Cold night Chamois hunt

A couple of years or so back I promised a couple of brothers a chamois hunt. Finally got a time that suited us all and we shot into the hills for an overnighter. Walked in and set up camp on Saturday avo, nicely set under a frozen waterfall!


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We'd set up the tents with plans to wander up the creek for a look before it got dark. I literally turned around and saw the familiar silhouette without leaving camp! We were all stoked to see a chamois this early in the hunt.


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Climbed out of the creek and into another valley and soon saw a trio of Chamois just below us on some bluffs, Watched them for a while before leaving them to it.


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That night it was bloody freezing, I don't know if Pip was keeping me warm or it was the other way around. It'd be one of the coldest nights I've spent on the hill...woke to have ice on top of my sleeping bag inside my tent! Once the day started breaking I was out of there and jumping around trying to warm up my limbs! ;D

We headed back to where we'd been the day before and started looking from our vantage point. From here we spotted a couple of deer and a pair of chamois on the opposite side of the valley.


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Pippas nose is pretty good at indicating whether its worth glassing or not in certain watersheds She was winding really well on these chamois when we were still 5-600m away from them. We snuck in and got a few photos and some video before moving on.


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After a bit of a trek back to pack up our camp, we climbed over the ridge into another creek and bumped into some fresh sign in the snow. Following that we came across a couple more Chamois chilling out below us.


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Its always a risk taking someone you don't know really well into an area that holds a few animals that you've worked hard to find...so I made particular effort to emphasize the importance of looking after spots like this.

These boys were a pleasure to hunt with, they showed great respect for the hills and excellent sportsmanship, and weren't interested in shooting a chamois for the sake of it, so none were harmed on this trip. They were ever so thankful for me for taking them there. Mid-avo we called it a day and headed back to the truck and were home by dark.

Cheers
Josh :)

Choice. Yep had the same on a solo chamois trip few weeks ago, first time I have had a iced up sleeping bag inside a tent!

I reckon it is great to see animals in the hills even if photos are the only shots fired. Good on ya Josh C:cool:

Brilliant Josh. Thanks.

Nice pics, nice country, thanks for sharing

:cool: :thumbsup:

Nice! Cheers for sharing

Great pics Josh. I guess you're a trophy hunter otherwise one would have been good for the freezer.

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Originally Posted by johnino

Great pics Josh. I guess you're a trophy hunter otherwise one would have been good for the freezer.

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I don't eat them mate, so don't see them as a meat animal. I will only shoot one if it will be bigger than previous ones. In a way I suppose you'd call it trophy hunting, but I generally go hunting chamois without thinking I'm going to shoot one. I didn't actually take a rifle on this trip either.

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Originally Posted by JoshC

I don't eat them mate, so don't see them as a meat animal. I will only shoot one if it will be bigger than previous ones. In a way I suppose you'd call it trophy hunting, but I generally go hunting chamois without thinking I'm going to shoot one. I didn't actually take a rifle on this trip either.

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Iv seen a few Cham over the years and never shot one, for all I know I could have walked past a 14 inch buck.

Its probably a hangover from my fathers training who considered them just goats.

Sent from my GT-S5360T using Tapatalk 2

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Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Its probably a hangover from my fathers training who considered them just goats.

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Essentially they are VC, them and Tahr.

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Originally Posted by Rushy

Essentially they are VC, them and Tahr.

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yes but since discovering hunting forums I am developing some respect for them.

Put it this way, these days if i saw one I would at least look at its horns.

Sent from my GT-S5360T using Tapatalk 2

Yeah I'm with you VC, I've seen a few Cham while tramping and meat hunting, mostly around the Southern Kahurangi Park, Arthur Range, but never have been tempted to shoot one. Now I've got a few mates into hunting I'm tempted to head to a decent spot just to bag one. A couple of mates even paid $1000 for chopper trips just to bag their first Cham.

Great photo's by the way, I hate getting my sleeping bag icy, but usually take my old synthetic if I'm not staying in huts.

I always enjoy reading your write-ups JoshC. Thanks for posting. :)

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Originally Posted by Nesika

I always enjoy reading your write-ups JoshC. Thanks for posting. :)

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+1 they are always a bloody good read with cool pics :D

Love seeing your writeups. Love seeing how you and Pip are getting on, she is becoming what i benchmark dogs against.
Good on you for showing the other guys around. Nice to hear they.appreciated what you did for them

Another great report Josh, I love being in the North Island....whats ice?....isnt it that stuff you put in a single malt??????

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Originally Posted by Scouser

Another great report Josh, I love being in the North Island....whats ice?....isnt it that stuff you put in a single malt??????

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Where the hell have you been Scouser? I was contemplating sending out a search party.

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Originally Posted by Rushy

Where the hell have you been Scouser? I was contemplating sending out a search party.

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Just getting my head around waking up in the dark at 6-30am......sucks......and as for the temp.....arrrrhhhhh......i was in 30c last week, sweating my proverbial's off.......dont miss the Mossies though, reckon its Canada's national bird!!!!!!!