Leica 77, Brochure

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A friend of mine owns a large estate near
Strafford Upon Avon and has a big Fallow
heard, which is maintained purely for
hunting. And many Europeans come over
for the pleaser of stalking one of these
black beasts. He also runs pheasants, so
as you can imagine the deer feed well on
the corn he puts out for the birds, as they
knock over the feeders for that purpose.
All shooting is done not from high seats,
but from raised boxes, which and as I was
to discover is a rather fine way of hunting,
if a bit lazy. I would call it rich man’s
stalking …
I was up there in the rut and the first
time I saw one of the big melanistic bucks
was from a 20 foot high shooting tower.
That almost primordial, grunting noise
they make as they call the does in and
issue challenges to other males is a little
chilling and makes you feel a bit unsettled
and very close to nature. One really nice
male walked right past the tower and I had
a very good view of him. However, he had
already been ear marked for a Swedish
client, so I was just observing.
The shooting boxes are set up all over
the land, which is heavily wooded and I
was in another with the keeper waiting to
thin out the standard Fallow population a
little. Typically the deer get used to the
boxes and will approach very near. We
spotted a small family group – a young
buck, a doe and two fawns, who walked
right up to the box. The male was in
absolutely beautiful condition and his
coat was as rich and glossy as that of a
mole. He was so close that I could have
put my hand out to touch him. I have had
moments like this before when you can
just get really close to wild deer and they
are not frightened. And without doubt this
one will remain with me for ever …
But it was the does that we were after
that day and in another shooting box we
sat at the end of a ride in a wood. The
box is roofed so no problems about the
rain and has three rifle ports. We saw a
lot of deer that afternoon, mainly bucks
and as the light was drawing in I spotted
a doe coming up through the foliage.
She was with other who had fawns but
we couldn’t see if she had one in tow,
as it was they were weaned, but and by
the same token we did not want to take
the chance. Unlike most of my shooting
this was close range and I tracked her
through the scope with the keeper telling
me to stand by to fire if he said so. As
he was checking to see if she had a
young one.
The group came on and the keeper
was still not sure, soon the opportunity
for the shot would disappear. Despite the
number of deer I’ve shot I still get tense
in moments like these, as it’s very much
a yes/no/wait situation. Finally the
keeper said that she was alone and I
could proceed ; checking the sights I
flipped off the safety and bang, down she
went. This all happened in slow motion
and as I operated the bolt to reload,
I recall seeing the empty case eject and
hit the shooting port and started spinning
and come to rest in perfect balance on
the edge of the woodwork. Like seeing
the melanistic Fallow up close, hunting to
me is defined by moments like this, which
is why it’s so special …
Peter Moore, Editor Shooting Sports,
United Kingdom
8 / 9
Black Deer
Quite the most striking looking deer in the UK is the
melanistic Fallow, which due to their genetics produces an animal
that in extreme case is pure black. Physically they look no different
to the traditional spotted variety in size, sex, shape or antler, but their
colouration is amazing. And I have had the pleasure of seeing these
animals up close.