Mates first deer escapes unharmed

As I’m sure eventually happens to all deer hunters, I have found
myself in the position of trying to put a new hunter onto his first deer.

Once the weather lined up with the weekend, it was off into some public land for an evening hunt.

After dragging my mate through a fair bit of gorse, we reached our hunting area and settled in to do some glassing.

After maybe 20 minutes, we saw a red stag about 500m away. Before we even had time to get our packs on, he was out of sight, unknown to us, tucked in a small hollow out of the wind.

We knew he was around there somewhere, so we dropped below the ridge line and made a quick stalk in to where I
thought we might be within a 200 yard shot of the stag if he popped out again.

Popping up onto a small knob, I told mate to get his rifle laid out over his pack and get a good rest ready for a shot. Not even two seconds after saying that, stag walks out directly in front of us 100 yards away.

We both chamber a round. I’m lined up on the stags shoulder. He’s broad side but looking back at us. Mate is lined up on him as well.

“Can you see it?”

“Yeah”

“Shoot it”

Mate wants to get a bit more comfortable as he is feeling the nerves and wants to make a good shot.

Crack goes the branch behind his foot and the stag legs it up and over the ridge.

In the silence I can hear mates heart break in two. Oh well that’s hunting. Bugger I didn’t shoot it but wanted mate to get his first one on the deck and couldn’t have asked for a better set up. If he wasn’t hooked before I’d say he is now. The only way to get rid of the nightmares is to dream of the next one!

That last sentence is cool!

Pity it didn’t come together after getting in a good position, hope next time he will crack it.

Quite often the way with new hunters. I remember missing out on a good bull tahr because I saw it, hesitated, asked the old experienced guy I was with. By the time he said shoot it, it was running and I had lost the chance of a shot.

Being taken on a first hunt and getting my first deer with an experienced mate literally changed my life. It was that great of an experience. When I got the meat back and in my freezer, I vowed no more supermarket bought meat. The deal with the GF is, I go hunt and have fun, but if there's no meat brought home, we go vegetarian. I've done a month as a vege and won't let it happen again. Thanks Marcus for my first hunt. I will pay that forward one day...

I can still see big red hind in dominion block behind owhango laughing at us trying to shut bolt on mates 7x57 and that was fourty years ago.sho stood at fifty yards and watched us struggling then just walked away...it will happen.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mooseman

Pity it didn’t come together after getting in a good position, hope next time he will crack it.

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He cracked it this time, that was the problem!

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Great story! That adrenalin rush when you see the animal and start lining up the shot is part of what makes it so addictive.

I think if he had wounded animal and couldn't find it, it would have been a much worse feeling than not having shot it at all, so good on him for not pulling the trigger when he wasn't comfortable.

took a young mate out in the roar few years ago for first deer - quietly along a ridge and just a moan 50 meters in front just off to side - stopped and barely a minute later stag came up onto ridge stopped and young fella had two shots at it - clean miss both shots - he was gutted I was a little pissed should have been dead deer especially when stag stood after the first shot but could not say to much - he did not know what he had done wrong - just buck fever I quess or just happened a little to fast for him - lack of experience at a standing shot - so practise those standing shots

Something ive found works great for new well and old hunters is to dry fire a couple of times