My trip to scotland part 1: First ever red stag

groach1234 · August 12, 2010

The following events took place between 8:30 am on Monday the 9th August and 8 o'clock on Tuesday 10th of August.

Well as some of you may well be aware I recently wanted to give red stags a go in Scotland and soon had a recommendation of Peter Swales as a sporting agent and he recommended the Glenborrodale estate on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. So we booked on with him and were to be going stalking and staying within the estate. However due to a bit of a cock up on the personal side the would not be a possibility of having the accommodation catered as planned and as it was to be a family holiday that was not sitting well with my mum so we had to knock the holiday back by a few days and booked into alternative accommodation on the peninsula.

So anyway we drove up on the Monday to within an hour and a half of the final destination and then were at the accommodation for 9.30 to meet peter for 10 to drive to a place on the estate where an Iron stag was set up to check the zero on the rifle after the journey and both my father and I placed 3 shots in the kill zone at 100 metres with no problem and it was out onto the hill. By now it was about 11:45 and we were to go driving around areas of the estate and spotting a huge amount of deer on the ground both stags and hinds (its 36,000 acres). Grant the ghillie soon spotted some stags on an area of the hill that we would be able to get to good time, as it was to be a late start and Niall said he could see a 15 pointer through his stalking scope and there was a group of about 7 with a couple that would be shootable.

We were on the hill by 12:30 and the stalk commenced. It really is the most spectacular part of the world and I followed head stalker Niall up and down hill after hill of heather as the wind was not working with us and, at one point fell all most hip deep on one leg down a hole covered by heather. Niall has such a wealth of knowledge available it really was a pleasure to stalk with him. Anyway we stopped for lunch at around two o’clock and I felt I head earned it after two hours long walk with the rifle on my back. We set off for again with a hellish stomp up a hill that had 3 false peaks so just as I felt I was at the top more hill was revealed. Anyway Niall made us stop as he crawled up to the final summit and glassed the area and slid back down telling me to put one up the spout and he took the rifle and we crawled up to the top and there were the stags, exactly where he thought they would be and there was a nice 10 pointer sat that he deemed shoot able as, although only about 6 or 7 seemed to be going back already. However as he was sat it was now a waiting game and by this point it was 3:30. The stag stood, did a quick turn and sat back down after about 3 seconds not stopping for a shot. He had been zapped at 192 yards by the range finder and was sat nicely, out of the wind in a gloriously sunny day. It was an hour before he stood although the time seemed to fly by. Anyway he stood an presented a broad side shot at 192 yards and to be honest that is a little further than I am used to and with the wind blowing a gale I pulled the shot ever so slightly helped by the wind and it struck the stag, it was later revealed in the larder just 2 or 3 inches out of the zone that would have dropped him on the spot by the ran forward about 50 or 60 yards and stopped where a second shot dropped him on the spot and I was ever so relieved and some what over the moon to have achieved my first stag. He was a fine ten pointer with 6 on one side and 4 on the other and came in a larder weight of 204 pounds and he was a fabulous first red stag and as you will be able to see, I was over the moon with him. He is also the first stag of the season to be taken out of velvet so thats a plus.

Anyway there was a quick gralloch was done and we had to drag the stag down the hill and over a fence and wait an hour for Neil to walk back to the Mud ox and drive it too us as he couldn't raise steevie on the walkie talkie. We were back at the larder and by 7 and at the hotel by 8.

George