My first deer hunt!

So today was a very exciting day for me today as my brother borrow a rifle so we could look for a deer we got to our area just on light a walked over a ridge in to a scrubby gully we sat down to start looking and straight away up the creek stood a red hind and yearling!!!! My brother got me to lay down he passed me the rifle and made sure I hade a steady rest and told me where to aim and said so slowly squeeze off. The rifle went bang and the yearling reared uo and rolled down the hill!!!! I was so excited! My brother then grabbed the rifle and started whistling at hind when it finally stopped he was what seemed like a long way off but my brother took a big breath squeezed off and thump the just dropped! We were both very excited only 20 minutes in! We made a way point with the etrex madjon gave me! When we got to the yearling was 80 meters and the hind was just shy of 300!!! 275m my brother gutted them and he carried the hind 400 meters to the top of the ridge he had to have lots of breaks as the deer was huge he said his knees were giving in near the end and he’s carried some big pigs but says he’s never carried something as heavy as that bitch was his word haha I carried the rifle and gear up with him then we went back for the yearling and i had a few Carry with some help of course then he carried it the rest of the way we were both very excited and proud of each other! I wish I took my phone so I could get photos when I was there but I got some when I got home. I the boots from sako we’re so comfy and the knife from gonetropo gutted them easily! I want to try my new gas cooker from tikka to cook some of the meat! Hope I got names right ! I had a lot of fun but I do feel compassion for the deer as they both have there life for food but it probably a good thing to have sympathy surly? Attachment 105696Attachment 105697

Cool story, enjoy you new sport!!

That's great!

Its a wonderful thing to have sympathy for your quarry.
Never be ashamed to shed a tear or have an emotional lump in your throat about things you respect or love.

Great posting, really happy for you!

And yes, sympathy and respect for animals is always right.

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Fantastic. Using as much of the meat as possible shows respect for your quarry. Hopefully the first of many in a long hunting career.

Primo dude. You will be stoked. Enjoy the venison.

Good on you:thumbsup:
Have a look on how to butcher the animal in the net. Also a good article on how to butcher to carry in this months NZ hunter magazine page 81 here ya go! There are easier ways but for short walks this is good.
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ps the words behind my thumb are. “So you can roll”. And “the head which only”.

I usually take the neck off as it’s also a pain in thick bush.

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Originally Posted by Sideshow

ps the words behind my thumb are. “So you can roll”. And “the head which only”.

I usually take the neck off as it’s also a pain in thick bush.

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Thought after 4K of post you could stick the pick up the right way SS :-(
Getting a saw neck reading that

Well done lad, congrats.

Good on ya mate ! Really awesome, you’ve got a good brother that’s for sure

awesome work boys!

Good stuff mate. Like tahr said, you should never be ashamed to feel some guilt and compassion for your quarry and you will be a better hunter by embracing those feelings. Youre on the board now but dont expect to get one every trip though!

Awesome :cool:

That’s awesome and the smile says it all, well done and one of many in the future :cool:

Thanks everyone was a very awesome and eye opening adventure was it okay to take the yearling also or should we have left it alone?
How long can you hang a deer if the weather is a bit cooler?

bloody well done !

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Originally Posted by Dunedin hunter

Thanks everyone was a very awesome and eye opening adventure was it okay to take the yearling also or should we have left it alone?
How long can you hang a deer if the weather is a bit cooler?

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Everyone has different ideas on this but if it were me I would have taken the yearling before taking a hind. Good chance a hind could still have a young one hidden away somewhere at this time of year but I would say if she was with a yearling then it was her fawn from last year and she hasnt had a young one this year as more often than not they will kick the yearling out if they have a new fawn

Good one get yourself the dvd deer hunting in nz by alex and tim gale its a good dvd and covers the butchery side of it as well

Congrats. Well done.

If you look at the price of venison in the shops, it's a LOT.

I put 30 lb of venison in the freezer the other day, googled it's value, and then said ........"hang on, that can't be right" .....hmm.

Fantastic!
Well done guys.
Get the skin off them in a day or two at the most if not neck or head shot, then you can cut out/trim the bloody shot meat/bone fragments out as these will go rotten very fast.
Cleaned up and hung somewhere cool and fly proof they should be fine for 4-5 days.

Great going guys, always good to get that first deer under your belt. If you have a good beer fridge or fridge you can put meat in I would bone it out and put the meat in there for at least 5 days at about 2 degrees C. I also cover the meat with a damp tea towel over it to help stop the meat drying out and going black. Once its matured cut into steaks and freeze.

As Mooseman said^^^:thumbsup: but if ya mums tea towels ask first or you might be hanging next to them:O_O:;)

If you hang it, open up the ball joints in the hindquarters, this is usually the first place to get bone taint if the carcase is warm. The SI temperatures should chill it well overnight.

Good on you Blade,and bro,glad the Etrex is still working.:thumbsup:

i never did use that knife on a deer, just pigs, goats, sheep etc. i used a zipper on the deer
i'm glad you used it, i am so damn proud that i helped a young fella into the sport and he scored his first deer.
i wish you many more hunts and meat on the table.

p.s when you hit 20 and are in christchurch you can buy me a beer :P

Bloody awesome young fella , you are going to make a fine hunter in time.
Keep up the good work!

HOOKED........enjoy your vennison.

Well done, great to get one at such a young age.

Couldn't have asked for better.
Well done boys.

Awesome stuff bud! Love to hear about the respect you have for your harvest.

All my mates know - once I have put an animal down, they must leave me alone for 5 or 10 min with it. I always sit next to the animal and stroke it, feeling it’s warmth, and taking in its beauty. The soppiness lasts 10min max, and then I am good to go. :thumbsup: and pumped from the experience and that I have meat for the feeezer.

I have always sworn that if I lose that feeling I get after each animal taken, I will hang up my boots. 20 years later it hasn’t been lost yet...