Thread: 2 for 3

Just started flinging arrows about, maybe 3 months under the belt so far and had 3 armed walk-abouts.

Before I have a go at deer I thought I'd better practise all the skills on something not so valuable.... goats.

First mission was 5hrs away over easter...... a total failure as we tromped around the wrong valley only to see a whole bunch on the next ridge on the way out.... too knackered to put the extra effort in. It was a long drive just to walk about in the pines and blackberry for 6 hrs. ah well....

Closer to home I managed to score a private farm block that has a bit of a goat problem. A really nice property with good access, pretty much spot and stalk from the ridges down into the valleys and hill/cliff faces running down to the sea...... super fun.


First day was 3 good stalks, first 2 were failures with alot of climbing about and a couple of lost arrows. 3rd stalk and I'd quickly learnt from my mistakes and made it priorty to not be seen, even if it meant doing a big detour to get behind a ridge or traversing behind a stand of gourse or manuka. It paid off.

Managed to get within 15m of a heard, they had no idea I was there until the arrow flew. Even then the only one that knew something was up was the one I hit.
Not the best angle for my first kill..... a front on shot, but I hit it at the base of its throat and it went down for good after a minute. Whould have prefered it to be a bit quicker but you learn I guess.
Was a long walk back but I'm aiming to eat everyhting I shoot otherwise I wont take the shot, so it was butchery 101 and the legs and straps came out with me.



Next weekend was mission number 2 and Rob came with me. We hiked a decent valley for pretty much the whole day, plenty of goats about. We tag teamed a bunch taking a ridge each and stalked up on them. I detoured again crawling through a maze of goat/sheep trails in the scrub before I came out above and upwind (sent doesnt seem to worry goats!?). I let Rob know where I was and waited untill they crossed my path. Again they had no idea I was there and 2 big old billies wandered across the face about 25m infront of me. I drew and waited, then a younger one was in my sight so I let rip. Whack.

3 steps, one bleat and it was pretty much dead before it hit the floor. Very happy with how that one went, couldnt have been cleaner with a total through and through shot in the heart. Unfortunately it was a rock that stopped the arrow going too far and the shaft exploded into 3 bits, broadhead was selveagble though so not a total loss...... (getting expensive! 1 head and 3 carbon shafts gone sofar... about $70? )

Thought we'd dress the whole animal this time, but messed it up at the end, so ended up just taking the legs and straps again..... lucky we're not practising venison.


Will see If I can get a double next time and fill the freezer..... kids are loving goat meat which is a bonus

Awesome stuff. Well done

Yeah, good stalk mate, how you made it through all that scrub without making noise is beyond me.

...but... $70 is pretty expensive goat meat when you look at it isn't it?
Haha. It's all fun.

yeah is an expensive bt of meat when you loose a whole arrow.... still its too fun much to worry about little things like that

Good stuff!

Had a spare afternoon up my sleve over the weekend so I shot over to the spot again to do a solo hunt.

After all the wind and rain during the week the stinkies were all out soaking up the sun and feeding big time. I parked up and popped up over a ridge just off the road to scope out where they were hiding, and saw a bunch hanging out just below me about 200m away..... to easy!

Ran back to car, geared up and one of the farm hands pulled up saying there was another big bunch just down the road too.... it was all on!

I stuck with the first bunch I saw and stalked up on them. A nice wee nanny was the closest right up by the fence line to that one was first on the hit list. Popped back over the ridge and down wind from them and stalked a long to where I guessed they were. Popped over the ridge to get a squizz and I was bang on 20m way. First shot smack in the right spot and it was down within about 10m. The rest of the heard had no idea what was going on but got very curious about what happened to 'whitey'..... so they all came over for a look. duh.



Picked out another nanny from the curious bunch and let rip at about 35m, a good hit but this one shot off into the scrub. I tracked the trail and I found it about 50m in manuka.

I only had 2 broadheads for this shoot and both shots were through and throughs. One arrow was lost, another recovered. Stupid goats decided to still hang around after all this action and I thought ok lets have a go at one of the big old hairy smelly billies shooting down hill and across the valley with my last arrow, the shot was high and I missed, my last arrow had gone bye bye. Day over.



It was probably just as well as I took while gutting, skinning the first one so I could fully break it down, leaving me only 10mins of sun light left to deal with the second..... so it was a quick legs and backstrap with no messing around..... my new Western Cutlery skinning knife got christened and I'd sharpend it til it was razor sharp, it made a huge difference and made the whole job so much easier (its alsojust about took the top of my thumb off.... oops)


Kitchen fridge is now full (not ideal), so I'm sorting out an old fridge for garage, will be my meat hanging/aging fridge. Roasted up, minced and slow cooked some of the ealier kills and it was really nice, will experiment with a bit more aging but Its surprisingly good.

So next on the list is to get a bunch of new broad heads..... might stock up a bit I think, and to get a fricken range finder! Stalking in close is ok and it makes for a sure shot, but shooting up/down hill or across a dip/valley and my estimates go way out.

