Thread: Off the Mark

One of the major factors in our decision to return 'home' to NZ was the great lifestyle on offer here. My kids had listened to my stories (some of them were even true) of adventures in the great outdoors and were excited to get their turn to explore mountains and forests, to swim in rivers and lakes and to camp in temperate conditions. I am blessed with a wife who loves the adventure and the illustration of God's glory that nature provides us - though as a Northern Irish lass, she wasn't particularly comfortable including firearms in this picture because they meant something else in her childhood.

With the guidance of those more knowledgeable than I am (which is a big group), I finally bought a cheap and cheerful secondhand 7mm08 and dropped a genuinely good secondhand scope on the top. As I wanted to introduce the family to the joys of hunting, I had a can slapped on the end of the barrel to reduce the recoil and the noise a little - both of which have made it more comfortable for the family. My only real experience was with shotguns, so noise and recoil were not things I had thought about - but it has definitely been a worthwhile addition.

Feeling my inexperience, I wasn't particularly keen to jump straight into public land in search of venison. So instead, we've been learning how to hunt by harvesting some of the wild goats in the region - which seems an endless supply. No one else seems to want to hunt these animals, so we got access pretty easy. Taking just the backstraps and the meat off the hind legs, we now have a freezer full of minced goat which is great in shepherd's pie, bolognese and burgers (and an amazing curry from the Indian family who appreciate the occasional lump of goat). The kids have each taken a number, learning where the 'kill shot' is, when to hold fire and when to have a crack. They have learned how to butcher and how to turn that into dinner. My wife has learned that firearms, when treated with respect, are tools through which the family can be blessed and bless others.

During one recent trip, we took a friend and his sons. They had recently heard of a family who were doing things tough, living in a shed and without income or immediate family to help. So we all agreed, whatever we take today will be gifted to the family in need. In our region, goats are plentiful. The question is never "if" but "which one". Except this day. On this trip, not a single pellet or print, nothing. Not even a hint. Until...

When looking over the edge of a bank, I saw something quite red in between the pine trees. Watching and waiting for the right shot (something that I had learned with the goats), I watched through the scope as the red deer browsed a clearing, front shoulder directly in front of me. On the outgoing breath, I squeezed off my shot and watched as a second (not seen) deer leapt forward, before stepping slightly into some cover, leaving only the rear end visible. I calmly waited (another learning) for it to pop out. It didn't. Instead it seemed to melt away into the trees. I gave it 30 minutes and then gave in to the desire to recover my first ever deer. I rushed down to the spot I had nailed it, but found nothing. Drawing from my learning on goats, I looked for signs of blood to put me on the trail. Nothing. I walked ever-increasing circles. Nothing. I got grumpy, sulky and miserable. Still nothing. We saw nothing else all day. We went home empty. I went home despondent. I have been nailing goats for weeks, hadn't missed a shot in fact, but presented with a simple 100 meter shot on a target twice the usual size...

The ego took a battering as I realised that I couldn't hit a barn if I was inside with the door closed...

When we got home, my wife packed a picnic and demanded that I take her on a date night picnic dinner. It took me a little while to realise that she was taking me back to the same spot we'd hunted that afternoon. I explained that the area had been 'spoiled' when I fired a round off at the red. I explained that if a deer was stupid enough to return to a spoiled spot, I wasn't going to be able to hit it anyway. She ignored my tantrum.

When we arrived, we pulled the vehicle to a stop and quietly looked over the side of a drop, where I was shocked to see two yearlings grazing 300 meters away. I didn't have the confidence to take a shot three times the distance of the one I had missed earlier in the day, so we carried on another 150 meters before looking over the edge again. Bloody typical... I'd buggered it again. Animals were nowhere to be seen. We sat and watched in the hope that they would emerge from behind a tree or materilise from thin air... After 5 minutes of watching a rustle in the trees to our right suggested that the animals had crossed the river and climbed the hill we were standing on! Unbelievably, one of them emerged to stand broadside to me no more than 40 meters away! Even I could make that shot as I poked the rifle through the branches of the young pine I had been using to break my skyline silhouette. Pop, drop and stroll. I am officially off the mark! My first deer.

They really are stunningly beautiful creatures. I was struck by the cleanliness, the smell was more horse than I expected - and so much more appetising that goat! Gutting it was almost a pleasure in comparison. We proudly took it home and the kids helped to butcher it, bagging everything and delivering on our commitment to gift the meat - every drop of it - to the family in need.

I worried that my wife would see the death of this beautiful creature as a reason to step away from hunting, but the opposite seems to have happened. She has seen the beauty of the situation and the enormous gift that a deer provides. She is so hooked that I need to find another $120 to pay for her firearms licence and delay the upgrade of my own rifle until after we have found and purchased her first.

I know that you guys know this already - but we really are totally blessed to live here in NZ - and to have the right to harvest the bounty which is out there.

P.S. I now know that shooting down a steep angle means that I should aim low. Not sure if that is the reason I missed, or if I just needed a lesson to appreciate what I have.

Well done. You will never forget that moment.

Well done. The first of many hopefully.

Great effort, bless those kids and that good woman, you are a very lucky guy!

Great result it will boast your confidence after missing the other deer. Sounds like a good spot so get out there and find one for your freezer.

Awesome story, thank you for sharing!! And bloody good of you to look after a family in need. We need more people like you in this country, as there are more and more families finding themselves in that position.

Looking forward to the next story already!

Great stuff.keep at it.

Well worth the read. Good effort and well done

Awesome stuff!! Wives are great hunting companions and it makes its easier to get some of those purchases over the line ;-)

shit yeah , you wont for get that trip. well done and great news the the missus is into it also .

Excellent write up and very well done. Good on your wife for getting you out there straightaway, would have done your confidence a massive favour.