Its been a slow roar for me, with a trip to the Upper Caples with Josh C and 2 other guys at the start of April and some local stuff here and there i havent seen any stags that i wanted to shoot, the bigger stags have been elusive for sure. This long weekend we had 3 spots to look at and with the first spot showing us plenty of animals yesterday there still was a lack of quality amongst the dozen stags seen so again i leave unsatisfied not that im hard to satisfy, my biggest stag so far since hunting for heads is a ratty 11.
Today we went to a local haunt at the break of dawn and were on the first clearing before we were able to see fully so we wait but alas nothing here today, we hatch a plan to go our separate ways but to met up at the next clearing, first on the spot gets to hunt it, as i approach the clearing i spy a hind and yearling red feeding just on the edge of a native strip, their safe for now. I hit the clearing but there is nothing on it so i sit up top and radio Scotty just as he pops up over the hill, he has watched me hit the clearing and when he gets to me tells me that he also spied a Hind and Yearling on the bottom side of the clearing and a black Fallow that somehow slipped away from me undetected. We move on to some likely spots and find a Fallow of unknown genda and a spiker stag held up in a gut, both escape this time unharmed. From there we move down hill and i hit a good trail with fresh prints on it, Sids nose has lifted and he is getting keen, i move into the trees and then out to my left i spy 2 young Fallow Bucks so the closest is taken for meat, turns out it has a funny antler thing going on just out of the crowns so a good one to take out of the gene pool.
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We go our separate ways again, this time opposite ends of the block and whilst i find some good sign there is nothing to be seen on this route so i make my way back to the bike with the intent of picking my deer and Scotty up, well on my way down to the deer a Hind and Yearling burst out onto the track and stop to look at me for a while, i decide that if i can get my gun out of the rack and line one up then 1 will be harvested. I couldn't believe it when i just managed to get the cross hairs on the yearling before it bolts so i try a shot on the Hind but its a clean miss, not to phased i carry on down the track to get my deer, after a minute my radio comes alive and Scotty tells me where he is for pick up "There soon" i tell him and as i get to a t section in the track i check my GPS to see how far he is when all of a sudden a Fallow yearling is walking towards me so with the same theory as the last deer if i can get the gun off the rack and get a bead on it its going in the pot! This time its a clean hit and the young deer stumbles and falls around the corner. Scotty is now on the radio asking WTF so i tell him i've just shot another, he replies "well tidy it up and come get me" Ok i reply, So i start gutting this deer and i here a branch break, thinking Scotty has decided to come to me i lift my head to see him but he's nowhere to be seen, now im thinking there must be an animal somewhere that i cant see so i put my head down and continue the job at hand, after a minute or 2 i lift my head and look up to see some antlers above the fern 15m from me, my heart skips a beat as i realise this is a decent Stag for the area. Gun is sitting a meter away on the ground now so i slowly bend down and reach for the .270 i pick it up and slowly open the bolt to check if i have a live round ready, all good there so i take another glance above the fern, he's still there looking at the bike up the track, cross hairs firmly fixed on his neck i squeeze a round off and the stag crumbles to the ground. Its right about now that i start to get the shakes as im so pumped up and now the radio is going again asking what the hell im up to, to which i can only reply "Big Red Stag mate, Big Red Stag".
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It takes 2 trips with the bike to get the animals to the truck and would you believe on the way back Scotty had yet another Doe and Yearling stand up and just gaze at him as he stops the bike 20m from them. LOL
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So thats the story of todays hunt, a great day for me and Scotty.
Cheers
Mal