Very nice, good effort there.

For shooting up or down, have a look at a youtube video from National Sport Shooters Federation (NSSF). He does a very good job of explaining why for shots at angles you need to aim lower. I imagine the same would apply to arrows...

well done young man.

well done and beautiful looking country

Should probably renamed the thread...... 5 for 4.

Headed out to the block again over the weekend. Took Rob with me again hoping he'd be able to score his first goat.

He did..... I'm sure he'll talk about it soon

Had one of the best stalks I've had so far while Rob was after his Billy.
I spotted a mob but they were in an awkard spot with 3 Billys on the knob of a ridge that gave them a perfect view point of all the aproaches down wind and cross wind. After a bit of the sneaky spy on them I had a plan. Was to head back wher I came from about about 700m, drop down to the next valley below the ridge (up wind) and cut around to the opposite side from where I was spying on them. This wee gut had some small scrub along the ridge that I might be able use as cover to get closer.

Plan was going well until I was stopped by a snort..... doh! I'd cut back too low and bumped them.... froze and nice and slow I backed away witht eh whole mob giving me the stink eye.

OK plan B. I headed back up to the top of the ridge keeping out of sight. and headed down a very shallow gut on the opposite side from where I got busted. cover was sparse but I used the camo to good effect and slid down keep very low until I got a bush between their sightline and me. I used that to getin closer, slid a bit more then up to another bush by now I was about 30m from them and they were all focused looking over where I was 15mins ago snorting away.
I slid down another 5m to a big rock and settled behind it picking out the one thats number was up. A nice caremel coloured nanny looked like a good eater but she was partially behind some scrub, then a young Billy poped up on a rock to get a better look around..... bad move matey. Full broad side and the borrwed broadhead hit its mark at full force from about 18m. Straight through and it kept going indo the opposite bank. The Goat on the other hand didn't go anywhere near as far. It dropped off rock took a step then fell and rolled down the hill a few meters dead, all in full view.... couldnt believe how fast it went down 125gr broadheads are mean, only a bullet to the head would have been quicker I reckon.



The rest of the mob did the usual.... standing there just looking, probably thinking 'hey whats Andy doing flopping on the ground like that.... hey get up Andy'. Enough time for a second shot this time miss Caramel.

It all looked good on the draw and release but for some reason the shot was off.... then I saw the branch with a big chunk out of it. Arrows don't like branches it seems.

Anyway, 3 good hunts at 3 different spots in one day and I was knackered probably just as well I didn't have to deal with 2 animals. Its a super fun spot, we're very lucky to get out there.

Last time out with @chris-b he got one and I didn't. So I was super keen to do it this time.

As we drove in a goat got up and trotted over a knob it was perched. Parking 50m from where we last saw it I walked slowly up after it. I crawled over the knob (not quite as rude as it sounds) expecting the Billy to be gone but it was only about 10m away with it's head hidden behind a bit of scrub. Perfect. I drew, took time to aim and thwack! I hit it and it started running off blood running down it's leg. After a hundred metres and it not going dropping I decided to give it a follow up arrow. Using the scrub for cover I was able to close the distance to about 15m with a really tight quartering away shot. A slightly off shot saw my arrow right up it's arse which pretty much dropped it on the spot. Not a great way to go.



I'd like to give you a bit of backstory. Both my father and grandfather were both freezing workers with dad working for MAF as a meat inspector. A couple of months ago dad gave me granddad's old working knife and this was the 1st time I've had a chance to use it. Now I've broken down animals before but the've been hanging in a shed with a nice clean bench to put the meat on, so this should be the same right? No.

I really did 'butcher' that meat (not in a good way) Granddad was probably turning in his grave. As I stupidly tried to butcher it on the side of the hill I'd get half way through a cut and the animal would start sliding downhill or trying to roll away. I did eventually get the back-straps and hind legs for mince. I know billys aren't great for eating but I wanted to at least take some of the meat.

When I made it to the top I found Chris at the top with his little white Billy. While he gutted his goat I went to retrieve one of my arrows. My new PINK and blue fletched arrows stand SO MUCH BETTER than the orange ones I had previously which made it a short job in finding them.

The later stalk was really fun with me getting within 10-20m of a couple of different groups of goats.
I didn't end up taking one as I wanted one of the better meat animals in the group and could get past the old billys.

Highlights of the trip:
1st goat with a bow.
Getting close to so many goats (not the smell though).
Chris trying to throw the remains of his goat over the side of the hill.
Chris finding an arrow he had lost on the other side of the valley while glassing.

Yeeah I forgot to mention those 2 bits.... lucky you weren't videoing that aborted carcus toss (tripped on a bush, I went over bank in to the scrub, the goat didn't)

And spotting a lost arrow from the weekend before from across the valley with the bino's ..... BONUS!

Great stories guys, what's the eating like?

Great story guys, kills & meat, you cant beat that!!!!!!

I haven't eaten mine, it went straight into my chest freezer.
I know Chris has cooked up quite a bit of his. His kids love it!