What was i thinking...still, i get a result

Hi, after my guiding efforts that were reasonable successful on the weekend (pity he missed) i was off again on another one day roar mission.
Now , im not sure what i was thinking but decided as it was during the week i hunt a well known hunting DOC block and go way out the back for a all day hunt.

Now i know this would of had hunters in there on the weekend but i had faith i could track something down.
I had another couple of plans if it looked like someone was out there but thought i be right.

Arrived early to the 4wd track to a perfect morning for roaring stags.
Overcast, was even a light drizzle few kms down the road and it looked all good until i got to the end of the road.

The place was over run with hunters! Six 4x4 were there, all hunters from the looks and they all been there from the weekend and still here.
No doubt where i was going to go there be at least 2 groups out there and a couple of creek systems that are ok it could be likely hunters are in there as well.

Bugger, but it is the roar i suppose(never actually hunted the roar here).
What to do, so in the end i decided i hunt a creek that normally i see no marks of people and travel miles out the back.

Well, hunting up there first thing i noticed it was very humid, i was cooking, then the second thing was boot marks everywhere.
Stuff this , what was i thinking.....this wasnt worth the effort or the risk of other people out there so change of plans....the plan i should of started with in the first place.


i know this area quite well, shot a few animals here and i know ive just driven past animals, and of cause everyone else does as well so why not just go back near the start
and do what i do best, find a easy animal.

So i walked back to the truck, no roaringto be heard and drove back down the road to where i know theres going to be something and prob no one has hunted.

Get out of the 4x4, start up into the bush, i go about 3 mins and decided i give a roar and bugger me, straight away about 100-150m up a stag roars back!!






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Couldnt believe my luck but at the same time didnt surprise me, ive shot stags in here before at different times.
I give another roar and he replys again but still in the same place.

i wait a little and give another moan and now nothing, hes shut up and doesnt make another sound. Normally if this happens its one of 3 things.
1 hes smelt me and is gone but i doubt that
2 hes a young animal and doesnt want a fight
Or 3 hes gone hinds and will stay quiet or slowly move out.
So i knew he was on the ridge im on not far up so hes likely to still be there and i just go up and stalk him and should see him if it all works out.

So i creep up the ridge which is ok for stalking but its dry and noisy and i have to have my wits about me.
i have to get over a huge log and when i do i look up and there he is, about 70m above me.
Unfortunately hes seen me as well and he wasnt sticking around and was off...bugger. It was ok thou, he was a young animal like i suspected, maybe a 6 pointer and
im pretty sure he might be the 6 pointer i saw near here in velvet a while ago so wasnt too worried about him disappearing.


So i climbed higher and decided i head all the way to the top which is abit of a mission to see if i can find another.
Soon come across a used wallow which was prob used by the stag i just saw.






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Near the top which is pretty rugged country i see some more stag marks but no replys to my roars apart from a distance stag miles away.

So i head down another steep ridge and get into the deer feed zone and see some sign then i come across dead freash marks of a hind.

i follow theres marks for 5 mins and know the chances of coming across a animal is pretty high, im in the perfect zone for a deer.
Sure enough, as i pop over a little hump down below me is a hind bedded up.
shes seen me and has her head turned and looking at me but doesnt get up.

Where theres a hind there could be a stag, so the 308 (yes, the 243 took a rest) was all ready to go and i searched around for a stag or any other animals but it appeared she was by herself.

She looked in good nick, looked a nice meat animal and as was on the way out and in a place hunters everywhere i thought i take her
and BOOM a 165gr Fed Fusion bowled her where she sat.

No stag or other animal took off so was happy that she was by herself now to bone her out and get out of here.








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So after a boning job, made my way back to the truck, was a pretty good day. Had another stag roaring and saw it, something didnt really want to shoot anyway and secured a nice meat
animal in a well hunted spot.
Hunting knowledge of the area and one of my main secret weapons....you drive past more animals than you can image and you dont need to go miles to get one.




Cheers

Go the meat hunter. Good to have backup spots for a plan B .
Must be a huge amount of public in your neck of the woods.

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Originally Posted by Chur Bay

Go the meat hunter. Good to have backup spots for a plan B .
Must be a huge amount of public in your neck of the woods.

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There is, i have like 16 spots i normally rotate and plenty of other places plus many i havnt even been to yet, some places i hunt once a year etc.
I try to hunt them at times of year no one else does or hunt it totally different than every man and his dog and i normally do pretty well

Deer are where you find 'em!!!

Nice motivation to get out again soon for a day hunt.

