Sika Deer Stalking
The seasons for Scottish sika deer are:
Sika Stags: 1st July – 20th October
Sika Hinds: 21st October – 15th February
Sika deer are possibly the most secretive and elusive of all the Scottish species. This in itself makes stalking them a truly exciting and challenging hunt. Their preferred habitat is forest and woodland fringe where a chance glimpse is often all the hunter has as the animals move in and out of feeding and rutting areas.
Your stalking day starts at first light and finishes after dark with a break in the middle for brunch. Most sika stalking is organised around a couple of hours at first light and a couple at last light with a lot of the day as ‘down time’.
At Woodmill Shootings, we have a stalking area where it is possible to stalk all day long therefore giving our guests a truly full day every day although we still have to eat! The area stalked covers some 13,000 acres comprising commercial forest and open heather hill, excellent roads and wonderfully exciting water courses and deer gardens to stalk into.
The annual cull of stags is approx 30 with 4 of these in a good year in the medal class. Gold medal trophy heads will appear each year obviously with luck playing a vital role.
The most successful results always come in the period leading up to and during the rut, so from 15th September to the end of the season on 20th October are best.