macka
25-03-05, 04:54 PM
April this year it was school holidays and I was invited to go down with my cousin to his block at the south east of South Australia :D . I was to help him with some cattle work and shoot some of the many deer that he has trouble with wrecking fences and eating his feed. His block was a rectangle about 7km long and about 3km wide and 3/4 of it is bordering national park, which is where the deer come out of to feed on the improved pasture. I had only had my compound bow for a year now and had managed to hunt a fair bit and drop about 20 or so goats but from articles I had read I didn«ÉŸt think I would be able to get close enough for a shot on a deer but what the heck I took my bow anyway.
On the first afternoon I saw about 40 deer Manley fallow but a couple reds and a few rusa. I had the rifle at this stage and came within 15 metres a couple of times but didn«ÉŸt shoot because I was after a couple sets of antlers, but with getting so close I decided to take the bow next time I went. Boy did I hear it when I got back and hadn«ÉŸt shot any of the buggers. The country is rolling grassy hills scattered with a few large gum trees but the national park is so thick you cant even see 2 feet in front of your face. I also found about 10 or so rubbed trees and they were rubbed so high I couldn«ÉŸt believe a deer could reach that high.
After our cattle work the next day, Nathan told me that I could go for another walk. So I set off at about 1 0clock with the bow but this time. I didn«ÉŸt see anything until about an hour into the hunt. It was a pair of rusa that caught my attention feeding in between some yakka bushes on the top of a ridge. Out came the bino's and YES I could see antlers on one of them. They were in velvet but I was pretty sure they were hard. It was a slow belly crawl through prickles and I used yakka bushes to crawl behind to make it to them. it was about an hour later I was only a mere 50m from them. The stag was on the other side of a large tree preventing any shot from the angle I was approaching. Man at this stage I was starting to shake! I tried to get closer but the spiker that was accompanying him spotted me and walked towards me grunting and snorting it was about 40 metres and I decided to take the shot. I placed the pin right on his brisket and let rip, I stood up only to see him fall over not 30m from where I had shot it. The arrow had berried itself almost up to the fletches inside its chest and put it down quickly. I was ecstatic I couldn«ÉŸt believe I had just grounded myself a deer he was a young rusa stag and his spikes were still in velvet. The sun was almost out of sight now so the photos were done in the dark as well as the walk back.
The trip was getting even better when that night I shot a 10 point red stag and a 25 inch rusa stag but I felt a bit guilty taking them under the spotlight I would have much rather have taken them with the bow another day but my cousin was making me shoot everything we saw. I did use the old I can«ÉŸt see them until they dumped the fence so I let some go. :wink:
I was very happy when it was time to go for a hunt the next afternoon, out came the bow and 6 arrows in the quiver. The day was still young and the smell of gum leaves up my nostrils I could tell this was going to be another good afternoon. I was walking along the same stretch as I did the day before when I saw a rusa hind feeding along the edge of a patch of scrub. I quickly planned my stalk and was going to follow a fold in the ground that would bring me to about 30 metres from her. All was going to plan until I came up out of the fold in the ground and herd something move in the bushes to my left and there not 15m away was a rusa stag looking at me. I quickly drew and released, the deer ducked to try and get out the way of the arrow but this just made the shot high spineing it. I then put another shaft into him to finish him off. He wasn«ÉŸt the largest of heads being only a touch over 23 inches but I was stoked to have taken two deer with the bow and I was only 15.
The trip had been great and I had 4 sets of antlers in the back of the Ute 1 set of red 1 set of fallow and 2 sets of rusa but the most prised set was the smallest, the rusa I got with the bow. :D I shot 30 deer for the trip, now I know most people will think that«ÉŸs a waste but the damage they do to the fences down there is terrible and I doubt we even put a dent in the population. I hope to get invited down there again next year.
Spiker :D
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WQAKA2cbJ8NR*!Lqw!Kw4RIpDm!eV8hPSoS06yETw7vbg15nD BNgAr0koTvhTzo9Mo7*uIUd9VSJT3EXQbU8!lvouEpy35B33QL uH8tcrEsncSgATEHDMO5!Z5eo3jn9bwjWap2BrmY/P5300106.JPG
Stag :D :D
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WQD7AmQbN8JR*!Lqw!Kw4UhY95LGHGTG7BPGES7bj5zj1ooHS RAwN2d2dGtImcfXPzkN4qptYhhJ2Jupb6s6gr09HkyXKzQV3Fy iTo2p*8a12FEZhzailM9jt*kayDpOnCIUx3rBmkM/P5300103.JPG
And this is the antlers on my wall now. :wink:
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WQCRAmgbe8PMVEbWCiSvzaIwxBLbUm6UZlXXM3ry1TFBTmXTr l*y8C27crpsU2wlGNN9mSOs9HXncqoaKT2iV*baHtxoxSpzhbt uPW7iIvuAf!xq5MXtl345QXBBHCG0wjQPR!8nzAk/P4050070.JPG
Macka :wink:
On the first afternoon I saw about 40 deer Manley fallow but a couple reds and a few rusa. I had the rifle at this stage and came within 15 metres a couple of times but didn«ÉŸt shoot because I was after a couple sets of antlers, but with getting so close I decided to take the bow next time I went. Boy did I hear it when I got back and hadn«ÉŸt shot any of the buggers. The country is rolling grassy hills scattered with a few large gum trees but the national park is so thick you cant even see 2 feet in front of your face. I also found about 10 or so rubbed trees and they were rubbed so high I couldn«ÉŸt believe a deer could reach that high.
