When Scandinavian Prohunters’ Stefan Bengtsson told me Scotland would be the third leg of my Three-Nations roe deer hunt they were donating to the DSC Foundation Gala’s auction, I was thrilled beyond words. I could hardly wait for our adventure to begin, especially because I would host the hunt.
In the past, I had been on several highly successful hunts with both Stefan and Sofia Bengtsson in England, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Scotland and Norway. I knew they provided extremely high-quality hunts, including all things associated with the adventure, from long before arriving to long after leaving.
I had hunted red stag on a previous trip to Scotland’s Highlands with Scandinavian Prohunter. After I had taken a really nice mountain stag, we looked for a roe buck. We found only does and one very young buck. Still, that experience whetted my desire to return to Scotland for roe deer.
Mark and Carol Little bought the Three-Nations roe deer hunt at the 2025 DSC Foundation Gala (www.dscf.org). Like me, they had successful hunts in Sweden, where Carol took a gold medal buck and in Poland, where Mark had taken a gold medal buck and a second outstanding buck. My buck’s antlers were not quite as big but were still impressive.
After flying to Glasgow, Stefan, Mark, Carol and I drove to the small town of Dingwall near Inverness, where we stayed at the Novar Arms Hotel, which also served as the town’s restaurant and bar. We arrived late in the afternoon. After a delicious meal, we headed for our rooms and readied for our morning hunt.
At first light, Mark, Carol and Stefan headed to a huge property not far out of town, while I hooked up with George who had access to large expanse of land.
Before getting into his Rover, George handed me a Sako 85 chambered in 6.5×55 Swedish Mauser, a round I really like. He also handed me four Hornady Custom 140-grain ETX rounds.
As we drove, George, in his proper Scottish accent, talked about the bucks he had recently seen on several different properties we planned to hunt. He explained that the antlers of the local roe bucks were likely not as large as those I had taken in Poland and that we would be looking for a representative buck. Sounded perfect to me.
We drove over a rolling terrain, complete with planted crops, native grasslands, stands of forests, as well as an abundance of brilliant, yellow-colored flowers that decorate a shrub called a gorse. Walking through a stand of gorse is extremely uncomfortable because of the plants’ stickers or spines. I had been introduced to gorse many years earlier on my first ever roe deer hunt south of London and later, in New Zealand. Here in Scotland, I intended to avoid getting near or into it.
At the third place we stopped, we spotted a doe feeding in a planted field adjoining a brushy creek bottom. While glassing, we also noticed a mature three-by-three buck feeding on the edge of the creek. He fed toward the field, then turned and walked behind a tall stand of gorse. We debated stalking him, but to do so, we would have to cross 200 yards of open field. The doe would no doubt see us and spook the buck. We decided to wait, hoping he would see him on a different part of the field or creek bottom. When he never showed, we decided to back away and return later.
As we pulled away, George said, “There’s a gentle rolling ridge we can walk, and from there see into the bogs next to the creek. I’ve seen several mature bucks there lately. Perhaps we can find one there!” Sounded good to me.
A few minutes after checking another of George’s properties, we pulled into a lane and stopped. “We’ll walk from here!” We soon spotted six does and a small fork-horn buck.
After thoroughly glassing the animals, we continued our trek. As we topped a small rise, we spotted a doe and just beyond her a small buck. Within minutes, we glassed a third deer in the creek bottom feeding toward the open bog. He was a mature three-by-three with decent mass.
“We should get closer. Follow me!” instructed George. We dropped behind the ridge and walked at a fast pace. Two hundred paces later, we eased toward the crest of the ridge, thinking we should be within 150 yards of the buck. Peering over the crest, we spotted the buck facing us.
I lowered the rifle’s bipod legs while getting into a prone position. Then, settled in behind the rifle, I waited a few moments for the buck to turn. My back was telling me it did not like the position I was in. Thankfully, the buck turned, and I settled the crosshairs on his shoulder.
At the shot, the buck dropped in his tracks. Behind me, I could hear George say, “Congratulations, great shot!” I stood up and received his congratulatory hand.
Larry with his Scottish roe deer shortly after he was taken.
Even though I had not yet seen my buck close up, I knew he had bigger antlers than I had dared hoped for.
“You stay here and enjoy the moment,” said George. I’ll go down and drag him back here. We’ll get some photos, then I’ll get the Rover and we’ll take him back to my place where I’ll continue taking care of him.”
When we got back to George’s place, Stefan was waiting on us and helped take more photos. After that, we headed back to the Novar Arms Hotel where I related my story several times.
Larry’s Scottish roe deer along with the rifle he used.
Stefan, Mark and Carol had seen mostly does, but also a couple of young bucks and numerous sika deer. Originally from the Orient, sikas had been introduced in Scotland years ago.
After a quick meal, we headed to an outdoor store, Jakt & Friluftsgarden, where I drooled over guns with unbelievably beautiful wood stocks and talked with the owner about Hornady ammunition he suggested for various European big game species.
Later that afternoon, Carol was taken to George’s land where hopefully, they would find a roe deer for her. Mark, Stefan and I adjourned to a local pub to plan future hunts, while enjoying a delicious meal and a couple of the locally brewed beers. Late afternoon, we returned to George’s where we learned he and Carol had seen six does and a got brief look at a decent buck.
Back at the Novar Arms, we headed to our rooms to prepare for the next morning, which again came really early. Unfortunately, Carol and Mark hunted with George but did not see anything except a few does and one really nice buck at a great distance.
During the day, we toured a local castle, as well as visited The Loch Ness Experience near the banks of Loch Ness. One of the things that I truly enjoy about hunting with Scandinavian Prohunters is there are always historic and unique places to visit when not hunting.
Late that afternoon, we dropped off Mark and Carol to make one more hunt with George. Meanwhile, Stefan and I drove around a bit, then found a place where we could record a couple of episodes of my weekly “DSC’s Campfires with Larry Weishuhn” podcast. As darkness approached, we met up with George, Mark and Carol. Unfortunately, the only roe deer they saw were a few does. Even so, both Mark and Carol had huge smiles on their faces. According to them, our Three-Nations roe deer hunt had been a huge success. That night, they made plans to return to hunt with Scandinavian Prohunters for upland gamebirds, waterfowl and big game.
Scandinavian Prohunters offers many different hunting and fishing packages throughout Europe and other parts of the world. They can also customize adventures for their clients.
Me? I am definitely returning to hunt with Scandinavian Prohunters, possibly another Three-Nation roe deer hunt in countries I have not hunted, or maybe a red stag hunt in two or three different countries, with the possibility of adding a roe deer and some waterfowl shooting and fishing.
Guess you could say I am hooked on hunting in Europe with Scandinavian Prohunters.