Thread: Good finish to the holidays

A couple of weeks ago Oliver and I walked around Ruapehu. It is a neat walk with the scenery constantly changing as you move around the mountain.




I carried a rifle with me but really I was only going to be able to tip something over on the last night. I had a chance too but it was too quick for me. A couple of nights earlier Oliver and I saw a couple of stags feeding in the open just on dark. We decided to go after them next chance we got.
Yesterday we walked in and found a suitable campsite,got set up and then went for a look. The plan was to find a good vantage spot and then wait for them to show themselves. I don't do the dialup thing but we had a bit of practice earlier in the week and I was confident we could shoot accurately to around 200 m.
We sat there for a while seeing nothing.
Eventually I saw a stag up quite high about 900 yards off.
We hatched a plan. We would have to move across open ground in full veiw before dropping into a rocky gut. We managed to do this and headed up the gut as quickly as we could.
Our plan worked and we could see two stags above us just on the other side of the skyline. I found a good rest and the biggest stag moved into view offering a perfect side on shot. He was only a hundred metres away or so. I lined him up and boom. I heard the whack of a good hit. He lurched downhill for 20 or so metres and dropped.
I felt a bit stink as Oliver could probably have taken the shot. Thankfully he didn't mind. I've promised him the next shot when we go back next year.

As we found him.



Doing the mahi.
We got back to camp pretty late and I was up early to beat the flies.
He was in good nick and we had a good load of meat to pack out.
He's all packed up and in the fridge and Freezer. Plenty of meat for steaks and Salamis and a good finish to the holidays.