Thread: Shika

Shika (meaning deer in Japanese) was what I was after. I had a leave pass from the Mrs's and thumbs up from my 3 month year old son that I could go out and play again for 5 days. I had recently restored my grandfathers Brno 223 by stripping the remaining varnish off, giving it a light stain, about 10 layers of tru oil, new butt pad and sling, and re-blued the barrel successfuly on my second attempt with some sound advice from guys on here (thanks guys). I sighted it in a few days before and had a nice grouping at 100m within the diameter of my palm. That will do!



The first afternoon was unsuccesful with a few deer getting my wind. The next day I ventured high and dropped down various gullys and water sheds to have a very frickle wind blowing from all directions. I got close to a few deer, but not close enough to get a bead on them. The following day I was working a ridge when it all started to feel like I was geting onto a good area. No wind, quiet, and still crunchy under foot, the going was slow but I had all day ahead of me. There was a opening in the bush and my eyes flickered to it expecting to see something. Nothing. I took a few more steps and had a Shika squeel at me half the distance between me and the opening. I saw a head full of antlers quickly departing my field of view. Bugger, hadn't seen that one! Moving on along the ridge, I came to a saddle. I sat down and had something to eat and concluded there was nothing on one side. Walking up the next incline, I heard an unusual khoooo sound to my left on the other side of the saddle I had just left. Stranage, I didn't think we got wood pigeons up this high? Another step had the same response. I looked down a gully and a Shika was standing side on with its head obscured behind a tree with just its antlers protruding. I had time to fart around with this one. I raised the rifle, and squeezed off a round and it ran down hill a few paces and started to wobble from side to side showing the signs of a good hit. I let it come to a rest and began my walk slowly down. Super stoaked to find a nice spiker at my feet shortly after, and my first for this species.



The next day was a bit wet, so I took it easy as my feet were a bit tender from all the hills and read up on Shika. The next day was still drizzly but just a fine misty type of day which can bode well for finding deer out in the open. I managed to get within 10-15m of 3 sika stag on various ridges. There was scrapes, tree rubbings and various fresh droppings to keep me very interested but I just couldn't get the jump on these stags.




Pushing out onto the flats, I thought my day was done when a hind bolted up a scrubby face from the grass flat below. I slowed down. Peering over the next ridge onto the river flats I spied a young hind feeding away. Again, I had time so took a few quick snaps as day light was fading and I still had a big walk back to camp. I got into the prone position and squeezed off a round in the engine room. She trotted off. I reloaded thinking I had somehow missed, but she came to a stand still and began to crumble to the ground.





On the walk back to camp another hind jumped out infront of me. I thought why not, raised the rifle and was confronted by a vision of just blur! Quick whipe of the scope didn't help and I concluded my Leupold scope had given up the ghost and was fogged up inside. One very lucky Shika. Two Shika in 5 days, I can't complain about that though!