Deer Management Service

[sam355]

Hi All,
I`m wondering if anyone here would need some deer management services?
To be totally honest getting permission to shoot deer in the south east of England is extremely difficult and understandably no land owner would want anyone who he/she does not know in person to be walking in his/her woodland with a rifle! Hence I`m looking to purchase my own piece of woodland with in the next year or so, but meanwhile thought to ask here if anyone would be interested in a:
- Professional mechanical engineer working in power stations with a passion in deer stalking who has an open firearm certificate with deer permission from the met police and full BASC insurance and 6 years of experience in deer stalking to control the deer in his/her woodland, off course not only free of charge but will supply a share of venison shot on your land if you are interested???!
I hope I get some responses here even if you think I`m asking for too much please let me know.
Thanks,
Sam

[sam355]

50 views and no replies yet
Willing to travel up to 100 miles around London if that helps!

[Dave and Verity]

50 views and no replies says it all really. I think most users of this forum, myself included take more pleasure from experiencing deer on their plots than they would from the venison. I'm not opposed to deer control at all, but we are generally owners of very small plots. Highly unlikely that you could use a sufficiently powerful rifle on either of mine safely and legally because of the plot size. Maybe from a high seat, but then only very small areas of the plot would be coverable. We also have to consider our neighbours, regardless of what we think they also "share" the wildlife and are unlikely to be amenable to the killing of probably the most spectacular species we regularly see.

As said, I am not anti hunting, I shoot for pest control purposes myself. I just think this may be the wrong audience for your request.

Dave

[Rich]

As said, I am not anti hunting, I shoot for pest control purposes myself. I just think this may be the wrong audience for your request.

Dave

You may be right Dave, although we do have some members with larger tracts of land suitable for deerstalking. To be successful ie. reduce their numbers significantly I think management needs to be collaberative and on a landscape scale, difficult with many smaller plots and opinions on the subject.

[sam355]

Rich & Dave,
Thanks for your replies.

Dave,
The plot size comes into account when you have a restricted Firearm Certificate, with an open FAC the holder has to perform the risk assessment and ensure its a safe shot regardless of the size & as you correctly mentioned high seat is one good option, there are some other considerations to be taking to account before a round is released from your rifle too...

I`m looking to purchase a plot of about 6 to 8 acres in the near future and when I do, I will certainly be contacting the neighboring woodland owners both to inform them of the activity & to see if they have issues with deer in their woodland.

Really do appreciate your responses.

Sam

[The Barrowers]

What is a restricted firearm certificate or an open FAC please

[sam355]

In a quick note: Normally when a person applies for a FAC for the first time he/she will be given a FAC with restrictions such as Only to be used on Police Approved land (which as well as many other conditions will need to be a minimum of 10 acres) and accompanied by an experienced stalker etc.
An open FAC is normally given after the first renewal (which is 5 years) and certain conditions will also need to be proved such as being a safe shot recommended by experienced FAC holders....
With an open FAC, the FAC holder will need to perform a risk assessment and walk the ground to identify any potential hazards and to make sure good back stops are present before a shot is fired, there is no land size limitations however that does not mean you can fire your rifle in your back garden!
As Dave mentioned, a high seat is one of the best ways to ensure a good back stop and a safe shot. Normally a deer legal caliber is a very power full round which can be lethal up to 2 miles! So safety before a shot is taken and a thorough risk assessment is a must.
Hope this clarifies it. I tried to explain it as simple as possible to understand, there are several conditions to be met before an Open FAC is granted.
Regards,
Sam

[sam355]

I`m in negotiations to buy my own piece now
Will be in touch with the neighboring owners to find out if they have a management plan in place.
If anyone else needs a plan/help drop me a note.

[Jackdaw]

Cant wait for the day when the deer can start shooting back, all seems a bit one sided to me !!

[Rich]

Hi Jackdaw,

I think what you're saying (but correct me if I'm wrong) is that it's one sided because the deer don't get much of a chance? (against a highly skilled stalker and modern rifle)

Well I guess the odds are stacked, but are we not in this mess with plague proportions of deer which cause huge amounts of damage because we got rid of all the predators? No more wolves, no more bears and hence unchecked, the numbers of prey easily get out of hand.
There are predators and there are prey, and in nature, left to themselves they would balance themselves out, but given the choice I would take a 303 through the head in preference to being chased and torn apart by a hungry pack of wolves.
Just my opinion!