Muleyhunter78
Active member
Congrats, looks like a great time.
From Boise to Britain- In Pursuit of Roe Buck
- Thread starter Sawtooth
- Start date
Back in Dublin for our last night across the pond. The last three days have been filled with some amazing Irish countryside and historic places.
From Blarney Castle where we chose not to kiss the Blarney Stone, but after touring the castle my wife and daughter looked at the gardens while I checked out the brown trout feeding on mayflies in the Blarney River that runs through the gardens.
To Rock of Cashel first build by the McCarthy tribe circ 900 A.D.
We finished up our Irish stretch of the trip today by going to the Monastic Village of Glendolough. Which was built by a community of Catholic monks lead by St. Kevin in the early 900's. The monastery ruins are located in a valley with heavily forested walls and two small lakes. When we weren't taking pictures of the scenery I was looking for trout in the stream and lakes, and watching a small herd of red deer in a clearing on the side of a hill.
It has been an amazing trip. When I make it back to Boise I will wrap this thread up.
From Blarney Castle where we chose not to kiss the Blarney Stone, but after touring the castle my wife and daughter looked at the gardens while I checked out the brown trout feeding on mayflies in the Blarney River that runs through the gardens.
To Rock of Cashel first build by the McCarthy tribe circ 900 A.D.
We finished up our Irish stretch of the trip today by going to the Monastic Village of Glendolough. Which was built by a community of Catholic monks lead by St. Kevin in the early 900's. The monastery ruins are located in a valley with heavily forested walls and two small lakes. When we weren't taking pictures of the scenery I was looking for trout in the stream and lakes, and watching a small herd of red deer in a clearing on the side of a hill.
It has been an amazing trip. When I make it back to Boise I will wrap this thread up.
idnative1948
Well-known member
Thanks! Have been living vicariously with you on this trip.
I'm slated for this trip next August.The area looks amazing.I'll have to do more touring then I thought.The hunt sounds great as well.I want to make it easier on him with all the deer being in season.Congrats on your deer!!Roe deer are a cool little deer
devon deer
Well-known member
Yep, you were the next guy drawn out of the hat, hopefully it will all work out for 2018, not sure if maybe the RMEF should benefit this time for the donation?
Here is the result of the butchered roe, mini steaks, burgers, sage and onion, and chorizo sausages, awesome!
TheNorthStar
Well-known member
Love me some castles and a freezer full of game meat.
Well, we made it back home safely and have had a day to get over some of the jet lag . So here are a few closing thoughts about our trip.
1. If you ever get a chance to go to England or Ireland, don't pass up the opportunity. As an American, it is a little mind blowing to drive down a country road and see hedgerows and stone walls in farm fields that are older than your country, let alone castles and other buildings that date back thousands of years. The history and cultures of both countries is amazing to learn about and adds to the adventure of the trip.
2. Hunting in England is a completely different experience from any type of hunting I have done in my home state of Idaho. Public Land hunting is not an option in England with most farms being much smaller in scale than the ones found here in the Northwestern United States. This is not to say that the animals are tame or the hunts are not "Fair Chase". I was amazed at how tough it was to sneak in on the roe deer we were pursuing. One miss steep or movement and they were gone. Skittish is an understatement when it comes to roe deer. And they don't usually just run off, but will bound away and bark loudly as they go. Often times several barks in a row, telling every animal in a half mile radius that there is a stranger in the woods. If you haven't heard a roe buck before here is an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0XfQAfO744.
3. If you really want to meet some great people and learn about a country's culture, get out of the Hotel and stay at a Bed and Breakfast. Take the time to talk with the B&B owner and the other visitors. It was great to hear their perspective on world issues or what they have learned about while traveling throughout the country. B&B owners can also give you great tips on how to get around their part of the world as well as must see sites and where to go for your meals.
4. When I first started telling people that I was going to be hunting in England with a guy that I meet on an internet hunting forum, I got some pretty interesting looks and some even more interesting comments. "So this Devon Deer guy just started offering to take people hunting in England for free? All you had to do is donate $250 to Backcountry Hunters and Anglers?" How did you meet him again? On the Internet?"
