Raymond with his stag

Scotland Hunt Report by Raymond Sarinelli

HUNT REPORT

HUNTER: Raymond Sarinelli
TRIP TAKEN: Scotland Red Stag, Roe deer, Pheasant and Duck Hunt
CONSULTANT: Austin Legg, Outdoors International

October 16-20, 2022

Scotland Hunt Report by Raymond Sarinelli

We planned on a four-day trip for this excursion.

We hunted two days for Red Stag, staying in a “cottage” on the 23,000 acre Tressady Estate.

Tressaday Estate
Tressady estate, near Lairg in Inverness-shire, is a popular stopover for tourists since the launch of the North Coast 500, a driving route that snakes around the Highlands.

The Cottage was a magnificent old stone house with four bedrooms and all amenities, was updated and very comfortable. We made our own breakfast and brought our lunch with us for the day of Stalking (we were reimbursed by the outfitter for the food we bought for these meals). We went into town at a hotel or pub for dinner (also, reimbursed for the meals).

The hunt began with stalking red deer.

Guy and Raymond with a nice Scottish stag

The Red Stag Stalking started at 10 am once the wind is settled into a direction, and we were out until we got two Stags on each of the two days, returning between 3:30 and 5:30. Day one we harvested a Royal Red Stag (12 points) and also a 10 point Stag. On Day two we harvested another Royal Red Stag and also a 9 point Stag. Our guide, Adam, was very knowledgeable of the estate and got us within shooting distance of the Stags we wanted.

We hunted the Scottish Highlands.

The Scottish Highlands

The terrain of the Scottish Highlands is mostly open rolling hills with some brushy areas, and a few trees. Elevation was not an issue as we were in the 1,500-2,000 foot level. We did have long hikes to get to where we spotted stags, so being ready to hike 4-8 miles in a day made it a pleasant experience.

Red deer were the main event for our trip so needless to say we were thrilled with the red stag hunting experience and success we had as well as having an awesome guide.

Day three, we did a simulated driven hunt on a farm and harvested 21 ducks and 11 pheasant.

Day three, we did a simulated driven hunt on a farm and harvested 21 ducks and 11 pheasant.

This driven wingshooting outing was enjoyable given the bird flu and the estates having no birds available to them. We also tried stalking for Roe buck in the evening, many doe sightings but no bucks. Day four was a low key day, as Sitka or Fallow deer where not available in this area. We did harvest a Roe Buck just at last light. We were advised that this was not a good time of year for Roe buck, and I would agree that if you have extra time built into the trip that something else be considered to take up this time.

The outfitter was available to us by phone and did make arrangements for us to get around.

He came with us on the 3rd and 4th day, but we needed to be flexible on how that worked out. We paid for a bit of transportation and some meals out of our pocket. Not a big deal for us, so we just went with it and really enjoyed the success we had and the adventure and experience.

Outfitter Evaluation

How would you rate your trip overall?

Great. As long as you are a little bit flexible on how your trip will go, the outfitter will work with you to make it a fun experience.

How was your guide?

Great.

How was your lodging?

Great.

How was the food?

Great.

How was your outfitters communication?

Great.

How physically demanding was your trip?

Moderate.

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Consultant Evaluation

How would you rate your Consultant?

Austin was great to work with, he was very helpful in getting us information, and figuring out how to make our trip work given some time restrictions, etc. that we had in place.

Austin answered all of our questions and was accurate. He was easy to get ahold of and/or responded very quickly to any questions. I would recommend Austin, and plan on using him and Outdoors International in the future.

Would you use Outdoors International again?

Yes.

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