# Hunting > Hunting >  Perseverance pays off

## Gibo

Had plans to get into a block I'm hunting on Sunday morning. A number of previous visits has lead me to believe this place runs on a different timetable so crack of dawn is not required here  :Thumbsup:  (bit more sleep)
I have been milling about in various spots in the block over the last month or two trying to find more hot spots to add to the slip I already know about. So after spot 1 and 2 for the morning come up short its time to check on said slip. 
I have only hunted it at the crack of dawn and the deer that have come off it have all been from 7:00-8:30am so at a little after 10 I wasn't holding my breath. 
Well I was wrong. As soon as I got to my look out I spotted two deer feeding with the naked eye so things were looking good. There is however one thing about this spot that isn't very nice........the angle of it and the retrieve! Its a slip ranging from 220 at the top at about 45-50 degrees to about 100 at the bottom looking straight across. 

So anyway I get the binos and rangefinder out and have a nosey at these deer. Hind and yearling and due to the condition of the freezer I decide to take the hind. 183 yards is the call but now I just have to wait until she moves out onto the slip more, if she gets hung up at the top half of the slip I'm buggered. Well like a good girl she moves out across the slip nudging the yearling aside. I am now resting on a branch steadying myself for the shot, this is quite a different angle for me so I take my time to place it right. Bang goes the 260 and down goes the hind, down............down........ yes she's cleared the bad shit........down........down....whoa girl you'll go in the river..........down.......out of sight. After she vanished I re gathered myself and noticed the yearling was boosting down after mum. Shit they are agile, I was worried it was going to fall off the slip and kill itself. 

So here goes the retrieve, not one I'm particularly fond of. It means dropping down into a river that is flanked by basically sheer bluffs for most of it with small areas to get in and out of. I spend about 30 minutes in the river looking for the spot she has come over, looking under log jambs and under old slip areas etc to no avail. Time for a think. Has she been swept down the river? Nah she must still be up there but man I hope I'm right. 

Looking downstream, looks pleasant enough. 


Bugger it I'm going up. 30-40 minutes later I get enough elevation to sidle onto the slip. I come out at a handy spot which is a game trail across the slip about a third of the way up. This is the point where the other deer have come down to so what's below me is a mystery at this point. I start to pick my way down the slip, basically sliding on my ass  :Have A Nice Day:  

I get down a wee way the whole time trying to peer over the shrubs and grasses to see if she's down there. 

You little beauty!! 


I get down there and inspect the animal. Big girl in great condition (pang of regret that she's no doubt carrying a foetus). 


I was over there and up a fair way


The bone out job begins and with a shit tonne of meat in the pack I bug out...........which sounds easy but shit this is some steep shit  :Have A Nice Day:  Up, across, down to the river and then up the other side and away to the truck.




About 2 hours latter a bedraggled stinky mess shows up at his truck completely drained but completely satisfied. So far I have seen deer in all four seasons on this slip so long may it continue. 

This is not a bush rig and was a complete pain in the arse to carry around but done the job well. The 143 eld x entered the animal low in the chest just in front of the front leg and exited high on the opposite side quite a way back through the ribs. Funny angle that. She went down but cant compare it to anything yet and down was the only way she could go to be fair. The exit hole was about 30mm so not a lot of expansion at 180 yards.

----------


## stug

Bet you wish you had a nice light 308 for the carry out :Thumbsup:

----------


## Gibo

> Bet you wish you had a nice light 308 for the carry out


Its all I thought about!! I normally take my neoprene scope cover too so the Zeiss got a taste of some dirt and shit this trip  :Thumbsup:

----------


## sako75

Nice scope for bush bashing. I hate steep hills under load. Next time take someone as a pack mule

----------


## Gibo

> Nice scope for bush bashing. I hate steep hills under load. Next time take someone as a pack mule


My bush rig is possibly heading home this week after its spell at Jenny Craig's, cant wait  :Have A Nice Day:

----------


## Scouser

Well done mate, tasty result.....

----------


## Tahr

Nice story. Good endeavour.

----------


## Gibo

> Well done mate, tasty result.....


Thanks mate, summer bbq's were unkind to the freezer and yeah my 4yo gave me shit for coming home empty handed last time, she just loves venison, sausages being he favourite  :Thumbsup:

----------


## Mathias

Well done @Gibo keep it up, makes good training for a South Island hunt  :Thumbsup:  We have heaps of steeeep shit here bro.  30mm exit is reasonable expansion when you think about it  :Have A Nice Day:

----------


## Matt-j

Can I ask the reason for taking the hind and not the yearling @Gibo? No offence meant - I'm still in my very early days so just seeking to learn...

Cheers

----------


## Gibo

> Well done @Gibo keep it up, makes good training for a South Island hunt  We have heaps of steeeep shit here bro.  30mm exit is reasonable expansion when you think about it


Cheers mate. fair call, I'll leave the terminal ballistic talk for those that know  :Grin:  Dead deer anywho  :Wink:

----------


## Gibo

Hi @Matt-j. The reason I took the hind over the yearling was I wanted a bigger volume of meat. The freezer was nearly at rock bottom. A few things went through my mind to come to that decision though. 
1 the yearling will be fine without mum at that age
2 although the hind was possibly with fawn my calcs estimated the foetus would only be 2 months old max
3 if I had a mate with me we'd have taken both  :Grin:

----------


## Matt-j

Thanks @Gibo - fair call. The first deer I ever shot had a bun in the oven - I didn't know at the time of shooting her. Still tasted good though!  :Thumbsup:

----------


## Gibo

Some say don't shot them from November - March when they are likely to have a fawn at foot. I also feel a bit uneasy knowing there may be a fawn in there too so as it gets closer to the time of birth the more chance I wont shoot or just take the yearling if on offer. It comes down to what sits OK with you mate.

