The promise.......1/2 repaid.....no pressure
Well I have been hunting with a forum mate Gilly on a couple of occasions this year and for some reason his 15yr old twin boys have cottoned on to me as this guru or some such and started asking to come hunting. So after a while I relented (even though I kept saying their dad was prob more of a guru than me) and with whitebait season coming up struck a deal. 1lb of whitebait and I will take them hunting. Well slowly but surely the white bait arrived and well I now had to live up to my end of the deal. Gilly and I had invited them out on a couple of trips which they had said no to and sited things like doing their hair or going to a mates etc and when we came home time and time again with animals were all “shit we should have gone”. Any way the pressure really went on when one of their mates at school shot his first deer and all of a sudden it wasn’t a take me hunting deal it was shoot my first deal, but x 2. Just about every week it was, “can we go tomorrow, what about Sunday, really got to smoke a deer” Deep down I think there mouth had written cheques their arse couldn’t cash at school. Anyway after having a bit of a chat with them about it not just shooting a deer and rubbing it in their mates face but more a journey, that hunting isn’t all about turning up and shooting stuff, its hard work, especially on public land. So with school at an end I set up to take both boys to the range on Friday, well one turned up and the other got a better offer to go to a mates farm. I think he thought he was gunna get the jump on his bro and shoot a deer lol. So James and I went to the range and by the end of the session was smoking clay targets at 200m with my 708 so felt he was ready. When Gilly came to pick him up I asked what he was doing Saturday and asked if he wanted to go for a walk. Should have seen the look on his face. Times were set but unfortunately Gilly couldn’t come but was happy for me to take him. Later that night Tom on messenger was like…..”I will be back can I come”…….yeah all gd. Then next day from Tom…..”bugga won’t be back in time”…. Oh well.
Well the questions started rolling in, how many will we see, will we carry it out whole, who will shoot, to be fair the boy was fizzing. I had to give him a wee reminder that we don’t count our chickens before they hatch and will sort all that out as and if it unfolds.
So Saturday at 3pm we head off to one of my spots in the Ruahine’ s. Prior to getting there we got stopped by our boys in blue and given a reminder to stick to the speed limit, $80 bucks and 20 demerits later we carried on. Out of the truck and in 1.5 hours we are sitting at the look out. We crack open and have our Subway dinner while waiting for the bodies core temp to drop after the slog in. A couple of texts to Gilly to let him know we had arrived with his final text reading “Of course you are a magician and can conjure a deer up anytime” and low and behold no sooner had I read that and put my binos up and “bing” 2 deer pop out. A yearling and 2 yr old stag. No time to text dad as I don’t want to Jinx things. I set up the eye witness (camera) the 284 is all dialled up and I am ready on back up with the 708.
Ok James, Hop in behind the gun and see if you can find the deer……”yup sighted”. Ok now the yearling is going to come out on that next clearing very soon……. Yup there it is, can you see it……”yup” Ok just wait until it goes dead broadside and then shoot in middle of shoulder. It will take a step or two and turn our way. Well bugger me if it didn’t do the opposite. Back on bino looking for the other one. Yup there it is, it will follow the yearling, keep an eye on that clearing as it will pop out. Next minute it pops out. Right James safety off……click…… ok can you see its front shoulder……”yup” Ok when you are ready squeeze the trigger……boom……Deer down, typical hit and run but saw it now more than 30 metres below the clearing in a heap on the ground.
High 5’s all around and now James has shot his first deer. Time now 7.30pm, couple of joyous texts and phone call to dad and the plan of attack was made for recovery. Shot was 230m but we had to drop straight below about 80m then a couple of hundred up stream and then a 30m out of the creek should have us sorted. Off we go, locate, photos, cut up and head back to look out. We make the look out at 8.45, get the rest of our gear and head out. The boy was fizzing. Back at the car and finally home at 12.30am.
What a great buzz to share this with James. Poor old Tom has been kicking himself, calling out all sorts of conspiracy theories….makes me laugh.
Its ok Tom, your next.
Anyway here is a short vid and pics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MExh4JszCw4
Hamish
