Watch: Lowland red stag stalk

In this episode of Shooting & Country TV (S&C TV), we are on the estate at the tail end of the red stag rut, in the hopes of taking a few younger specimens to hit Chris’s cull target.

The estate has a large population of lowland red deer, and we see plenty of red stag action as the younger males take advantage of the older stags’ state of exhaustion to relentlessly chase after the females.

The aim of the cull is to bring the overall population down, minimising damage to the woodland and farmland on the estate, and to remove any weaker or poorer animals to make way for the better stags to pass on their genes, over time resulting in a healthy herd that is not so high in numbers that it damages the environment they live in.

It’s not easy work – herding animals are tricky to stalk, not just because there are more sets of eyes and ears on the look out, but because getting a clear shot on the right animal is made more difficult if there are other deer around it to get in the way and prevent Chris from taking a safe shot. See how he gets on this month in episode 16 of our deer management series!

KIT BAG

• Rifle: Blaser R8 Ultimate Stock in 30-06
• Clothing: Harkila Pro Hunter Move Jacket and Trousers, Forest Hunter GTX Mid boots & Pro Hunter gaiters
• Optics: Swarovski DSI scope, EL 42 binoculars 
• Bipod: (from Raytrade UK) Spartan Javelin Hunt Tac Pro (long model) bipod, Spartan Emberleaf Cael AR V2 knife