After our cattle work the next day, Nathan told me that I could go for another walk. So I set off at about 1 0clock with the bow but this time. I didn«ÉŸt see anything until about an hour into the hunt. It was a pair of rusa that caught my attention feeding in between some yakka bushes on the top of a ridge. Out came the bino's and YES I could see antlers on one of them. They were in velvet but I was pretty sure they were hard. It was a slow belly crawl through prickles and I used yakka bushes to crawl behind to make it to them. it was about an hour later I was only a mere 50m from them. The stag was on the other side of a large tree preventing any shot from the angle I was approaching. Man at this stage I was starting to shake! I tried to get closer but the spiker that was accompanying him spotted me and walked towards me grunting and snorting it was about 40 metres and I decided to take the shot. I placed the pin right on his brisket and let rip, I stood up only to see him fall over not 30m from where I had shot it. The arrow had berried itself almost up to the fletches inside its chest and put it down quickly. I was ecstatic I couldn«ÉŸt believe I had just grounded myself a deer he was a young rusa stag and his spikes were still in velvet. The sun was almost out of sight now so the photos were done in the dark as well as the walk back.
The trip was getting even better when that night I shot a 10 point red stag and a 25 inch rusa stag but I felt a bit guilty taking them under the spotlight I would have much rather have taken them with the bow another day but my cousin was making me shoot everything we saw. I did use the old I can«ÉŸt see them until they dumped the fence so I let some go. :wink:
I was very happy when it was time to go for a hunt the next afternoon, out came the bow and 6 arrows in the quiver. The day was still young and the smell of gum leaves up my nostrils I could tell this was going to be another good afternoon. I was walking along the same stretch as I did the day before when I saw a rusa hind feeding along the edge of a patch of scrub. I quickly planned my stalk and was going to follow a fold in the ground that would bring me to about 30 metres from her. All was going to plan until I came up out of the fold in the ground and herd something move in the bushes to my left and there not 15m away was a rusa stag looking at me. I quickly drew and released, the deer ducked to try and get out the way of the arrow but this just made the shot high spineing it. I then put another shaft into him to finish him off. He wasn«ÉŸt the largest of heads being only a touch over 23 inches but I was stoked to have taken two deer with the bow and I was only 15.
The trip had been great and I had 4 sets of antlers in the back of the Ute 1 set of red 1 set of fallow and 2 sets of rusa but the most prised set was the smallest, the rusa I got with the bow. :D I shot 30 deer for the trip, now I know most people will think that«ÉŸs a waste but the damage they do to the fences down there is terrible and I doubt we even put a dent in the population. I hope to get invited down there again next year.
Spiker :D
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WQAKA2cbJ8NR*!Lqw!Kw4RIpDm!eV8hPSoS06yETw7vbg15nD BNgAr0koTvhTzo9Mo7*uIUd9VSJT3EXQbU8!lvouEpy35B33QL uH8tcrEsncSgATEHDMO5!Z5eo3jn9bwjWap2BrmY/P5300106.JPG
Stag :D :D
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WQD7AmQbN8JR*!Lqw!Kw4UhY95LGHGTG7BPGES7bj5zj1ooHS RAwN2d2dGtImcfXPzkN4qptYhhJ2Jupb6s6gr09HkyXKzQV3Fy iTo2p*8a12FEZhzailM9jt*kayDpOnCIUx3rBmkM/P5300103.JPG
And this is the antlers on my wall now. :wink:
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WQCRAmgbe8PMVEbWCiSvzaIwxBLbUm6UZlXXM3ry1TFBTmXTr l*y8C27crpsU2wlGNN9mSOs9HXncqoaKT2iV*baHtxoxSpzhbt uPW7iIvuAf!xq5MXtl345QXBBHCG0wjQPR!8nzAk/P4050070.JPG
Macka :wink: