A few years ago, I hunted Highland stag and sika deer in Scotland with Malcolm Harman of UK Outfitters. I wrote about that hunt in these pages, and several subscribers subsequently hunted with Harman and sent very positive reports on their experiences. Harman continues to offer stag hunting. In fact, he has gone on to create what may be the ultimate deer hunt in Great Britain.
The country's deer include seven types, both native and introduced. Geographically, from the south of England up into Scotland, they begin with the Reeves muntjac and Chinese water deer, European red deer, fallow deer, Highland stag and Japanese sika. The seventh, roe deer, can be found from north to south. Of course, other outfitters can get you all of these deer in one trip, but the likelihood is that at least some of the hunting will be in small enclosures that offer little or no sport. Harman, on the other hand, offers a fair-chase, unfenced hunt for all seven of these deer (call it his "Seven Slam").
Harman's hunt lasts from 12 to 14 days and involves traveling the length of Great Britain. The amount of land available to Harman for the hunt is what's truly amazing. He reports that his smallest area, for Chinese water deer, is 5,000 acres, although he also has a second, larger area for this species. The largest, where he hunts European-strain red deer and what he describes as some exceptional fallow deer, is 180,000 acres. Altogether, he has more than 350,000 unfenced acres in Britain upon which he can hunt.........(continued)
