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Christmas goes not so well for Bambi
So I don't do Xmas and think to myself - what's one of the days when everyone else will be out of the bush? - aha!
Xmas day hunt it is..
So on the 24th I'm into spot x in the Tararuas, 2hrs walk in, damn hot, put the fly up. Next morning I get up and see a frog hopping by the tent - never seen one in the wild before. Not native but amphibians are always a sign that the bush is in good health I reckon.The dawn chorus was pretty loud too.
I hadn't been to this spot before and reckoned that about 3 areas around the camp looked likely to hold deer at this time of year so off I go looking for sign, toting my rifle more as a means to not curse later that I could have got that animal if only I'd brought it rather than thinking I'd be onto any game.
I'm stomping along being non-quiet following a river terrace into the hardly-there breeze, there's plenty of sign but it looks about a week old so I'm just trying to cover ground and sort out the most likely spot for the future.
All of a sudden up pops a hind and bounds away - fark fark farkity-fark - what do I do now? I can't see too much so think - oh well, I've spooked it but I'm going this way anyway and it's sure proof that this area is hot so I'll just keep on, maybe I'll see another this trip.
Keep in mind that I got into this deerhunting lark fairly late in the game and though I've fluffed a shot at the only other pair I'd seen up close before, this was my second chance so far of being in range of a possible kill.
So I push past some vines and get alongside a big tree thinking that my ruminant friend has gone and legged it, lift the scope and what do I see but a deer looking straight back at me? The silly bugger had to stop and look back.
Off with the safety and squeeze the trigger at about 30 paces - deer now has only half a head. I hear thrashing so I get over there and put the mercy shot into what's left of her head - bugger me that was loud - only then do I realise I'd not even flipped open my sight covers - good thing they're see-through.
Take the backsteaks and get to use my new gutting knife,sweet. Learn a new trick - use the tail to pull the poo-tube out after cutting around it - that works well. Take the arse end and the back steaks (er, why did I bother gutting that again? never mind) and I've got it wrapped in muslin stocking and back at the camp by 10am - I'm beginning to like this Xmas malarkey.
Manage to fit the back legs into my pack and the 3 hours out are punctuated by lots of rests - packing the bits into a chillybin on the back of the ute some kids come over and have a look - one mother says "You've done this before"
For sure lady, I'm a professional.
So last night I raised a quiet toast - "To dumb deer that look back, thank you"