Nice work mate,

Good to have that local knowledge to change plans and score some tasty food for the table. Bet that you have lost plenty of gravy (sweat) finding those spots, feed zones and areas and the best access points. You dont get that knowledge by sitting at home on a computer aye.

Could you give more details on what you look for with regards to feeding areas/zones, is it the native bush type down there that you look for?

Cheers FBD

good stuff...your a machine,much impressed,enjoy the venison,will be betterthan smelly old stag.

Another awesome read cheers. How long have you been hunting in your patch?

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Originally Posted by Sako851

Another awesome read cheers. How long have you been hunting in your patch?

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Sako851
Hunted pigs with mates etc for 10 years when i was 19, learnt abit of stuff from that. Then played golf for 10 years and the very rare pig hunt.
Then decided to sell the clubs, bought a 243 and tried bush stalking. That was 13-14 years ago at most.
Took a year before i shot a deer, then months before got one in actual thick bush now i find it very easy

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Originally Posted by Fat belly Dog

Nice work mate,

Good to have that local knowledge to change plans and score some tasty food for the table. Bet that you have lost plenty of gravy (sweat) finding those spots, feed zones and areas and the best access points. You dont get that knowledge by sitting at home on a computer aye.

Could you give more details on what you look for with regards to feeding areas/zones, is it the native bush type down there that you look for?

Cheers FBD

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I always find the feed or deer zones as i call them are 3 quarters of the way up the hill.
Clearly the flats and low down theres food and deer first thing and last thing /during the night but deer always head up and get in these zones then bed up close by.

If the bush is too open, odd ferns etc but big trees and not much else its useless for deer unless you get lucky while ones moving thru.
Got to find the bush where theres broadleaf, other plants they like to eat and maybe even some grass. Areas that have nice gullies with a little water and plants /grass thats growing, often
the best are at the head of creeks, and low terraces 3 quarters up the hill.
You find game trails and more sign that slidle at that level.

If go too high the sign will disappear, bit low and it be the same. find that belt and you can slidle for quite away along the guts and ridges at that height and you find the deer.

For stags, you got to go high past the feed zones, past what i call the dead zone and near the top, often in steep, rugged country the stags will be camped out.

Head of creeks are great, o is the head of valleys and steep guts. Looking for a stag, head as high as you can and look for heads of the creeks and good terrences.

Different areas can require different plans but generally it works. Main ridges can be good to bump animals.
In the native i always look for reasonable open native, mature trees so you can move quiet, see good and cover ground.
If there are deer marks, there are deer there.
Just go find the creeks, spurs and feed zones then hunt at that level.
i think many people hunt to slow when stalking, as they hunting areas that are dead zones.
Best to move quicker thru these until you see fresh sign or get to good country that has feed, shelter and sun(esp winter)
Ok, you may bump and spook the odd animal but if you cover 3 times the ground you find more animals.

Always get to the hunting area as early as you can, first light ....well i do anyway
Plus it requires some grunt work, i think many people are too lazy to be a bush stalker. they wander around in nice bush, see good marks, walk for hours and see nothing.

Its no wonder, the deer have headed high, and theres going to be next to none deer at the level they hunting during the day.
they have to head higher, climb that steep stuff, slidle along thru nasty guts etc to get to the next ridge.
maybe even climb higher as the wind will start heading up as it gets hotter so everything above you will smell you.
Another reason to hunt high, on the way down the winds in your favour and its alot easier to get a jump on a animal if you above it.

Hence my hind yesterday. Hunted as high as i could go, then down a main ridge until some sign, then i slided at that height, followed fresh marks,
found the deer below me bedded, took her by surprised as she was facing downhill looking for danger, not up plus the winds in my favour, not hers.

was complete txt book bush hunting, thats how you do it

Thanks mate,

Pretty much how I bush hunt Sika, walk up a spur until you see sign then sidle until you hit fresh sign, then slow right down. I am guilty of not going higher or into tighter areas... The "lazy" bush stalker, I need to get that fitness up.

Appreciate the post, helps out a lot.

Cheers FBD

Nice open country compared to my back doorstep.

You've got the place sorted by the looks of it. Knowing what areas the deer frequent, seasonal patterns, attention for detail. It all comes together in the end.

Thanks for the great read. The tips are awesome too for someone who is keen on learning.
Enjoy the well deserved venison

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Originally Posted by deer243

Sako851
Hunted pigs with mates etc for 10 years when i was 19, learnt abit of stuff from that. Then played golf for 10 years and the very rare pig hunt.
Then decided to sell the clubs, bought a 243 and tried bush stalking. That was 13-14 years ago at most.
Took a year before i shot a deer, then months before got one in actual thick bush now i find it very easy

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I remember your posts when you started out mate, good on you for persevering !