Thread: Bugger the stags - shoot a tough old hind

I've seen about 50 animals over the roar and only fired one shot and that was a poor 8 right at the beginning.

My last big effort to get a stag started on Friday. I hunted 2 spots in the Wairarapa,shifting after the first night. The best I saw was a couple of 8's.

After 3 days of hunting hard and looking at various manky looking stags I decided that I wasn't going home without a bit of meat. So right on dark last night I went back to where I had seen a hind, hoping a yearling was snooping around in the Pongas with her. No such luck. So the poor old girl copped it. She was 350 yards away and the light was nearly gone.

At the shot from the 300saum she dropped and rolled down through the Pongas and tried to get up so I had to shoot her again - in the neck this time, and then she disappeared. Not one of my most glorious moments.

It was dark by the time I got around to where I had last seen her and she wasn't there so I set Tilly off and she soon found her where she had bowled down the hill 100 yards and come to rest on a grassy clearing. My first shot had not been perfect (I will blame the half light and my old eyes). It was the 99th deer that I had shot with Tilly.

Well, she turned out to be the oldest hind I've seen for a while with very worn teeth. She was big too. So much for getting a nice bit of meat. I boned her out and carted her back to the vehicle.

As I walked out in the dark the stags were still going to town. This cold snap seems to have revved them up again.

A damned lot of effort for sausages and patties.

A pic of her a couple hours previous to when I shot her.