Whitebridges Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 I've been having a look at the training and "swot" material available regarding DSC 1. There is nothing out there that floats my boat if i'm honest. However I am getting more and more requests from land owners to shoot the deer on their land. The short story is i shoot a lot of pigeons and other pests and shoot game probably twice a week through the season. I have a firearms licence for .22LR and .17HMR which is fine for keeping the other pests under control. I shoot the odd fox as does another shoot member with a 22-250 or .223 , he is not interested in shooting the deer. In a nutshell they need trimming out and i'm going to do the job. I have half an idea and I have the time and pocket to do the training. OK I know some of you will say the training is b*ll*cks, fair enough but i'm going to do a course. The issue is which one and where? Any help from those good folk who have the tee-shirt would be gratefully received. Thank you gents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 without a shadow of doubt the British deer society. Its a charity and the cash goes back into deer related issues, mostly at local branch level the instructors have the correct motivation and nobody is trying to sell you days or get you through the test for its own sake and their personal bank balance alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 Whitebridges are you being asked for the qual by licensing or is it personal? I only ask as the only plus I can see in your situation is being able to sell the meat to a dealer. The course doesn't really set you up to go out and shoot one, the best way is doing it with a knowledgeable person. I've done it enjoyed doing it and the advice above is not really true lots run courses that are very good. Have a look on the stalking directory and you will see what options you have localy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 (edited) I'd recommend doing the course. Many a stalker have gone in thinking they know everything...they always leave quite surprised. I did mine with David Stretton at Donington Deer Management. Nice chap, good food and a good style of teaching. Have a look on the Stalking Directory as Alex says (or search on here as its been discussed many times before). Edited January 6, 2013 by huffhuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted January 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Sorry for the delay in replying gents, i've been away for a few days. I've also had a good trawl through associated posts on here and have found some more useful information. al4x, no i haven't been asked about any qualifications and i've also shot deer with experts albeit a few moons ago. At this stage i haven't discussed anything with my firearms officer either. I guess i'd have a decent chance of getting the centerfire guns, course or no course. I have some land cleared for .308, some at .243 (from a high seat only) and a fair bit to .223. The point is DSC 1 looks like a good opportunity for some training/refresher and i'm sure i'd get something out of it. Still undecided on which course but I may well do something through BASC as they run courses local to me at Thetford and i've had some good feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 It's a good course and you will enjoy it but its more a preparation with regard to species and seasons with a bit of disease stuff thrown in. I did a park cull before through Jelen and actually that sort of thing is ideal as it goes from a theory only course and puts it into practice. Lets face it the theory is simply that it doesn't actually help much in gralloching your first deer, doing 3 in a day plus lardering them was a great experience for me. The shooting is not really my cup of tea but it was good experience. Basc do a similar course I think a introduction or pre level 2 in a way it's more practical use than dsc1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooter Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I completed my DSC1 in Essex with BASC and it was a very informative course. DSC1 will also give you a meat hygiene certificate for large and small game, which is good to have. As it is just for yourself I also recommend doing your DSC2. I met a lot of really good stalkers doing mine, and the information gleaned was an accumulation of years in the field. There are some excellent DSC2 AW's near Norfolk, who also run paid stalking, if you have the ground, and the agreement of the land owners, it could be worth your while speaking to them to keep your initial costs down. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch valley Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Whitebridges I would highly recommend BASC or BDS I used the BDS in norfolk and These chaps know what the are doing and are very experienced a great course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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