Antarcher
26-07-08, 08:05 AM
Have just spent four great days with Luke and his son Taylor and later with Mozza and Batesy. I must say it has been a great break from all the mag business and we had a very fun time. Here's how things went down.
First up Frank (Stealth) took Luke on one of his Rusa blocks whilst I stayed high and glassed with Taylor. It was an extremely windy day and Frank managed to arrow a spiker within the first 20 minutes of the hunt. He had Luke over his shoulder, but the spike was on to them, so Frank had no chance to give Luke a go and had to take the shot. He was left to be picked up on return and the boys forged on. They came upon a bachelor mob and Luke had a nice stag at 25m front on. He waited it out for a broadside shot for around half an hour, but the wind swirled and no better angle was offered. They tried on a couple more mobs, but the wind was a real crapper.
Meanwhile up high I managed to show Taylor his first Rusa and we even got to watch a young stag herd his harem around and dog a very reluctant doe who really gave him the run around. Luke and Frank hunted near on the whole day and returned with the fully recovered spike and a few close encounters to talk about. I helped Taylor set his bow up and got him smacking the bullseye out to 20m. I didn't get any pictures, but Luke has photos of Frank's spike that he will put up once he gets back to civilisation.
Up early the next morning and we arrived at Pego's farm on daybreak. It was a little chilly as we set about getting our gear together. Luke was determined to get Taylor his first game and I took them to a gully that held heaps of bunnies. It was the same gully Paul shot his first one in last year.
As we neared the bottom, we proceeded to glass the blackberries. I was very surprised that there were no cony's about and as we went to move off I spied movement up high, goats. I motioned to Luke where they and we set up a plan of approach. I was to remain at the bottom whilst Luke and Taylor went right up the middle of the gully in the hope of getting above the goats and shooting down on them.
The goats at the top of the gully
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1050974.jpg
All went to plan and the boys got up on the high ridge without being seen. As they rounded the top, the goats started to feed down. I was frantically trying signal Luke where the goats were, but he was over the top of the ridge and missed me waving my arms. If he did see me they have had a chance at 15m as they went one way and the goats the other.
Eventually Luke did look down and by then the goats were in the bottom of the gully that they had walked up. I decided to take some action and sprinted up the opposite ridge of the gully that the boys had walked in an effort to sway them back towards them and then things panned out a little different.
I quickly made my way about 100m above the goats and Luke and Taylor were around 40m off them as they fed in the bottom of the creek. Sitting very still, I could see that Luke was making every effort to get Taylor in range, but the goats had no intention of heading back and started to feed aimlessly my way.
And so it was that I came full draw with 10 goats in front of me at between 3m and 15m. I swung my pinfrom the closest goat to the next as I tried to pick a small one out through my peep. I mentally touched of the release on the sweet spot of 5 goats before I finally settled on a small brown nanny. This time was no mental release as I moved my finger over the trigger and let it rip.
At that range there was no guessing on the lethality of the shot and all the goats ran back down the hill and stood with a curiously drunken goat that decided to head but a rock and roll down the hill. There they stood, now at 40m, and I was hoping for them to move over to Luke again. I then picked out another and shot it through the top of the back and into the engine room. They now finally got the picture and crossed back over the creek minus two buddies.
This time they ran staright to Luke and Taylor. There was no time for Taylor to draw so Luke pulled back and had the arrow fall off the rest, with the goats looking back at me, at 6m. Bit of bummer but it was Luke's first draw on game with a drop away and he was a little over zealous in all the excitement and forgot he didn't have a biscuit on his new bow.
Still it was great experience for Taylor as he got to see two goats taken at close range with the bow. It was unreal seeing the look on his face and the shake in his legs from his excitement and it was clear that the boy will be one addicted bowhunter. Again Luke will add pics of the goats as I didn't use my camera this time.
We headed back to the shack and I sent Luke and Taylor above camp whilst I cleaned up the goats. While I was cleaning up the goats I spied a nanny on the opposite hill that Luke went up. It was too late to signal them so I let her be. Over two hours I cleaned up the goats and set up camp. The whole time I would glance up the hill and have this nanny watch everything I did. A few times I mumbeld to myself that if she was still there when I finished, then I would surely have a go at her.
