I always watch the weather during the winter and try to hit the highs and avoid the lows for hunting. Even more so now that I'm of an age where I feel the cold more than I used to.
On Sunday I saw that Monday in the Wairarapa was looking good, so I got some work out of the way Monday morning and hit the road. 2.5 hours drive and I was in the North Wairarapa without hardly a cloud in the sky and only a light wind. Amazing. Going through Masterton the temperature had been 19 degrees.
On this particular place I have the luxury of having a quade to use - I had spent several years walking the 2 hours out the back, and getting a quade 18 months ago was a revelation, even if there is still plenty of walking to do once I get to the bush. Now at least the extra 2 hour grind of carrying a deer back to the truck has gone.
It was 4pm when I got out to the bush and left the Quade behind and started hoofing it. I know the area well and stalked the best feed areas without seeing anything. Then I moved on to the less preferred areas and almost immediately spotted a youngish deer on a clearing 350 yards away. I crossed a gully and closed the distance to 200 yards, but alas the deer was gone. Bugger. Tilly kept winding though, so it likely hadn't gone far.
I could see quite a big area from where I was so I set myself up to glass until dark, which came soon enough.
As it became too dark to shoot I had one last sweep with the binos and there on the sky line were 2 deer, both hinds. To get a bit closer and into some better light where I wasn't in the shadow of a hill I ran (tottered) a couple of hundred yards and searched with the binos. I could see one of them steeply up hill 230 yards away, but very indistinct. I marked in my mind where the deer was and switched to my rifle, winding the power on the Night-force SHV from 10 down to 5. As I looked through the 'scope I was surprised by how much light there was and how clear the MOA reticle was. Big ups for Night-force.
The hind was positioned so that I could see its head and neck ok but its chest was more in the dark, so I centred the scope on the bottom of its neck and let rip. The deer disappeared.
Minutes later and I wouldn't have got a shot at all.
I sorted my gear and got my torch out and then we (Tilly and me) picked our way up the hill to where I last saw the deer. As we drew near Tilly's nose went up so I became confident that it had been a hit. And sure enough there lay a vergy large red hind. Pity really - I would have preferred something younger and not in fawn, but it was what it was. You don't always get to pick and choose.
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The 150 grn Barnes from the 300saum had hit the deer behind the shoulder, so it must have been more quartered towards me than I had thought. Later when I took one of the hind legs off the in tact bullet fell out from under the off side rump muscle.
I like to get myself organised before I butcher a deer so I took some pics and organised my pack for my binos, coat and and what not and then set about butchering. I boned out both hq's and backsteaks, and left the bone in the shoulders and then loaded my pack. I put my camera and some surplus gear into a dry bag and clipped it to the outside of my pack, and I was ready to go.
I could hardly lift my pack off the ground, but I've been there plenty off times before so new that once it was up and on my shoulders I would be good to go. It took a supreme heave to get it on, but once the straps were adjusted and the hip belt tightened it was comfortable enough. So off I staggered.
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The route back involved 2 steep climbs and about an hour of up and down but I was back at the quade soon enough without needing to stop for a breather. I was pleased enough with my fitness.
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Another 40 minutes on the quad and I was back at my truck. Covered in mud and blood, tired and very happy. Every time I go hunting I feel blessed - blessed to still have my health and blessed to be still hunting. Long may it last!
ps. I will be damned if I know why those pics are skew-wiff
