Hi Team,the spelling police were looking at the title.:D
A good fellow invited me on a day hunt out on a block that is covered in pines of various ages and riddled with gorse.
Reveille was 0330 to have breakfast,make a feed and thermos to take on the hunt.
Four of us were allowed onto the block. We arrived there at first light to unlock the gate and I got introduced to the other fellows that were hunting the other side of the block.
Both parties split up in pairs to hunt our seperate areas.
Not long before heading up one track in the ute an animal started running towards us. Bloody dog! We slowed right down and four dogs with tounges hanging out had joined us! All had tracking collars on.No one else was suppose to be on the block.Driving back to the main track a young woman appeared out of the bush to get her dogs.She apoligised and said she new she wasn't suppose to be here but was just tracking her dogs. Poacher?
Well my good fellow and I decided to do some leg work and see if these dogs hadn't ruined our chances.
Plenty of pig sign.
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The pigs had been into the pine stumps to eat the huhu grubs.
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We found more sign of deer and pigs.
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Seen the first two fallow way over in the distance across the boundary of the block,so that gave us hope that the dogs hadn't stuffed our hunt.We left them of course and continued on forward glassing the smaller pine plantations.When a head appeared walking towards us coming up over a brow.Time we chambered a round it was off but my good fellow let a shot off and he caught a glimpse of a second one also. Nothing hit.
Hiked around some mature trees and it looked like there was a highway running through the forest floor with heaps of prints and droppings.
Sat on a clearing for a bit before heading back to the ute.
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On the way back we walked past a mature stand of pines and I spotted an animal at 20 metres,with a few seconds to react rifle was up against my shoulder and the standing shot had my 7mm08 projectile on the way.Down he dropped,clean shot in the neck! First fallow deer for me.
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Buisness time,gutting the animal before heading back to a track intersection to meet with the other two fellows.They had two reds on the "deck" after quite a carry back to there vehicle.
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Was an awesome day off the farm with at least 7 deer seen and the pigs stayed hidden.Great hunt with good fellows.
