Bold buck amid a barking chorus

George and I were standing quietly in the gloaming, overlooking a large grass clearing on the edge of Wakerley woods in Northamptonshire. The old runway of Spanhoe Airfield was behind us, and George recounted its history, most notably its roles in both D-Day and Operation Market Garden. Then, as dusk gathered around us, a muntjac buck ventured out of the woods.

George Burnham has been shooting deer around Corby for several decades. He spent much of his life as a farmer, before retiring and splitting his time between fishing and stalking. When the water is right, he buzzes up to the river Teviot in the Borders, and when the water isn’t, he will inevitably be out stalking.

Mastery

I met him through his involvement with the estate shoot, as he