A little while ago I decided I had spent enough time shooting arrows at targets and it was time to take the bow out in search of some game. The first few walks I did were very local and more to get used to carrying and shooting it in the bush than having any expectation of actually seeing game to shoot at. The freezer was full so there was no pressure to shoot anything and I wouldn't be too disappointed if I missed out on an animal (or so I thought).
I killed a few stumps and the odd mossy mound and learnt what to use as target practice and what not to shoot at. My judgement of distance seemed to be getting better and I became fairly confident that if I saw an animal striking a suitable pose at 30 yards or less it would be in trouble.
My first "serious" walk was planned and I set off at 10:00am towards the tops to hunt the bush edge. The weather forecast was a bit sketchy and I was fully prepared to be heading home in an hour or so with a wet arse but as it was no rain came and it was a warm climb up to the tussock. The route I took to the bushline I have walked dozens of times but it never ceases to amaze me how it always seems steeper than the last time. The sheltered calm I had been climbing through disappeared once I reached the tussock slopes and another couple of layers of clothing were needed as a strong easterly soon cooled me down after the exertion of the climb.
I slowly made my way along the bush edge looking for any obvious sign but only saw the odd hoof print in the clay. I wasn't that confident of seeing anything out thinking the wind would probably put any animal down into the shelter of the thick bush.
I had been going for about 20 minutes when I saw what looked like ears sticking up above the tussock 100 odd meters distant. A quick check with the binos confirmed they were indeed ears and attached to a large Red hind. She was looking in my direction but obviously hadn't seen me as she soon resumed feeding. Excellent. I ducked down and began to hatch a plan. She was about 30m out from the bush edge and the wind was at 90 degrees to us. I could drop into the bush and close the gap to maybe 50m and then wait and see what happened.
Attachment 134274
Hind at 62 yards. Easy meat for the rifle.
As I moved closer I saw she had a fawn with her. Bugger, two sets of eyes to watch out for. They were booth very nervy, their heads constantly popping up and looking around, noses and ears twitching. I put it down to the wind as I was sure they were unaware of my presence.
I made it to the closest piece of bush the wind would allow and then settled in to wait and see what they did. I had just slipped my pack off and got a photo of the hind when they both started moving towards the bush edge. I quickly moved around towards them as far as I dared and readied myself for a shot if it presented itself.
I could catch glimpses of them through the trees and it looked like I might be in luck as they were heading for an open patch about 25m away. I got steady and drew the bow, settling the sights on the opening I expected them to come through. The wind would be quatering my shot and the deer near broadside. The hind appeared in the gap and the sight picture looked good. I released the arrow.
At this point a number of things happened very quickly. Firstly there was the usual "twang" of the string, then there was a very wooden sounding "ting" and then the deer ran off in the opposite direction. I relaxed as my heart rate began to come down to a normal level.
What just happened? The shot had felt good. Sight picture was perfect and release seem good. I ranged the target and had only been a couple of meters out in my estimate. I wasn't worried about the deer making their escape as I wouldn't expect it to drop on the spot but the noise I heard after the shot didn't sound like arrow hitting flesh? (not that I actually know what that sound like yet). After a few minutes I went back and collected my pack and then returned to the place I had taken the shot from. I let another 10 minutes pass and then walked towards where the hind had been when I released the arrow. As I got closer I could see my arrow lying on the ground about 5m short of where the deer had been??? WTF??? I picked it up and apart from some dirt on the broadhead it looked fine.
I retraced my steps to where I had shot from and had another look at my line of fire. In my excitement I had not seen a couple of spindly coprosma between me and the target. I was so focused on the deer I had looked straight past them. Bugger.
Attachment 134280
I had a quick stalk into the bush hoping the deer hadn't gone to far but didn't come across them again. The wind was howling and that was enough to send me on my way home dejected. Even though it had been an exhilarating stalk I couldn't help feel disappointed. On the bright side, no deer were harmed in the making of this story and I learnt a valuable lesson about bow hunting. And there is always next time.
