The British Shooting Show 2022. Plus Chinese Water Deer Stalking From The Midlands to Buckinghamshire

The British Shooting Show 2022.
Plus Chinese Water Deer Stalking
​ From The Midlands to Buckinghamshire

We start of at the awesome British Shooting Show 2022 at the NEC arena in Birmingham, I was late leaving on the Thursday from The West Country due to work commitments etc, so when I arrived at the NEC the contractors should have had all the stand built, all Night Pearl and Myself should have had to do was put the demo stock out and tidy up the stand ready for the Friday Morning.

​Oh wrong can one man be, I felt really sorry for the lads from Night Pearl, all their gear for setting up the stand was stuck in customs so the contractors could not set anything up, a quick trip to B&Q for some laminate flooring etc and we had the remnants of a stand, now to build the stand ourselves, I will say I was not of much use here as I had put my back out a few days before carrying sacks of grain on the estate, I will say Jakob and Vadim worked so hard and built the stand well, fair play to these boys they work hard, the stand looked awesome and I even got my ugly mug on the wall of fame, photos from a photo shoot we did last year, hmmmmm wall of fame or wall of shame I will let you decide on that one, actually I was on the posters too, funny enough I was autograph signing them to some of the muckers who asked, this made them worth absolutely nothing, but it was great fun and caused some jovial banter and laughter.

The show looked awesome I think, smaller yes, the parking charges yes were not so great, the ticket prices were high too, but you must remember how much it costs to put these shows on, its not cheap, the ticket prices reflect this cost, but for me what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality I believe, you may not agree and of course that's your personal opinion, but mine was it was a good first show back and the best it could, so I say roll in BSS 2023.

The Night pearl Stand, we were rammed all weekend, I got to work with two fine young men Matt and Sam, great guys I telle, Sam a business student at UNI and Matt a deer manager and game dealer, so that was our merry team and what a show we had too, the awesome Night Pearl products literally sold themselves, to those people who wanted quality, we were not the cheapest on the show nor did we want to be, several of my chums came to see me saying we have bought from our competitors, fair play I said the price you paid you got some good units that work, now look at our equivalent, lets just say the look of amazement on these folks faces said it all, with words I cannot repeat in writing, but lets just say many folks now wish they had a Night Pearl and not something else, so if you want my advice, buy once, cry once, buy the scope or spotter, then buy the rifle with the change, something my Pappy taught me that long ago.​

The show came and went in the blink of an eye, I met up with so many old friends and made lots of new ones, saw so many of my sponsors and filmed with several film crews and interviews with some magazines too, my video that's with this article explains the show best for me, where I am in reflection sat in my woods looking back.

​Really Wild Adventures Sporting Agency.

A few days after returning from The British Shooting Show 2022, I had some clients out on an estate in Buckinghamshire Stalking Chinese Water Deer.​

WOW what a days stalking that was, it did not start of as planned though, I had two guys coming from Hampshire and one awesome young Welsh Lady picking me up and taking me over to Buckinghamshire, I thought I had best go with her as I did not like the idea of a young woman travelling on her own to an unknown place with a bunch of guys, being a father of two daughters I suppose its the gentleman Daddy part of me kicking in, all the lads made her feel so welcome as I knew they wood, but none the less I was there to make sure she felt happy and comfortable.

My good friend and his under keeper got there late as did we, we hit bad traffic on a car park they call the M4, my chum did too but was held up dealing with pheasants etc, he got there just after us, safety briefing under our belt each client was given a guide to assists them around the estate.

The first Chinese Water Deer was grassed within 10 minuets of leaving the trucks, that's how thick on the ground these deer are there in that part of Buckinghamshire, it was a cracking shot from my old keepering chum too, nothing less than I would of expected from a man of his calibre and hunting all over the world as he has, his under-keeper was next to grass a beast, I spotted some lead out sunning themselves in the middle edge of a winter wheat field, Young C did very well and dropped the beast in fine style, it was heavier than he thought when he retrieved it, the next one my Keeper friend grassed was a fine shot way out in a sheep paddock, lead down prone position with a cracking back stop, witnessed by the entire team too, so no pressure, the long retrieve was was by far the part worth the mention, a retrieve worthy of a field trials champion hound I telle, alas my young woman did not connect with one on the morning stalk, although taking 2 shots she missed cleanly.