----------


## HNTMAD

awesome mate, love those kind of recovery jobs, a real test i tell ya

Hamish

----------


## Gibo

> awesome mate, love those kind of recovery jobs, a real test i tell ya
> 
> Hamish


Hells yeah, the legs sure are feeling it today  :Thumbsup:  I was really worried I had lost her to be fair and the thought of going up and not finding her nearly had me abandon the mission. I had to tell myself that was not an option and that she deserved a good looksee  :Grin:  Does anyone else talk to themselves in the bush?  :Grin:

----------


## HNTMAD

> Hells yeah, the legs sure are feeling it today  I was really worried I had lost her to be fair and the thought of going up and not finding her nearly had me abandon the mission. I had to tell myself that was not an option and that she deserved a good looksee  Does anyone else talk to themselves in the bush?


Um yeah i talk to myself in the bush but as i take the dog i have a valid cover story!!!! :Thumbsup:

----------


## kidmac42

Yea, I talk to myself regularly, sometimes its the only way to get a decent conversation.

----------


## Mathias

> Hells yeah, the legs sure are feeling it today  I was really worried I had lost her to be fair and the thought of going up and not finding her nearly had me abandon the mission. I had to tell myself that was not an option and that she deserved a good looksee  Does anyone else talk to themselves in the bush?


I always tend to think out loud (very quietly) when I'm hunting by myself. Run a few things past myself.... :Grin:   You are not alone Gibo

----------


## Gibo

Phew!!  :36 1 7:

----------


## Boaraxa

Im a shocker , dogs make it worse horses are almost as bad cant help but have a little chat with them but im not to concerned at this stage as none have answered back ...  reading that I couldn't help but think after all the leg work you mite have been regretting shooting the bigger 1 , well done .

----------


## Biggun708

> Nice scope for bush bashing. I hate steep hills under load. Next time take someone as a pack mule


That's why you take young bloods like @The Janitar.... Still not as tough as us old bugger's though....  :Wink:   :Wink:

----------


## Tommy

Good to see that your knee held up too

----------


## Gibo

> Im a shocker , dogs make it worse horses are almost as bad cant help but have a little chat with them but im not to concerned at this stage as none have answered back ...  reading that I couldn't help but think after all the leg work you mite have been regretting shooting the bigger 1 , well done .


The thought did cross my mind, especially when the zip on my pack had a moment and some stitching creaked  :Grin:  




> Good to see that your knee held up too


Yeah it went well, they both did. The legs get a bit shaky down hill under load though, got to really watch my step. I even took the plb out of my pack and put it on my belt  :Grin:

----------


## Gibo

> That's why you take young bloods like @The Janitar.... Still not as tough as us old bugger's though....


But then they may think I'm talking to them  :Grin:

----------


## Dreamer

Good work mate, nothing like a nice simple recovery aye  :Grin:

----------


## shift14

Good read, well done.

I'm a fan of a walking pole for the downhill stuff with Veni on board, no good with my wobbly old knees.

B

----------


## Frodo

Good stuff

----------


## Rushy

Bloody good shit Gibo.  You are only a young buck so you shouldn't be feeling it in your knees yet.  Anyway pain is only weakness leaving your body.

----------


## jakewire

Heckofva job Gibbo. :Thumbsup:

----------


## Mooseman

Nice going Gibo, good write up and you have earned your freezer load of venison. You can all enjoy now it's off that god damn slip. We all have a wee chat to ourselves at times I think it's part and parcel of the hunt ( just don't answer yourself... first sign of madness you know)

----------


## Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

> Nice going Gibo, good write up and you have earned your freezer load of venison. You can all enjoy now it's off that god damn slip. We all have a wee chat to ourselves at times I think it's part and parcel of the hunt ( just don't answer yourself... first sign of madness you know)


What do you mean? I have a full blown conversation with myself, whilst alone in the bush... After all, I'm the only one I can find that's 'sane' enough to talk with  :Grin:

----------


## Gibo

My kids are beasts!!!

----------


## Mooseman

Yes I think in the bush you would get away with it but at home it may be the padded room, especially if it becomes a regular habit. :Have A Nice Day:

----------


## kidmac42

Ooh cooked just right too mmm

----------


## Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

> Ooh cooked just right too mmm


Cooked? The thing's still running!

----------


## Rushy

> Cooked? The thing's still running!


My missus says "couple of bandaids and it'll be up and going again" but I reckon that is how it should be.

----------


## Gibo

My 4yo was dipping her macaroni in the blood  :Grin:

----------


## sako75

FFS it still has a pulse

----------


## oraki

> Cooked? The thing's still running!


It's perfect. If anyone objects, they miss out. Have been known to dim the lights before dishing up as well....

----------


## Carpe Diem

> It's perfect. If anyone objects, they miss out. Have been known to dim the lights before dishing up as well....


Dim the lights - It's only right for that type of occasion...

Perfect Gibo - you can cook my veni anytime bitch!

----------


## Gibo

My wife cooked it  :Thumbsup:

----------


## Awaian

> Um yeah i talk to myself in the bush but as i take the dog i have a valid cover story!!!!


do I have to be in the woods?

thanks for the story Gibo. Big effort.

----------


## JoshC

Top notch result mate. Cheers

----------


## doinit

Enjoyed that report,was just like being there.cheers Gibo

----------


## Remington 5R .300 Win Mag

> My wife cooked it


Hey Gibbo. My wife cooked me a slab of venny for tea. After viewing your photo I took no chances when opening the foil (note the presence of the Beretta) just in case the thing was raw enough to make for the door! 





Stand easy, I think I'm safe  :Grin:

----------


## Gibo

Killed it twice and prepared for thrice  :Grin:

----------

