Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of deer on foot to hunt for meat, for leisure, for trophy, or to control their numbers. As part of wildlife management, just as with rabbiting and boar hunting, deer stalking aims to reduce crop damage. Also, as with other types of hunting, deer stalking has long been considered a pastime sport.

Stalked deer are commonly shot with a high-powered bow (in countries other than the UK; in the UK, it is illegal to hunt any animal with a bow) or a rifle; prior to the invention of the modern centerfire rifle, deer were stalked with the aid of a sighthound, such as the Scottish Deerhound. Stalking sticks are often used to steady the aim of the rifle and binoculars when scanning the ground.

The term "deer hunting" is used in North America to describe the hunting of deer without using hunting dogs, but in Britain and Ireland, the term generally refers to the pursuit of deer with scent hounds and unarmed pursuers, typically on horseback.

Background

"Stalking" is defined as pursuing or approaching stealthily, which is often necessary when approaching wild deer or the high seat overseeing the area where the deer are likely to be passing. Scottish deer stalking is often done under the guidance of a professional stalker or a resident expert.

Apart from the stalking of Red and Sika Deer on the open hillsides of Scotland and the Lake District, which takes place in daylight, most deer stalking takes place in the first and last two hours of daylight. The only English county without any wild deer is Middlesex, and in all other English and Scottish counties, as well as most Welsh counties, there are deer populations controlled by deer stalking.

Antlers are measured by one of several scoring systems used to compare the relative merits of the heads. In Europe, including the UK, the Conseil International du Chasse (CIC) system is used; in America, it is either the Boone & Crockett or Safari Club International (SCI), and in Australia, it is the Douglas system.

Purpose

There are no natural predators of deer in Britain. Therefore, to maintain a stable population of deer, a cull of some of them is performed each year. Yearly, the deer population is counted to determine the age and sex profile of those to be culled. Barren, genetically odd, or very old animals are then killed during the correct deer season. This selection results in a pyramid profile with a few healthy older animals of each sex at the top and increasing numbers of each sex down to the yearlings at the bottom.

The males with outstanding antlers are sometimes referred to as trophy animals, and as part of the cull, can be shot as part of a purchased sporting package to bring income to help with the management of the deer population as a whole. If population reduction is required, more females will be culled. If a population increase is required, only a select few will be culled.

There are many scenarios that prevent a shot from being taken, such as no safe backstop, no clear shot, the deer does not stop, there are other deer behind the chosen deer, the deer which is visible is out of season, it is not an appropriate animal to cull, or it is a trophy animal which could bring in much-needed funds. As such, not every stalk results in a killed deer.

See also

Deer hunting
Deerstalker – hat associated with this pastime, and Sherlock Holmes
Game stalker
Hunting strategy
Muckle Hart of Benmore, a famous stag whose stalking was widely anthologized

References

Further reading

The British Deer Society, Training Manual For Deer Stalkers (2012)
The Deer Initiative, Welcome to the England and Wales Deer Best Practice Guides
Scrope, William, Charles Landseer, & Edwin Henry Landseer, The Art of Deer-stalking..(1839)The art of deer-stalking;
MacRae, Alexander, A Handbook of Deer-stalking (1880)A Handbook of Deer-stalking
Whitehurst, Frederick Feild, On the Grampian Hills: Grouse and Ptarmigan Shooting, Deer Stalking, Salmon and Trout Fishing (1882)
Scrope, William, Days of Deer-stalking in the Scottish Highlands (1883)
Grimble, Augustus, Deer-stalking (1886)Deer-stalking
Brander, M., Deer Stalking in Britain (1986)
Chaplin, Raymond E. BSc., MIBiol.,Deer (1977)

External links
The British Deer Society
The Deer Initiative
Deer Stalking Scotland
The Stalking Directory

Deer hunting
Hunting and shooting in Scotland