Fangs!

“Now that one’s interesting! Looks like a saber-tooth cat crossed with a teddy bear!” said a DSC Convention attendee as she passed by the photo of a Chinese water deer on display in the Scandinavian Prohunters booth. In the booth, John Langraf and I were visiting with Sofia and Stefan Bengtssen about an upcoming Swedish moose and Finland whitetail deer hunt.

“Good description! They really do resemble what she just described,” commented John. He added, “Let’s put that one on our next-to-hunt list!” I nodded in full agreement.

Following our successful whitetail hunt in Finland, on our flight home to Texas John again brought up Chinese water deer. “I think next year’s hunt should be to England for fanged deer. If you’re interested, I’ll try to set up another hunt with Scandinavian Prohunters.”

I could not say “YES!” fast enough.

As a wildlife biologist, lifelong hunter and a “deer enthusiast” I had long wanted to hunt Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis), which are native to southern Asia, specifically China and Korea. The animals had been introduced into England in the late 1800s and they are now found in a sizeable portion of England.

Males, or bucks, do not develop antlers like many others of the Cervidae family, save some of the musk deer found in Asia. Instead of antlers, Chinese water deer grow upper canine teeth, or fangs, that they use quite effectively when fighting over territory or females. Sharply pointed, the fangs can grow up to nearly three inches in length.

Weighing upwards of 30 pounds, Chinese water deer live in grass and reed floodplains and marshes near waterways. During the years I yearned to hunt their kind, I read what I could, watched what shows I could about them and talked to folks who had hunted them. To say I was thrilled over the chance of finally hunting Chinese water deer would have been an understatement!

As we approached our early March 2026 departure, John and I made certain to procure the now required VISA from England, booked direct flights from Austin, Texas to London via British Airways through PWP Travel. Our last-minute details where handled by Patty Curnuette with The Global Sportsman, which serves as Scandinavian Prohunters’ USA booking agent.

John and I had decided to use rifles provided by Stefan and Sofia rather than takeingour personal firearms, thus avoiding red tape and headaches. Stefan had assured us we would have accurate rifles: Mauser, Tika or Blaser, and shooting Hornady ammo.

Our flight was uneventful, although a bit long.  Not a “plane sleeper,” I watched numerous movies crossing the Atlantic.

After clearing England’s Customs, we headed to a hotel next to the airport to meet Stefan and Sofia. While “catching up,” Stefan mentioned we would be joined by Scott Chambees and Richard Capote, their wives and a friend of theirs. Scott and Richard were also hunting Chinese water deer and muntjac.

Following introductions and a quick cup of coffee, we loaded into two vehicles and headed toward Beccles, north-northeast of London in the Country of Suffolk. Three hours later, we arrived at the Waveney House Hotel, built in 1540, our truly comfortable base camp for the upcoming week.

After a most delicious dinner of fish and chips and a sampling of the local pub’s Scotch whisky, we were off to bed.

The next morning, we met Adam Gage, who oversees the management of the finest Chinese water deer habitat in all of England, then made a quick trip to the range where we learned that three of the rifles were tack on at 100 yards, while the fourth was sighted in at two inches high over the same distance. As usual, our Hornady ammo proved accurate and dependable. The “deadly” part of Hornady’s slogan would come later.

Later that morning, John and I joined Adam headed off to a broad, short grass and reeds floodplain. I noticed that Adam had brought along his spotting scope.

“We’ll glass with binoculars to spot them, then I’ll use my spotting scope to see how long their fangs are,” he explained. If both fangs are intact, I’ll determine if the buck is worth stalking.”

He continued: “With our current full moon, the deer have been feeding during midday. Look for them standing and feeding but also bedded. When we spot one to go after, load the rifle and follow me, staying behind me so we look like one. When we’re within a hundred yards of so, I’ll set up the shooting sticks and point out which deer to take. Most of the bucks tend to be solitary, but it’s not uncommon to see several fairly close together.”

Adam led the way. We followed, John with a rifle, and me with a camera to record his hunt for an episode of our weekly A Sportsman’s Life” digital television series on CarbonTV.com and our YouTube channel of the same name.

We had walked a quarter-mile, spotting several near and distant Chinese water deer, though none were of interest to Adam. Then, we came upon five animals scattered between tall weeds. Peering through his spotting scop, Adam observed: “The closest buck has a long, massive fang on his right, but is totally missing his left. He’s huge! The buck to the far right is one I think we will want to take. Let me look at him just a little longer to be certain.”

Seconds later, John said: I’ll set up the shooting sticks. Get comfortable on them, find the buck we want in the scope and get ready to take a shot. He’s an older buck, with thick fangs, and the points are well below the bottom of his jaw. Fairly certain we will want to take him.” With that, I slid in behind John and waited.