Well let me just say for the record that Richard (Devon Deer) and his wife are truly "salt of the earth" people. You won't find a nicer couple in all of England or the United States for that matter. Richard worked tirelessly to help me get my roe bucks. We also put quite a few miles on his truck driving from farm to farm. He also spent quite a few hours answering questions I had about things my wife and daughter could do while I was hunting and then prepared the Euro Mounts for the trip home after the hunt. The fact that Richard was willing to go to these extremes for a total stranger from Boise, Idaho and to support Backcountry Hunters and Anglers with this hunt speaks volumes about his character. Without his original offer there is no way I would ever be able to have this experience and for that I am truly thankful. Some day I hope to have the chance to be his host on a hunting or fishing trip here in Idaho.
Mixedbag, you are in for a great time. If I can be of any help on planning your trip or if you have any questions you think I might be able to help you with, don't hesitate to ask. And to the rest of you thanks for following along on my journey, I hope you enjoyed it.
Kiwi
Well-known member
Thanks for posting the update, sounds like a perfect trip. Its great to hear about others doing international hunt trips and how they turn out to be such a cool experience. Well done Richard.
devon deer
Well-known member
Sorry Sawtooth, changed location, went upstream a few miles last night, i caught my Sea Trout on a sub surface tube fly just after it got dark, i cast out again and a fish grabbed my leader joint, i got my friend to cast his floating wake lure across the fish, bingo!
Then it was all over in 30 minutes, the temperature dropped away and it went dead, he had never caught a Sea Trout before, he can now understand why i love to fish for them.
Cheers
Richard
devon deer
Well-known member
Bit of a sad update on the farm where you shot the last Roe Buck, the old lady passed away a few months ago, 91 years old, I had known her and her late husband for over 30 years. the farm will soon be sold on, and who know's if I will be allowed to hunt it again.
She was a character, unusually for a farmers wife she was a vegetarian, but just didn't like the texture of meat, but loved fish.
At the end of every season I would drop her in some of my cold smoked Sea Trout, it was her favourite.
Sadly, living on her own there wasn't a family member close by to keep an eye on her, just a house keeper and farm manager, then I got a phone call, she had stopped drinking and her kidneys had started to fail, she was too ill for me to visit to say farewell, a few days later she passed away in her sleep, but get this, just prior to this she said, 'I'll have some of Richards sea trout in the fridge, I'll have a sandwich please' her last meal, that made me upset, but also very happy that was her last request for food, I will miss that old girl.
Cheers
Richard
She was a character, unusually for a farmers wife she was a vegetarian, but just didn't like the texture of meat, but loved fish.
At the end of every season I would drop her in some of my cold smoked Sea Trout, it was her favourite.
Sadly, living on her own there wasn't a family member close by to keep an eye on her, just a house keeper and farm manager, then I got a phone call, she had stopped drinking and her kidneys had started to fail, she was too ill for me to visit to say farewell, a few days later she passed away in her sleep, but get this, just prior to this she said, 'I'll have some of Richards sea trout in the fridge, I'll have a sandwich please' her last meal, that made me upset, but also very happy that was her last request for food, I will miss that old girl.
Cheers
Richard
Richard,
Sorry to hear of her passing. Every time that I look at the roe buck euros displayed on my desk, I think of that last day of hunting. How the rut was just getting started and how that buck was chasing his doe to near exhaustion around the fields. She had a beautiful farm and her farm house on the hill was in a great location to see the surrounding countryside. Hope you are able to continue to hunt that farm in the future.
Sorry to hear of her passing. Every time that I look at the roe buck euros displayed on my desk, I think of that last day of hunting. How the rut was just getting started and how that buck was chasing his doe to near exhaustion around the fields. She had a beautiful farm and her farm house on the hill was in a great location to see the surrounding countryside. Hope you are able to continue to hunt that farm in the future.
OverlordBear
Well-known member
What a great trip report! Thank you Devon Deer and Sawtooth for bringing us along on the adventure. What a high honor that your smoked trout would be someone’s last meal. I am sure she is bragging about it to St. Peter. These trip reports are such a good mental vacation.
