Thread: First public land deer, and a near disaster

I know we all want to keep the weight down, but I carry 2 knives. My regular one and a spare folding one tucked away in my daypack (H&F give away)
I also carry a spare headlamp. It can turn into a long night if you shoot one on dark on the way out.

Originally Posted by Eat Meater

Yes my wife is a keeper. Now she's extra keen to get her own deer!

I'm thinking about changing the edge of my knife. I have a Svord skinning knife that was a gift from my hunting mate. I want to keep that, but it has a convex edge. I haven't figured out how to sharpen it well, so may end up making a bevel edge so I can sharpen it in the field.

not sure if you have the same where you live but we have a chap here in Naki with a van and a sharpening business will come to your door plug into power and for about $8 a knife bingo he is a master most of his business is chefs he can reshape to well worth it every now and then

Easiest way to sharpen/touch-up a Svord is on a linisher/belt sander with a worn or less agressive grit.

Well done, as others have said, don't leave your gear behind over meat, did you still have your survival gear with you? and I don't mean just a cellphone. Good lessons are usually from the scary moments that could have gone a lot worse.

No, stupid call there, caused by buck fever. I was intending to come back shortly to retrieve it, but you read the rest. I was wearing enough gear to survive the night uncomfortably though, but no water.

Don’t panic about water. Most people can survive about three days without it, some longer. These people that are continually sipping from their bottles probably freak out when they go without though.

I use a drinking tube and find I drink less volume but get less thirsty too

Great read, thanks.

Everyone will have an opinion on this. I mostly hunt for goats in the bush. Although I carry a torch, I try not to travel through bush in the dark. It's hard enough in daylight.

If I shot a deer in the bush at last light, think I would whip the guts out, hang and cover it. Like timattalon, I made up a small block and tackle. Admittedly it falls in to the more crap to carry category and gets left at home most of the time, but it is hard to hang anything but the smallest animal if you're by yourself.

Well done on your first bush stalked deer and some lessons learned.

Funny thing about water , in the 60's 70's very few people carried water , it was the thought thing that
if you drank to much you would get saver cramp .

Thanks for sharing mate, good lessons for a newby like me