lucky,but most farmers with good numbers of deer on their lands are either getting paid for the rights or have the same guys hunting their lands for years and are unwilling to let an unknown newbe upset the arrangement.
Like it or not ,deer stalking has an economic value ,if you want it you'll probably have to pay for it,like most of us !

LIFFY FISHING

I am not looking for anything for "free", I pay €60 per year insurance, €300 a year for a target range & €150 for a game cllub, so I dont mind paying to stalk deer, €1K a head on a lease is a piss take?
Its lads who make it commercial that remove the sport of hunting out of reace for real hunters.

arrowloopboy

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

I am not looking for anything for "free", I pay €60 per year insurance, €300 a year for a target range & €150 for a game cllub, so I dont mind paying to stalk deer, €1K a head on a lease is a piss take?
Its lads who make it commercial that remove the sport of hunting out of reace for real hunters.

Sorry but that's a load of bullsh1t,how much is membership of a decent Golf club for the year ?,and you cant eat golf balls.
Your happy to pay 300 quid a year to shoot paper and you think 1k is unreasonable to shoot the premier game this country has to offer
If your looking for something for a few quid your going to need a .17(rabbits) not a 6.5x55,also have a rethink of that calibre,alot of much more knowledgable stalkers that me think their not the best calibre choice for stalking ,have a think about a .308/.270 ,if your not already financially committed .

LIFFY FISHING

Case proven...a lecture on what shooting I am already doing, & my choice of caliber, which is deer legal, but no offer of advise or assistance.
Great little country this for helping out, throw money at or into any situation snd sure you can do anything you can afford.

everypenny

arrowloopboy wrote: »

also have a rethink of that calibre,alot of much more knowledgable stalkers that me think their not the best calibre choice for stalking ,have a think about a .308/.270 ,if your not already financially committed .

I'm gonna call bull**** on that one. Firstly a 6.5 mm is .256 of an inch so its only .014 of an inch off the 0.270.
Secondly, having done it myself, I know that 6.5mm is the minimum legal calibre in Sweden for shooting ELK. So if its good enough for the Swedes to shoot Elk with then I'm fairly sure that it's more than up to the task of shooting deer here.
Thirdly, its above the minimum legal requirement for deer in this country.

6.5 is a good choice and the Ruger is a good platform if you want to go down that line.

everypenny

By the way, i forgot to say best of luck with the permission seeking. i got mine through a friend who knew a farmer. A couple of bottles of Jameson a year and keep the foxes away during lambing season and he's happy.
keep asking around, you'll eventually find one. but if you dont try then you wont succeed.

underthetumb

Knock on doors, don't let the NO's deter You, farmers are genuine people and usually easy to talk to, when you get permission off one it will be all worth it, and it will snow ball from there. You DO NOT, have to pay to hunt deer. But you do have to put some work into obtaining it. Best of luck

villa1979

Wasting your time lads deer permissions are hard to get these days lots of lads are putting deposits on guns first and then trying to the the permissions which is a big mistake. Get your permissions first, with so many applying for deer permits over the last few years good land is going for big money get into the car and go knocking on farms you live in tipp you knock enough door you will get your 100 acres just find out how many lads are shooting the land before you apply for the permit best of luck

Tawny Owl

I only got back into Deer Hunting this year, shot Deer 30 years ago, and I am very lucky that a relative looked after the land permission and has been taking me out since January of this year, as he also has some section 42's which started, the hard bit as well it getting someone to show you how to hunt Deer, its not like rough shooting walking into a field and hoping there is a Deer hiding in the hedge and out it runs and you shoot, it takes time getting to know the land your shooting and getting to know the habits of the Deer feeding on that land, thats what I am doing most weekends at the moment watching Deer feeding and where there coming from, I do wish you both the best of Luck in getting permission on land, but dont give up asking Farmers or Land owners, keep knocking on doors it will happen but in the mean time ask will someone let you tag along this season it will stand to you when you do get your Deer Hunting Licence and Gun.

Best of Luck.

Cass

Before going any further lads, lets try keep it civil. It's a genuine question and an answer or help is better than criticism.



