Breaking a virgin in, slowley and gently

This time of years my favourite hunting
Snow, cold and Bull Tahr
An old school mate of mine who i used to do weekend missions into the hills with had since moved to the NI for the army and i to the westcoast for work witch ment we dont get to see each other much these days.
Having since got his firearms lisence and shot a couple of deer i was keen to break him in on some Tahr country
He flew down on the thursday, we were saposed to fly in Sat but the weather didnt allow for it until Monday.
We were in
Camp was set up
And then the snow came - welcome back to the south island!

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...pscf227fff.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps73c08fae.jpg
After the snow we ventured up river for a wonder, i hit a bull hard with a 162amax sore its shoulder buckle, it took off and we returned two days later - not a sign???? Not very impressed with myself.

The next few days were fine and sunny, we got out and i got onto getting Clem his first Tahr - and a mean scope eye to match
http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0a8c12a9.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8cc38dc0.jpg

It got cold, pants stood by themself, shit froze, uncluding us

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1f95c87a.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps467f236f.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps82877bff.jpg

We got about finding some tahr

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...psaad34280.jpg

I spied a bull at 900yards, set up on him and let rip with the edge, down he went

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...psed2390f2.jpg

He was about where the sun is hitting the hill

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8818f309.jpg

We spied a nice creek and i let Clem take the lead, it wasnt long before he was down on his stomach, i couldnt see what he was lining up on but his face after the shot said it all
http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1daeceb0.jpg
http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps23270845.jpg



Next day i went for a climb and got up close and personal with these fellas and seen what the edge does at close range ie under 100, stops drops and rolls them thats for sure

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8b6ae5cc.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...psde7c3728.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps802bbade.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50a4faaa.jpg

Scheduled pick up was friday morning, it shat itself thursday night, we packed up our gear and waited under the fly, no pick up.
So out with the bivy bags. On Sat night .... still waiting we ate like yanks
Yank rat pack
http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...psa2346f87.jpg

That night she really came in hard, my bivy bag leaked, my sleeping bag got soaked, i ended up most of the night on me camp chair, survival bag on inside my wegt seleeping bag and bivy zipped up over top, Next day we left our flooded camp and headed for "salvation rock"

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6e9bfbb8.jpg

http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0c5f3482.jpg

finally we got out thismorning, some 4 days of waiting!!!!
and you know whaty, i cant wait to get back in the hills and chase more of these buggers aroud!

Fantastic Smiddy but you can stick that frozen white stuff where the sun doesn't shine

Scoped!

Great pics. Must have been damned chilly to have your clothes frozen solid like that. I've never been out hunting in weather that cold but the one time I lost my other pair of socks and walked the Kepler track + more (roughly 80km) in one pair of socks. You guessed it, they stood up by themselves :oh noes:

Getting sick of these misleading threads :D

Looks like an epic trip!!!
Sure makes you appreciate your gear when the weathers that cold

Awesome pics and yarn Smiddy:thumbup:

Rock biv looks sweet, not close to the hunting? Or stumbled across it later?

Sent from my GT-S5360T using Tapatalk 2

That's a great post smiddy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awsome looking trip smiddy............i wouldnt smile wearing jelly bean camo though mate!!!!:thumbsup:Great shot on the tahr well done.

Good shit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rushy

Fantastic Smiddy but you can stick that frozen white stuff where the sun doesn't shine

---

With you on that one. But very impressive.

Fark we were wondering if you would get out as scheduled. It was pretty cold when the weather came through and we were well lower!

Have you put Clem off hunting with you again;)

Great report. Love the freestanding over pants pic! What was your biv bag? Nz army? Or one of those US army ones?

Great report, thanks for sharing! We're you in the Landsborough? Looks like Baker Creek or maybe Zora Canyon?

Very, very nice :thumbsup:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Toby

Getting sick of these misleading threads :D

---

'
Toby you know what chanel to look at;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ishoot10s

Great report, thanks for sharing! We're you in the Landsborough? Looks like Baker Creek or maybe Zora Canyon?

---

Nice try, but no cigar.

Great report Smiddy. You did it hard for the last couple nights. Did ya get a fire going?
Almost impossible to get one going in there.
They need to do a decent cull. The thar liaison group are have no idea with nanny only culls.
Hunters get what they want and it's a fuck up.

Thanks Smiddy another good report:cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by R93

Nice try, but no cigar.

Great report Smiddy. You did it hard for the last couple nights. Did ya get a fire going?
Almost impossible to get one going in there.
They need to do a decent cull. The thar liaison group are have no idea with nanny only culls.
Hunters get what they want and it's a fuck up.

---

No fire mate ha, didnt even try. Yep too many bulls and they all broomed to fuck, as you say nanny only culls result in this

Thanks for the write up and photos

Great write up Smiddy, like the fact you were prepared (MREs) for an 'overstay' and you had the nouse to survive.......thats one for the grandkids!!!!!!!

Wicked ! That looked tuff ! .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Good write up and pictures. Really don't know if I could handle that environment.
Why did you take a chilly bin?

