Myself, Nik and 2 others joined us on an expedition into the Kawekas for a few nights this week. Weather looked good on paper but in reality it was cold, wet, windy, snowing and challenging conditions to say the least.
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We had to really put our thinking caps on and think where the deer would be and sort out our plan of attack each night. Father and son sighted several stags over the week and Nik chose to go bush like myself in the hope of finding them tucked away in a sunny spot out of the wind. This didn't eventuate to much but I did hear a territory call. On our last full day I was preparing to go high and push the body hard covering as much distance as possible like Niks plans. On narrowing a small ridge I looked at a face and low and behold a yearling was out feeding hard, followed by a hind. I tried to get a good resting shot but luck would have it there wasn't one. So I got a rest as best as I could and waited for the yearling to stand broadside. Squeezing the trigger the yearling looked around and took off with no confirmation of a hit. The hind in confusion to where the danger was took off along the face closing the distance between me and her. She slowed up enough with a few whistles and I gave her a crack. The full run down hill confirmed a hit and I was able to track her down to a creek where she came to a rest. On butchering her my knife slipped and gave me a deep cut into my thumb. Insulation tape to the rescue to contain the blood and feeling like an idiot I hiked out the venison back to camp.
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Father and son had seen a stag out in the open last light so made an attempt to close the distance before they froze of hypothermia. Unfortunately they missed the shot but came back with some great stories. Nik can post up a few more pics.
