Thread: Stags of 2013 roar, show em!

Originally Posted by Pointer

Still rips the undies losing one, especially as he was the best stag of the lot, and had let the rest walk to shoot him. nice even 12, Not heavy timber but long and well formed.

Still feeling sorry for myself as I have no one else to blame but I. I rushed the shot and I think I hit him too low in the shoulder to stop him. He swam a river that took me an hour to get over, and spent another 3 looking for sign to see where he left the clearing. No sign and having had a swim moments prior, no blood trial. Where is the dog when you need him?

I lost a beaut Sika stag in the eastern Kawekas a few years ago. He was on the run and I was leading him patiently... Wait... Wait... Now! Boom! Fuck! A manuka at just the wrong second filled my scope. He kept running seeming unphased. For the first time ever, my bolt jammed. I smacked it open, losing time and was about to unleash a second shot when he disappeared into scrub. Gutted, but still in disbelief he hadn't dropped with a well placed .308 slug, I had a quick search. Too dark and couldn't see any blood
Back at camp, I relived it many times and was adamant I must have connected, so my mate convinced me to go back and search in the morning. Blood trail!! Good dark blood in smallish leaf smears for about thirty metres, then nothing. We searched methodically in ever increasing circles for around three hours but it was as if he'd grown wings and flown away, or lifted an emergency escape hatch and vanished.

Heart breaking and unforgettable.