Deer Stalking in Sutherland

Seasons

The open seasons for Scottish deer stalking are:

Red deer – stags 01/07 to 20/10
Red deer – hinds 21/10 to 15/02
Roe deer – bucks 01/04 to 20/10
Roe deer – does 21/10 to 31/03

Deer stalking in Scotland is steeped in tradition and a fantastic way to really get to know the countryside and its wildlife.  Located in the beautiful county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland, Suisgill Estate offers red deer stalking, for both stags and hinds, as well as a limited amount of roe deer stalking.

Red Deer Stalking

For centuries, Scottish highland estates have been managing the red deer population and stalking consequently plays an integrated and vital role in many rural lives in Scotland.

Suisgill is an open hill estate almost completely devoid of trees so, once you spot a beast on the hillside, trying to get close to it without being seen can be extremely challenging, nearly always involving a long walk and often the need to crawl over some boggy peatland.  Real stalking at its best, a red deer stalk in Sutherland is a very special experience and certainly one you will never forget.

Suisgill works closely with neighbouring estates over deer management and is a member of the Northern Deer Management Group.  As part of our red deer management, we must shoot between 30 and 50 stags each season and this is accomplished almost entirely through traditional Scottish stalking parties led by our experienced stalker.

A stalk often takes most of the day as you walk and scramble through the stunning Sutherland hill country to find the deer.  Taking into account the health of the herd, the stalker will then select which deer is to be shot, the objective being to cull the older or weaker adult stags, rather than focusing on trophy heads.  If the stalk results in a successful kill, the stag will then be retrieved by our Argocat and taken back to the larder for preparation so it is ready to be collected by the local venison dealer.

The stag season is relatively short, taking place in late summer and early autumn.  The legal season runs from July to mid October, but the majority of stag stalking on Suisgill is let from late August to early October.

At the end of the stag season, attention is switched to the hinds and, although this has traditionally mostly been carried out by our stalker alone, we are increasingly letting hind stalking to guests.  The season runs from October to February and, as with the stags, the hind stalking is part of a selective cull so you will be guided by the estate deer stalker who will select which deer need to be shot.

Stag stalking is sold on a per-head basis, whilst hind stalking is sold on a per-day basis.  An estate rifle is available for your use; or by prior arrangement with the stalker, you can use your own rifle.  For more details, please email us at klaus@suisgill.co.uk.

Roe Deer Stalking

There are roe deer living in the forestry on Suisgill and we are increasingly beginning to let roe deer stalking to guests.

Early morning and evening roe deer stalking outings can be organised to be accompanied by our experienced stalker.  These trips, along with our high seat for observation, offer a fantastic opportunity to see the diverse wildlife in this Highland forestry.

The season for roe deer stalking in Scotland runs from April to October for bucks and October to March for does, but we only offer roe deer stalking over a few months of the year – please contact us for dates.

Roe deer stalking is sold on a per-head basis.  An estate rifle is available for your use; or by prior arrangement with the stalker, you can use your own rifle.  For more details, please email us at klaus@suisgill.co.uk.