Just trying to get this pinned down in terms of details and "timeline".

You were in your lease already or went to it because you heard a shot. You went towards the sound of the shot when a second shot (?) was fired and you found/seen a shot Deer on land (adjacent to yours) you don't have permission on (at least you don't say you do) while still remaining on your permission/lease. The person that shot the Deer does have permission on the land they were on (or at least claims to) and the Deer was shot on "his" land? You say/show based on where the Deer was, the shooter's position and your position that the shot was fired close/near to you?

Have I got that correct?

My first bit of advice is always to go to An Gardaí/NPWS if there is something you believe needs dealing with on a legal matter. We are not the internet police and legal advice cannot be given only spoken about in broad terms of leigslation, interpretation, etc.

On a personal note it seems as though the guy was, on the face of it and given the lack of actual verifiable information, "in the right" to shoot a Deer on "his" land. He should have made sure of the backstop (and how safe it was) before firing, but then again we don't know what he did or did not see (refering to seeing you). From the diagram you provided he either knew there was a walkwaythroughway as his position relative to the Deer kept the shot from being in line with the marked "walkthrough", or simply luck was on his side. If he was unsure he should not have taken the shot, but again its impossible to know what he did or did not see, again given the diagram the trees seemed to block his "periphery". You said you went towards the sound of the first shot, and based on the diagram, the Deers position and his, that seems to be the case, so it would imply there was a safe backstop for his first shot (in that he seen nothing to prevent him taking the shot) and your presence was only an issue for the second shot? Or were you very close to the position you were in for the first shot as for the second shot?

There is also the possibility that he [the other guy] had target fixation. In other words he seen the Deer, and took the shot (whether he saw the woodland behind it or not). Either missed with the first shot and followed up with the second or put a second round into the the same Deer. In either scenario he could have been so focused on the Deer as to forget about checking/re-checking the backstop before firing. Its something you may never know. I mean for all you know he was a complete Dick with no sense of safety, waiting for Deer to appear from a lease he knows they come out off, and to pick them off as they do.

Poacher or not its a bad idea to walk towards where the sound of shots is coming from for this very reason. I have been in this position twice over the past 30 years and its unnerving, unsettling and basically puts the sh*ts up you so DO NOT take anything I've said above as an attack on you. Its not that, but instead I'm simply going through the events, as you've described them, in an attempt to show that it seems like a simple case of mistiming but with a good outcome (you were not injured/hurt).

However if you suspected a Poacher, reckless shooting, or any other actual crime, the best advice is always to remove yourself from the area, take note of any cars/vehicles you don't recognise, record the time, date and location of the incident, and report it to the relevant authority.

It was your land/lease so there is no need to "excuse" yourself for being there and just to be clear I was not implying anything of the sort. I know/assume you didn't take it as such, but just to be clear. You were perfectly entitled to be where you were. I only ask about location to establish position when the shots were fired.

Right, so you were obviously some distance away. Be that hundreds of metres or more. You were also traversing the woods so most likely not in sight for any/most of it, which is pretty standard when stalking. Because of the time between the first and second shot and given neither of ye knew where the other was or in his case there was another person there at all, its safe to say his actions, ie. the second shot, was taken with some degree of safety and care because in his mind (again all assumption) who would walk "into gunfire"?

Unfortunately no one, not even you, can speak to what he done, was thinking, etc. from a safety point of view. I can only make a guess that his first shot illicited no response and his second, given the time between shots, was still (in his mind) a safe shot.

Personally I wouldn't shoot in the direction a wood if I knew it was hunted land, and especially when I've no permission. I understand the chap shot at a Deer on his land and presumed the wood to be a safe backstop, so to me he was within his "right" to take the shot, and it boils down to personal opinons of everyone as to whether they would have taken it or not.

We can speculate s to whether the bullet passed through, stopped dead in the animal, etc. but as its all supposition it serves no real function othert han to create multiple scenarios of "what if".

I'm sure we all had encounters over the years that left us with a bad taste in our mouths, or angry/annoyed. I would only say the following as a means of providing insight to both sides. If someone were on land bordering my permissions and wanted to take photos of me, my gun, my actions, on my land because they believed they were wronged (or in the right, depending on how you look at it), I would defend myself (verbally obviously, not in the least bit hinting at anything otherwise), and my position of being in the right.

The other part is have you ever gotten a fright that made you react in anger. Perhaps the chap was startled by your appearance, the confrontation and imagery of what could have happened ran through his mind and his first defence was to lash out?

All I'm getting at here, again without taking sides, is its not a good situation to be in and thank God nobody was actually hurt or worse. It'll give the other chap food for thought before he next fires towards a wood and you to steer clear of the sound of gun shots.

Apologies if that comes across as taking sides or lecturing, its not intended, but everyday can be a school day.