Deer Hunts - Antlered Game of the World

A pair of incredible roe bucks from our outfitter partner in Hungary.

Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), also known as “roe buck” is a common, diminutive deer from the moderate areas of Eurasia. They are a ton of fun to hunt because in some areas they are as common as rabbits. Usually, you’ll be either still hunting with your gamekeeper, or sitting in a blind. They can also be called in during the rut which makes them perfect for bowhunting. Calling in a rut-crazed roe buck can be super exciting! Driven hunts are also common in some areas during the late season management hunts, sometimes with dogs, and sometimes without.

Roe deer hunting starts early in the summer. Bucks strip their velvet in late May or early June. The best hunting though, is during the rut, between mid-July and mid-September, depending on where you’re hunting. European roe deer rut earlier than Siberian bucks. They start shedding their antlers by October, but you can sometimes pick up an inexpensive cull hunts until late winter.

Hunters recognize three main subspecies of roe buck:

• European roe deer can be hunted from Great Britain and Ireland to Poland and western Russia.
  • Hungary Roe Deer Hunts
• Siberian roe deer are someone larger than their European cousins. They can be hunted in Kazakhstan, eastern Russia, and some other Asian countries.
• Chinese roe deer are found along the Pacific coast of Asia, south to the Amur.

The Rare Black Roe Buck

Since a small population of Black Roe deer exists in northwestern Spain; the animals probably came from there.

The Black Roe deer “Der Schwarze Geist”, which means The Black Ghost have been known since the year 980 AD. According to records of that time the bishop of Minden and Milo every single year he received a number of Black Roe deer for his kitchen.

The current population of Black Roe deer were imported and introduced in Germany by Count Wilhelm Schaumburg-Lippe in the 16th century. Those animals came from either Portugal or Spain. Since a small population of Black Roe deer exists in northwestern Spain; the animals probably came from there.

In Germany the Black Roe deer is found in the northern part of the country. The habitat includes Halle but does not exist east of river Elben and spreads out north to Hamburg. In northwest it extends to the North Sea coast and further into the north eastern part of Holland. Towards the south the Black Roe deer habitat stops at Magdeburg, Dortmund and Hannover. During World War I, Emperor Wilhelm II asked a German soldier where he came from. The soldier answered his homestead was Haste. The emperor gladly replied, “It is where the Black Roe deer exists.”

Forty years ago, Black Roe deer only appeared by coincidence. The biggest number were found in the forest of Haster close to Hannover in 1933 where about 90% of the animals were black as normal colored Roe deer were shot aiming at establishing a pure black population. German sources estimate the number of black animals to be approximately 20% of the German Roe deer population. Our guide does not agree. In his opinion no more than 5% of the Roe deer in Northern Germany are black. During the evolution black colored Roe deer were developed through mutation due to a high concentration of pigment in the coat. This phenomenon is called melanism and is well known among Fallow deer, Green pheasant, panther and squirrel.

From “Black Ghost from the Devil’s Moore” by Henning Korvel