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Christmas Sika Hybrid????
With a bit of spare time on my hands and having a itch to go out after spending the last year working overseas I finally made it into the bush. My old mate who I usually go out with ended up having to work unfortunately so I headed out solo to check out a new spot I had identified after spending hours pouring over maps and dreaming while on the other side of the world. My rifles were still un-packed and being stored for me so I took out my latest aquisition, an 1880 marti-henry that had been converted to a martini enfield and re-barrelled in 303 in 1895. I spent about as much time as I had putting through solvent soaked patch after patch and scrubs with the copper brush until I was sure that there wasn't too much shit left in the barrel. The rifling was in good nick although I doubt the poor thing had been cleaned in the last 100 years! Attachment 17947
About 3 hours in and several hundred meters of elevation whatever meager fitness levels I had left were well and truely gone and I managed to get into the hunting site about an hour late but with two free days and no real plans to do anything until dusk other than just enjoy being in the bush there was no rush. The walk in was nice after the brutal slog to get to the top of the ridge and had beautiful weather, very light breeze and nice and sunny, couldn't think of anywhere else I would rather be. Sitting down for one of my many breaks I just sat and listened to.... nothing, no planes, cars, TV, idiots, just the occasional fan tail to break the silence... this is just what I had been missing!
So I made it to where I was going to be spending the night, had a brew, collected some firewood and got the fire ready to go before heading out for a scout of some river flats I had seen on the map earlier. I had seen stuff all on the way in but found some pretty fresh sign in the bush coming down into the river flats to feed up on the nice grass, probably a day old. I found a nice spot and parked up to wait until dusk to see if I could catch a spiker coming out from the bush.
Attachment 17948Attachment 17949I had forgotten it was daylight savings and the sun sets about 3 hours later than the country I was last living in so after waiting and waiting and with a numb arse I finally decided nothing was happening and I started to head back thinking about putting something warm in my stomach. I thought I'd take it easy and go nice and slow through the bush on the way back just in case. After about 10 minutes I spooked a deer but only saw the arse end, it stopped to have a look back but was through some pretty thick bush and I couldn't see well enough to take a shot. Oh well, pretty cool I thought and from what I saw thought it was probably a red hind as there was supposed to be red's in the area I was hunting. Never mind I thought, always most important just to get out there and enjoy the experience, if you see something great, if you get something bonus. Thinking I had cocked it up for the night just started clomping my way back at a good rate of knots and I spooked another bloody deer! This time he must have heard me coming and I only heard him taking off through the bush, shit. Well lesson learned for next time! Walking along a bit further I started getting barked at! Which was a bit of a surprise as it's the first time I've been barked out outside of the roar and it sounded a bit different than usual, so I gave a few back and we were having a back and forward for about 5 minutes but it sounded like he was heading off back up the ridge and with it getting late just took some video of the sounds (which my 3yr old daughter bloody deleted!) and headed back. Got back to my campsite, got the fire going and now knew well and truely where I wanted to be hunting the next morning. I got all my gear together for a morning stalk, stoked the fire and set my alarm for 5am...
Alarm goes off and for about a minute I consider going back to sleep in the warmth of the sleeping bag then start remembering the close encounters from the night before and that I can spend the other bloody 355days I'm not in the bush in my bed so on with the boots, grabbed the rifle and was off the rectify the mistakes of the night before. Was stalking through the bush for about 20 minutes thinking I had probably gotten up about 20mins too late, bugger it! I was moving through the bush where I had seen the sign the night before as quietly as possible, with one 150g soft nose 303 round in the chamber of the old martini but the action of the single shot rolling block open. About 20 yards in front of my I spooked a stag and I didn't even bloody see him! He jumps forward through the bush about another 15 yards so I keep still hoping he'll stop and turn. Sure enough he stops and turns, although unlike the night before there is a clear line of sight between me and him with only the top half of his neck, his face and the bottom two points of his antlers showing. I am close enough to see the whites of his eyes and for a split second we lock gazes before the action silently closes and the old girl booms and I manage to thred a round through the bush straight back through his eye and into the brain, dropping him instantly where he stood. Attachment 17950Attachment 17951
Before I had come out I had decided this was a meat trip and had no plans on shooting anything in velvet, but seeing this guy, not being out for a while and the thought of venison on christmas day I couldn't resist myself. Having a look at him I was a bit confused, at first I thought a young red of 8 or 9 points, but he shows a lot of Sika characteristics but doesn't have the spotted back. A taxidermist who I have shown it too reckons it is a Sika hybrid with a bit of Red in there somewhere. What do you guys reckon?
So the next 2 hours or so was spent butchering him up and boning him out, and with a pack full of meat about 100 grams less than what I could physically carry, headed out and spent the next few hours sweating my balls off with a sore creaking back and buckling knees but with a smile of my face for most of it. A good feed of fish n chips and a cold ale on the way home went some way to remedy my pains! So on christmas day I was able to sit down with the family with some nice venison steaks along with all the other roast meats and sweet treats and some nice ten year old single malt from duty free, bloody brilliant!
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