Mid last week I was meant to take a not so well friend out to our hut for some rest and a quiet hunt but it turned out he couldn't make it. So seeming it had been planned and the WX looked ok I decided to go anyway but not stay the night. Brian was tied up too so I was on my tod.
I parked the truck at 3.30 pm after the 2.5hr drive and by 4.30pm I was on the bush edge looking into a likely gully that I frequent. I searched and searched through the scrub and little clearings with my binos and the longer I looked the more determined I became to see one. Eventually I did. I expect because it caught my wind and got up from its bed and I spotted its movement. Then I lost it, and then there it was sneaking up through the scattered scrub heading towards some heavier cover. The 6.5prc was all set up for this likelihood on the bipod and all I had to do was get in behind it and slip a round in. I knew the range (about 250 yards) so all I had to do was track it until it stopped and presented a shot. It didn't though and disappeared over the hill. But bugger me 30 seconds later it came back in the direction it had come. My wind eddying was confusing it I think. And it stopped broad side on. I assessed it as being a young hind through the scope on 12 power and blam!, down it went. The gun is sighted dead on at 275 yards and it was up hill which explained the high shoulder shot. It attempted to get up so I took a head shot and missed as it lay there, and fortunately it expired before I could embarrass myself again.
Those 124grn Hammers make a good entry wound and a decent exit although they aren't always drop dead effective on small deer. It wasn't a doe as I expected.
I boned that out and moved to another spot which is a big block of scrub that mostly holds the odd deer. I patiently stalked around a steep little face expecting to spook one close but after about 30 mins I caught a glimpse of something a couple of hundred yards away. I stepped back out of sight and stuck one up the spout and sneaked forward. Range now 150 yards. 2 Fallow, both looked young and one was a spiker and wasn't sure what the other was. Down hill so I aimed a bit lower this time and whammo over it tipped. The other one was too quick for me and I didn't get a shot at it - Im picking it had had an education from me on personal safety before.
Another nice spiker for the charity.
It only took 30 minutes for me to cross over to it, 20 mins to bone it and 40 mins to carry it to a spot where I could retrieve it later. But it was nearly dark so I hurried along to where I so I could hunt the bush edge. I was sneaking along glassing as I went. Right on the last of the light I picked up 2 indistinct deer on the bush edge and so began a game of me locating them in the binos and getting a marker, and then trying to pick them up in the 'scope. Fortunately the Zeiss Conquest can drag in the light and on about 5 power I finally got one lined up. 150 odd yards. Boomph! and down the hill it rolled. This one I gutted and dragged down the hill whole, although I didn't realise it at the time but its whole front third was pretty much buggered by the in the shoulder out the brisket shot.
I walked the hour back to the quad in the dark musing why there hadn't been any Reds about, putting it down to the cold southerly. I often though see Fallow out in these conditions. I then collected the 3 deer and made my way back to the ute. It was a cold evening so when I got home I left everything on the tray and carted it up to the house in the morning. Wellington seldom sees anything like it.
All of the meat is now boned out in the fridge waiting to make other people happy.
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