Easy hunt and some home truths
So I got out for a quick overnighter with another forum member (I wont name him he can out himself if he likes) .
Our trip started with a quick and not to strenuous walk along a saddle and then dropping our packs and camping gear at our camp site.
We then grabbed our rifles, binos, jackets and my hunting partner grabbed his empty pack.
I chose not to bring a pack (big mistake).
We set off for a face to watch for the evening dropping down a steep track then side hilling around a knob to our spot, along the way I was introduced to Onga onga (a native stinging nettle) something I'd never heard of before and I was warned to give it a wide berth.....Little did I know we would both end up feeling the wrath of this horrible little weed.
It's funny it never seems to bad when your descending and carrying only a rifle and bino bivvy, there was lots of waist high grass to contend with which made the going a bit tricky at times as it hid rocks and logs and also meant you really had to lift your legs making progress a little slower but not unbearable.
Well we got set up on a good glassing spot at around about 4:30pm there was a constant wind blowing but not too bad for the most part and in our favour so that was good.
We sat there for quite some time scanning the face opposite us and chewing the fat about this and that.
After a while my partner suggested it might be worth splitting up so he could check another face and double our chances as time was getting on and as yet we hadn't seen a thing.
We agreed that if either of us saw anything we would call the other to come.
Well time ticked on and nothing came out, which was supprising as there were some well used game trails and plenty of feed.
Soon enough my partner came back to find me still scanning and wrapped up in my jacket as the temp was starting to drop and the wind was picking up.
He hadn't seen anything either, now I'm pretty used to not finding deer so whilst I wasn't disappointed I hadn't given up hope yet.
We decided we would sit on the face we were on till dark and give it some more time, now normally after sitting in one place I would've been keen to move on but I trusted my partner and stayed put.
The sun was starting to get pretty low and I knew we were fast running out of shooting light, I mentally prepared mysrlf for the fact we might go back empty and I was ok with that as it was gonna be a reasonable effort to get back to camp anyway.
Then out of nowhere my partner tells me he can see a deer and on one of the closer faces which I was relieved about as I was carrying my short Bergara 308 single.
We watched as the deer a solid young stag came further out of the scrub completely fixated on feeding. We ranged him at about 550 yards from memory. Too far for my self imposed limit of 400 yards with this rifle (my load has just over 1000 ft/lbs at this distance).
I'm only running a 3-9×40 tasco on it currently with capped dials so wasnt keen on dialing either.
We decided to close the gap, we were currently sitting in the scrub line so we stayed there whilst side hilling around to a spot we could drop down and get a closer shot without having to cross open ground.
Keeping an eye on the stag we moved quickly and quietly (for the most part).
We dropped down and found a suitable rest, a quick range put the stag at 330yards perfect except that I had knelt down in a patch of onga onga !!! My heart was pounding and I was breathing fast, my partner reassured me and told me to keep calm, I discussed holdover and waited for the stag to present a broadside shot.
I was excited and a little stressed as it was getting late and we had probably less than 30 minutes to sunset.
Then it happened he turned broadside it was time.....I pulled the hammer back and squeezed the trigger.
The stag dropped like a sack of spuds brilliant I thought, a quick high five and we then made plans to ditch our rifles and binos and climb up to where the stag was through a gut and up a small rocky face.
My partner got there first as he is a bit (a lot) more hill fit than me, he called out to me come quick he's not dead !!!
I scrambled the last few meters and pushed through some prickly shit to see the stag obviously fucked but looking at us in obvious distain.
We made a plan that my partner would restrain its head and I would carefully cut it's throat.
My shot was high I had held over a little too much (why I hate duplex reticles makes it hard to judge holdover for me anyway) but it had smashed both shoulders and he wasn't going anywhere.
I delivered the cu de gras and we both stepped back and let him die with as much dignity as possible given the circumstances.
I felt pretty shit about it but I was pleased he didn't bolt and die slowly somewhere.
Death isn't always perfect or easy, we both stroked the fallen stag and apologised for his suffering.
We dragged him a couple meters to a flat, took a quick photo, then I recieved a quick lesson in breaking down a deer.
The back legs were massive and once skinned went into pillow cases to keep them clean. The back fillets, heart and liver went into another pillow case.
We looked at the front shoulders but they were pretty fucked and on top of this I was a little worried about being able to carry much more back up to camp especially after making the dunce move of not bringing a pack.
My partner had his pack so the steaks and offal went into his pack with one of the hams, I was tasked with the other ham which I slung over my shoulder.
Darkness was upon us it was now after 10pm as we dropped back through the gut and side hilled our way back to where the rifles and binos were.
I made several stops along the way, the waist high grass that slowed progress on the way over seemed like quick sand with the ham slung over my shoulder throwing me off balance, also tripping on logs and rocks unfortunately I knew there was worse to come.
I finally made it to where the rifles were we sat for a bit and rested, chewed a couple of very stale jet planes. We then started the first of a couple grinds I stopped frequently to catch my breath and slow my heart rate (I was really suffering from a lack of fitness, very average boots and being off balance due to my stubbornness of not binging a pack).
We finally made it to the last and worst grind a zig zag track that led back to the saddle we were camping below.
My partner who was by now feeling pretty tired and hungry told me he was gonna do it in one push, I knew I wasn't capable and told him to go ahead I would take my time and get there eventually.
I watched as he powered out of sight, I then started making my way slowly up setting small goals sometimes exceeding them, sometimes not.
After what seemed like an eternity and many rests I thought surely I must be near the top, the dark really threw out my sense of distance, I was lying there and I even had a short nap as I was totally outta gas by this stage, when I woke to my partner who came back to find me as he had set up camp and was worried I hadn't made it back yet.
He picked up my ham, and we set off together, I thought I was near the top, to my disappointment I was less than half way, with the weight of the ham off my shoulder I trudged slowly the rest of the way up stopping just shy of the top for one last rest.
We waded back through the waist high grass to camp where I promptly collapsed and re hydrated.
We debriefed for a bit my partner confessed he had set his bed up on a patch of onga onga so he too was suffering the sting of the horrible weed, we boiled water for our meals and by the time I crawled into my sleeping bag it was 1:30am.
The wind was howling but sleep came quickly, until a possum decided to start grunting in the shrub we were fly camping behind as a wind brake, I would drift off to sleep only to be woken up again by the disgruntled possum, I considered loading a round into the bergara and sorting him out but my partner was sound asleep and I didn't want to disturb him.
The sun rose around 5 am so I got up and watched as light crept over the hills, we had coffee, breakfast and packed camp up.
I loaded the ham that had been such a burden the previous night into my tatonka bison and even with my gear in there too it was so much easier to carry, we popped up, over the saddle and followed the track down to the truck.
It had been an awesome adventure and I learnt some valuable lessons.
I need to work on my hill fitness big time
Always take a pack if you intend on shooting an animal
If your in a good spot with plenty of sign stay put, the animals are there you just haven't seen them yet.
I owe my hunting partner a huge debt of gratitude and massive respect to him.
Alls well that ends well, we had a great time and bought some good meat off the hill.
This isn't as great as some of my other stories as I made a few mistakes and my body let me down but I have taken some great lessons from a great teacher and I hope I have done this story justice.
