havgunwilltravel
Active member
The last three weeks have been pretty hectic with multiple interstate hunts for both red deer and fallow. We have been going hard at them as the red deer are roaring and the fallow croaking real well. I haven't made much of an appearance at work, used up a few 'extra' days off due to 'family' commitments and could probably count the nights i have been home on one hand. The ute has been continually loaded with hunting gear and only the rifle brought inside when i am at home.
A heap of deer have been looked over, quite a few good stags have been in the crosshairs but apart from a nice 13 point red stag that i shot a couple of weeks ago i haven't burnt any more powder. I have helped a few mates take good deer and certainly enjoyed the time when i took my older boy away for a few days chasing bucks, shooting bunnies and whistling in foxes. He is only four and i have limitations as to where i can take him in the bush, but he is getting stronger in the legs, learning to glass and doesn't complain when camping out, so i am off to a good start with him, even if he does cry when i explain i can't take him away sometimes because the hills are too big and steep!
The last few days on the calendar are perfect for fallow buck rutting activity in one location i head into and with a couple of keen mates organised we made the long drive. Arriving a couple of hours before sunrise we hiked to our fly camp listening to bucks croaking. It was a good sign, but with clear skies and calm days we knew the stalking would be tough.
At sunrise a mate and i were sitting off a rutting buck trying to get a look at him, but he quietened down pretty early and we left him in peace moving to the next one, he approached our calls grunting regularly, but again stayed out of sight over our ridge and when we climbed up to get set up for another try at calling him we busted him out of a basin as he got our scent. The country is thick and if the bucks aren't too vocal i like to leave them alone as they should make more noise soon to come back for another go at some stage and its better to have them croaking to pin point their location rather then try to guess where they might be and risk running them off.
We climbed to a high point and heard a third buck going a long way off but he soon settled down and went quiet as well. Looking at my mate, we wondered whether the bucks were getting some pressure, or if we were a bit too early by a couple of days or if the warm t-shirt weather kept the noise to a minimum.
It was time to punch it out a couple of kilometres and head over to a basin i knew of that always had rutting bucks in it. Cresting the last ridge we hydrated our bodies with water we had collected from a mountain stream below and the sound of two fallow croaking hard greeted us. With no time to waste we moved fast down a spur and got set up opposite a buck going nuts. He was in a tough spot to slip in on so we were hoping to get the optics on him, he didn't budge to our doe or buck calls so we assumed he had a female in oestrus with him. Suddenly he came grunting down the ridge smashing trees as we watched him chase a hind to his next rutting stand. Big and mature he looked good but the busted antler halfway up the beam on his left hand side meant we would let him walk.
No point burning daylight with vocal bucks we jogged down to the next one and when a third buck started up we knew decisions had to be made. I called a few times trying to get a gauge on what the bucks were doing and as one of them was croaking hard in what i assumed was a rut stand i had shot mature bucks off before it was decided i would try him first. My mate would keep him vocal whilst i took my pack and shoes off and closed the distance fast. Once i got under 100 metres from him i hit the brakes and eased in. With rolling gullies and sunlight and shade meeting in the same gullies the thermals have a habit of changing a bit so i like to minimise my time close to the animal giving the wind less chance of switching on me before i can get a look at the buck.
A few rut scrapes were passed on the way in and i knew i was in his bedroom.
He was croaking well and soon i was within 25 metres trying to get a look at him, there was some thick scrub between me and the buck that i had to get around and i felt the gentle breeze hit my back so took a quick quiet ten steps to open up where he i assumed he was lying. Sure enough i made out a spotted body in the scrub and a quick look didn't tell me much apart from he appeared mature and had pretty heavy beams, the top half of his antlers were hidden from view, i knew i had seconds before he would get my scent and when he suddenly stood up and stared at me i had to make a decision so i rolled the dice and shot him behind the front leg. The 190gr Berger took out his heart and the buck made a few steps before collapsing. Still not sure how good he was i walked up to him to find a mature buck and that was in his prime with long sweeping beams and nice palms. I was more then happy with him for this area.
My mate came down to join me and we sorted out the buck.
Continuing on the other buck had gone quiet so we climbed up to a peak and sat in the grass dozing off hoping to hear a buck start up. I chose to clean up the skull a bit and feed some of the locals.
Things were quiet for a few hours before we located a buck that my mate eventually passed up and we looked over a couple of other bucks before flicking on the headlamp and climbing hard back to our ridge.
It was a deluxe set up for me as i chose to bring in a mat, not sure why with all that comfy grass i could have been sleeping on.
Sleep came easy that night and long before sun up we were all working our way out on ridges listening for bucks. Three or four were going hard underneath my mate and i and i kept them talking whilst he worked his way through them. He got a look at all of them bar the best sounding buck and a couple of hours later we still had no progress on the deep sounding buck although my mate had been very close a couple of times. He was moving around a lot and in very thick cover.
