On red alert
In Ayrshire, Chris Dalton takes an apprentice on the trail of elusive red stags
Chris Dalton
Of all the stalking I do these days by far the most enjoyable is when I am working with newcomers to the sport. Kris is one such newcomer and is serving his stalking apprenticeship with me having initially come on an ‘introduction to stalking’ package. He has been on number of accompanied outings, successfully negotiated his DSC 1 and manages a small block with his pal Brad for us. Usually they come together and there is naturally a bit of banter and rivalry between them - Brad had shot a couple of hinds with me last year but as yet Kris had not managed to shoot a red deer.
Kris isn’t always the best at early starts, and he’d come down this time with his girlfriend - but as he was going with me I knew he would be up.
Sure enough he appeared bleary-eyed but ready to go. I had decided to stalk a small farm not far from the house. When I first took this block on, red deer were seldom seen here, it was almost exclusively roe. The ground extends to circa 500 acres and was hill pasture planted under a grant scheme over 15 years ago. It is an attractive block; no farm stock on it but lovely valleys and glades coming down from the hill, planted with a mix of broadleaf and conifer including larch so it’s really pleasing to the eye.