Thread: Where are all the deer

So went out for a wander two weekends ago before headed back to work on the Monday. Decided to take a look in the northern Tararuas as I guy I met was telling me he’d seen a few up there while tramping over Christmas.
Forecast wasn’t amazing but I thought it’d be nice to check out the tops and if the sun came out that would be a bonus.
Arrived at the road end about 5am and slogged uphill for 2 hrs wishing I’d had one less beer the night before. After another hour the bush started getting thinner and I broke out of the tree line and in to the more alpine areas.
With some stunning views I watched as the fog rolled in and I couldn’t see 10m in front of me so sat down and had a coffee under a rocky lean to.
After an hour or so of fog it started getting patches of visibility so I would glass the faces I could see them as it got foggy again walk along the ridge to the next spot to glass. Carried on for a few hours before the sun actually came out properly and the wind died down too. Started getting a bit pissed off as I’d seen nothing but tried not to let it get to me. Continued along the ridge until a point I decided I’d have a late lunch and start heading back the way I came.
Lay down in the sun with a full belly and closed my eyes for what seemed like 5 minutes but was in fact 2 hours. Got a bit of a fright when I saw the time so pulled myself together and started heading down the way I came walking slowly and still glassing.
Took a look back where I’d just been and there was a hind about 560m across a valley from me.
Got pretty damn excited and made a plan to get further down the valley to a point I could get a closer shot.
Dropped down out of sight and peeked over the ridge and she was still there. Got the rifle set up and ready to go then realised I had no idea how far away it was. Got the rangefinder out and spotted it at 218m hot back in position with the rifle but couldn’t find the thing anywhere. Sat there for 45mins before packing up heading back up to the ridge.
Wandered back for another half hour then took one look back at the face it was on and there it was again. Feeling bloody knackered already I chose to pick a different spot that was easier to get to to set up for a shot. Got all set up. Deer was 200m exactly across the valley but facing away from me. Not wanting to shoot it in the arse I sat there for about 15minutes waiting for it to turn side on. When she finally did I was pretty relaxed and comfortable so was quite steady with the shot.
She dropped on the spot and kicked around for a bit but not long.
Made my way across the valley and took a while to locate it. Dragged it to a spot I thought might be easier to butcher it. Not having done it before I think I made a bit of a mess of it. It was a muddy steep spot so I just took all 4 legs off and the back straps and heart and managed to just fit them in my pack. Tried to lift the pack on to my back and realised there was no way I could carry that much. It was starting to get dark and I knew I had a long walk out so took one of the front legs out and managed to shoulder the pack.
Feeling pretty bloody happy with myself I began the long walk down the bloody steep hill.
Managed to twist my knee a little and one of ankles quite good about halfway down slowed me a fair bit. My pack isn’t flash so by the time I was halfway back that wasn’t feeling too good on my shoulders either but I managed to get back to the car at about 2 in the morning.

While I do think I was a bit lucky out there to find the deer in the first place I still feel pretty happy to have a freezer that’s full of venison. I still have a shitload to learn but all the tips and help I’ve had from the guys on this forum is very much appreciated. Most of the gear I have came from really good deals on here and some of it even free. So thanks team. Keep it up




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