I took my boy and the dog into a favourite spot of mine in the weekend. It's a bit of a mission to get to as the access is via an overgrown hunters track. It follows a ridge down into a nice valley with heaps of grassy clearings.
Driving in I noticed a few tracks on the Forestry track but they must have been from spotlighters as there was no one parked up there.
The walk in was a bit of a shock for Oliver. He wasn't used to walking on such rough tracks with a pack. On the bright side, it didn't seem like anyone had been in there for a while and about 2/3rds of the way down we spooked a deer.
Once we got down into the valley there was an abundance of nettle and Toitoi to contend with. Oliver copped a few stings and was probably regretting coming on this trip with me.
Eventually we got to our camp spot and dropped our gear and went for a quick look further downstream. Saw plenty of sign but no more animals.
That night we got a bit of rain and had a bit of a sleep in until it eased up. We didnt leave camp till about 9 , but it was nice and drizzly. Perfect for finding Deer out on the clearings.
Sure enough they were. The very first clearing I fucked up on the first one and didnt have Jed in close enough. He wandered out onto the clearing, oblivious to the deer that I saw bounding away. Bugger.
The next one I decided to leave Oliver and Jed behind while I went off to look at the top part of the clearing. While I was gone, he heard a rustling in the bushes and turned to see a stag looking at him. It bolted. I saw nothing.:D.
We checked out a few more clearings and as we closed in on one I heard the sound of hooves thundering away.
Things weren't going well. :pissed off::pissed off:
By the end of the day Jed was starting to do as he was told and Oliver was making a bit less noise.
As we stepped onto the final clearing a deer bounded off to our right. Fuck not again.
I look across the other side and saw a funny shape off to the side through a gap in the trees. I had a look through the scope and could see it was a Hind. I quickly lined it up and fired. She ran off but I was confident of a good hit.
When I went over to where I thought she would be I could find nothing. Only a bit of hair. No blood. Damn.
This is when Jed earned his biscuits. After a few minutes of "Where's the Deer Jed" I followed him to find the Hind stone dead. I had hit it a bit far back and it had probably run 50 metres or so. It was not where I thought she would be and I'm not sure I would have found it if it hadn't been for him.
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We butchered the Deer and headed back to camp. We got back at about 8:15 so it was a long day for the young fulla. He was pretty stoked though.
Next day he was still buzzing. I wasnt so much as I knew that I had a big uphill slog ahead of us. :D
It was hard yakka getting back up the hill and Oliver reckoned it was his hardest walk to date. I think he is beginning to understand now the challenges and rewards that hunting brings.
The perseverance and skill of hunting, the effort in carrying out the meat and the satisfaction you get at the end of it all.
Eventually we got back to the truck and headed for home.
All in all a very successful weekend and hopefully many more with my young mate.
