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Mature Taranaki Public Land Buck
Finally got back out in the hills this week, mainly to put some k's in and start building some fitness for the roar, but hoping to also come across a mature Taranaki Public land buck!
I certainly put some fitness training in and certainly found a cool mature public land buck!
I had left the ute over 5 hours earlier and had only seen 2 deer on the way in, which wasn't really promising.
Just before lunch I was walking across a face I had just been on 15mins earlier, heading back the way I'd come. I'd basically written the area off after not seeing any deer in the honey hole zone where I expected to see them, mainly because the wind had turned and gone straight up my arse before hitting the prime zone! As I walked across the face I noticed a wide set of antlers on a buck lying down in the manuka across the stream, he was staring straight at me... I thought - "Shit he looks good!!", then he leapt up and went to run off. I took a quick shot right as he was starting to bolt. Instantly I regretted the shot, as I wouldn't usually take such a snap shot. However, I spotted him in the Manuka and ferns a few moments later and only 15m away, it looked like he fell over! I had forgotten my magazine... so the one shot I had chambered always had to count. Turns out the shot landed right in the middle of the shoulder as planned, so that was a bonus!
Once I got over and found him I was pretty chuffed, he had a cool head with a bit of character, he had a nice skin to keep for a rug and he appeared mature! He was in great nick with plenty of fat too.
He had just stripped and still had a bit of velvet hanging off, hadn't fully coloured his antlers yet.
Check out the wear on those teeth!
He's not the biggest fallow buck, certainly won't make any record books. But for a Taranaki public land Fallow buck in a spot that takes a fair bit of solid grinding to access and get animals out of - I'm pretty stoked!
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