Challenging hunting last night
A couple of mates came over yesterday evening for a catch up and a bit of a hunt.
We were a bit late heading away but still managed to get on the hill with a couple of hours of light up our sleeve.
The wind was swirling and very blustery and it was hot! Planning how we were going to hunt a couple of gullies went down and away we went.
The wind had severely limited our options, so travelling quickly with the wind behind us we attempted to skirt around the heads of the large gullies quickly, hoping our scent would bypass likely areas where deer could be held up.
Within 20mins of leaving the truck I spotted a deer on the bush edge about half a K away. Upon inspection it was revealed there were actually three spikers there feeding away from us. Judging by their body language they had caught a slight whiff of our scent, but weren't 100% sure.
They settled down and continued feeding, so we dropped down into the gully and attempted a stalk. The wind wouldn't play the game, and by the time we'd got into shooting position there wasn't a deer to be seen.
A bit despondent about missing out on easy deer, we climbed back out of the gully, dripping in sweat and continued our hunt. We travelled quickly, glassing regularly and checking gullies as we moved through the scrubby faces.
Eventually I picked up another deer travelling parallel to us across the gully. One materialised into three, ranged at 490yds. Being as windy as it was a long range shot wasn't practical so we planned a stalk. Thankfully the wind direction was playing the game by this stage!
With light fading quickly we boosted it down through the main gully, using scrub and bush as cover, breaking out into the face the deer were feeding on with literally minutes of daylight left. Thinking the deer would've fed over the hill into the next gully we spread over 100 metres and stalked in a line up towards where the deer were.
Pod was the first to see one, and without hesitation dropped the young stag in its tracks...
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps9e733d44.jpg
I saw the rest of the group bolt over the skyline towards the next gully. I grabbed Tim and we sprinted up after them, hoping for a shot as the climbed out of the gully.
Spotting the deer immediately as we crested the hill, I found a mound to drop down onto and cranked a round into the .223.
Spotting us, one of the deer stopped just long enough for me to send the pill, dropping it on the spot...
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/z...ps2a904c04.jpg
At the shot two more stags broke from cover and galloped across the face opposite us. Tim followed them in his scope hoping for a shot, but they didn't stop and eventually made the safety of cover.
We dealt with the spiker, then headed back over to Pod, where he'd finished off dealing with his stag. We made it back to the truck an hour or so later and we were home by midnight. We had a beer, a yarn and then the boys headed home with a boot load of venison for the summer barbeques.
Cheers
Josh :)
