Headed to Scotland Fall 2023

[WAB]

Can’t wait to hear how it goes!

 

[MarkCZ]

How long would one plan for a Red Stag cull hunt? One or two days?

3 days min.
Markcz

 

[SRvet]

It is definitely possible to have a blank day stalking in Scotland but I have to say it is rare. When I had a blank outing I was immediately offered another day free of charge. If you are only visiting Scotland for a few days, definitely try stalking Red deer on the hill. It is a magical experience!

 

[Doubleplay]

Stag stalking in Scotland is done to experience the tradition and atmosphere.
They never allow you to shoot a trophy size breeding stag and you can only shoot the one you are told.
Looking forward to do it hopefully in the near future.

 

[Aaron.F]

I just returned from Scotland this past weekend. My wife and I had an amazing time and I was lucky enough to harvest a beautiful Red Stag and Sika Stag Arranged through Mike Taylor Sporting out of the UK. The Red Stag was a an absolute stud, not the management animal I had originally set out after, but a very nice trophy. The Sika Stag was a typical 2-3 year old representative stag.

I will end of up doing a full hunt report, but I wanted to post a couple of pictures.

 

[SRvet]

Looks fantastic, where in Scotland were you?

 

[Aaron.F]

Central Scotland, near Newtonmore.

 

[WAB]

Amazing. You were incredibly fortunate to be able to take a stag of that quality off the hill.

 

[R.M.C.]

Great stag!! Can't wait to read the report! Congratulations!

 

[cash_tx]

@Aaron.F , congratulations on a great trip and a wonderful Red Stag! My wife and I have our 30th anniversary this year, and she would like celebrate with a trip to her ancestral homeland (Scotland). Neither of us have ever been before, so we are soliciting input from all sources. We don't plan to do any hunting, but if you wouldn't mind sharing the non-hunting portion of your itinerary; it would be supremely appreciated. For reference, we would be flying from Dallas-Ft. Worth to (I suppose) Edinburgh; and it looks like the timing of our trip will fall in September or October of this year. We will be traveling with two other couples who have been life-long friends; we are all in our early 50's and will not have any kids with us on the trip. Items of interest are beautiful scenery, castles, whiskey tastings, no crowds, and anything else that sounds good.

Cheers!

 

[Aaron.F]

We pretty much enjoyed everywhere we went but a few things stood out as great and maybe a few not so great.

Edinburgh- loved it, great town a bunch to do and see, lots of people though.

Aberdeen - only one night there, nothing really special, went there after we left Edinburgh so we could see Dunnotar Castle, which we both loved.

Inverness - great area to serve as a base of operations, but definitely fairly touristy, IMO. However, there is a sporting goods store there that I got to see and handle a bunch of European rifles. We went to EiIean Donan Castle while here, it was amazing And highly reccomend.

Isle of Skye - Very beautiful area, but is fairly busy with a lot of tourist, but definitely worth it.

Newtonmore - small town that we stayed in while hunting, nothing special, but nothing bad, just a small interior town.

Glasgow - IMO, its basically just a big European City, saw a couple of cool things, but would not go back,

House of Bruar is a very cool store that I think everyone needs to visit, it is kind of between Glasgow and Edinburgh. All types of clothes, food, and everything Scottish, we spent several hours here.

We’ve went to a bunch of castles which is my favorite part of our European trips other than immersing of one’s elf into the local culture, but near the end I was good on castles for a bit.

Scotland is probably the most beautiful country we have been to and my wife and I had a wonderful time. I highly recommend it to everyone. If you would like more biased information, send me a PM with your phone number and we can discuss.

 

[VertigoBE]

Indeed, House of Bruar is a must if you are in the neighbourhood. Did you visit the Blair Atholl castle?

 

[Aaron.F]

Indeed, House of Bruar is a must if you are in the neighbourhood. Did you visit the Blair Atholl castle?

I do not think so, but honestly we saw quite a few and not sure.

 

[kevin masters]

I went in October of ‘17 and it was a pretty awesome time to go. I didn’t hunt because of time. However, red stag, if you know where to look, can be pretty affordable (at least it was back in 2017).

