Thread: An unbelievable turn of events !

I had a couple of days off last week. With a promising wx forecast I headed to Fiordland to go for an explore in some new territory .Parking the vehicle at the road end i shouldered my pack and was off. The first couple of hours were spent boulder hopping up a slimy stream that clearly didn't see a lot of sun. As you would expect sign was thin on the ground too. The birdlife was quite prolific with not a lot of deer browse present.
The further I went the country looked more promising. I was starting to see deer prints and the odd pile of crap here and there. The stream started opening up into the basin where I intended to spend the night and have a glass around. I found a flat spot beside the creek and got a fire going for a cuppa tea.

It had been a long sweaty walk in the heat so a cuppa went down a treat . As the shadows started to lengthen in the evening the hound was giving me "that look " ! C,Mon boss time to hunt !

Getting the hunting gear together we stalked off into the wind on a balmy summers evening. We didn't have to go far before we started spotting deer.

We quickly dispatched the spiker for meat and had it hanging in the shade for pick up on the way back to camp. It was only early so we pressed on. We were specifically looking for antler after fufilling the meat order and passed up several more deer on our way around the swamp edge we found ourselves in. The going started getting pretty thick but the sign was unreal. Quietly stalking I could hear a deer up ahead breaking sticks and every now and then picked up a flash of antler through the scrub. I gave the dog that look which said be quiet or risk the beating of your life ! She complied as we inched forward. Hunting alone I was on half bolt with one up the spout. Silently i closed the bolt and left the safety on. On hands and knees now I was trying to get a look at the stag. We could both smell him . Using a fern as cover I very slowly poked my head over the top. What I saw made me freeze. Through the scrub 8 meters away I could make out the stags head side on . His ear was twitching listening. I dared not breathe . Not wanting to risk getting any closer it was now or never. Very slowly I brought the .222 to my shoulder. Through the swaro I had a clear line of sight just behind the ear. Exactly where I wanted to put the 50gn slug.



Crack - the shot felt good. We could hear the stag crashing through the undergrowth. All of a sudden there was a loud splash and it went quiet . Good he's down I thought. I looked at Ruby she was keen to get going. Give it a few minutes girl I said.
Soon enough we pushed our way through to where he had been standing. It wasnt hard to see where he had headed . He had smashed his way through the scrub towards the creek. The hoof prints were massive .

Then we locked eyes on him. I couldn't believe it . A lifetime of hunting had led me to this moment . He was my trophy lying in the creek stone cold dead.










After some self congratulations and photo's I cut him up carrying all the meat I could along with the head and cape and struggled back to camp. Once back at camp I thought I could hear human voices so went to investigate. Well bugger me if there wasn't hot pools right there with hot trampers in bikini's ! Hard to believe I know but they even had cold beer .

I don't want to skite but you all know where this is now heading... Two days later after lots of excercise and meat eating the dog and I thought we'd better get the head to the taxidermist. Cant wait for the next adventure. Thanks for reading !