---

To stop things freezing!

Completely different weather to us 2 weeks prior. We were complaining about it being to hot!

Maybe I have just been lucky, but both the big bulls I have shot didn't have any bad brooming, one was only a couple rivers away from where you were and the other up in the Adams Wilderness area. What causes brooming mainly? Is it just a result of bulls fighting or also related to the terrain etc that they are living in.

Other than Shelter Hollow 3 years ago, every West Coast trip I have been on there have been at least an equal number of bulls seen as nannies. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving the green light for any Jo Blow to go on a bull culling spree, but it seems that it certainly needs to be done in certain catchments anyway. On our 4 day Nov trip we would have seen close to 100 bulls I reckon, and I've seen photos/video of mobs of 40+ bulls in the last couple years, so there could be a (CONTROLLED) thin out...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Claw

Maybe I have just been lucky, but both the big bulls I have shot didn't have any bad brooming, one was only a couple rivers away from where you were and the other up in the Adams Wilderness area. What causes brooming mainly? Is it just a result of bulls fighting or also related to the terrain etc that they are living in.

Other than Shelter Hollow 3 years ago, every West Coast trip I have been on there have been at least an equal number of bulls seen as nannies. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving the green light for any Jo Blow to go on a bull culling spree, but it seems that it certainly needs to be done in certain catchments anyway. On our 4 day Nov trip we would have seen close to 100 bulls I reckon, and I've seen photos/video of mobs of 40+ bulls in the last couple years, so there could be a (CONTROLLED) thin out...

---

Nannys should out number bulls 3-4 to 1.

Bulls broom their dermal ridges by like a stags rubbing trees and scrub. Thar will also rub on rock and fight. Break tips off etc, encouraged by fighting and display.
You cannot manage animals by culling one sex and juveniles.
Certain catchments would need different attention.
The whataroa and landsborough are just about on the outside (supposedly) of the thar range and culling by ground and machine is easier in those catchments due to the terrain and habits of the animals.

So this poor fella wanted to just go for a hunt and all you saw was "fresh meat" and spent the week taking away his virginity..poor bloke will never be the same!!

Good story though :thumbsup:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bavarian_Hunter

So this poor fella wanted to just go for a hunt and all you saw was "fresh meat" and spent the week taking away his virginity..poor bloke will never be the same!!

Good story though :thumbsup:

---

If he is in the NI and in the Army he is either 1st battalion or a pogue. Either way I doubt Smiddy was the first. Ha Ha

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by R93

If he is in the NI and in the Army he is either 1st battalion or a pogue.

---

If he is 1RNZIR and a virgin then he has just signed up and is on his first day in.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Claw

Maybe I have just been lucky, but both the big bulls I have shot didn't have any bad brooming, one was only a couple rivers away from where you were and the other up in the Adams Wilderness area. What causes brooming mainly? Is it just a result of bulls fighting or also related to the terrain etc that they are living in.

Other than Shelter Hollow 3 years ago, every West Coast trip I have been on there have been at least an equal number of bulls seen as nannies. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving the green light for any Jo Blow to go on a bull culling spree, but it seems that it certainly needs to be done in certain catchments anyway. On our 4 day Nov trip we would have seen close to 100 bulls I reckon, and I've seen photos/video of mobs of 40+ bulls in the last couple years, so there could be a (CONTROLLED) thin out...

---

Don't forget that in your nov trips the bulls are mobbed and come from all over to those areas, that area you were in seems to pull alot of bulls in, as the next river over where we see photos of heaps of bulls, a east coast catchment does the same thing, bulls seem to turn up there at the same time of year then go back to there rutt pads - be interesting to gps them.
When you've got 7 Bulls to 10 nannies there becomes problems with them all trying to show domanance in order to get there end off

I was talking to some hunters that were in your spring area last week and a few tahr seen but not the amounts that were seen in spring

Nice read Smiddy, cool pics.

Beautiful looking country in there. Great report. I'll wait till things warm up as I've grown a tad soft.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Smiddy

Don't forget that in your nov trips the bulls are mobbed and come from all over to those areas, that area you were in seems to pull alot of bulls in, as the next river over where we see photos of heaps of bulls, a east coast catchment does the same thing, bulls seem to turn up there at the same time of year then go back to there rutt pads - be interesting to gps them.
When you've got 7 Bulls to 10 nannies there becomes problems with them all trying to show domanance in order to get there end off

I was talking to some hunters that were in your spring area last week and a few tahr seen but not the amounts that were seen in spring

---

Yeah that's true about them mobbing up, numbers were still surprising though!

7 bulls to 10 nannies is a bit out of whack all right. The bull I shot last month was holding 7-8 nannies but there were 2 or 3 bulls close by. Most other bulls we saw either didn't have nannies, or if they did, it was only 1 or 2...

We will be headed back to the same spot this Nov I'd say (if I can come up with a viable excuse for the Mrs) so I might do some culling, better join us!:D

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2