A tried and true way of stalking red stags is by using a roaring horn to emulate their roar.
You can pick up a roaring horn from your local hunting store, or you can DIY by cutting the bottom off a plastic bottle or a piece of corrugated plastic piping (like the kind you find on a vacuum cleaner).
It can take some time and experience to perfect the roaring sound, but once you do, stags will willingly give up their location to you, allowing you to close distance on them. A couple of pro tips from experienced hunters:
- Once you start moving in the direction of a roaring stag, it might go quiet. Some hunters will then start blasting the roaring horn again. However, if the stag goes quiet it can be better to just wait in silence. He's probably trying to suss out where you are and, more often than not, will eventually start roaring of his own accord so you can continue moving slowly towards him.
- Another strategy you can use if you're with a mate is, once you've got a stag roaring, split up. While one of you is quietly moving towards the stag, the other holds back and continues to roar. That way, the stag won't be expecting you to sneak up on him and you'll likely get eyes on him before he has any idea you're that close.
Focus your search
While sound will be your best guide during the roar, it helps to have a general idea of where stags like to gather hinds and spend time.
They tend to prefer terrain that they can defend from other stags and places where their roars can be heard across long distances.
This is often a slightly elevated position, such as a terrace or spur, or tucked away at the toe of a slope, usually with a bit of sun and some feed nearby.
Obviously, this won't narrow down your search too much, but it might help give you a general sense of direction. Once you've identified a spot, mark it on the map (and don't tell everyone down at the pub) as stags tend to return to the same rutting areas each season.
Follow the sign
The two key signs to look out for are wallows and rubbings. If you come across these during the roar, you're in the right place — you just need to come back around dawn or dusk when the stags are most active.
Wallows are mud baths that stags create by stamping their hooves on the ground. They urinate and defecate in the mud and roll around in it to cover themselves in their own stench, making them more attractive to hinds.
During the roar, stags mark their territory by rubbing their antlers on trees, stripping the bark off. They also do this as a sign of strength and dominance to intimidate other stags. Rubbings can sometimes be half a metre or more in length.
If the rubbed bark still appears fresh (hasn't dried out), then you're onto a winner. Always be on the lookout for other fresh sign, such as prints, scrapes, game trails, browsing, hair, bedding areas and, of course, droppings.
Watch the wind
This is deer hunting 101, but it's crucial to plan your hunt around what the wind's doing. Hunt into the wind and don't camp in an area that's going to contaminate your hunting spot with human scent.
Those are the basics. But it's also helpful to have an understanding of the topography and anabatic and katabatic winds (also known as valley and mountain breezes). As the temperature drops at night, the air becomes heavier and tends to flow downward (katabatic).
In the morning, as the sun warms up the valley, the breeze tends to flow upward (anabatic). Understanding these phenomena can help in the planning of your approach.
Mask your scent
Your scent is going to be the first thing that gives you up so you should always take measures to mask it.
Simple things like not showering with soap and body wash before going hunting, ditching the deodorant and hair product, and not washing your hunting gear with fragrant laundry powders can help.
Some hunters even swap toothpaste for baking soda so they're not taking that minty fresh aroma into the wild with them. Basically, you want to try and smell as inhuman as possible (as feral as that may sound).
Be seen
Because the roar is such a busy time of year, it's highly recommended that you take extra safety precautions.
Every tragedy during the roar is one too many, so please be vigilant.
This leads to the next piece of fundamental advice…
