Thread: One of those days when it doesnt quite come together.

Went for a hunt today leaving my place at 430am and didnt get back home until 6pm.
Was a long day on the hill when things just didnt work out but you get that bush hunting, esp steep crappy bush.
Had a plan, was going to look at a ridge on the cold side that i havnt been to before in this area.

Even thou there was a frost and it was cold i had faith i do ok instead of hunting the sunny side that i knew had animals.
Low down the bush was thick then it opened up but there was alot of thick fern that made the going noisy. Saw some sign, few days old but there were a couple of fresher marks.
No roaring but as i came to a nice open area of thick fern i let out a couple of roars and waited to see if there was any action.
After 5 minutes out to my left i could hear a animal moving and heading my way.

Thought it was prob a stag coming in so waited to see what it was. Well, it wasnt a stag but a Blue boar, over 120lb easy and looked fat as mud.
Because the fern was so high i couldnt get a good view for a shot and he was followed by a couple of sows around the 60-70 lb range. In the end i had a couple of chances when they were way up the hill, but my position meant a free standing shot and as it was dodgy i didnt take the shot and they disappeared in the thick bush.

Cursing my bad luck i was about to head up the ridge then from the same direction where the pigs came from a deer, prob a spiker (saw some fresh sign) started making low grunts when they have smelt you and crashed off down the hill just out of sight.. He was prob coming in to the roars, double bad luck!

Bit later on had a stag replying to my roars then it just shut up. Decided i head up the main ridge where the stag roared from to see if i could get lucky.
Saw some fresh marks, then could smell deer every so often so i knew i was close.
Yeah, i was close alright, heading to the top of the spur suddenly just 50 yards away there was a hind and a yearling. Was too slow in seeing them and the time i got the rifle up they ghosted away into the thick native.

Before i had time to curse to my left suddenly more movement and heres the stag that was them.
Again, had a good look at him but time the crosshairs got on him all i saw was the back legs though the scope disappear. Bugger! Must be getting to old lol.
Least he wasnt a good one, a very young animal, maybe a four or 6 pointer.
After that didnt see much else so decided to head out a dirty creek , ...bad idea.

It was leg breaking country, steep as hell, gorges and dirty deep side creeks. Took four more hours of gut busting slow progess to get back to the car. Saw some sign, could of had a chance of a animal on the way out but wasnt my lucky day.

Still, no animals but its always good to see some, deer, stag, pigs, spooked one, its all good , they keep to next time .
Great thing about bush stalking hard country, its not easy and everything has to line up or get lucky to get one but in the end it happens, just not this time

Thanks for the write-up... it’s good for new hunters like me to hear stories that don’t end with a trophy on the deck! It’s those days that make the successful ones even sweeter, eh?

Sounds like a lot of my hunts. I like the quote I read here somewhere. " Sometimes you win, Sometimes you learn "

most of my hunts are just a nice walk in the trees. Sometimes i hear them running away

That sounds like an awesome day out. I would love to have access to a place where I could have a nice walk with a chance of seeing an animal.

Originally Posted by MB

That sounds like an awesome day out. I would love to have access to a place where I could have a nice walk with a chance of seeing an animal.

I only hunt DOC land, even with 1080 the numbers are low but you do come across animals.Key is just enjoy the bush, seeing a animal is a bit of a win and getting one is a bonus. Theres plenty of places in DOC that give you a chance of a animal, even in well hunted areas. I only bush hunt thou, its not easy hence least people do it around here so theres always a animal handy.
Its just a case of using some skill, have some luck and making good decisions and you normally end up with one

Originally Posted by deer243

I only hunt DOC land, even with 1080 the numbers are low but you do come across animals.Key is just enjoy the bush, seeing a animal is a bit of a win and getting one is a bonus. Theres plenty of places in DOC that give you a chance of a animal, even in well hunted areas. I only bush hunt thou, its not easy hence least people do it around here so theres always a animal handy.
Its just a case of using some skill, have some luck and making good decisions and you normally end up with one

Unfortunately, geography is against me. No deer in the North, and even goats are getting hard to find, plus it is not possible to have a nice walk through Northland bush!

At least you didn't miss a stag at 60 m like I did yesterday, was roaring quite good too.