Change versus tradition

As former sporting estates turn to contractors to cull their deer, opportunities to stalk are diminishing. However, those that remain will become ever more special, says Mungo Ingleby

- By Mungo Ingleby

OCTOBER is traditionally 'the' month for stalking. Weeks in August and early September have their devotees; the days are longer, deer are higher, more miles are covered and stags are focused on their survival as opposed to on their hinds. However, it is the October weeks that are the most sought after. The morning is frosty, the air clear and crisp, and the hill busy as successful stags belligerently marshal their harems while singletons hurry across scree and heather, late to their own party. Eventful days are followed by deep baths, stags roaring in the gloaming, log fires and lodge life.

As a sporting agency we used to be able to offer a choice of multiple locations. Not so now. As mentioned in my August grouse musings, significant numbers of what were once sporting estates have changed tack, and it is not hard to see why. On one side of a west-coast estate ledger was a large lodge, an acre of roof needing attention, a three- or four-strong estate team, together with associated cottages, vehicles, kit and so on. On the other possibly 40 let stags at £600 plus VAT, some hinds and a spate river that might come good for three weeks every year. Unhappy economics and, unless there was a renewable angle or significant diversification, it was passion that kept these operations running.