Now back to the OP.

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

....... so I dont mind paying to stalk deer, but €1K a head on a lease is a piss take?
Its lads who make it commercial that remove the sport of hunting out of reace for real hunters.

Some lads really don't have a choice but to pay for a lease or land. Between where they live and having no other option and land owners demanding money for what they were happy to give in return for vermin control the rest of the year things are changing. If a lad has to pay to get stalking i wouldn't hold that against them.

I understand where you are coming from though in the lads that come onto land, offer money or more than the "regular" lads that were on the land can afford, and end up taking the permission. It's a kick in the balls and i lost a permission some time ago to that very thing.

But Karma is a bitch. After 3 years the same lads had wiped out every deer, and caused some damage to the lands. When i met the land owner he told me about it, admitted it was a mistake and that the money he got did not cover the grief it caused. Also they refused to shoot vermin from him and he lost lambs to foxes during the "off season". He offered me the permission back which i gratefully took. The land still has not recovered.

So it's a fine line between those that exploit it and those that have to do it. However i wouldn't judge before knowing each lads position.

arrowloopboy wrote: »

........not a 6.5x55,also have a rethink of that calibre,alot of much more knowledgable stalkers that me think their not the best calibre choice for stalking ,have a think about a .308/.270 ,if your not already financially committed .

As everypenny said above .............................

everypenny wrote: »

I'm gonna call bull**** on that one. Firstly a 6.5 mm is .256 of an inch so its only .014 of an inch off the 0.270.
Secondly, having done it myself, I know that 6.5mm is the minimum legal calibre in Sweden for shooting ELK. So if its good enough for the Swedes to shoot Elk with then I'm fairly sure that it's more than up to the task of shooting deer here.
Thirdly, its above the minimum legal requirement for deer in this country.

6.5 is a good choice and the Ruger is a good platform if you want to go down that line.

............................ i too would disagree on that. Used one for over 9 years very successfully. Considering it's been around for over 120 years (longer than .270 & .308) and never changed it has to be doing something right.

It has the deepest penetration of any round in the same value, and is used extensively in other countries such as UK, Scandinavian countries, etc. I once had a "chat"" with a so called expert deer stalker on here some years ago. He had the same opinion. That the 6.5x55 was a terrible round. I asked him what exactly i was about it that he didn't like. After a lot of asking and pushing he said he never shot it, but was simply regurgitating information other "experts" had told him or that he had read from Google and had no experience with the round/caliber. IOW bulls**t.


As for the OP. I will say this. What you are asking for is no unreasonable. The problem you will face is when it comes to deer lads protect their permissions like gold or state secrets. I cannot say much as i do the same. Some because the land owners demands i bring no one else and others because it's hard to come by and any violation of the trust between the land owner and myself might result in me loosing the permission.

I've read a few times how lads brought on a friend or someone as a favour only to be asked later by the land owner if they were shooting on such and such a day. When they checked the "guest" had come back themselves and shot away without the original lad there.

As the lads have said the first and best solution is to knock on doors. Have you permission for any lands? If so use that as an ice breaker to get permission on lands were there may be deer. Failing that you might get an offer here for a day or two that could open doors for you.

I wish you the best of luck in it. Both you and Liffy Fishing.

LIFFY FISHING

Thanks for been constructive Cass, balanced as ever

arrowloopboy

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

Case proven...a lecture on what shooting I am already doing, & my choice of caliber, which is deer legal, but no offer of advise or assistance.
Great little country this for helping out, throw money at or into any situation snd sure you can do anything you can afford.

Its also a great little country or whingers and a ''poor me'' attitude ,you need to do 1 of 2 things,get off your ass and visit every farmers place in the area you want to shoot and offer some class of help/assistance in return for the priviledge of stalking their land ,or 2, put your hand in your pocket,its really that simple.
AND yes if you work hard you can do anything you can afford,is that some kind of a crime ?:rolleyes:

Now theirs some straight constructive advice,run with it !

Jonty

Go for a drive down to Silvermines outside Nenagh.

FISMA

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

€1K a head on a lease is a piss take?

