Thread: GETTING THE ANGLE RIGHT

before you pull the trigger.

One morning we were cruising through that mixture of tussock between Lochiver and the Repia River when we spotted a good looking sika stag making off at the high port. The noise of the Hughes 500 had obviously put him out from where ever he had been hiding. I was the shooter and Joe Keeley was the pilot.

Joe had a contract with Fletchers, Wainui Deer Farm to catch sika as the were farming them at the time. We slid in beside this great looking animal which by this time was making some real tracks to get out of the place. I got ready to pop a net over him and I could see the animals near shoulder was covered with fresh blood.

"Forget it Joe hes stuffed, he's as good as dead, someone has shot him in the shoulder" I told him . We had a bit of a quick discussion and Joe reckoned he was running free enough and I should take him which I did. The net rolled him up beautifully and I jumped out and tied him up.

What a magnificent sika stag he was...A great eight and better than anything I had seen before. Joe and I gave him a quick check over and we could see where a bullet probably 30 cal had hit him in the ribs about the second one back from the shoulder at quite an angle and cut a path along under the skin through the muscle on the inside of the front leg and exited near the brisket. Whether this animal had been shot from an angle behind it or this was the result of a ricochet from a tree branch we were unable to tell.

I cut its magnificent antlers off above the coronet with a saw and they were sold for knife handles along with hundreds of others along with his. I bet Joe then that the stag would be dead in a month on the farm, but he never did die. Often I wondered where the hunter was when we snatched up this deer, perhaps he was still blood trailing it. The stag looked like it had only been hit an hour before we found him. Bad luck, bad shooting. I bet the hunter never got a better stag than this in all his whole life.
Sika are tough buggers, clever damned had to catch.

Like most other pilots and shooters we knew we would never claim a trophy taken from the machine.

Its amazing what they can take allright,I have shot a few deer that had legs broken and healed from bullets.
Also had one that opon skinning I dicovered 3 22lr pills in its neck all healed up.

One night a few years ago now on a block I used to do pest control on, I shot a 60-70lb sow with the .243 about 80 yards about 30-35 degrees up, she took off, I never found her.....
Three months later I saw a pig below the foresty road this time about 300 yards from the first time I shot her, I flattened her through the shoulder this time.
I went down the hill & brought her up only to discover the damage to her off side shoulder, I hit her high on the shoulder the first time & because of the steep angle it just "nicked" her.
So I got the back half, she was in very good condition, no one else hunted the block it was under lock & key.

Had a deer standing lokin at me 100m straight on almost but standing on a slight angle... I shot straight at its brisket and bullet literally blew its shoulder off.. Well it was hanging loosely. Chased that bitch through the bush gor ages before we caught up with her

Well written Scribe
There was probably 1 out of breath pissed of hunter watching you fly off with his trophy of a lifetime

Originally Posted by sako75

Well written Scribe
There was probably 1 out of breath pissed of hunter watching you fly off with his trophy of a lifetime

Yes it makes you wonder doesnt it. Niether Joe or I would have pinched a hunters tropy from under his nose. If he had have turned up we would have given it to him and probably a ride home. Joe was a generous type of guy like that.

But we were pretty sure the hunter was never going to catch up to that boy.

We caught some big far Jap stags just before that roar. One big one we chased trying to get a net over it pegged out in full flight. It hung up at 196 1bs at the chiller.

It wasnt one of these hybrids that everyone claims are running around all over the place this was a Jap

Originally Posted by Scribe

Yes it makes you wonder doesnt it. Niether Joe or I would have pinched a hunters tropy from under his nose. If he had have turned up we would have given it to him and probably a ride home. Joe was a generous type of guy like that.

But we were pretty sure the hunter was never going to catch up to that boy.

We caught some big far Jap stags just before that roar. One big one we chased trying to get a net over it pegged out in full flight. It hung up at 196 1bs at the chiller.

It wasnt one of these hybrids that everyone claims are running around all over the place this was a Jap

I sold one in the uhhhemm....80's that went 180+ lbs at the Waiouru chiller. Not sure if it was a hybrid tho.

Originally Posted by Scribe

before you pull the trigger.

One morning we were cruising through that mixture of tussock between Lochiver and the Repia River when we spotted a good looking sika stag making off at the high port. The noise of the Hughes 500 had obviously put him out from where ever he had been hiding. I was the shooter and Joe Keeley was the pilot.

Joe had a contract with Fletchers, Wainui Deer Farm to catch sika as the were farming them at the time. We slid in beside this great looking animal which by this time was making some real tracks to get out of the place. I got ready to pop a net over him and I could see the animals near shoulder was covered with fresh blood.

