Anzac Day Sambar

With the promise of a good day we set off for a morning hunt before checking some camera's that hadn't been looked at for a few weeks. Beeman dropped me off at a spot that has a mix of clear cut and openish pine which we hadn't checked for some time.
As I walked up the track in the pre dawn I noticed fresh deer marks in a couple of places which was encouraging to see. From the track end I climbed up towards the clear cut, passing a rut pad from a red stag which hadn't been used recently. As I carefully approached the open area I heard a branch break out in the open, two to three steps later I seen a sambar stag starring at me, he was standing 25 yards away against a white misty backdrop. The rifle was up and I had seconds to decide, was he big enough, I decided yes and squeezed the trigger of my 300 Win Mag. He went straight down with the neck shot and as he was on top of a steep sidling slid about 10 yards before coming to rest.
Once I reached him it was plane to see we had a lot of meat to shift and that he had a reasonable head.
I radioed Beeman but he had left his radio in the truck so it was over an hour before he answered my calls. While waiting I tried to move him into a better position for photo's but no way on my own he was to big. I ran my tape quickly over his antlers and found he was 27 inches long, 12 inch brows, about 24 wide with a span of about 18 inches, cornet 9 and the beam was close to 5.5 inches so a rough guess he around the 170 DS.
Once Beeman arrived the work began, Beeman decided the head skin was a cracker and could be used for his big 206 DS Sambar so we set about head skinning him, then we removed all the quarters and back steaks and ferried them all back to the truck. After several hours we were pretty happy to have him on the back of the truck.Attachment 86291Attachment 86292
The bullet I was using was a 178 gr ELD X , I hit him in the neck below the throat and the bullet was recovered from the skin on the off side, total penetration was about 8 inches , the bullet retained it's lead and mushroomed perfectly. Gotta love those ELD X bullets. One thing is for sure those Sambar Stag are one tough creature the skin on his neck was over quarter inch thick and the neck muscles and bone would just about stop a lesser caliber bullet.
While the Sambar rut is a ways off we have started to notice several Sambar Stags turn up on our camera lines so roll on the Attachment 86289Attachment 86290Sambar rut.

Jesus they are big buggas :thumbs::thumbs:

Good stuff.

Congrats!

Nice one Brian!! Shit I must get out with you guys again one day!

That's a beaut!

Hay Gibo remember where you walked up and looked out onto the clear cut when we checked the camera's, well that's where he was, below where you were but he was heading back to the top after feeding on the clear cut, I was lucky he was there as the whole valley was under mist and had he been another 50 yards out I wouldn't have seen him. A great day out.
Yes he pretty good but I must admit there are a lot better ones around the problem is getting a crosshair on them. You don't very often get a chance at these big boys they are cunning, in three years of running the camera's and checking them most weekends we have only taken two good stags but seen a few others. But it's not always about the kill we enjoy the chase and being out there.

Oh really! Was that the area I walked myself? No it wasn't I remember the area now. Was the first camera we checked from memory. Nice stag mate.

Yep you got it

Couple more pic's one is the stag as he fell, the other is the clear cut he was on and the mist starting to clear. When I shot him the mist was right to the top of the ridge so I was lucky he was where he was.Attachment 86322Attachment 86324

Outside the fence @Mooseman

Very nice head, I made the mistake of carrying one on my back once, two other guys had to help me get to my feet. Never again.

Beauty boys!


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Looks like he was a fair way from cover?

Well done! great read. Clearly shows you need "enough gun" on them.

Tahr , were I shot him he was only 25 yards from the pine edge, I had come up through the pines and was looking out onto the clear cut. As I said it was misty as hell and I think he may have stayed in the open a wee bit to long as the mist gave him a false sense of security. Shot him about half an hour after daylight, you got to be lucky sometimes and that morning was for me.

oneshot, you are dead right the head and head skin was a load in it's self.

Beeman, Looks like a fence in the picture but as you know it isn't.

:thumbs: now it’s fishing time