What Equipment Do You Actually Need to Start Deer Stalking?

If this year’s excellent Stalking Show proved anything, it’s that we deer stalkers really do love our equipment. Whether it was the latest super high-tech gadget or old-school basic kit, every stand was choc-full of stalkers as keen as kids in a sweet shop.

We’re truly in a golden age of stalking kit, so I thought a quick run-through of the essentials — and the “nice to haves” — would go down well.

The essentials: kit you really need

Let’s start with the kit we all absolutely need to go about our deer stalking. Plenty of stalkers will have their own version of this list, so take mine with a pinch of salt, but here are the items I genuinely won’t go out without.

Rifle

I won’t get drawn into a debate about the best rifle or, heaven forbid, the best calibre. As long as it suits you, you can shoot it accurately and it’s legal for the deer you’re stalking, any decent rifle will do the job.

Scope

My advice for anyone buying their first rifle is to spend as much as possible on the scope and buy the rifle with whatever’s left over. Maybe slightly extreme, but consider this: just about any rifle on the market can and will shoot accurately. If you can’t see what you’re aiming at, that doesn’t count for a lot. Again, I won’t get drawn into the best brands or the digital-versus-traditional-glass debate — just make sure you’re confident with whatever you choose.

Binoculars

Similar to above, a decent pair of binoculars is a vital piece of kit. Even in this day and age of thermal imagers, you won’t find me out stalking without my binoculars on my chest. For properly identifying quarry, I don’t think they should ever be left off the list.

Sticks

Quad sticks have utterly revolutionised my stalking, and a solid 90% of all the deer, foxes, rabbits and rats I shoot are taken from them. They give a rock-solid rifle rest, a handy support for scanning with binos, and — on more than one occasion — a useful tool for dragging yourself out of a bog (don’t ask how I know). For those of you doing all your stalking on the hill, the odds are a bipod will fill this role better than sticks. Either way, anything that helps you take a steady, accurate shot is vital in my book. Have a look at the full shooting sticks and rifle rests ranges if you’re looking to upgrade.

Knife

Knives seem to be the latest piece of “deer stalker jewellery”, with some truly stunning — and eye-wateringly expensive — examples on the market. A sharp knife is an absolutely vital piece of kit once a deer is on the ground; we need to gralloch the carcass quickly to remove contamination risks and start it cooling. Personally, I’m a huge fan of a cheap and cheerful, plastic-handled, sheathed fixed-blade knife. If it’s bright orange, even better — you’ll never lose it. Keep it sharp and clean and the job will be far easier.

Gloves

Some will argue these aren’t essential, but I’ll always have a few pairs of disposable rubber gloves to hand when I’m stalking. There are real benefits when it comes to reducing cross-contamination, keeping yourself and the carcass safe and clean. The main reason I won’t be stalking without them, though, is that I have a very specific hatred of bloody hands. They’re a nightmare to clean in the field, leave bloody fingerprints all over your phone, rifle, thermal and truck, and quickly turn into a sticky mess that just irritates me.

There are a few other bits we should all really have access to — a first-aid kit, some form of emergency communications, and access to a trained tracking dog (or at least knowing who to call if you need one) — but in terms of the bare minimum a stalker can be successful with, I think that’s a fair list to start from.

Useful, but not essential

Now let’s have a look at some of the kit that didn’t make my essentials list, but that’s nonetheless very useful to a stalker.

Thermal imager

I know — shock, horror — I didn’t include this as essential. There’s no doubt in my mind that the thermal imager is one of the most important technological advances for deer stalkers. I don’t know anyone who isn’t at least seeing more deer since they started using one, if not shooting more. So why has this miracle tech been relegated to the second list? Quite simply, I firmly believe a thermal is a tool, no different to any other we use, and it needs to be used properly to earn its place. There are limitations — particularly when it comes to identifying species, sex and age — and I’d argue using a thermal to enhance personal experience is ideal, while using it as a replacement for experience will eventually lead to issues. The fact that many stalkers are still very successful without one reinforces why I don’t consider them essential.

Saw

Many of us will carry a small chest saw in the field — I use a BushWear one and have done for years. They’re great and serve their purpose perfectly. They’re on the “less essential” list purely because many of us don’t (or can’t) perform a full gralloch with a chest split where we stalk. I can’t remember the last time I used a chest saw on one of the red deer I shoot, simply because there’s usually a lengthy drag across pretty grim terrain, and I’d rather leave the chest intact to seal as much of the carcass up as possible from debris.

Extraction tools

This covers everything from roe sacks to drag ropes and carcass sleds. There are heaps on the market, all designed to make carcass extraction as easy and clean as possible — and I’d fully recommend looking into any option that helps you keep your deer as clean and hygienic as possible. That said, I think your plan of extraction is more vital than any single piece of kit. How you’re going to extract, what route you’ll take, and the method you’ll use should all be in your mind before you’ve even taken the shot. Whatever kit you use will simply help that plan along.

Calls

The market is full of them, and many seem to yield good results. In the roe rut I’ll always have a Buttolo in my pocket, but it doesn’t really see the light of day for the remaining ten months of the year. At certain times in certain places, calls can be incredibly effective; at other times you might as well be blowing a dog whistle.

Mistakes beginners make when buying kit

As I’ve said, there’s so much kit on the market it can make a newcomer’s head spin. My main piece of advice is don’t fall for the fancy marketing campaigns of some makers. That’s how plenty of us ended up with drawers full of weird and wonderful gadgets that sounded great but didn’t cut the mustard in the field. Take your time, talk to experienced stalkers, and make your own mind up on what you really need.

Buy from reliable retailers with proven track records and good feedback — particularly when it comes to product quality and speedy delivery.

And don’t fall into the trap of carrying everything and the kitchen sink whilst stalking. It’s a curse of mine: if there’s a pocket on a bag or a bino harness, my brain demands I fill it with something, and before you know it I’m carrying stuff I’ve never used and likely never will. This bit comes with time and experience — fine-tuning your set-up to what works well for you, and gets you the best results in the field.