We decided to leave him be as he was quietening down and headed down valley towards another buck that was in the one spot going well. It was about then we decided my mate would stalk in on this one whilst i boosted it down valley and up into another system to see what animals were in there as we had always looked at it but never stepped foot in there. I found a few animals, got beaten by a buck on a flat spur and enjoyed the sights as i covered as much distance as i could.
A few hours later i decided to turn around and head back to my mate, eventually i found him in the binoculars, got his attention and we decided to meet up. As i was approaching him a little lower in the system i had previously hunted down i came across fresh pig bed, it was on its own and most likely a boar.
A bit further on closer to my mate i came across a hillside full of fresh pig rooting where they had been digging at the tree roots and as my mate was quite close i called out that this pig sign was damn fresh, he replied with 5 fingers in the air and pointed up hill between me and him. I knew what that meant and closed the bolt on the sako. Soon a sow and a big framed spotted boar trotted in front of me climbing up the ridge. I was waiting for my mate to shoot but he didn't and worried that he couldn't see the hogs i centred the big boar and put one tight in behind his shoulder. He went uphill 20 metres before rolling back onto a ledge.
Meeting up with my mate, he didn't think he was big enough for him to shoot, but i was more then happy to knock him over as i don't chase that many hogs around. We took the skull for my boys at home and continued on to the ledge we were sitting on the previous evening.
Soon a number of bucks started up and my mate was keen to go back and settle the score with the buck from this morning so that left me looking up high to a platue where a deep sounding buck was croaking hard.
I knew it would be a very big walk out and my last chance at a stalk once i committed to this buck and started dropping in elevation to cross the creek and climb up to his location. After a tense stalk in the socks the buck was located just over the lip of the bench, i eventually got a look at him rubbing his antlers in a thick stand of wattles. I had been fortunate as the wind had blown three ways on the way up and still hadn't given me away. Luckily now it had settled with dusk nearby and i got a good look at the bucks left side and his right appeared ok so when he lay back down took him with an offhand shot.
He again was a mature deer, missing his trez on the right and probably as good as he was going to get, if not starting to slide downhill with antler configuration.
Once again a long walk out in the dark was in order and eventually we all met up and kicked the boots over for our walk back to the 4wd where we grabbed a couple of cold ones out of the esky and steered the 4wd down valley towards my mates home. It had been a great few weeks in the scrub and a good couple of days on the hill. My mates had also managed to take a good buck each so it was fitting their efforts were rewarded.
I have the next week and a half to be seen around the house and spend time with the kids before jumping on a plane to chase some alpine animals around in NZ and if the locks aren't changed on the doors when i get home i will be a happy man...
A heap of deer have been looked over, quite a few good stags have been in the crosshairs but apart from a nice 13 point red stag that i shot a couple of weeks ago i haven't burnt any more powder. I have helped a few mates take good deer and certainly enjoyed the time when i took my older boy away for a few days chasing bucks, shooting bunnies and whistling in foxes. He is only four and i have limitations as to where i can take him in the bush, but he is getting stronger in the legs, learning to glass and doesn't complain when camping out, so i am off to a good start with him, even if he does cry when i explain i can't take him away sometimes because the hills are too big and steep!
The last few days on the calendar are perfect for fallow buck rutting activity in one location i head into and with a couple of keen mates organised we made the long drive. Arriving a couple of hours before sunrise we hiked to our fly camp listening to bucks croaking. It was a good sign, but with clear skies and calm days we knew the stalking would be tough.
At sunrise a mate and i were sitting off a rutting buck trying to get a look at him, but he quietened down pretty early and we left him in peace moving to the next one, he approached our calls grunting regularly, but again stayed out of sight over our ridge and when we climbed up to get set up for another try at calling him we busted him out of a basin as he got our scent. The country is thick and if the bucks aren't too vocal i like to leave them alone as they should make more noise soon to come back for another go at some stage and its better to have them croaking to pin point their location rather then try to guess where they might be and risk running them off.
We climbed to a high point and heard a third buck going a long way off but he soon settled down and went quiet as well. Looking at my mate, we wondered whether the bucks were getting some pressure, or if we were a bit too early by a couple of days or if the warm t-shirt weather kept the noise to a minimum.
It was time to punch it out a couple of kilometres and head over to a basin i knew of that always had rutting bucks in it. Cresting the last ridge we hydrated our bodies with water we had collected from a mountain stream below and the sound of two fallow croaking hard greeted us. With no time to waste we moved fast down a spur and got set up opposite a buck going nuts. He was in a tough spot to slip in on so we were hoping to get the optics on him, he didn't budge to our doe or buck calls so we assumed he had a female in oestrus with him. Suddenly he came grunting down the ridge smashing trees as we watched him chase a hind to his next rutting stand. Big and mature he looked good but the busted antler halfway up the beam on his left hand side meant we would let him walk.
