Working for Backcountry Outfitters here in Australia we are lucky enough to be the National Distributors of John Rigby and Co. hunting rifles. The Rigby Rifle brand has seen a huge resurgence in the Australian Market in the past few years. This led to us being invited to test the all new Rigby Highland Stalkers in their birthplace, the Scottish Highlands. This invitation was to include a lavish two day stag hunt and a visit to the John Rigby and Co. factory in London. David Auger and myself, Tom Auger, from Pro-Tactical were the fortunate ones that received the invite to what was to be the trip of a lifetime.
After a long flight from Brisbane, we finally arrived in London and were headed straight to the Rigby workshop where we had the chance to explore the headquarters, meet the team and watch them create first-hand the famous rifles, from hand filing the barrels to finely chequering the stocks. As well as seeing the newest stock being created, we also got a look at all the historic firearms Rigby has on display. This was followed by a brief speech from David Miles, the Gunroom Manager of John Rigby & Co., introducing us to the week we were about to embark on.
The initial formalities concluded shortly after a South African style BBQ lunch and we were straight off to Euston Station. The Caledonian Sleeper was to take us on our journey north to the Scottish Highlands in search of some Highland stags. We all boarded the train, the bar was quickly found and everyone settled in nicely for the journey ahead. Unsurprisingly, a little bit of first night fever was apparent as we seemed to drink the train dry of gin, whiskey, red wine and whatever else the staff could provide. The group all retreated to bed around one am in preparation for our early arrival the next morning.
Day two we woke at about 6am Scottish local time with the same story throughout the guests; Not much sleep was had but everyone was very eager to get hunting. On departing the train, we were greeted by a bagpiper in full kilt welcoming us to Blair Athol, Scotland. A true Scottish welcome. Awaiting us at the station were four Rigby Land Rovers that we quickly piled into and we made our way to the hunting lodge approximately 45 minutes drive away. Along the way we passed the incredible Blair Castle along with some amazing scenery to go with it.
We arrived at the lodge mid-morning and a handful of guests quickly jumped on the opportunity to go on a last-minute hunt that became available. The rest of our group stayed back to settle in to our various lodges and recharge some very jet lagged batteries in preparation for the full day tomorrow. Later that afternoon a trip to the range was planned where guests got to shoot a full range of Rigby rifles including the Rising Bite Double Rifle, which is quite special if you've ever laid eyes on one. Sore shoulders aside, we returned to the Forrest Lodge where we were treated to a relaxed BBQ dinner, followed by an onslaught of gin, whiskey and red wine… again. A trend seemed to be forming in that department.
Waking up on day three we were straight back into the itinerary and after a quick breakfast and coffee, David, Maria Gil and I were greeted by our stalker for the day. Dressed in the traditional tweed outfit of the Scottish Highlands, Ben was quite a sight for us two Queensland blokes. Straight to the range, we went to get our eye in with a few quick shots out of the Rigby Highland Stalker in .30-06. Quickly we were on the road again to our beat where we would hunt for the day. There seemed to be no go-slow mode in the Highlands.
Within minutes of parking the car and beginning our trek we spotted a large herd of approximately 200 deer, with a mixture of stag and hind, so the stalk began. We tracked back slightly to get to higher ground and out of sight in an attempt to get in front of the herd. We were greeted with what seemed to be an endless mountain, with false peek upon false peek. All of a sudden the hearts were racing, legs burning, and some questioning if they were going to make it through the day. This was going to be tough!
An entire hour later we reached the top of the never-ending mountain and after a quick break we continued across the peak. Then the rain set in. Within a space of 15 minutes we went from hot and sweaty to freezing cold and wet. Not something I'm used to being from Brisbane. The rain didn’t fade but we pushed on arriving at another mountain face, which looked even bigger than the last. Much to our dismay we had to scale this one also. 
The new-found road provided some much-needed relief from the boggy, muddy trail we were used to by now, but still and incline. Arriving at the top the fog was so thick you could barely see 50m in front of you, but the stalker had a plan. We stopped again quickly in an attempt to devour some lunch with quickly numbing hands as Ben, our stalker, went ahead to finalise our next move. He spotted 5 hinds directly in the way of our original plan. If we had continued on they would have seen us and pushed toward the herd we were hunting, scaring them off. We took a gamble and decided to try and cut down the middle. Ben did not look confident but we had no other real choice. Thankfully it worked and the hinds disappeared and we could see the herd was still there over the peak. Once closer, Maria and I sat back while David and Ben pushed on to try for the shot. After what seemed like hours in the wind and the cold waiting, we finally hear a shot followed by a hit! Success! They had crawled slowly approximately 30m to get close enough, opening up the shot. One stag down on day one! Couldn't have asked for a better start. After the obligatory photos, the appropriate prep was performed before the pony arrived to take the stag away.
A traditional Scottish method and something I had never seen. It was absolutely amazing to witness, with the deer slung over the pony’s back it walked off over the ridge and away back to the lodge. Spirits were high, and now to make the journey back to the vehicle. All in all we walked 17km and scaled 72 floors, but was all worth it. We returned home for showers and a small rest before we suited up in our traditional Scottish kilt for dinner. Another first for this Queenslander. Underwear… optional.
Greeted again by bagpipes playing, the Blair Castle was something to admire. The walls were covered with antique firearms and swords, rustic clothing and more stag horns than I had ever seen. There must have been 200 plus, some dating back to the 1700's. It was an extraordinary sight for any hunter to lay eyes on. We sat for our formal dinner and swapped stories of the days hunt with the other guests. In the middle of the table sat all of the rarest Rigby’s known to the company, including the Jim Corbett .275 Rigby that the new Highland Stalker was modelled off, said to be worth over 500,000 pounds, not for sale unfortunately, but we did snap as many photos as we could. David and I may have caused a little trouble when sitting on chair with the Jim Corbett gun, unknown to us that it was 500 years old… whoops. We finished up the nights proceedings and returned to our lodges. Unaware of what was about to come tomorrow, I probably should have called it a night a few hours earlier.
Waking up at 7am a little worse for wear, a quick shower, bacon roll and coffee, a staple it seemed, and we were off again with Ben in the pursuit of another stag. Today I was joined with David Miles from Rigby, and a photographer to capture the day’s events. It was my turn to shoot, so the pressure was on.
Again, almost immediately upon arriving we spot a herd approximately 120 in number, and so we were off. This mountain however, made yesterday's look like a speed bump. It took two and a half hours to scale with some serious questions on ability to reach the top, but we pushed on. No matter how tired you got, the scenery and thought of a stag seemed to give you the energy to continue. The rain set in again, thankfully not for long so we only got slightly wet, the wind however definitely let us know it was there. To avoid our scent being caught in the wind and scaring off the herd, we had to get to the other side of them which meant walking down the same mountain a few kilometres later and straight up another. Thankfully not as big as the last and we were now on the same face as the 120-odd stag.
Along the way, we found some lucky white heather, apparently very rare, so we all picked a tiny branch and thought luck was on our side. However, apparently we should leave the luck to the Irish because this was not the case. At the top of the mountain the herd had moved slightly and now the wind had changed. In front of our eyes our last 5 hours went out to the door. We decided to gamble on the wind and have a crack anyway. We stalked closer but the herd immediately picked our scent. Within seconds the 120 strong were off and away on to another beat we couldn't hunt. Spirits suddenly became extremely low. A rest was needed as we watched what had now turned in to what looked like 250 plus deer slowly make their way up the hill. Although devastating that we missed out after so much hard work, something about watching the herd move across the Scottish Highlands was incredible.
Whilst regathering ourselves we spotted 20 other stags further down the ridge laying and grazing, not in an ideal position, but the day was running out and we were out of options. We turned back to scale down the mountain to try following the river back in order to sneak up to their position. Ben wasn’t too confident in the plan but we pushed on in the worst terrain I had ever witnessed. Closer and closer we stalked, and as we got nearer to their position the bad news came, they were gone.
We were now at the point where all that was left in the day was to start the hike back to the car along the river, cross our fingers and hope we spot some on the way. This is not what you want to hear when you have drained yourself all day and have absolutely nothing to show for it. Just when all hope was lost Ben and David out of the corner of their eye spotted three sets of antlers peeking over the ridge. Five pm on the dot! We couldn't have left it any later. We jumped into action. David and Jason sat tight while Ben and I tracked back slightly to get up the mountain into position. The last 100m seem like a kilometre. Thoughts were running through my mind that I couldn't make it up. I used up the very last bit of energy and made it to the position… Ben slightly angry at how slow this Aussie was moving.
We left our gear and started to crawl, with only rifle in hand, 40m to position. We could still only just see their heads, about 160 yards away, so no shot available. We desperately tried to move 20 yards closer to another small ridge but after a two-metre crawl all three heads popped up and stared directly at us. At this point Ben was about a meter in front of me, so we had to try and meet half way without scaring them. Crawling inches at a time when they would look away, which only lasted a second and they were straight back onto us. These creatures are way more intelligent than are given credit for. After 15 minutes we finally met and got the Rigby Highland Stalker ready. By this point there was only one stag left in sight so we had a matter of moments before it moved on. There was no time for mistakes now. I got the stag in my sights and just as I pulled the trigger it moved. There was a definite hit, but there was a worry that I may have just wounded it. Not what any hunter wants. We radioed through to Ewen with our pony on the opposite hill, and he quickly confirmed it was down!
There were smiles all round and a serious sense of relief. My first stag and a nine pointer! I was absolutely stoked. I received the traditional blood across my face in celebration. We met the pony at the river as daylight was fading fast. The deer was saddled up and we followed it all 5km back to the car. I was absolutely spent, nothing left in the tank, but I was happy and so was the team. Thankyou's were given to Ben and Ewen and it was grins all round.
I can't begin to explain the conditions. It was muddy, thick and wet with bog holes and slippery hills with every step you took being different to the last. I rolled my ankle countless times and slipped over more than I care to remember. All up the days hunt included 22km of walking, 33,000 steps and 182 floors of incline… equal to nearly twice up the Empire State Building in the thickest, muddiest conditions imaginable. We arrived last back to the lodge welcomed with cheers from the other guests that I got a stag. I was one of five from the group who got a shot on the day. We had a quick dinner, a well-deserved beer and shower, and then it was straight away off to the station to wait for the train back to London.
Safe to say there were a few less bottles consumed on the train home with everybody completely spent. I didn’t hear any complaints about not sleeping this time, especially from my tent.
A massive thank-you must be given to John Rigby & Co for the trip of a life time. All in all, an incredible experience. A must do on the bucket list, even if just for the breathtaking scenery of the Scottish Highlands.
Tomas Auger
Backcountry Outfitters - Australia's John Rigby & Co Distributor