As a young dad with a 2 month old at home I had written off hunting for a few months. A good mate of mine was sick of talking about it as he has 2 kids himself.
“You’ll book trips months and weeks in advance. You’ll go on any forecast and adjust to suit. You’ll miss deer and shoot deer and enjoy both. You’ve just got to make the opportunities for yourself, put in the work and keep showing up”
I took it from him that he was right. Times were changing in my neck of the woods day by day so if he was still shooting deer and having fun in the bush I’d better follow his lead.
Mrs gave a leave pass and so did work so I planned to hunt from one of the few remaining eastern Ruahine accesses for 2 nights. I turned up early and the place was a sea of headlamps and trucks so I left disappointed.
But, I had to create an opportunity so I drove to the one remaining Kaweka access to find it relatively quiet. All the country there is new to me and I wanted to walk until I had to stop. I wasn’t hopeful of a deer as I’ve not hunted sika in April before but I figured if I walked far enough if I’d be ok.
4 hrs later I’d put in some work and was mid level in some bluffy country enjoying the moment with the dog.
I was sidling around some bluffs when I saw a hind atop a small one below me. I shot her in the neck and she careened off the bluff. She looked stone dead and as I got down to her she woke up, kicked the shit out of the dog and took off into even steeper country where I didn’t want to go. The dog refused to even look at where she’d went and skulked behind me. I tried for over an hour to get down further but had no success. Gutting.
2 more hrs later and I was about as far from the carpark as I could get for the day with some handy bush faces nearby. I slept to the sound of many heehawing sika stags and one lone red groaning away between heavy rain and wind.
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Woke in the morning to check some claypans. Spied a big spiker but at 600 yards he was too far for me. Coming back towards camp the dog got a wind and 100m later I spooked two hinds in mingimingi scrub. Another fail. Back to the mantra, keep showing up.
Dropped into another gully off the dogs wind and 300m later I was into it. A real ruckus going on in a steep gully. One stag was single calling and mewing away. As I closed the gap one stag turned into two and I spooked both of those who left without a squeal. I mewed to try stop the second one and this only aggravated the unseen stag making all the noise.
I was so close I could hear quiet little mews and the dog was riveted to a patch of thick pole beech twenty odd metres away. I put the dog on the stop, and slowly moved up to the poles. In a patch of sun I spotted the flash of an antler. A closer look showed me a stag sitting down in his bed but with only half his head available I had to change the angle to see more. Two more steps and I could see him mewing to himself with a good angle for a shot.
I was satisfied it was a deer, but took a second to look further to see if it wasn’t. Ticked off his head. Noted one antler had four points on one side. Ticked off his neck, shoulder curve, back of his back legs. I watched his ears flick and tail wiggle. I was ready.
He let rip with another loud call, turning his head behind him. Definitely a deer. As he finished his call and turned his head I fired and he slumped down in his bed. At the shot a hind crashed off a few metres to one side but I didn’t care.
I paced the distance out and found I was 10 metres away…and that I’d shot an 8 point sika!
My first single calling sika stag, first 8 point sika and first deer I’ve ever shot in its bed.
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6 hrs later I was back at the car in the dark after a hell of an overnighter. I’d showed up.
