TIPS FOR HUNTING ROE DEER
We are in the middle of the corcera season that is something that is noticeable in the environment that surrounds this world of hunting. May extends to almost all the land of the different autonomous communities the possibility of trying to collect that elf of the forest and nothing seems to throw us back: neither the difficulties of its hunting nor the very high prices that are paid for a preserve for a seal, especially in the areas of greater tradition and larger trophies , such as Burgos, Soria the peninsular north we can still hunt at more affordable prices and what is increasingly evident is that these small cervids are the passion of thousands and thousands of Spanish hunters, who these weeks focus all their attention on their hunting in rececho, without forgetting many who prefer to go out to other countries to try to enjoy the corcera venatory options.
In these pages we will refer to a series of tips for your hunting in rececho, to the key points to be successful. Roe deer hunting is undoubtedly one of the most exciting hunting sciences. Its small size, its elusive and elusive character, and the wooded, wild, wild and uncertain environment in which they usually live, make their abate difficult and always valuable. A priori it might seem that a rececho has the same pattern both to shoot down a roe deer, a chamois a male montés, but nothing could be further from the truth. Each species has its own secrets and peculiarities, and we will have to conform to them if we want to succeed in such a complicated task. For this reason, there are many points that we will have to take care of, both before recechar and during the rececho.
1.- Clothing
The clothes must be light, so that we can develop easily, and warm. Let no one be confused and present themselves to perform a rececho with a sweater as the only protection, because it is possible that they remember that rececho by the cold that passed. It is always convenient to wear a warm garment and if it is not necessary it is left in the car. The early mornings are cold, and it will be necessary to foresee it by wearing some light and breathable outerwear, so that it allows the elimination of the sweating that occurs when walking and thus keeps us always dry. Good pants that protect our legs will be necessary. We must try to choose a garment that is as quiet as possible, so that when we spray with it on a bush branch it makes the least noise, preventing the destruction with a long approach.
2.- The boots
Although in the roe deer we will not always have to walk great distances, it is convenient that the footwear we wear is comfortable and soft, so that it does not punish our feet. The boots must be waterproof, so that they protect us from morning dew, breathable and resistant so that we carry the foot always fastened, thus protecting us from twists. Nowadays there are numerous Gore-Tex type fabrics that are highly recommended, as they provide great comfort.
3.- The rifle
The rifle, as in any other rececho, must be as light as possible, so that after a couple of hours it does not involve an excessive load for the hunter. As roe deer is the smallest of the cervids, it would be advisable to use a caliber according to its small size. Currently there is a very wide range of calibers, recommending all those that are included between a minimum of the 243 Win and a maximum of the 7 mm Rem Mag. Anyway I always recommend that the hunter go to perform the rececho with which he feels best and with which he is more accustomed.
Many times we will have to shoot in terrible light conditions and at a great distance. As for the type, I recommend the bolt and the monotiro, these being the ones that have a greater precision and features that fit perfectly to this type of hunting.
4.- A shot
It is very important given the small size of the roe deer -and therefore its vital areas-, and it is advisable that before recechar we test our rifle so that we are sure that it is perfectly in shot. This way we will avoid more than one upset and also provide us with great confidence in our chances of success.
5.- Optics
Optics are fundamental to succeed in the recechos. It is absolutely essential to have good quality binoculars, the best that our budget allows. Bargains in optics often give bad results. Binoculars 7×42, 8×30 8×42 are good for their size, lightness and manageability, although sometimes they can stay just bright at dawn in the twilight, hours in which the roe deer show greater mobility and therefore it is easier to find them.
The viewer becomes another fundamental element in this mode. It will have to be of good quality, of variable magnification —type of 3-9 magnification—, and as bright as possible. Most of the shots will be made in low light, and it is precisely in these adverse conditions where we will find the difference between a good optics and a regular one.
6.- The best hours
As we have mentioned before, the roe deer is an animal that presents greater mobility at dawn and in the twilight. In these hours it will be easier to locate it. Therefore, in the early mornings before dawn it would be necessary to be in the field, but beware, it is not convenient that we begin the rececho if it is still not seen properly, because it is more than likely that we will pass by that roe deer that we have been looking for so insistently. In the sunsets we must have patience and endure in the place that we think that the animal has its querencia until there is no longer light, because the males, and even more the large ones, come out of the thicket when there is very little light. It's his way of defending himself from his main predator, man.
