Finally got to head back down south to see the olds and do some deer hunting. My mate Coen had been scoping a spot now for a few months on his TC which was open farmland and scrub country with a few Sambar and Fallow on it. Looking at the photos from his first scouting trip we were getting a tad excited of what to expect!
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The bigger lads seemed to be heading out onto the improved country in the early hours of the morning so we decided to hike in on a timbered ridge and set up camp for 2 nights taking advantage of being able to stalk down on the returning deer in the morning.
The first morning was a bit quiet with only a couple of fallow spotted on a steep ridge so we decided to get camp sorted and have a feed for an arvo hunt on the ridge above camp and a drop down into a large wallow in a nice gully. We seen around 15 fallow for the afternoon and a heap of sign but no Sambar for us. The wallow and flat it was on was drenched from recent rain but had plenty of sign with a few preach trees nearby so we hatched a plan around the fire that night to walk in there on dark and wait above it the next morning.
All going well we were set up about 60m above the wallow that morning but the wind had become a problem as it seemed to shift every hour in random directions. With overcast weather and a heavy dew I was feeling the cold that morning and had a few little kips under a nice gum waiting for a big fella to turn up. Around 1000 a few wallabys crossed the flat very fast bringing our attention in there direction when a hind and yearling calf crossed the gully rather quickly and disappeared into the blackberry on the opposite side. At last we had seen some sambar! After a few more hours we walked back to camp for a feed and decided to check the fringe in the afternoon.
View at the wallow
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The fringe country showed a lot of sign straight away and it wasn't long before we spotted a lone fallow stag feeding the edge. After a few quick pics we moved along as a mob of 5 fallow stags around 3km away had caught our attention. After a few hours of stalking to get a close look the wind swirled and they caught our scent and left for the scrub. 2 were of reasonable size but we decided they were best left for next year. We wandered out in the dark and seen plenty of deer in the head torch on the way out including a sambar hind. That night a front was due to cross and we woke in the tent in the early hours to a decent downpour and continuous rain.
Up early with a light drizzle and high hopes (we were leaving at 1400) we set off to the fringe for a look and found the bachelor mob of fallow were feeding directly below us. As per most days of the trip the wind swirled after 20 minutes and they caught wind of us and left into the bush. We then headed up to the main ridge above camp and walked back to camp. Straight away we seen a spikie fallow and doe who fed across in front of us in down into the gully. We continued on slowly with the ground damp and light rain it made for excellent stalking. We had only slowly walked another 100m when a mob of kangaroos were feeding ahead of us. We stopped hoping they would feed on and glassed the scrub when Coen turned and mouthed sambar to me. Sitting beside a gum we waited and watched as we watched a hind and calf cautiously walk the downwind edge of the ridge from us. Then we both spotted a set of brows in the tea tree and I quickly chambered a round into the 7mm-08.
They slowly walked the ridge and with wind blowing the way they headed it was only time before they would scent us and we watched as they slowly made there way scenting the air for any danger. At around 30m from us they stopped and looked our direction and we were sprung. They were not in any danger though as the stag was in the low 20's and we both decided we would only shoot if he was a good one. The hind left first followed by the stag and they then stopped at around 50m from us for a good 5 minutes before we sent them on there way.
Wandering back into camp we were happy to finally come across one of the elusive Sambar stags of the mountains and although we never fired a shot we always seem to get more enjoyment out of learning animals habits and behaviours. I will be back again and hopefully one of us will have one on the wall eventually.Attachment 55507Attachment 55506