Recommendations:
- Roads are awful, and it rains all the time: add this into travel plans
- See some castles (there are several and most are worth it - Dunvegan, Sterling, Dunstaffnage, and Doune castles made our list)
- The Trossachs and the Cairngorms are great places for natural beauty
- Visit some of the islands (Skye is good, but it’s touristy unless you go way out - The 3 Chimneys is fabulous)
- Oban is a good place to get places, but it’s not much to see.
- Avoid Glasgow during sporting events, or really anytime.

Looking at Scotland for 2025, any awesome advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[kevin masters]

I wouldnt go in the Fall for Rie bucks - go for the rut in late July /early Aug. Fallow would not be my choice for Scotland either. Id go for Reds, as others have said you can find reasonably priced stalking but shooting a trophy stag is not normally allowed.

Talk to me about fallow?

 

[MarkCZ]

Personally , I wouldnt bother with the Fallow. If you are stalking in Scotland the iconic Reds are the one. Roe would be good also but If I were to travel to Scotland it would have to be a Red stag.
There are plenty of places that are very affordable. Be honest about your level of fitness. I have hunted with Winston Churchill on the east of Argyll and you have to very fit. His prices are very good , I have never taken a "trophy" stag but we have takeen very nice 10 pointers.
Markcz

 

[SRvet]

Personally , I wouldnt bother with the Fallow. If you are stalking in Scotland the iconic Reds are the one. Roe would be good also but If I were to travel to Scotland it would have to be a Red stag.
There are plenty of places that are very affordable. Be honest about your level of fitness. I have hunted with Winston Churchill on the east of Argyll and you have to very fit. His prices are very good , I have never taken a "trophy" stag but we have takeen very nice 10 pointers.
Markcz

Are you intending to go deer stalking when you are in Scotland? Bear in mind if you ask to hunt in the UK people will assume you mean riding on horseback after a pack of hounds! If you are doing a google search then deer stalking is what you want!
There are many excellent places to stalk red deer and the best time is generally October during the rut. I too have hunted with Winston Churchill and it is absolutely excellent but you will generally be stalking around the margins of forestry rather than the classic hill stalking. Many of the highland estates will let stalking for stags by the day or week, you could try Atholl Estates, Dalhousie, Glen Tanar or go via an agent such as Sybarite Sporting or Country Sports Scotland. If you wanted a royal connection then could even try contacting Balmoral Estate to see if they have anything available. You could even do a tour of Scotland and sample the deer stalking (and whisky) as you travel around! Bear in mind the stalking diary of many estates fills up fast so get your name down!

 

[Borderer]

Looking at Scotland for 2025, any awesome advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

I live on the border. Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

As to stalking - it depends on your budget. It varies from £50 for an evening stalk in forestry to £10k+ for a week in a Highland Lodge with ponies etc.

Hinds in the winter are much cheaper and reds in south west Scotland are cheaper than the highlands. There is also wild boar there and wildfowling (geese / duck), a beautiful place but not as dramatic as the highlands.

 

[Neil-PH]

After decades of PH’ing in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania I moved to an Estate in Scotland, in the lowlands just north of Dundee.
I would head up to the Highlands where we harvested Red Stag - just beautiful. Roe deer we’d harvest on the lowland Estate, plus bird shoots.
Without a doubt Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries on this planet. The weather Gods are so jealous of its beauty that they torment the lands with diabolical weather but humanity has it covered with the clothing we produce!!!
Just love Scotland.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Looking at Scotland for 2025, any awesome advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

I’m currently shopping around for a 2025 hunt in Scotland. Book early is my best advice because the whole planet likes to travel and hunt there.

My previous post covers most of my thoughts, but I will add:
- You need to decide if you want to immerse yourself in 1-2 places or tour the country. They make for very different experiences.
- Using Groupon, or flying to Dublin and then taking Ryanair to Glasgow or Edinburgh can save you money on airfare
- Air BnB is usually much cheaper than hotels in Scotland IIRC.

Edit: Talisker was my favorite distillery last time. Next time I am going to Islay for the peat monster tours. If you like the more gentle ones go to Speyside which starts in the Cairgorms and heads northeast of Inverness towards Elgin.