---Damo---
06-07-08, 10:35 PM
About 6 weeks ago i finally got to see my fletching disappearing into a big hefty billy.After a couple of weeks waiting,a 2 hour drive and a hard slog through some very rough terrain i had him pinned through my peep.I managed to control the adrenalin long enough to squeeze of a great shot and was very happy to drill my first billy.As i sat quietly and watched him stagger over the rise i signaled for my hunting partner to move in and take a crack at his first billy.While sitting there i was scouting around for a good photo spot and had a grin from ear to ear.After a stalk and a missed shot from my mate we started the tracking job only to come up empty handed .I repeated this 3 times that afternoon.This particular area is steep and scrubby.Being our first trip down into this rough terrain and with the light fading fast ,the decision was made to abandon the search for the downed billys.I was(so was my buddy)absolutly certain every shot was fatal,and im sure the billys werent far from us but thats the way things go sometimes,just take it on chin.To say it was a bitter sweet afternoon was a huge understatement.
Six weeks on and this morning saw us once again heading out the toward the mass of rugged ,scrubby mountains in hope of maybe finding at least one of the billys to retreive the horns and hopefully taking and finding another one today.After a quick chat with the owner we were off toward the hunting grounds.
Just as we approached the final gate before the hard slog began, i noticed 4 goats,3 of which were good billys and 2 of by my guess were cruising over the 30 inch mark easily,bolted out from a clump of bush about 30 yards in front of us.This was not expected at all so we bought the nissan to a stop and slowly got our gear and headed off in the direction of the fleeing prey.After a 5 minute walk we could see the billys had settled and been joined by 5 nannys who were casually feeding at the base of a large gum.Some quick planning and backtracking saw me sitting in somethick bush only 15 yards from all 9 goats.After a few minutes of determining which billy was best and watching them feeding toward me ,i waited as the big guy began to feed from behind his cover.I stood up and drew back in one motion as 3 of the nannys spotted me and did the bolt.The split second this happened was all the billy needed to escape the arrow i was to send his way.Damn nannys i thought ,but i knew and also told my mate that it was my impatience that had cost me my trophy this time.
After stumbling onto a few more goats and having them do the bolt ,then losing my mates binos and getting lost,i was starting to get a bit frustrated .We had some lunch sucked it up and decided to head out to the rugged spot where i had shot the billys on our first trip out here.
Roughly half way there, i froze and motioned to my mate to get down.3 goats were feeding on top of the spur we were travelling on.We watched for ten mins as they feed closer to us and i determined which was the biggest in the horn department.This time i was not going to jump the gun and blow the shot.I drew back and slowly eased to my feet,settled the pin on the goat and gently squeezed off the shot.The g 5 montec tipped easton plowed strait through as the goat spun around to see what had just happened.A quick 5 steps and goat down!I was so happy to finally see one on the deck.
http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk344/DamienJohnWillis/Picture032.jpg
I orinally thought it was a billy but was happy to have grounded (and recovered) my first goat.
After a few snap shots we headed off toward our original destination.20 mins later saw us stalking in on another mob and me drawing back for the third time today and a second montec finding its mark.
http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk344/DamienJohnWillis/Picture038.jpg
This nanny only made it about 12 yards.These montecs really do a good job.
After skinning both goats and taking one for my dogs we did the hard slog back to the nissan.It was smiles all round as we packed up the 4wd and enjoyed the light rain and and cooling wind after a hard day in the mountains....Hope you enjoyed the story and i didnt babble on to much :)
Six weeks on and this morning saw us once again heading out the toward the mass of rugged ,scrubby mountains in hope of maybe finding at least one of the billys to retreive the horns and hopefully taking and finding another one today.After a quick chat with the owner we were off toward the hunting grounds.
Just as we approached the final gate before the hard slog began, i noticed 4 goats,3 of which were good billys and 2 of by my guess were cruising over the 30 inch mark easily,bolted out from a clump of bush about 30 yards in front of us.This was not expected at all so we bought the nissan to a stop and slowly got our gear and headed off in the direction of the fleeing prey.After a 5 minute walk we could see the billys had settled and been joined by 5 nannys who were casually feeding at the base of a large gum.Some quick planning and backtracking saw me sitting in somethick bush only 15 yards from all 9 goats.After a few minutes of determining which billy was best and watching them feeding toward me ,i waited as the big guy began to feed from behind his cover.I stood up and drew back in one motion as 3 of the nannys spotted me and did the bolt.The split second this happened was all the billy needed to escape the arrow i was to send his way.Damn nannys i thought ,but i knew and also told my mate that it was my impatience that had cost me my trophy this time.
After stumbling onto a few more goats and having them do the bolt ,then losing my mates binos and getting lost,i was starting to get a bit frustrated .We had some lunch sucked it up and decided to head out to the rugged spot where i had shot the billys on our first trip out here.
Roughly half way there, i froze and motioned to my mate to get down.3 goats were feeding on top of the spur we were travelling on.We watched for ten mins as they feed closer to us and i determined which was the biggest in the horn department.This time i was not going to jump the gun and blow the shot.I drew back and slowly eased to my feet,settled the pin on the goat and gently squeezed off the shot.The g 5 montec tipped easton plowed strait through as the goat spun around to see what had just happened.A quick 5 steps and goat down!I was so happy to finally see one on the deck.
http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk344/DamienJohnWillis/Picture032.jpg
I orinally thought it was a billy but was happy to have grounded (and recovered) my first goat.
After a few snap shots we headed off toward our original destination.20 mins later saw us stalking in on another mob and me drawing back for the third time today and a second montec finding its mark.
http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk344/DamienJohnWillis/Picture038.jpg
This nanny only made it about 12 yards.These montecs really do a good job.
After skinning both goats and taking one for my dogs we did the hard slog back to the nissan.It was smiles all round as we packed up the 4wd and enjoyed the light rain and and cooling wind after a hard day in the mountains....Hope you enjoyed the story and i didnt babble on to much :)