Not every hunt centres on antlers. In this edition of The Hole Story, Larry Weishuhn turns his attention to one of the most distinctive deer in the world—the fanged Chinese water deer of England. Sparked by a chance encounter and shaped by years of curiosity, the journey brings together good company, careful planning and time in the field. From wide, reed-filled floodplains to close, deliberate shots, it is a hunt that proves some of the most memorable pursuits come in the most unexpected forms.

She stopped and stared, “That looks like a teddy bear crossed with a saber-tooth cat!” pointing at a photo of a Chinese water deer in the Scandinavian Prohunters booth at the DSC Convention where 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 deer 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 talk to Patty about setting 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, and had been introduced into England in the late 1800s, where they are now found across a sizeable portion of the country. 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 elongated upper canine teeth—fangs—that males use quite effectively when fighting over territory or females. These fangs are pointed and sharp on the backside, and they can grow up to nearly 3 inches in length. Interestingly, too, does can have litters of up to eight. Their kind seldom weighs more than 30 pounds. As their name suggests, they love grass/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 those 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 for England, booked direct flights from Austin, Texas to London, England via British Airways through PWP Travel, then checked with Patty Curnuette with The Global Sportsman, who serves as Scandinavian Prohunters’ USA booking agent, for last-minute details.

John and I met at the Austin, Texas airport, then soon boarded our flight to London. We had decided to use rifles Stefan and Sofia would provide rather than take our personal firearms, thus avoiding red tape and headaches. Stefan had assured us we would have accurate rifles—Mauser, Tikka, or Blaser—and be 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. I had last seen them a couple of months earlier at the 2026 DSC Convention and Expo in Atlanta. 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, like John and I, were hunting Chinese water deer and muntjac.

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

Over a most delicious “dinner”—of course I had fish and chips—a sampling of local pub Scotch whisky, then off to bed. Our next morning would be a bit of a lazy start, having us meet mid-morning with Adam Gage, who oversees the management of some of the finest Chinese water deer habitat in all of England. We would be using Adam’s rifles. Thus, a quick trip to the range where we learned each of the four rifles was sighted in at 100 yards, albeit one 2 inches high at that distance; Hornady ammo, accurate and dependable. The “deadly” part of Hornady’s slogan would come later.

Late mid-morning John and I joined Adam to hunt Chinese water deer on a broad, wet, short-grass and reed floodplain. I noticed Adam grabbed 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, if both are intact, and determine if the buck is worth stalking or taking.” He continued, “With our current full moon, deer have been feeding during mid-day. 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 within a hundred yards or so, I’ll set up the shooting sticks and point out which deer to take if there are more than one. Most of the bucks tend to be solitary, but it’s also not uncommon to see several fairly close together.”

Adam led the way. We followed—John with the rifle, 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, spotted several near and distant Chinese water deer which did not interest Adam. Then we spotted five scattered between taller weeds. Our guide peered through the spotting scope. “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, I’ll set up the shooting sticks, get comfortable on them, find the buck in the scope and get ready to take a shot if I tell you the buck is one we should take. 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, “Indeed a proper buck, one we should take!” I watched as John “settled in,” pushed the Tikka’s safety to “fire.” I then concentrated on trying to get the buck he planned to shoot on camera. Moments later, the suppressed shot sounded. I watched the buck fall, 120 yards away. “Great shot!”

A couple of minutes later we were at John’s buck’s side taking photos. His buck indeed did have long, pointed, and 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, it did not take long to spend the 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, including 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 choice of outfitter in all of Europe and beyond, he too has become a great friend and a frequent and respected donor to DSC and DSC Foundation fundraisers.

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

Through my 10x42 Stealth Vision binoculars, I could see one of the deer had long fangs. Both were present. “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 buck’s vitals, I gently tugged the trigger. And…I saw the bullet strike the ground just beyond the buck’s back. Then watched as all the deer disappeared 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 2 inches high at 100 yards.”

“That, or I simply missed!” I replied.

A short time later we met the rest of our hunters. They had a delicious mid-day meal; I had a Coke and tea, still feeling a bit “puny”! We headed to the backside of the property 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 later 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 females, young bucks, or older bucks with broken fangs! We continued walking.

Off in the far distance we spotted a couple of deer. Adam, after watching the one on the left, declared him a buck, but too young. The one on the right, much farther away, he declared 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 three hundred yards, we stopped to glass the buck we hoped to take. Suddenly he started running, heading from our far right to the left, still at least three 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. 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 125 yards. 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 the 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 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 moving, pushed the Mauser’s safety to fire, followed the buck’s forward movement, and pulled the trigger. My buck fell. I heard Adam say, “Good, perfect shot!” No sooner had I shot than I bolted in another Hornady round and centred the crosshairs on the downed buck. A few moments later I accepted Adam’s congratulatory hand.

At my buck’s—albeit wet—side (he had fallen into the water after the shot), I marvelled at his long, pointed, and sharp fangs. A prayer of thanks, then several photos. A dream of forty-plus years had finally been realised! 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 looking for “vampire deer”…