Originally Posted by
Nugget connaisseur
Its on a conservative side, but when you have little experience and in an unfamiliar area and still trying to sort gear out it will be good to be cautious.
Take note a lot of hunters getting shot are a result of hunting together and then splitting up. Sometimes to look for a shot deer or what ever. Then one hunter sees what they think is a deer and shoot their buddy. People say they would never miss identify a target but it happens, including those that fired thinking it was a deer but it was a person.
Avoid splitting up if possible, or if you do split up and are within the same area for what ever reason No meat is better than No mate.
Im looking for an article but i cant find it but it states a bunch of things to do when lost in the bush etc.
If you dont have walkie talkies or they fail. Make a plan for if you get separated. Meet up at last clearing or back at camp.
We didnt make any official plans but on my trip to nelson lakes we were making our way down a ridge from the tops and i stopped to take a leak. Friends carried on down the ridge. As i set off after them i could see them up a head no problems. Eventually i lost site of them because of the dips etc. Where the ridge meet the bush line i still hadn't seen them. I decided they probably dropped down off the ridge a little bit earlier to where we came out of the bushline. 15mins later i hear a shot, i assume its them wondering where i am. I put my plugs in and let off a shot. a few seconds latter they pop their heads up from the next spur over. They had dropped down off the ridge a little bit earlier than i expected and i would of walked within 20m of them and not seen them.
It wasnt a big deal the hut was not too far away. But it avoided the waiting and wondering etc.