My 2014 UK Hunt

[ex811]

I went to England last year on a Roe Deer Hunt and managed to take an incredible buck. Sine the UK has three of these smaller unique deer, I thought I would attempt the 'trifecta' of these deer...so off I went.

My main quarry was the Muntjac deer. A small deer about the size of a fox, sporting small straight antlers and overgrown canine teeth. I told the outfitter that if there was an opportunity to hunt the Chinese Water Deer that I would also be keen on hunting one of these fellows. The Chinese is a deer about the size of a young WT fawn, they do Not grown antlers, however the bucks have massively overgrown canines.

My lodgings were in the Bristol area where most of the Muntjac hunting would be done. I 'hired' one of the outfitters rifles, as I find it a total pain in the azzz bring firearms into the UK, especially when the hunt is combined with a multi country beer drinking vacation. I was given a Blaser topped with one of the new swaro models...probably a $6500 package, which I thought was pretty classy.

On the first morning we hunted Muntjac in a Rhotodendrom forest...I always though they were house plant, but not in this part of the UK!... Although we made contact with some bucks, none came of the thick cover to present a shot.
That evening we managed to call out a doe with a Massive buck close behind. As soon a the buck stopped to the call (these things are very skittish and appear to be always going at full speed) I put the crosshair onto him, pulled the trigger..and CLICK. A $6500 rifle/scope package and a cheap 50 cent reload. Not a happy little ex MP after that, and the outfitter knew it.

Next day we drove to the Norwich area...a 4 hour drive to get there for first light. As we were walking to the stand I spotted what I thought was a jackrabbit along the edge of a field. Pointing it out to the guide he got a tad excited and said 'Shoot, that one of the biggest Chinese I've seen in years!!'
I shot (got some Real bullets this time) and I took the deer.
The first pic shows the canines on this fellow, pretty impressive. I was one happy AB hunter, especially after a ruff measurement confirmed it was Gold medal class. A 4 hour drive back to Bristol just in time for an evening Muntjac hunt, some food, beer and a good sleep. Didn't get a see any deer, but had some awesome steak and kidney pie with copious amounts of Newcastle Ale.

On the third day the weather was against us. While the Muntjac were heard barking (sounded like a small poodle) again none came out of the cover long enough for a shot. A good evening of excellent food and even better beer made up for the crappy day.

The next. and last day, saw us out before dawn into the Rhododendrom forest, stalking to a few clearings were we had earlier encounters. As we approached one of the clearings the guide spotted a doe crossing...he immediately threw up the sticks (Primos Tripod, which I found was a good quality product) and said to get ready for the buck. Within seconds the buck came out, and one call was all it took to stop and present a broadside.
As you can see from pics 2&3, these are odd little deer, but I was one happy Santa with the hunt/animal. A quick measurement scored him as qualifying as a Silver medal.

During the hunt I also picked up the Roe deer mount (pic 4). This Gold medal buck, and the other two deer (my completed trifecta!), will make their home in my Man Cave here in Calgary...shouldn't be hard finding some wall space.

Oh yeah...I really don't get hung up over Medal quality, however when hunting these little guys a simple 'specimen' deer is so small ref antlers/teeth that they really don't make good mounts/do the species justice.

However, my best trophy was taken at the Hoffbrauhause in Munich, a numerous large beers with pigknuckes!!

[RayM77]

Cool story and some really interesting trophys. Sounds like a great trip!

[catnthehat]

Holy crap that water deer seems to have some pretty huge tusks- unless I am used to looking at smaller pictures of them.
Looks like it was a fantastic hunt!
Cat

[Speckle55]

Wow nice hunt

even with the set back of a CLICK

you got your trophies. . love the Chinese Water buck

Great read too

Thanks for sharing

David

[AB2506]

Congrats.

[300magman]

That looks like an awesome time with some a very unique/cool trophy. Congrats!

If you hadnt posted this and I saw a waterbuck mount, id think it was like a fake jackalope, who knew there was a deer with tusks!!

[HappyShootMore]

What a strange but beautiful animal. Thanks for posting

[slopeshunter]

I must admit Ive really enjoyed reading about your hunts in the UK. What distances are you shooting at? That Chinese buck sure presents a small target. Gotta wonder what it is that makes those deer develop such large canines? Really cool though, thanks for sharing. Beers look good too!

[WillyOneStyle]

Totally cool. Go for the deer, stay for the beer. I love it.

[bagwan]

That shweinhaxen (sp) and beer brings back a few memories. unique deer and great story.

[Ryry4]

Very cool hunt. Congrats on the trophies.

[Sitting Bull]

Awesome hunt, isn't it amazing at all the different animals around the world that we can hunt. Great post . Thanks.

[heybert]

Great story and awesome trophies. What kind of dog is that beside you?

[ex811]

Glad you guy&gals enjoyed the hunt...and trophy beers. I enjoy telling the tales of my European hunts...just something different on the Forum. Just to answer a few questions;
- the dog is a Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound. Even though the Muntjac only went about 20 yrds, due to the thick cover he was sent on the scent/track. This is a pretty awesome dog. I actually had the same breed find a Red Stag for me back in the 80's when I was Posted in Lahr Germany.
- the distance for the Chinese was 51yrds, the Muntjac was just over 20 yrds. The longest I ever had to shoot on any of my UK hunts was in Ireland, and that was just over 100 yrds.
- yes it did 'set me back'...generally hunting anywhere overseas is not cheap. But eh...I can't take the money with me to the grave so I might as well spend it on something I enjoy.

[saskyangler]

great story. i love hearing about unique hunts. did you get to try any of the meat? or are any of them ate even for that matter?

[bigbfidaddy]

Very cool trip and story. Thanks for sharing. I love the fangs!! Priceless trip no doubt!!!

[ex811]

Originally Posted by saskyangler

great story. i love hearing about unique hunts. did you get to try any of the meat? or are any of them ate even for that matter?

Meat belongs to the 'Game Keeper'.
Back in 2013 I purchased the hind quarters of the Roe (one for a roast the on the BBQ), as I still had a few weeks in the UK with family. Didn't keep any of the meat this time as I was only in the UK for a few days after the hunt. My family would rather eat whatever thy regularily eat, so I didn't purchase any for their freezer...which is 'tiny' anyway.
The meat is apparently tasty, as the Game Keeper has a thriving business selling the meat.

[jacenbeers]

Awesome job. I would love to go there and hunt these small deer. I think muntjacs and Chinese water deer are two of the coolest deer species.

[Gretz5582]

Cool story. That looks like a German Hofbrauhaus in the last picture. Great fun