Thread: Up Close / How Close

Two instances that I recall where it was close quarters for sure . The first was when I was culling goats up Coromandel, my dog had bailed a goat way down in a dirty gully. I was next to a slip thinking shall I go down or not as the dog would have killed it by the time I got to him. I suddenly noticed movement on a trail that lead past me to the slip. having no rifle as I hunted with a dog and knife a lot in the bush. I got in behind a tree and as the goat walked past I lunged forward and drove the knife to the hilt behind it's shoulder, the goat took off, making it to the slip then sitting down and expiring. Thank Christ otherwise I would have lost me knife.

The other time I was stalking in the Kiamanawas on the Tiki Tiki side of Mt Te Iringa when I spied a small portion of deer behind a large beech tree, I was about 15 m away so began to sneak in and move further around so I could get a better look at it. After what seemed like ages I managed to move around enough without waking the deer. I could then see the vitals and shot the sleeping 8 point Sika stag at about 2-3 meters. The first and only time I have shot a sika stag sleeping.