"Forget it Joe hes stuffed, he's as good as dead, someone has shot him in the shoulder" I told him . We had a bit of a quick discussion and Joe reckoned he was running free enough and I should take him which I did. The net rolled him up beautifully and I jumped out and tied him up.

What a magnificent sika stag he was...A great eight and better than anything I had seen before. Joe and I gave him a quick check over and we could see where a bullet probably 30 cal had hit him in the ribs about the second one back from the shoulder at quite an angle and cut a path along under the skin through the muscle on the inside of the front leg and exited near the brisket. Whether this animal had been shot from an angle behind it or this was the result of a ricochet from a tree branch we were unable to tell.

I cut its magnificent antlers off above the coronet with a saw and they were sold for knife handles along with hundreds of others along with his. I bet Joe then that the stag would be dead in a month on the farm, but he never did die. Often I wondered where the hunter was when we snatched up this deer, perhaps he was still blood trailing it. The stag looked like it had only been hit an hour before we found him. Bad luck, bad shooting. I bet the hunter never got a better stag than this in all his whole life.
Sika are tough buggers, clever damned had to catch.

Like most other pilots and shooters we knew we would never claim a trophy taken from the machine.

Enjoyed this ,Scribe did you ever bump in to Johnny Avery ,he was on a machine at the start of the live capture day's i believe ,then farmed deer near Paeroa up untill recently..

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

I shot a 8 pointer at North Arm in the Kaimanawa's. When removing the head skin I found cyst under the skin on the shoulder. I ran my knife through it to see what was in it and out popped a 30 cal jacket. It had gone right through and stopped under the skin. The shoulder blade has a neat hole through it which has healed around the edge. He seamed healthy enough and wasn't skinny. Average head score about 140 DouglasAttachment 2160

Thats bloody amazing 7mm! so it had passed threw the engine room?

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

I shot a 8 pointer at North Arm in the Kaimanawa's. When removing the head skin I found cyst under the skin on the shoulder. I ran my knife through it to see what was in it and out popped a 30 cal jacket. It had gone right through and stopped under the skin. The shoulder blade has a neat hole through it which has healed around the edge. He seamed healthy enough and wasn't skinny. Average head score about 140 DouglasAttachment 2160

Thats an interesting picture alright '7mm' I have never seen a wounded deer with a healed scapula like this. We cullers were always aware of the bad spot that runs across the shoulder and across to the last rib about four inches wide about 3 inches down from the backbone that is barren ground when it comes to a killing shot.

I have been figuring out where you live '7mm' If I am right you must live fairly close to a Gentleman up there who keeps a Hughes 300 in his shed that I knew quite well a few years back.

Also you are not far across country from old Rex and young Wayne Pratts property that they used to own a few years back.

Originally Posted by NZHTR

Enjoyed this ,Scribe did you ever bump in to Johnny Avery ,he was on a machine at the start of the live capture day's i believe ,then farmed deer near Paeroa up untill recently..

Thanks "HTR....Give us a bit of time to think about Johnn Avery I am sure he was a friend of Joe Keeleys. I know the name well but it will take the memory a little while to draft him out of the mob.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Thats right. I'm 5kms north of Keith and 7kms east of where Rex and wayne were. Did you shoot for Wayne?
I'm trying to work out who you are now.

We travel your road regularly going to and from our hunting area. We knew old Rex over the years. I knew Wayne when he was shooting for Astro. I was shooting for Mountain (Joe) (Spence) around then. Four of us from the area attended Commercial Flying School at Motueka together.

Three of us were ex cullers and there was Wayne. One of the four, my good friend 'Len' was married to Waynes sister when he killed himself in a Prang in the Rangitikei River.

A sad business, Len's Wife found out she was pregnant the day Len never came home.

Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Give me a call when you are going past sometime and I will have the jug on.
That was a bit rough about Len alright. Jude still lives in the area. See her occasionally. She was relief teaching at our local school for a while.

Yes saw Jude a month or two back she still comes along to our local reunions, daughter 'lenny' is in England. Would love to catch up for a brew one day. The trouble is when we scoot down your road we are either going hunting and in a hurry to get in for an evening shot or travelling back with a trailer load of venison that needs to get to a chiller..

I made a point last week coming back from Napier to cut across Poihipi road and call in to see Keith but he wasnt home. I have been promising to call in for a long time now. He must still be catching them as there was a fresh pigs head on the lawn.