Thread: Big country in the St James

Regular readers will wonder why I am posting here...perhaps a misplaced thread that should be sent to where I a dwell in For Sale, Reloading and Ballistics or Firearms and Optics threads...? Ah if only.

Was doing paperwork Saturday arvo and got a call from @Stag to go check out new country to us (and his son Flynn) up the St James. We'd both been around the area but never into this spot. It was 8pm by the time we parked up and bacon putties were soon being dished up. Stags could be heard roaring during the night so we were all pretty happy.

Next morning we were up at 5am and out looking for some animals where we wanted to be at sunrise.

We spotted a long tipped spiker and a couple of hinds at 460yards but they seemed to know something was up and moved out of sight. We followed behind them and saw they had popped out across a steep gut 270yards away and a bit below us.

I set the CDS turret to the distance and struggled to find a rest on the narrow and steep track. In my haste I made a rookie mistake and sat the tip of the barrel on a matagouri bush branch for a rest. Missed the spiker. Reloaded on the hind with a better grip and fired. It slid out of sight. Later discovered I had shot it through the shoulder with the 168gn Amax doing a good job

We cut round the head basin to save a step descent and then down the leading ridge to where we thought the hind was. Turned out with the slippery tussock and luck it slid almost to the bottom of the very steep slope. We butchered it and considered whether to punch out to the track a couple of k's away and then collect the truck or guts it out back to where we made the shot from which was some distance above. We decided on the latter and with some bush bashing made it out. I have to be honest and say @Stag gave me a hand as the distance and steepness was a bit different to the rifle range I know so well at home.

After seeing the scratches on my truck on the passenger side through his navigation I should have made him carry me too.

A very short sharp hunt that was enjoyable and home mid afternoon with the hot tub fired up to soak in. Young Flynn even helped with the last yards of the pack carry announcing he didn't know why we had worked up a sweat. I was too sore and sweaty to throttle him.




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