Cramming it in...(photo heavy)
Finally got to the arse end of a stressful and hectic tree planting season last month. Has been a relatively quiet winter hunting wise for this reason, but have still managed to get on ocassion to scratch the itch.
The last few weeks have been very busy, I'm away for a few weeks to Canada shortly and the pile of work stuff I have to do before I leave never seems to get smaller. Still could be worse, my priorities could be f*&ked up and the outdoors put on hold...Nah! ;D I've made a bit of an effort between work and work to get out a few times before we head away for a white Christmas.
Took the "bro in law" out for a couple of hunts. He's a a total greenhorn when it comes to guns and hunting, but is keen as mustard and wants to learn. First trip we lucked out, saw a couple of young hinds on a slip, snuck in and the wind shifted, and they bolted into a gully without the chance of a shot.
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Second trip, saw a spiker a mile away which had long gone by the time we showed up. Third time lucky, we hit a track I frequently pick up deer on, especially this time of year. Quietly made our way into the hot spot in the pissing rain, sure enough a yearling's standing on the bush edge, no time to set Dave so I dropped the deer with the .223. He's claimed it though, and loved the experience...
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The next morning a few mates and I head edover to the coast for a "boys trip", diving hunting and fishing. We took a couple of quad bikes, a blow up boat and my mates r44 to get where we were going and for accessing places we deemed too far to walk. After a heap of rain, the rivers were high so we had to sling the bikes a couple of times ::)
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We finally arrvied at the chosen loacation after a morning of adventures and after dropping off a couple of whitebaiters and a group of hunters to their chosen locations. After unpacking, we cracked a stubbie, and duly set out with the whitebait nets in hope of white gold. We got a few, a kilo or so, but there was more brown gold than white...they tasted good though.
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That night was an interesting one. Four chicks randomly turned up on horses, and ended up staying to eat alot of our food and drink most of our piss (they'd left theirs at the hut they were supposed to stay at...wtf). It was a random and funny night, with drinking games played, songs sung, and lies told into the early hours...Once the hard stuff came out the girls went to bed ::)
Needless to say the next morning heads were a bit sore, so we pumped te waka up and launched it for an assault on the Tasman. Dragging it to the beach wasn't an option, it was a hundred or so metres of treacherous gravel beach, and that's why we had a helicopter :D
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We went out for a fish, and set a pot. The sea was fantastic! But didn't stay out to long because some special kid put a knife through the side of te waka , which rapidly started to deflate ;D We headed back in to patch it up and put on our dive gear.
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Jumped in for a dive and sh*t it was good to get some tanks on. Been a while. Anyways, there were no shortage of bugs, so we got our limit of eaters and had a bit of an explore around.
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Later that day we had to pick up the hunters we'd dropped in the day before. A perfect excuse to get dropped in the tops for a couple of hours. While the chief helicopter operator buggered off for the arvo to find the other guys and drop them back at their trucks, Hamish found himself amongst good numbers of Chamois and managed to score his first. Needless to say he was stoked.
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The following morning we packed up, threw our dive gear on and went for one last dive before heading home. We got a few more crays to take home with us which was sweet. Awesome trip all round, weather was mint and we didnt want to go home, we even contemplated calling out with the sat phone to tell our loved ones we were staying longer!
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Back to the grind, and last week Malhunting gives me a call asking if I'd be keen for a mid week hunt with him and his Amercian work colleague. The challenge, get him his first NZ deer. We head up to one of my blocks late Wednesday, the weather was average, with heavy thunder plumps and a bitter sou-wester. Good deer weather.
Initial glassing showed nothing, so we sidled through some gullies hoping to pick up a stray deer on the bush edge. Old mate from the US spots a deers arse heading for the scrub as we come over the brow of a hill (he's like 7 foot tall!), so we missed out on that one. Slightly dispondent we continue on and eventually stalk onto a gully which often holds the odd deer. I spot two immediately, and quickly we get him set up with Mals wsm to shoot one, which he duly does with little fuss. I take the opportunity and bag the 2nd deer before it bolts. He was a happy man.
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We sorted the two animals out, and then continued hunting, as I was keen to get another one for the freezer. It wasn't long before I spotted one out feeding, which turned into three. They were too far for a stalk that evening so we left them to it.
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This week I travelled to Canterbury to visit one of my forests up there. Before and after work I try and get out for a look for a deer or tahr as there's a few about the area. Its a good way to wind down at the end of the day too beofre heading back to my cottage. On my first evening I spotted a couple of deer but they were onto me miles away, so I left them to it and went searching for a tahr.
At tahr-o'clock these hairy buggers made their way out of their scrubby hideaways and fed on down the hill.
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They were too far for me to make it to them before dark for a closer look, so I watched them for a while, picking up a few nannies up alot higher up as the evening wore on. One day I'll make the effort to get closer to them and shoot one ;)
The next day was spent working, and by knock off time I was ready to do something 'constructive'. I headed off to check some of the new plantings we did this year, and shoot a few of the tree wrecking hares. I had a great evening shooting them, with plenty about in pairs. I managed 43 of the buggers with the 223 in a couple of hours.
Hungry and tired I went back to my cottage, to have dinner. Sitting outside in the fading light, bored shitless by myself I thought "bugger it, I'll go for a fish till dark" So jumped back in the truck and headed down to the river. No luck in the first couple of pools, but right on dark this guy hit my rapala and I'd landed my first trout for the season ( ::) I know...slack) He was a healthy fish so I let him go and went home to bed.
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Up at sparrows fart on my last day at the forest I decided to head out for some venison. I checked a few likely looking spots, not seeing anything of interest. On this trip I had Pip with me, so it was her that eventually lead me to these two deer feeding in an open patch in the trees.
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Fortunately for them they were a bit far off for my wee 223, and escaped unharmed. We continued hunting for half an hour, I was conscious of the time as I had work to do before the 6 hour drive home in the afternoon. I was seriously thinking about turning back to the truck when Pip hit some scent on the breeze and my mind was changed quickly. Stalking the edge of a clearing I spotted a nice eating animal blissfully unaware of our presence, and the little Browning did its job.
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After a few hours working I headed back south. Swinging down the middle because its one of my favourite drives. I was hoping to catch up with a fellow forum member for a fish in the canals on the way through Twizel, but he was away for work, and it was windy so I canned that idea.
Now I'll be back in the office for a few more days, still catching up. Not to worry though, I do have a couple more hunts planned and a couple of trail rides to fit into the next three weeks! Then I'm off for a decent holiday! 8-)
Happy hunting!
JoshC :)
