Earlry in January we were out for a hunt and we spotted a couple of deer in the open, a spiker and one other that mooched off into the bush. Just as it disappeared I thought I saw a decent bit of antler and I suggested to my son that we go over and have a closer look. I had in mind getting closer to take some photos, but I didn’t mention that to the teenager that was accompanying me. With dog in tow we ningered up to around 350 yards and set up for a shot (with the camera!). ‘What do you think of that James’, I said? ‘Too good to shoot in velvet he replied’, I smiled to my self and we continued watching the stag until he saw us and melted back into the bush. It wasn’t in in hurry to leave and stopped and looked back a number of times and eventually stopped around 450 yards away thinking it was safe in a ferny gut. We left the two deer and walked back down the track and back to the truck. James asked if I could not let anyone else shot the stag as he would like to when it was hard.
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We hadn’t seen that stag again and on Monday, despite the weather, we were out in the same spot, but on a different ridge looking for a deer for some sausages and burger patties. James had grandads 30-30 and I was carrying the ‘Hammer of Thor’, the Rem 700 300 RUM, shooting 210 Bergers at 3000 ft/sec; so we had all ranges from 10-1000 covered!
The weather wasn’t the best, but it was better than than it had been over the last few days and I was convinced that there would be deer around, James wasn’t as confident as I was, but he was glassing none the less; it is always best to take teenagers hunting somewhere that there is no cellphone coverage!
James suggested that there wouldn’t be anything around in the rain/drizzle just as I spotted a hind on the bush fringe feeding out into the open. Hinds were off the menu but at least that proved that there were deer out and about. This reinvigorated our efforts and I started searching some of the small slips in the bush across from where we were glassing from. Ten minutes later I spotted a bigger body with tops, it looked like a eight or ten and I pointed out the animal to James who all of a sudden became interested and wanted the 300 RUM as the stag was around 275 yards away.
We got into a better shooting position and I put the Spartan carbon bipod on the rifle and extended the legs so that James could see over the ferns that were in front of us. A quick dial of the custom turret and we were ready to go, a punga frond was regularly blowing up in the the view and I suggested that he waits until it dropped as that would give a good indication of the wind. We pulled the dog into a position behind us, placed some ear protection in our ears and got ready for the shot. I was looking through my binoculars when the familiar sound of the RUM going off was followed up by the sight of a stag rolling over, he was laying down when James shot and he didn’t move an inch.
We had a bit a a celebratory hand shake and the dog even joined in with the excitement. We then had a good look at where it was and planned a recovered off a track that cut up above where it had been laying in the bush.
We dropped off the track and Pipi took the lead and took us straight to it, I nipped head and as James came around a Manuka his face told the story as he lifted the head and counted the points; 9, 10, 11! And what an 11 it was, solid as and beautifully stripped and stained up. Not many 17 year old boys get to shoot a stag like that and as you can imagine he was in the best condition, fat as; probably one of the biggest animals I’d seen and not the kind you’d be carrying out of the bush!
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Due to the angle of the shot and how much of the shoulder that was visible, he’d hit it a bit high I call these ‘shoulder saving’ shots! None the less there was a lot of prime, great condition meat to take. I boned the entire animal out and we ever took the heart for the dog. With full packs and the head we bashed out was back up through the bush and back to the truck, one happy lad, two really.
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Last night we picked up the sausages and patties and James made ‘Stag Burgers’.
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21 kilos of sausages.
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Both the sausages and burger were delicious and of course James described it as the best burger he’d ever had. :-)