Anyway, let's not think that we will only be able to locate a roe deer in the early morning to late afternoon. There are many times that they are located eating quietly in a seed at ten in the morning. It will depend to a large extent on the pressure they are under in the area in which we hunt. As a general rule, we will say that the rececho is usually terminated at about half past ten in the morning, starting again in the afternoon at about seven o'clock.
7.- Land and querencias
The knowledge of the field in which we are going to carry out the rececho is from every fundamental point of view. Knowing its orography, its accesses, the pastures and crops that we have in the hunting ground, is essential to be successful in our exit. For this reason it is convenient to take a tour of the hunting ground before the hunting day to get to know it better and see where the querencias and the feeders of the roe deer are. These are tremendously territorial animals —the adult males mark their territories from the month of April—. The roe deer have spent the winter in family groups up to that point, gathering five, six even more specimens, but with the arrival of spring those groups disperse, each individual occupying his own territory, which he will defend with bravery against any rival who penetrates it. The strongest males will occupy the most favorable territories and with the best nutritional possibilities, allowing only the presence of females in that territory and expelling any male that invades it. In each season roe deer have a preferential food source, so knowing what their food is at all times will bring us good results. During the month of April and early May the mountain will not have recovered from the strong winter frosts, so it will bring very little food to the roe deer, and these therefore will seek the sowing of cereals (wheat, barley, rye) and forages (espoxes and alfalfas) as a food source, being easy to find them at this time in these areas. In mid-May and during the month of June, the mountain will be reborn with all its vigor offering these small deerfuls a multitude of delicacies in the form of succulent shoots and very fine pastures, so the roe deer will focus their activity on the tasting that the forest offers them, being more unusual their outings to sowings and pastures. During the months of July and August the strong heat has dried up the mountain, so the roe deer will look for the wettest areas to satiate their appetite: the streams, the fountains and the banks of the rivers will be preferred places in our search.
8.- Location
The success of our rececholy will depend to a large extent on our ability to locate roe deer. Therefore, we will always try to choose an elevated site that allows us to observe the largest possible area of the hunting ground. With binoculars, we will carefully observe all the areas in which the presence of a roe deer is possible. Even if we are a short distance from the place where they graze and we see with the naked eye that there is nothing, it is necessary to look and look with the binoculars. How many times in this detailed observation do we discover the back of a roe deer almost covered by vegetation, a slight movement produced by the bouquet of a roe deer, which otherwise would have gone unnoticed! Patience is undoubtedly a great virtue in the recechos of the roe deer, for that reason it will not be enough to look once at a hillside meadow, we will have to do it many times until we are sure that there is nothing there, and surely after being convinced we will realize our mistake when when we start walking the barking whistleblower of a roe deer paralyzes us , not knowing where it may have come from. Our success will often be in direct relation to the time spent observing with binoculars and our visual acuity.
9.- The entrance
Once we have located the roe deer and we believe that it meets the qualities we are looking for will come the most decisive part of the rececho; the input approach. The way to do it should be taken in a few seconds, because the roe deer is an animal that is not usually in the same place for a long time.
In addition to their powerful sense of smell, very developed, roe deer have an excellent view, being very capable of detecting movements, quickly suspecting figures and foreign objects.
To make the entrance the first thing we will have to see is the direction of the air. Once the air is controlled, it will be necessary to study the best itinerary in a way that keeps us out of sight of the roe deer. Another detail to take into account is to make the least noise possible, avoiding at all costs to pass through wooded areas where the foliage of the trees and the remains of branches and leaves can make our approach fruitless. As we get closer, we must take into account that it is very likely that the male is accompanied by one more females, so we will always have to be vigilant to them, because if they locate us they will put the male on the run. During the last meters of our approach we will take advantage of any accident of the terrain arriving, if necessary, to go to cats dragging us.
TIPS FOR HUNTING ROE DEER