A couple of moments later, I watched as John settle in and push the Tika’s safety to fire. Meanwhile, concentrated on trying to get the buck he planned to shoot on camera. Moments later, John pulled the trigger and I watched the buck fall 120 yards away. “Great shot!”

A couple of minutes later, we were at the buck’s side, taking photos. His buck did indeed have long sharp fangs, as well as a split ear, the result of a fight. In touching the deer’s hair, it seemed a bit bristly, not unlike that of an African klipspringer. Truly a handsome and oh-so unique deer.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hunting a different area looking for, but not finding a muntjac. Typical of all hunting camps, sleep came easy that night.

Morning came early! Adam hunted with Scott and Richard, John with Sofia, and I with Stefan.

Stefan and I had hunted together several times in the past, for red stag in Scotland and Sweden, reindeer in Norway, fallow deer in Denmark, roe deer in Sweden, as well as fishing for salmon and shooting waterfowl. Beyond being my first choice of outfitters in all of Europe and also a great friend, he was a frequent and respected donor to DSC and DSC Foundation fundraisers.

At first light, we began walking along a field-forest edge, hoping to find a long-fanged buck that Adam had seen a few days earlier. We soon spotted several Chinese water deer, does and young males, along with a couple of muntjac females and many pheasants. Rounding a corner, we spotted 12 deer feeding in the greenfield. Quickly, we walked behind a screening of tall grass and weeds to where we could get a better look.

Through my 10×42 Stealth Vision binoculars, I could see one of the deer had two long fangs.

“Let’s get closer if possible.” instructed Stefan. A short time later, he set up the shooting sticks. “Second one from the left, the bedded one!”

The crosshairs settled on the bedded bucks vitals, I gently tugged the trigger and saw the bullet strike the ground just beyond the buck’s back. Then, I watched all the deer disappear over the slight rise behind them.

“Hmmm, ” said Stefan. ”The good thing is you did not hit or wound him and we can continue hunting.” He hesitated, “Isn’t that the rifle Scott shot? I seem to recall it was shooting at least two inches high at hundred yards.”

“That or I simply missed!” I replied.

A short time later, we met the rest of our hunters. They had a delicious midday meal, I had a Coke and tea, still feeling a bit “puny.” We headed to the backside of the property that Adam managed for Chinese water deer. Said Adam, “I’ll take Scott and Richard on a walk, then when both have a deer, I’ll return for you Larry, and we’ll go look for one!” Sounded like a plan.

Stefan, John and I “kicked back” and glassed the wet, grassy plain. Interestingly, we watched from a distance as both Scott and Richard took their bucks.

A short time late, Adam returned to where we waited. “Larry, if you’re up for a rather long walk, there’s a place where I saw a really good buck a few days ago. Adam knew I had been dealing with a “stomach virus.” I assured him if a good buck waited, I was more than capable.

Soon, we were nearly a mile from the vehicle. Along the way we had spotted several Chinese water deer, which after looking at them through his spotting scope, Adam deemed were females, young bucks, or older bucks with broken fangs! We continued walking.

Off in the far distance, we spotted a couple of deer. The one on the left was a buck, but too young. The one on the right was a really good buck with both fangs reaching well below the bottom of his jaw. We headed in that direction.

After cutting the distance to about 300 yards, we stopped to glass the buck we hoped to take. Suddenly, he started running, heading from our far right to the left several hundred yards away. Then, just as suddenly, he stopped and started feeding along the edge of a small canal.

“Let’s get to that gate with the little bridge,” said Adam. “That should put us about a hundred yards from him. We can use the gate to help break our outline and possibly as a secondary rest for you. I closely followed Adam, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

We soon cut the distance to 125yards. We stopped and Adam set up the shooting sticks. The long-fanged buck was walking slowly left to right, but behind a berm. All I could see of him was his head, neck and very top of his back. I watched as he walked, stopping occasionally to nibble on a tender morsel.

“Larry, there’s a break in the berm about twenty steps in front of him. I’ll stop him there, so you’ll have a shot!” said Adam. I followed the deer through the scope.

As the buck stepped to where I could see his full body, Adam barked. The buck paid no attention and kept walking. I decided to shoot him while he was walking. I pushed the Mauser’s safety to fire, followed the buck’s forward movement and pulled the trigger. He dropped instantly. I heard Adam say “Good . . . perfect shot!

I bolted in another Hornady round and centered the crosshairs on the downed buck. A few moments later, I accepted Adam’s congratulatory hand.

At my buck’s side, I marveled at his long, pointed and sharp fangs. A prayer of thanks, then several photos. A dream of 40-plus years had finally been realized! A little while later, we photographed the three bucks taken that afternoon.

With all four hunters having taken extremely long-fanged Chinese water deer, a bit of a celebration ensued that evening.

The morrow would bring more adventures, including a hunt for “vampire deer.”