+1 Especially, when that lease is lamped by night and raided by others during the day.

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

Its lads who make it commercial that remove the sport of hunting out of reace for real hunters.

+1

LiffyFishing - make it a point to head out once a fortnight and knock on doors. You would be surprised how many lads abandon a permission. I have been on many a land where the farmers were mad that the stalkers they allowed on hadn't been seen in months.

I would start where you know the deer are. If a farmer says no, then ask if they would know someone that could they would recommend that could use the help.

To the op - same suggestions. I would offer the farmer work - ask them what fences need to be mended, or what other projects would they like to do, but haven't the time to get done. Offer them x number of days during the winter that if need be, you will come with little notice to pull a calf or whatever.

I find that being specific, point blank - ask them what they need or want, is often helpful.

I cannot imagine that you would knock on 10 doors without 1 permission.

daithi55

i live in nortrh tipp theres deer about in all directions ... free shooting for the most of it
its not prime shooting thats a thing of the past.... but you will get deer.... most farmers say yes its how you approach them once ya get one permission treat them well and your name will spread shoot foxes etc.. even if they say no.. treat them well next year could be different yal bump into them from time to time and make small talk hit them up when there in a good mood (ie herding a load of lambs with fat arses etc and comment how well they look :-) ) its like flirting... if ya dont succeed try again

old n grey

Just stick with it. Each negative is a step nearer an acceptance.Farmers love achat and are always trying to be helpful.Best of luck.

rowa

arrowloopboy wrote: »

Like it or not ,deer stalking has an economic value ,if you want it you'll probably have to pay for it,like most of us !

So to the farmers and land owners deer are a nuisance species that eat the grass, sheep and cattle feed and bark off forestry trees destroying them, but they want serious money for you to shoot them ? Typical irish logic at work.

cookimonster

To the original OP, I got into stalking a few years back, but it was a slow process. Even though I had a deer legal caliber I started out with friends taking me out for walk outs and progressed to getting my own hunting permit based on a very small permission with only transient deer on it, which to date I have yet to take a deer off.
Since those days I have developed a close knit network of lads I stalk with but None of us share our permissons. We invite each other out as guests on a regular basis but that's it, bar one or two locations we may have developed together. My own permissons have been developed through contacts and door knocking, which I hate doing, but is a necessary evil.
Don't expect big things in the beginning, even if you get something small like I did it will secure your permit and from there you'll be able to step out with any lads you know who are stalking and hopefully grow from there. As a group we are able to cover most aspects of shooting- deer, pigeons, game birds and rabbits etc.. and it works very well. I am lucky to have pigeon and rough shooting as well as reds and in return I get to shoot Sika, ducks and rabbits.
I know this is not a solution to your problem but I hope it will encourage you or even redirect you in a positive manner.
Best of luck and keep chipping away.

arrowloopboy

rowa wrote: »

So to the farmers and land owners deer are a nuisance species that eat the grass, sheep and cattle feed and bark off forestry trees destroying them, but they want serious money for you to shoot them ? Typical irish logic at work.

The fact that deer stalking is a hugely enjoyable sport ,and venison is extremely tasty doesn't figure in your logic ,you forgot to mention that:D.
So by your logic,shooting all the deer and eating all the venison is in fact doing your bit for the local farmers :D:D.
Just wondering if your driving around all weekend ,calling into every farmers plaice you see wondering if you can shoot foxes,:D:D:D.
As with most things in life,something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it,if you don't want to pay for it ,don't knock those who do/can (now theirs some Irish logic/begrudgery for you).

The Aussie

arrowloopboy wrote: »

The fact that deer stalking is a hugely enjoyable sport ,and venison is extremely tasty doesn't figure in your logic ,you forgot to mention that:D.