We moved to another part of the estate for the evening stalk, one guide took the keeping team one way round this wonderfully undulating countryside, G took my young lady around the other side, agreeing to meet up over on a hill side plantation they call the bowl, my back still very bad from falling on my estate carrying grain, I agreed to sit and be a back gun, really more of a fox shooter as the estate are getting fox problems with their ground nesting birds, I was not there to shoot a deer really, that was for my clients.​

I sat back and watched both teams stalk around the hillsides before me, it was like watching my own mother natures TV from a good seat, I watched both the teams bump deer in front of them, both teams finally meeting at the high hillside bowl, all the lads willing my Young Lady Client to get her first Chinese Water Deer, both teams lead out flat on the very short grass, the head man on the estate knew the deer would come out to feed soon.

Indeed a deer appeared not long after they got in position, my dear friend the keeper helped guide my young lady into position of a shot, this was a real stalk, a belt buckle stalk as they belly crawled using the undulating ground as cover, this was a stalk a highland keeper would be proud of, he got her in position and whispered in your own time just behind the front let leg, a shiver ran down her spine she told me as he whispered those words in her ear, I was watching it all unfold with my binoculars on Mother Natures TV, my Young Lady composed herself and squeezed off the shot, I heard the roar of the rifle and the thump of the bullet strike right across the valley, the beast dropped immediately with a pin point accurate, ethical and humane strike on target, they took a breath then walked in to inspect the beast, my Young Lady Gralloched it and carried it back too smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Now I said I was not going to shoot, but sat there watching them climb down off the high hillside I kept scanning for foxes whilst watching the two stalking teams make their way back, almost at last knockings I spotted a huge gold medal come out to feed, a 400 yard stalk across open ground, I thought oh go on then why not have a go, so I stealthily stalked in stood bolt upright as there was no way I could get down on the ground with my back, I had one saving grace, there was one mature oak tree between me and this huge beast, so I used it Indian style and kept it between me and the deer, that 300 yard stalk really got my heart racing as I had to keep side stepping and checking where the beast was with almost ever step, I finally got to the tree and peered around it expecting the deer to have gone, but no it was still there one hundred and twenty yard out, I mounted my trusty 243 on to the Gen 3 Primos trigger sticks and well the rest is history really.​

I had to call the under keeper to come help me retrieve it as it was so heavy, I managed to drag it back to the oak tree but no further as I had rifle, sticks and binoculars to carry, plus this huge gold medal Chinese Water Deer, by the time we had got it back and gralloched it, it was dark, the day over and every client including me smiling like Cheshire Cats, I was going to stay on and use the awesome Night Pearl Thermal Systems and help clear up some foxes, but both my Young Lady Client and I agreed we were too tired after a long days awesome stalking, plus we still had a two hour drive home to my place and a one hour drive back to her place from mine, she has now shot a Roe Buck, a Muntjack Doe and a Chinese Water Deer, now to get her onto the next three deer we have here in the UK, Sika, Red and Fallow, this we will do in time, hunting does not come easy to this Young Lady as she says she is from the town and nobody in her family hunts, but she wants to eat healthy, ethically sourced meat that she hunts herself, I have helped guide her right from day dot in her hunting quests and having here hunt with some great friends of mine too, I am really proud of this Young Woman for she got right in there and took the beast from field to freezer including the butchery side of it too all on her own merit.

I will me back out on this estate in a couple of weeks with more clients Chinese and Muntjac stalking, if you would like to book any Hunting, Shooting or Fishing Trips drop me a line via my corporate business website over at www.reallywildadventures.co.uk no matter where it is, here in the UK or on Foreign Shores we have it all covered, as our Mantra says Were Wild Beyond Your Imagination.

I hope you have enjoyed my latest humble scribbles as much as I have remembering and writing them, until next time stay safe and well one and all.​

By The Ole Hedge Creeper
www.theolehedgecreeper.co.uk