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Left home fairly early to see who was lurking about in the woods and riverside since yesterday. I had hoped to see a fox or even an otter as the light was only just creeping in. I was going to go the short cut through the woods but decided it would be better to go the long way as the path cuts round a couple of islands and it is all bushy so you are not silhouetted like I would have been going the short route. Fortunately the river had not come over the banktop here as it tends to in the winter but it was only 6" from washing over the path. I hadn`t even got my camera out when I saw movement in the corner of my eye, I stopped and slowly turned my head and saw the sinuous shape of an otter sliding towards the bank I was on! Result! The bank is 5 feet high or more at this point so it went out of sight and normally if they have spotted you they sink under and swim off downstream so I froze apart from my head which was swivelling up and down stream, just in case, and my hands which were getting the camera ready. It popped up upstream close in to the bank so I knew it had not seen me and I managed 2 shots of it one blurry the other you can just see it arching its back as it went under the water and under the branch in front of it. Apologies for the shaky camera work; First shot is the original photo the second a cropped picture from the original, otherwise it would be hard to see. If I had taken it a split second later you would have seen its tail, such is life. I walked on hoping to see it emerge again near the main part of the river, but I never did. I think it must have swum across, and I must have missed it, as the mallard that were on the water flew off in 3 flights one after the other, but the wigeon who were on the bank and the goosander were not phased at all. I had only walked 50m onto the main river bank properly when again I spotted movement in the corner of my eye, a big white rump patch of a roe. I was fully visible to them but they are conditioned to seeing people and their dogs, in fact there was one idiots dog chasing them the previous day while he just whistled and called its name! Oddly enough they were right next to where I buried one of my dogs. After that I turned my attention to looking for some nice pieces of driftwood as there can be some nice pieces that get left behind when the river drops, however there was only one piece today. However I must remember to keep myself upright as the beavers have been busy again and you would not want to slip and fall on this... More rain forecast through the week so I might have another wander down the river on Thursday and see what is what.

Hello Ladies and Gents I have a some fantastic deer stalking on offer with high quality muntjac, roe and fallow that all being in very promising numbers across several extremely scenic farms in north Wiltshire and south Oxfordshire. We aim to provide days for all levels of deer stalking experience from those who have never been before to those with years under their belts. On the day of the stalk you would be met by one of our experienced and friendly guides and taken through a pre shoot brief. Whenever possible we would head to a separate part of the farm to check zero and ensure both you and your guide are happy with your shooting before heading out for between 2-3 hours stalking. While we can’t promise you the deer as after all they are wild animals our guides have a brilliant knowledge of the ground and will do their very best to guide you right onto your target species. After every successful stalk your guide will offer you the chance to take photos with your quarry to help remember a fantastic stalking experience. Stalking prices Morning or evening stalk (approx 2-3 hours) £70 Muntjac cull (does and all buck with antlers under 3 inches) £65 Roe cull (does and none medal bucks) £65 Fallow cull (does and none medal bucks) £70 For a full list of medal prices or any questions please contact me and I will happily answer any questions. We have a large number of medal class muntjac and roe with the occasional medal fallow joining the larger herds we see. Thanks Fraser at macs guided shooting

This Past Friday I worked a half day and planned to do a few hours pigeon & crow shooting on my landlord’s farm. Walking out to where I was to set-up the hide and decoys – a hare jumped out of the grass and ran for it. Amazingly, as he zigged and zagged, my shot made contact. As I walked toward the hare to put him in the bag, a Roe Buck jumped out of a nearby hedge and ran toward a small wood at the bottom of the farm. Over the wall and into the wood he went. As it was very warm and flies started to collect on the Hare - I walked the two miles back to the house to gut and chill the hare. After taking care of the hare, I thought the Buck was probably still in the wood. It's not a very big wood, a couple acres surrounded by open fields. My guess was he'll be there till dark before moving out. A game cam I set up in the wood a few months ago caught a doe and buck bedding down in there during the day. Grabbing my rifle I stalked down to the wood, the wind was perfectly in my face - and I quietly made it to the edge of the wood. And there he was, browsing, about fifty yards away. Now I just had to wait for a safe shot. There is lots of cover in the wood and it was difficult to see what was beyond the buck. He finally walked into a small "tunnel" of openness where between me, the deer, and high ground beyond, there was a clear view. The shot rang out and his hind legs gave a good kick. Down he went. The bullet entry was little more left of the shoulder than I wanted, but as the deer was not 100% broadside to me, it traveled at an angle through the deer - piercing shredding its heart. There was divine intervention with that shot. It was a good day - though the pigeons or crows were safe.

Went to a local farm I have, as I was there a couple of days ago and seen a doe and a buck but could not get a shot at the buck, anyway got to farm about 19:30 about 8 I seen someone on opposite farm within 2 min a doe went running across drive. Sat and was just about to give up then this buck came out save back drop so put cross hair on and pulled the trigger. It ran in woods so left it 20 min and called y mate who was up at different wood to come down with dog just in case. We got down to strike shot and within ten yards of the woods was the deer. Very happy with result.

after a long stalk on a local farm/shoot where id been asked to cull a few problematic Roe I managed this young doe, I used my 6.5 x 55 with home loaded 140g spear sp's (my first ever deer with my own home loads)

**dead deer** I have found 4 dead deer in the last month? All within 200yrd of each other. No shot wounds, no accident/impact injures. Healthy looking animals, clear eyes, nose mouth and carrying plenty of weight? Any ideas?????