As I did finish she skylined the ridge and walked over. I grabbed my bow and headed up and had a most frustrating time. As I reached the top, there she was, staring straight at me like she expected me. For 1 and a half hours I sat and slept and sneaked peeks at her and still she did not move. This girl was really starting to get on my nerves. I knew there were goats beyond her, as I could hear them, but she was determined to stand vigil and block my way. I then decided that she had given me enough cheek and I moved in on her.
The nanny, still as a stone. This is how she looked down on me for what felt like forever.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1050977.jpg
Like a statue she stood, as I slinked my way through the rocks, I now had her at 30m. She finally moved as I drew and she was slightly quartering away looking back at me. I touched off and she jumped sideways. I could see fur drifting through air in the bright sunshine as though I had shot a clump of dust. Well fur was all I got as she had moved at the right time and bolted off.
As I moved up to find my arrow, I caught movement out to the side and there she was again. On a rock, with a one horned billy and a young nanny, just staring me down. I had now decided that this was one possessed nanny who really had to go, as goats this smart should not be allowed to spread there knowledge.
So here I was again for another whole two hours. I made some rocks at 60m and every move I made was pre-empted and there she was looking straight at me the instant I tried to spy a peek or look for an opening. I eventually back tracked right down and around the hill and came in from behind. Finally I had her at full draw, broadside, at 40m. Unbelievably though, she decided at that point that she would hop off her rock and walk off. I couldn't believe I was so outwitted by a nanny, but that's the way it went and I will be looking for her the next time I am up there for sure. This was now personal.
I ended up looking around the rock and had goats from 10m out to 40m, but at this point I had decided that the hunt was over, as we had enough meat, so I let them be. Had the nanny still been with them then it would have been different.
I headed back down to camp and Luke and Taylor were back. They only saw a couple of rabbits and had no luck. It was now near on dark so tea was cooked up and a good nights sleep was had.
Morning broke out and so did the frost. The car was covered in ice that was quite thick and the ground and puddles were frozen solid. We decided to head around the back of Pete's farm where he had recently dozed a new car track to access the tops. As we came upon the track, I spotted a couple of goats right up high.
We drove up a little then tackled the rest on foot. The terrain was tough and the goats were in open rocky country, so it was decided that Luke would have the stalk, as he had to break his hunting holiday duck. Taylor stayed with me and I pulled the camera out. As we reached near where the goats were, it was apparent that were more than a couple of goats as a nice sized mob ambled their way towards us.
Luke was in position for their approach and it was only a matter of time before the bow would sing.
Here they came, totally oblivious. Luke is off to my left when these pics are taken
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1050999.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060002.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060003.jpg
Grabbing a feed
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060011.jpg
Finally one stood still ong enough to offer a shot. Here he is moving in
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060012.jpg
Feeding at the right angle
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060015.jpg
And now you see the arrow in flight. Pretty happy with this snap
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060018.jpg
Luke not happy with this one as the goat moved off unscathed
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060019.jpg
The mob milled about and settled pretty quickly. Gotta love a quiet bow
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060020.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060023.jpg
Luke moved in again as the goats fed off on their intended path
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060025.jpg
Here is a few more pics of the goats as Luke followed them up
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060035.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060037.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060045.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060049.jpg
Then finally I got this goats attention to get it to stand broadside. I could see Luke out to the side come to full draw. I then returned my focus to the goat and watched it turn itself inside out as the arrow struck the rock right where he stood
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060051.jpg
Again the goats moved off and settled
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060052.jpg
Luke was to make no more mistakes as he drew once again
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060060.jpg
A white billy stood on a rock perfectly broadside and Luke plugged it right through the shoulders. The goat fell straight off the rock and was stone dead. Another goat hopped up on the same spot to look at the fallen goat and Luke drew again. He shot this one perfectly too and it went the opposite way and died about 40m away. It was great watching it unfold and again Taylor got to witness what makes bowhunting one of the best things you can do.
Here is Luke and Taylor with the first goat
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060074.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060082.jpg
The boys as they came up on the second one
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060090.jpg
Luke with the spoils
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060093.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060102.jpg
That was end for the day as we had to clean the goats up and head down to Mozza's to continue our trip.