No point burning daylight with vocal bucks we jogged down to the next one and when a third buck started up we knew decisions had to be made. I called a few times trying to get a gauge on what the bucks were doing and as one of them was croaking hard in what i assumed was a rut stand i had shot mature bucks off before it was decided i would try him first. My mate would keep him vocal whilst i took my pack and shoes off and closed the distance fast. Once i got under 100 metres from him i hit the brakes and eased in. With rolling gullies and sunlight and shade meeting in the same gullies the thermals have a habit of changing a bit so i like to minimise my time close to the animal giving the wind less chance of switching on me before i can get a look at the buck.
A few rut scrapes were passed on the way in and i knew i was in his bedroom.
He was croaking well and soon i was within 25 metres trying to get a look at him, there was some thick scrub between me and the buck that i had to get around and i felt the gentle breeze hit my back so took a quick quiet ten steps to open up where he i assumed he was lying. Sure enough i made out a spotted body in the scrub and a quick look didn't tell me much apart from he appeared mature and had pretty heavy beams, the top half of his antlers were hidden from view, i knew i had seconds before he would get my scent and when he suddenly stood up and stared at me i had to make a decision so i rolled the dice and shot him behind the front leg. The 190gr Berger took out his heart and the buck made a few steps before collapsing. Still not sure how good he was i walked up to him to find a mature buck and that was in his prime with long sweeping beams and nice palms. I was more then happy with him for this area.
My mate came down to join me and we sorted out the buck.
Continuing on the other buck had gone quiet so we climbed up to a peak and sat in the grass dozing off hoping to hear a buck start up. I chose to clean up the skull a bit and feed some of the locals.
Things were quiet for a few hours before we located a buck that my mate eventually passed up and we looked over a couple of other bucks before flicking on the headlamp and climbing hard back to our ridge.
It was a deluxe set up for me as i chose to bring in a mat, not sure why with all that comfy grass i could have been sleeping on.
Sleep came easy that night and long before sun up we were all working our way out on ridges listening for bucks. Three or four were going hard underneath my mate and i and i kept them talking whilst he worked his way through them. He got a look at all of them bar the best sounding buck and a couple of hours later we still had no progress on the deep sounding buck although my mate had been very close a couple of times. He was moving around a lot and in very thick cover.
We decided to leave him be as he was quietening down and headed down valley towards another buck that was in the one spot going well. It was about then we decided my mate would stalk in on this one whilst i boosted it down valley and up into another system to see what animals were in there as we had always looked at it but never stepped foot in there. I found a few animals, got beaten by a buck on a flat spur and enjoyed the sights as i covered as much distance as i could.
A few hours later i decided to turn around and head back to my mate, eventually i found him in the binoculars, got his attention and we decided to meet up. As i was approaching him a little lower in the system i had previously hunted down i came across fresh pig bed, it was on its own and most likely a boar.
A bit further on closer to my mate i came across a hillside full of fresh pig rooting where they had been digging at the tree roots and as my mate was quite close i called out that this pig sign was damn fresh, he replied with 5 fingers in the air and pointed up hill between me and him. I knew what that meant and closed the bolt on the sako. Soon a sow and a big framed spotted boar trotted in front of me climbing up the ridge. I was waiting for my mate to shoot but he didn't and worried that he couldn't see the hogs i centred the big boar and put one tight in behind his shoulder. He went uphill 20 metres before rolling back onto a ledge.
Meeting up with my mate, he didn't think he was big enough for him to shoot, but i was more then happy to knock him over as i don't chase that many hogs around. We took the skull for my boys at home and continued on to the ledge we were sitting on the previous evening.
Soon a number of bucks started up and my mate was keen to go back and settle the score with the buck from this morning so that left me looking up high to a platue where a deep sounding buck was croaking hard.
I knew it would be a very big walk out and my last chance at a stalk once i committed to this buck and started dropping in elevation to cross the creek and climb up to his location. After a tense stalk in the socks the buck was located just over the lip of the bench, i eventually got a look at him rubbing his antlers in a thick stand of wattles. I had been fortunate as the wind had blown three ways on the way up and still hadn't given me away. Luckily now it had settled with dusk nearby and i got a good look at the bucks left side and his right appeared ok so when he lay back down took him with an offhand shot.
He again was a mature deer, missing his trez on the right and probably as good as he was going to get, if not starting to slide downhill with antler configuration.
Once again a long walk out in the dark was in order and eventually we all met up and kicked the boots over for our walk back to the 4wd where we grabbed a couple of cold ones out of the esky and steered the 4wd down valley towards my mates home. It had been a great few weeks in the scrub and a good couple of days on the hill. My mates had also managed to take a good buck each so it was fitting their efforts were rewarded.
I have the next week and a half to be seen around the house and spend time with the kids before jumping on a plane to chase some alpine animals around in NZ and if the locks aren't changed on the doors when i get home i will be a happy man...
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