Roe Deer Hunts

Hunting Roe Deer

Roe Deer are relatively small deer, with a length of three to four and one-half feet, a shoulder height of up to two and one-half feet, and a weight of 30–66 lb. They have short, straight antlers, a reddish body, and a grey face.

Their hide is red in summer, darkening to brown or black in the winter, with lighter undersides and a white rump patch. Their tail is short and somewhat hard to see. Only the males have antlers.

Roe deer populations exist in all of Europe except Ireland, Iceland, Southern Spain, and Greece. There are no roe deer on the Mediterranean islands. Roe Deer live in most types of terrain, including deciduous forests, coniferous forests, farmland, and marshes. They live at all elevations, from the lowlands to the mountains.

Roe deer are small, graceful deer that live in the moderate climate belt of Eurasia from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. Three main subspecies are recognized among hunters. The European roe deer is found in European countries from Great Britain and Ireland to Poland and Russia west of the Urals. Asia is home to the larger Siberian roe deer. Siberian roe deer can be hunted in Kazakhstan, Russia east of the Urals, and other Asian countries, except the Pacific coast south to the Amur, which is the home of the third subspecies, the Chinese roe deer.

Most people hunt roe deer either by stalking or by waiting in ground or elevated blinds near the places where they feed. A hunter may go still hunting along the forest edge, looking for a likely place to wait for the deer to come out of the bush, then stalking the animal across the field or meadow. Calling is a very effective way of hunting roe deer. Buck alarm calls are used early in the season when the bucks fight over territory. Doe calls are very effective during the rut, especially late in the season when most does are already out of heat, but the bucks are still active. A calf in distress call is used to attract a doe, either for management hunts or hoping a buck will follow the doe in. Driven hunts, with or without dogs, are conducted late in the season. Management and cull hunts are done mostly by the spot-and-stalk metthod.

Poland Roe Deer Hunts

One of the most popular types of hunts in Poland is single-hunter hunting for roe bucks. Roe bucks season starts 11th of May. The average number of roe deer taken during hunting is between four and seven for three days, sometimes more with some hunting luck.

Do you enjoy hunting whitetail deer, mule deer, or elk in the rut? If so, you will enjoy hunting roe deer during their rut. This normally occurs during July and August, allowing hunters to hunt antlered deer in the summer months.

Hunting methods consist of calling, spot and stalk, or still hunting from ground blinds or elevated shooting houses. Most roe deer hunts are conducted on free range, fair chase, agricultural land, and private estate hunts. The deer are active night and day during the rutting period. You will see severe fighting, watch them run does, rub bushes, make scrapes, and toss hay and corn stalks in the air. Sometimes they can be called in close by using mouth and mechanical calls.

Spain Roe Deer Hunts

Roe Deer inhabit almost all of Spain, although the biggest ones are located in the north of Spain. The current world record was hunted in Spain. This hunt can be taken either with a rifle or a bow. A hunter must be in good condition to succeed on this hunt. Hunting season goes from April 1st to July 31st and September 1st to October 15th. The best month is April.

Scotland Roe Deer Hunts

The prime time for hunting roe deer in Scotland is May and the end of July/beginning of August during the rut. May is the month when mature bucks’ antlers are clean of velvet, and the cover in the woodland is still low enough to give the hunter an advantage.The most exciting time for roe buck stalking is July/August when the unpredictable reactions of the males during the rut can allow the hunter to get up close at any time of the day.

The use of deer calls can add to the anticipation and excitement of the hunt, especially when a buck is in view and begins to approach. For a month or so after the middle of August, bucks tend to rest up, recover from their rutting activity, and show themselves again in September.

Italy Roe Deer Hunts

You will hunt at sunrise and sunset when the animals come into the fields to feed. The usual hunting method is to hide in a high-seat blind while overlooking small fields in the middle of the forest. However, it’s also possible to hunt by spot and stalk with the opportunity to see many more animals.

During a single-day hunt, you may spot 15 – 20 deer and check several good males while looking for the best trophy. Apart from roe deer, it is also possible to shoot wild boar and, occasionally, fallow deer and red fox.

Hungary Roe Deer Hunts

The best time to hunt roe deer in Hungary is in the second half of April or the beginning of May. Later, visibility is poor when the crops are high, and hunting is much more difficult and time-consuming. On the other hand, the roebuck rut at the end of July and the beginning of August appeals to many hunters, when they can lure the buck out with a caller. For hunters wanting to shoot large trophies, the areas east of the Duna (Danube) River in the region of Alföld (Hungarian Plains), for example, in the region of Kiskunság, in Szolnok, Békés, and Szatmár County, produce some of the largest animals.

Siberian Roe Deer Hunts

Compared with European roe deer, Siberian roe deer are much larger, reach a height at the withers up to 100 cm, have a body length of up to 150 cm, and weigh from 40 to 45 kg. Siberians also have more massive and longer horns than their European relatives. The size of the horns of large trophy males approaches 40 cm.