With only a couple of days left of my holiday and with the mrs satisfied after me taking her to mount cook for a drive yesterday I was in 2 minds whether to go for a last minute deer hunt today or call up a farmer I haven't seen for a couple of years and shoot his rabbits for a bit of a wined down to my holiday.
I decided on the later because this is a genuine good guy who has a bad rabbit problem and with about 400 rounds of 22 sitting around I thought it was a good chance to use them up and to help a good bugger out.
I gave him a call and I decided on an evening/night shoot. The farmer told me I should bring my big riffle as well because the neigbouring farmers had given him reports of deer in the area.
I had a think about it and thought I would just take the 22 and shoot rabbits as I had already shot a deer and 5 lambs so had plenty of tucker plus I didn't want to carry 2 riffles around just on the off chance.
I arrive at about 6.30pm and told the farmer I only brought the 22 this time and I would come again with the big riffle another evening.
I set a target up and fired half a dozen rounds at it until I was confident I had it sighted in correctly, it only needed a minor adjustment as it was still shooting well from last time.
I set off picking off a couple of difficult shots but not seeing too many in the early stages, I switched tact and started heading into the wind, I progressed down a gully and looking up the side of the hill I saw a heap of bunnies.
I took my pack off my back and used it as a rest as I started knocking bunny after bunny over, the tally started to mount with 10 taken on that hill face then another 10 on the next hill face with some very long shots.
I decided to park up at an old favourite spot of mine until dark, I managed to knock a few more young ones over before attaching the spotlight and carrying on.
I was picking off rabbits left right and center and the tally soon grew to 50, I lifted the riffle up to shine the light up ahead in the paddock to check to see how many rabbits were in the distance when to my amazement I spotted 2 deer.
Bugger I thought to myself, I should have brought out the 7mm rem mag. I held the spotlight on the deer and they just seemed to stand there, I guess they felt safe being about 200 meters away.
I continued to walk towards them holding the spotlight on them but I had to walk down the side of a hill and back up the other side to get to them so they disappeared out of sight as I went down.
As I walked back up the other side of the hill I continued to shine the light in their direction and when I came towards the top of the hill shit there they were still standing there 50 meters away.
I thought I can't let this opportunity go by and I had been shooting well so I decided on a free hand head shot, I squeezed the trigger and bugger me if the hind didn't drop to the ground while its mate ran off.
Well thats a first for me, a deer with a 22. I find with deer its either a feast or a famine, I can go a long time without one and then when you are on a roll this sort of thing happens and you wonder what all the fuss is about.
Anyway I couldn't have wished for a better end to my holiday and I was able to drive the truck right to it and throw it in the back so that was a very easy carry out :thumbsup:
I text the farmer to let him know he had half a deer to pick up after he finishes his work in town tomorrow so he will be happy.
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