Thread: First deer

I got my first deer yesterday. A nice red stag.

After two luckless day trips in the Southern Tararuas and one in the Aorangis, I went for another optimistic armed walk into the Tararuas. I had found a promising area on a topo map so thought I'd go and have a poke about in there.

After a two hour walk in I headed off the track and straight into a swamp. I struggled through that for ten minutes or so and then found a nice, flattish stretch of bush. Off I went, nice and slow and quiet.

Fifteen minutes later I climbed a small hill and sticking out of the ferns ahead of me was what looked like a monkey's tail. I spent a few idiotic seconds running through the animals we have in NZ, wondering which has a tail most like a monkey, when I reliased it was an antler!

I chambered a round, slowly, praying I wouldn't be heard, and then waited with the safety on. I didn't want to move to get a shot at him as the noise would give me away. There was no wind, so I figured I just had to wait.

After thirty seconds or so, he moved forward and slightly up a rise in the terrain, showing himself. He was facing directly away from me, so I was resigned to looking at his arse until he moved again. I told myself to wait for a better shot. Two minutes I spent behind him, watching him feed. In that time, I decided that we were so close that I was comfortable taking a neck shot if a shoulder shot didn't present itself.

After almost forever, he turned ever so slightly, giving me a severe quartering away shot, but showing a hell of a lot of neck. Show time.

Nice and steady I shouldered the rifle, switched off the safety, put the crosshairs on his neck and squeezed the trigger.

The stag dropped where he stood, 15 metres away from me. I don't know if he was good or ugly, but he was a hell of a first deer.

The skinning and butchering took me an absolute age. Three hours or so I was at it. It took me two trips to get his meat out. All the same, it was a bloody good day. I got back to the car for the last time just as night fell and drove home for a hot shower and a long sleep.

Congratulations! Beautiful deer and a great setup you've got there.

Good man, well done on your first.

Good man,enjoy the moment and the venison.Give effort getting all the meat out.

Great effort !!!!!!

Good result.
Good story and some prime eating.
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Well done that man. Good write up too.

Well done. What a ripper first deer

Good story, very rewarding for you! Do the mahi get the treats

Dinner dinner dinner dinner, batman

Shit hot mate! Did the miles and got the smiles! You are away now mate!!

Awesome effort. Well done.

That's a stunning result for fourth(?) trip and in the bush.
Solid effort there too packing all the meat out from that far into the bush.
Brilliant!

Fantastic. Super impressed by the effort to pack it out! Lovely stag.

well done!