I will continue with the rest of the story once the other boys put their pics up, but here is the last pic I took and it shows that we made it to a very cold place where we had a heap more fun.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060113.jpg
First up Frank (Stealth) took Luke on one of his Rusa blocks whilst I stayed high and glassed with Taylor. It was an extremely windy day and Frank managed to arrow a spiker within the first 20 minutes of the hunt. He had Luke over his shoulder, but the spike was on to them, so Frank had no chance to give Luke a go and had to take the shot. He was left to be picked up on return and the boys forged on. They came upon a bachelor mob and Luke had a nice stag at 25m front on. He waited it out for a broadside shot for around half an hour, but the wind swirled and no better angle was offered. They tried on a couple more mobs, but the wind was a real crapper.
Meanwhile up high I managed to show Taylor his first Rusa and we even got to watch a young stag herd his harem around and dog a very reluctant doe who really gave him the run around. Luke and Frank hunted near on the whole day and returned with the fully recovered spike and a few close encounters to talk about. I helped Taylor set his bow up and got him smacking the bullseye out to 20m. I didn't get any pictures, but Luke has photos of Frank's spike that he will put up once he gets back to civilisation.
Up early the next morning and we arrived at Pego's farm on daybreak. It was a little chilly as we set about getting our gear together. Luke was determined to get Taylor his first game and I took them to a gully that held heaps of bunnies. It was the same gully Paul shot his first one in last year.
As we neared the bottom, we proceeded to glass the blackberries. I was very surprised that there were no cony's about and as we went to move off I spied movement up high, goats. I motioned to Luke where they and we set up a plan of approach. I was to remain at the bottom whilst Luke and Taylor went right up the middle of the gully in the hope of getting above the goats and shooting down on them.
The goats at the top of the gully
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1050974.jpg
All went to plan and the boys got up on the high ridge without being seen. As they rounded the top, the goats started to feed down. I was frantically trying signal Luke where the goats were, but he was over the top of the ridge and missed me waving my arms. If he did see me they have had a chance at 15m as they went one way and the goats the other.
Eventually Luke did look down and by then the goats were in the bottom of the gully that they had walked up. I decided to take some action and sprinted up the opposite ridge of the gully that the boys had walked in an effort to sway them back towards them and then things panned out a little different.
I quickly made my way about 100m above the goats and Luke and Taylor were around 40m off them as they fed in the bottom of the creek. Sitting very still, I could see that Luke was making every effort to get Taylor in range, but the goats had no intention of heading back and started to feed aimlessly my way.
And so it was that I came full draw with 10 goats in front of me at between 3m and 15m. I swung my pinfrom the closest goat to the next as I tried to pick a small one out through my peep. I mentally touched of the release on the sweet spot of 5 goats before I finally settled on a small brown nanny. This time was no mental release as I moved my finger over the trigger and let it rip.
At that range there was no guessing on the lethality of the shot and all the goats ran back down the hill and stood with a curiously drunken goat that decided to head but a rock and roll down the hill. There they stood, now at 40m, and I was hoping for them to move over to Luke again. I then picked out another and shot it through the top of the back and into the engine room. They now finally got the picture and crossed back over the creek minus two buddies.
This time they ran staright to Luke and Taylor. There was no time for Taylor to draw so Luke pulled back and had the arrow fall off the rest, with the goats looking back at me, at 6m. Bit of bummer but it was Luke's first draw on game with a drop away and he was a little over zealous in all the excitement and forgot he didn't have a biscuit on his new bow.
Still it was great experience for Taylor as he got to see two goats taken at close range with the bow. It was unreal seeing the look on his face and the shake in his legs from his excitement and it was clear that the boy will be one addicted bowhunter. Again Luke will add pics of the goats as I didn't use my camera this time.
We headed back to the shack and I sent Luke and Taylor above camp whilst I cleaned up the goats. While I was cleaning up the goats I spied a nanny on the opposite hill that Luke went up. It was too late to signal them so I let her be. Over two hours I cleaned up the goats and set up camp. The whole time I would glance up the hill and have this nanny watch everything I did. A few times I mumbeld to myself that if she was still there when I finished, then I would surely have a go at her.
