This year I have hunted harder than I ever have for a good number of years. Due to an injury which required Surgery I was out of action from the end of 2016 and most of 2017. I hardly got out in the bush at all during that time due to the healing process taking longer than I thought.
I always said once I was 100% I would make up for lost time, and in 2018 I have been smashing it. Its not uncommon for me to finish work at 11pm or midnight and then head straight into the bush, sleep for a few hours and be up by sunrise. Its pretty tiring doing that on a regular basis, but that's what sleep is for when I get back home.
Already having a good number of hinds on the deck this year and a few good stags, I wanted to try for another stag before I start back at work after having been off on annual leave. From the roar I don't usually stop hunting until the end of August, I take September off and then kick back into it during October, I have just about got the whole of October off work this year, this is when I prefer to spring hunt and bowl a heap of yearlings.
Today I did my usual wake up call at 04:30 hours and drove over the Remutaka hill road, I walked by torchlight for a couple of hours and sat and glassed all the small grassy clearings I could lay my eyes on at sunrise. I had a light breeze in my face and it was slightly overcast, another semi warm morning for winter.
It wasn't long before I was able to make out objects I was looking at as the light increased, I spotted a couple of hinds on one grass patch so kept looking, I thought if I don't see a stag I will have a crack at the hinds. Looking at another clearing I spotted a stag about 1km away on a different face, he was standing feeding and looked to be alone, its always a gamble in this area, it can take a long time to walk in on an animal, and because the clearings are so small, if an animal walks off into the thick Manuka and Gorse it might as well be in another part of the country.
I started heading down to where the stag was, all while trying to stay on a spur so I would be looking down and across on him. With my super stumpy bush pig rifle I try to get in as close as I can, its not known for reliable long shots only having a 16 inch barrel.
It took me a good while to get within shooting distance and from my angle the clearing had shrunk in size considerably, I couldn't see the stag so waited to see if he would reappear, about 20 minutes went by and I'm starting to think I should have just had a crack at the hinds which were closer and easier to get at.
I kept watching the clearing and all of a sudden I see movement, a flash of red followed by antler, he was lying down the whole time and was now just standing up again. He moved into view with his front shoulders and head only just showing, I could clearly see his ears flicking, and his jaw moving as he was chewing his breakfast. Definitely a live stag, not one propped on another hunters back. I lined up and let him have hit, BOOMF.....nothing.... he didn't move, fuck did I miss? I couldn't be sure if I heard the hit or not, he turned and looked for where the shot had come from but didn't try and run, I fired again this time aiming at his neck as he was face on, his legs were swept from under him, dead on the hoof.
I bush bashed over to where he lay, the first shot went through his shoulder alright, one of his front legs was smashed completely, why he didn't drop or at least wobble I don't know, but looking at the blood and internal damage he would have dropped soon after turning to face me, but I couldn't be sure so a follow up shot never hurts.
legs and back steaks cut out followed by twisting his head off and I was heading back through the thick crap to the vehicle.
Not a massive head, depending if you count the really small stubs as points or not, its either a 12, an 11 or a 10 ?
Not a whopper but it was an enjoyable hunt, I was pretty scratched up by the time I got out, the usual blood and Manuka leaves down the back of my shirt and generally feeling pretty filthy.
Back home, hot shower, and now I'm lying on the couch with a cold beer as I type this up...awesome.
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