Thread: Camp Meat hunting

I post a bit about vintage and BP rifles but this morning I went through 6 pages on the forum to find a hunting/ magazine post

So this is my plee for more hunting stories ( even basic boring ones like mine ) and shooting posts

I think we all need to smell the roses while we can

I have a forum member coming to stay and work for me for a week soon
So decided it would be nice to have some fresh camp meat on hand to take the strain off the cook.

Canterbury has been very hot and totally dry all year and the very thought of hunting had not been an option
But in the back of the cyclone and having had the vastly more benign side of Gabrielle it was cool and clear and calm

So a quick meat hunt was undertaken
Two hinds seen still from the truck but a long way away and impossible to flank them and get a shot at them with the wind as it was

Stick with plan A
Decent long walk through native regeneration with some open patches
Plenty of sign but waist high dry cocksfoot grass is a challenge
Get to a favorite lookout that I can spot back into some scattered open grass areas
Saw a deers head ? I'm long grass about 1km away
Then convinced myself it was the back and ears of a hare
But kept going back and looking at it often and the the hare stood up and became a very big red hind


Ok so I wasted 30 minutes thinking it was a hare. So very quick de camp and big loop to come up under her and into the wind
Popped out about 150m under her last seen location
Scanning with thermal ( private conservation land ) and you have to be patient
Eventually a head and neck shows up like a periscope in the shoulder high bush
It took me ages to find in the binoculars
And ages again to find the 150mm wide gap I was seeing the hot spot through

Now 150m is unusually close for this country and no rest was available so a very wobbly bush was used to put a bullet into the base of the neck

Well she was a big fat unit
Despite it being dry there is clearly a lot of feed in that regen bush and old pasture areas







The moral of the story is to take your time and hunt when the conditions are helpful
Work the wind in your favour
And enjoy your hunting

And please a few more stories about hunting and shooting
( but not wanting to take anything away from the bigger issues as well )

Cheers

Should say Camp Meat hunting

But camp near hunting would be a good idea also

Prime venison. This is the time of year for the best.
Yes, she is a biggie. Lots of good eating.

big girl. plenty of condition on her, will be good eatin

Yes she was a big unit

The back steaks were a lot bigger that the usual spikers I was shooting earlier in the summer before the heat wave
Massive hind quarters
Big deep shoulders but much less meat on them compared to a spiker or stag

I made two slow and stead round trips to a vehicle track then a very long trudge back to my truck about 3km and 300m higher
But nice to get out every scrap from a hind in such good condition and also get all the dog trimmings with it

Remind me of the caliber? Cool gun.
I agree. The stories should be the heart of this place but they are not.

Pretty hard to hide from thermals ah.Good effort walking back to track.Enjoy yr venison.

Betcha a bit of sweat was lost getting this back to ute. Good stuff.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Remind me of the caliber? Cool gun.
I agree. The stories should be the heart of this place but they are not.

6.5x65R K95 Blaser
I call it the Laser

enjoy the venison...she looks in awesome condition.

The shanks should be lovely


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Originally Posted by MSL

The shanks should be lovely


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Ok @MSL noted
They will go in the pressure cooker one night

Good stuff! I need to take my K95 for more walks. Can't bring myself to use a Suppressor on it though...

Good effort. Love hearing about the hunt. Also details on calibre, rifle, loads etc. All grist for the mill.