As I did finish she skylined the ridge and walked over. I grabbed my bow and headed up and had a most frustrating time. As I reached the top, there she was, staring straight at me like she expected me. For 1 and a half hours I sat and slept and sneaked peeks at her and still she did not move. This girl was really starting to get on my nerves. I knew there were goats beyond her, as I could hear them, but she was determined to stand vigil and block my way. I then decided that she had given me enough cheek and I moved in on her.
The nanny, still as a stone. This is how she looked down on me for what felt like forever.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1050977.jpg
Like a statue she stood, as I slinked my way through the rocks, I now had her at 30m. She finally moved as I drew and she was slightly quartering away looking back at me. I touched off and she jumped sideways. I could see fur drifting through air in the bright sunshine as though I had shot a clump of dust. Well fur was all I got as she had moved at the right time and bolted off.
As I moved up to find my arrow, I caught movement out to the side and there she was again. On a rock, with a one horned billy and a young nanny, just staring me down. I had now decided that this was one possessed nanny who really had to go, as goats this smart should not be allowed to spread there knowledge.
So here I was again for another whole two hours. I made some rocks at 60m and every move I made was pre-empted and there she was looking straight at me the instant I tried to spy a peek or look for an opening. I eventually back tracked right down and around the hill and came in from behind. Finally I had her at full draw, broadside, at 40m. Unbelievably though, she decided at that point that she would hop off her rock and walk off. I couldn't believe I was so outwitted by a nanny, but that's the way it went and I will be looking for her the next time I am up there for sure. This was now personal.
I ended up looking around the rock and had goats from 10m out to 40m, but at this point I had decided that the hunt was over, as we had enough meat, so I let them be. Had the nanny still been with them then it would have been different.
I headed back down to camp and Luke and Taylor were back. They only saw a couple of rabbits and had no luck. It was now near on dark so tea was cooked up and a good nights sleep was had.
Morning broke out and so did the frost. The car was covered in ice that was quite thick and the ground and puddles were frozen solid. We decided to head around the back of Pete's farm where he had recently dozed a new car track to access the tops. As we came upon the track, I spotted a couple of goats right up high.
We drove up a little then tackled the rest on foot. The terrain was tough and the goats were in open rocky country, so it was decided that Luke would have the stalk, as he had to break his hunting holiday duck. Taylor stayed with me and I pulled the camera out. As we reached near where the goats were, it was apparent that were more than a couple of goats as a nice sized mob ambled their way towards us.
Luke was in position for their approach and it was only a matter of time before the bow would sing.
Here they came, totally oblivious. Luke is off to my left when these pics are taken
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1050999.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060002.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060003.jpg
Grabbing a feed
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060011.jpg
Finally one stood still ong enough to offer a shot. Here he is moving in
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060012.jpg
Feeding at the right angle
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060015.jpg
And now you see the arrow in flight. Pretty happy with this snap
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060018.jpg
Luke not happy with this one as the goat moved off unscathed
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060019.jpg
The mob milled about and settled pretty quickly. Gotta love a quiet bow
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060020.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060023.jpg
Luke moved in again as the goats fed off on their intended path
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060025.jpg
Here is a few more pics of the goats as Luke followed them up
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060035.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060037.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060045.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060049.jpg
Then finally I got this goats attention to get it to stand broadside. I could see Luke out to the side come to full draw. I then returned my focus to the goat and watched it turn itself inside out as the arrow struck the rock right where he stood
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060051.jpg
Again the goats moved off and settled
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060052.jpg
Luke was to make no more mistakes as he drew once again
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060060.jpg
A white billy stood on a rock perfectly broadside and Luke plugged it right through the shoulders. The goat fell straight off the rock and was stone dead. Another goat hopped up on the same spot to look at the fallen goat and Luke drew again. He shot this one perfectly too and it went the opposite way and died about 40m away. It was great watching it unfold and again Taylor got to witness what makes bowhunting one of the best things you can do.
Here is Luke and Taylor with the first goat
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060074.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060082.jpg
The boys as they came up on the second one
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060090.jpg
Luke with the spoils
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060093.jpg
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060102.jpg
That was end for the day as we had to clean the goats up and head down to Mozza's to continue our trip.
I will continue with the rest of the story once the other boys put their pics up, but here is the last pic I took and it shows that we made it to a very cold place where we had a heap more fun.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f8/antarcher/P1060113.jpg