I don't see your point, I can match one useless point with another, Fox Shooting is a hugely enjoyable pastime that people invest a massive amount of time into.;)

Yeh Venison is very tasty, the Farmers enjoy it when you give them a chunk of their own Venison back all processed and vacuum packed

arrowloopboy wrote: »

So by your logic,shooting all the deer and eating all the venison is in fact doing your bit for the local farmers :D

Yes, shooting the Deer that are causing damage is doing your bit by the Farmer.:rolleyes:

You seem obsessed with eating :pac::pac:

arrowloopboy wrote: »

Just wondering if your driving around all weekend ,calling into every farmers plaice you see wondering if you can shoot foxes,:D:D:D.

Some people don't have to go driving around all weekend knocking on doors, just the same as some people don't have to start throwing money around trying to buy favour. ;) :pac:

arrowloopboy wrote: »

As with most things in life,something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it,if you don't want to pay for it ,don't knock those who do/can (now theirs some Irish logic/begrudgery for you).

Why pay for it if you don't have to

There is a saying about people who are easily parted with their money. Very apt, very very apt...

rowa

arrowloopboy wrote: »

The fact that deer stalking is a hugely enjoyable sport ,and venison is extremely tasty doesn't figure in your logic ,you forgot to mention that:D.
So by your logic,shooting all the deer and eating all the venison is in fact doing your bit for the local farmers :D:D.
Just wondering if your driving around all weekend ,calling into every farmers plaice you see wondering if you can shoot foxes,:D:D:D.
As with most things in life,something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it,if you don't want to pay for it ,don't knock those who do/can (now theirs some Irish logic/begrudgery for you).

Wait until the bumhole falls out of venison prices and we'll see how many of these deer lets are sold for silly money. Another thing is publically owned land should go into a lottery like it does in america, you draw a plot to shoot and get pay a flat fee. Typical ireland in that publically owned resources always go to the wealthiest, thats the blueshirts for ya.

arrowloopboy

Rowa,I wish the bumhole would fall out of the price of venison,as I'd imagine the majority of venison supplied to game dealers are not shot by guys paying big money for their woods,but by scumbags with lamps .
The majority of guys I know paying 1k plus for their guns ,do not need to sell what they shoot to game dealers,,but are busy guys that want to have a good chance of sport when they can make it to their ground,and would prefer to shoot ground that hasn't been trampled to death by every man and his dog all day most days,whish can be the case on a lot of free farmer permissions.

The Aussie

arrowloopboy wrote: »

that want to have a good chance of sport when they can make it to their ground,and would prefer to shoot ground that hasn't been trampled to death by every man and his dog all day most days,whish can be the case on a lot of free farmer permissions.

Getting a bit off topic but...

I would say it's the exact opposite to what your attempting to portray, all of my shooting is through Farmers, they live on their Farm and their Farm is only a few hundred acres, they don't take to kindly to everyman and his dog trampling through their place, there is always eyes on the ground including neighbours and not a very friendly greeting for trespassers, I can supply you with anecdotal evidence all day relating to this

Where as a few hundred acres through to a few thousand acres of forrestry in the middle of no where with no one around for days/weeks on end, maybe with a Trail Cam as a deterrent...

stef22

because of work and kids commitments i do not have time to go and see farmers to get permissions. i prefer to pay for a couple of leases ( not €1000 though as this is excessive ) and have piece of mind knowing that i can go almost whenever i want. I cannot see why some of you are having a go at those paying for their shooting ? many leases are available for €300 / €500 , i find this cheap enough to have the privilege to stalk deer. don't you ? If you have free shooting great for you , keep it that way.
when i have a deer in the scope i do not see €€€€ , it would be very sad if i did.

Met a lad not long ago who almost fell of his chair when i told him i was paying €300 to shoot deer , he said Jesus you must be shooting at least 15 of them each year on that parcel to get your money back ! Yet he was back from a night on the piss that cost him more than that.
Was talking to another one who shot 6 bucks in one morning during the rut , you may as well go stalking in a deer farm. These type of so called deer stalker are destroying the sport in my views together with the poachers.

For as long as we will have game dealers taking in as many deer as you can bring and for as long as we will not have tags or some sort of quotas then nothing will improve.
got off topic a little , OP should either pay for a lease ( few available from Coillte ) or move its back side and go to see farmers but do not expect deer to jump in your freezer that easily.
have a good day all , almost the 1srt of September