Out for another look around this morning learning the area a bit more. After a few trips I'm getting a good understanding of the lay of the land and where the deer are spending their time.
First bust was only 10 minutes from the car. Climbing the ridge under the light from the headlamp I woke up a deer only 15 metres to my right which trotted away with a bit of a snort as it went.
This made me stop and wait till the morning light was enough for me to see without the headlamp. Up the ridge further I cut across onto the next ridge which from my research of aerial photos I thought would be a great morning bedding area for deer. A thin ridge with patchy broken areas facing the northeast. This area needed some investigation.
Slowly up the ridge the wind was good, the sign was good, my research was paying off. Got a bit high up and encountered some lovely gorse and bush lawyer (not a real hunt without it) this was where I heard the second deer moving down the hill away from me.
Again I slowly progress but with the warmth from the sun now hitting the faces the wind is very slightly swirling around. Some more good sign is seen including a couple of wallows. Next the 3rd deer jumps up with the tell tale thud on the ground and I see a bush violently waving as the deer makes its escape.
Now in the head of the creek I cut around and make my way back down the other side, being a bit scrubby I drop down into the center of the valley and slowly progress downstream.
Now this is where things got exciting, not because I saw any deer but the sign in the area would put a deer farm to shame. Still a bit thick with visibility fairly short but I'm definitely going to be back for another look.
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