benhohnke
03-11-05, 01:39 PM
It all started a couple of months ago when one of my mates told me he had been seeing lots of billies on the cliffs at their place. He asked me if I wanted to sort them out with my compound bow that weekend. I could not refuse.
I woke up at 5:40 to the sound of my very noisy annoying alarm clock. I jumped to my feet turned it off and put on the kettle and toast and got into my Advantage Timber Guillie suit. I then grabbed my Dads 23+ year old 45# Browning Deluxe Nomad Compound Bow, with Jack Pine five arrow quiver full of Port Orford Cedar Shafts, with feather flights, Pro Nocks and tipped with 100gr Ribtek Broadheads with no sights (note I had some but took them of for more of a challenge two weeks before).
Breakfast was finished, I had my warm brew put on my bag grabbed my bow and set off down the road at 6:45. I arrived at my mates house to find he had slept in and was still getting ready.
We were ready to go and his Dad said he had ìseen some goats in the distance on the cliffsî. We set off but first we were going to try for some rabbits around the hay shed. I finally decided to set off in search of those unpredictable goats and put the arrow away when we saw a rabbit in the paddock but, by the time I was ready to shoot, he was off.
We came to a hill and looked up at the cliffs. No sign of the goats, oh well, we will just have to go up there and see what happens. We walked down the hill, up a hill and we were finally at the base of the cliffs.
We started walking up the summit and the scrub was thicker than I thought. 2 hrs later we were ten metres from the top. We were almost stuffed. We sat down and got a drink when I saw some little goats with little horns but these would make a great first kill of species (fkos). I studied them but they were too busy studying me. The shot would be a 30 metre shot easy done on the target range but not here. My hands and my legs had the shakes and the target panic and adrenaline were getting to me. I pulled back the bow and snap, shot the arrow and it went too low and smashed on the rock below them. They ran in a circle and came back to study me further. I took another shot too high. I got the arrows but the second one wasnÃ*t broken. I left this one loaded and went after them again. they were standing on top of the cliff I fired, still shaking and the arrow skimmed across its back and went soaring like an eagle off the cliff. I watched them run off down the cliff, and they were long gone.
We thought of a plan to walk to the left hand side of the cliff then walk back to the right hand side. We walked up a little spur on the top of the cliffs to have a look around. I saw a spot of white and I pointed it out to Robert and he said ìitÃ*s probably just the skyî. I stared at the white, then it moved and I saw the full back of a goat. We closed the gap to 50 metres where we came to a rock. I told him to sit and watch. I looked and all I could see were two kids and a big grey nanny goat. I again, with the wind in my face, closed the gap to 20 and a bit metres and stood behind a boulder.
I poked my head out the side of the rock to see if any thing else had arrived I was right, I counted the goats, 20 including the kids. I observed all the billy goats a small black one around 50 points and two big white ones at least 120 points each. My plan was to wait until the big one got closer. I crawled to a pine tree to the side, stood up and looked at the goats. I spooked the grey nanny and she coughed and took the kids and other goats with her. I thought itÃ*s now or never so I drew back and shot. Just as he was moving off and missed, he stopped from the noise of the arrow smashing and bolted down towards the cliff face. I called Robert over to go down the cliffs to have another go at them. We walked down the entire summit and looked back up the cliffs to see the goats walking around on the top of the cliffs.
August sixth 2005 ( Saturday ) the phone rang and it was my good hunting mate Simon Marquet. He asked me if I wanted to go hunting again on a place near ours called Shady Glade he said he had seen and shot some goats there and wanted to get his hands on a big trophy black one he had been seeing. I said ìsee you tomorrowî and he said ìyepî. Sunday lunch time I got ready and we walked up the back of our place and walked across to PeteÃ*s place and walked up to the back corner of his property. We found a really fresh boar wallow and walked to the cliffs to sit down and get a drink. We were sitting down talking about great new hunting products when ìMMMMAAAAî Simon said ìsshhî and again ìMMMAAAAî. We estimated 50 metres behind us so we snuck over to a ridge, dropped our bags and went to the top of the ridge.
We saw the big black one Simon wanted and he said ìwait until IÃ*m in position before you shootî. He snuck off and I saw the big white one again but he saw me and he was off but I saw a smaller white one around 70 points and settled for that. I closed the gap to five metres and had the shakes again with one leg in the air behind a bush and the nanny became spooked and they started to walk off. This time I wouldnÃ*t miss because the sites were back on the bow. I pulled back the bow, stood up, put the pin on him and let all hell be unleashed, ìMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAî the arrow half in the lower chest.
I called Simon over and said ìI just shot a goatî And he said ìI know, I heard itî. We followed the blood trail and gravox like blood was every where. I saw the goat lying down 30 metres away. The arrow must have snapped and come out. I aimed for the neck. It went straight through. It jumped to its feet and ran down the hill. Simon said ìIÃ*ll find him you go get the bagsî. I ran up the hill so excited at my first goat. Note to self carry bag with you they are very hard to find in thick scrub. I got a drink and went down to find Simon and the goat 30 metres from where I neck shot it. Simon said ìIt stopped here and I put an arrow in it but it was already deadî. It was a beautiful after noon and it was almost sunset and the morale was high. I will never forget the best hunting trip with my best hunting mate.
13/08/05 I went into town early to buy the new Bow Hunting Down Under magazine and read it at the Coffee Pot with Mum, Dad, my little sister and little brother. On the way home I remembered the hunting trip last weekend and needed to go again. I rang Simon and he said ìyep IÃ*ll come out as long as you pick me up from the tar road.î He said ìpick me up at 2 oclock pmî I said ìyepî. I jumped in the shower washed off the BO basher I put on in the morning and rounded up the bow knives and bag and I was ready to hit the hills again. Mum dropped me and Simon off at the property and went and spoke to Pete. We started walking and looked over at the hills behind us with the binoculars. There were the goats we shot at the week before. But we headed up the hills in search of the pigs. We had seen so many marking and diggings of. We sat near a wallow we saw last weekend when we heard a faint bleat behind us up the cliffs. We ditched the pig idea and went for the billies. I said ìSimon itÃ*s your shot firstî he said ìokî. We were near the cliffs when we heard him again, he was by himself standing on the cliff, an eighty point black billy. When Simon began stalking and I followed closely behind and then he vanished and when Simon looked around for him he was gone, we know not where. Simon looked everywhere for him and I walked around on top of the cliffs. On the next cliff along I saw a medium sized dingo heading our way with a mob of about 30 goats. The dog was about fifty metres ahead of the goats and I quickly found Simon and we went back to the top of the cliffs. The dog was gone but heading down the hill were the goats heading towards us we quickly tried to sneak to a good ambush position when a 100+ black billy goat saw us; we froze. Simon whispered ìtheyÃ*re coming towards usî then we saw a big black nanny walk towards us slowly followed by two white kids. The same ones I saw the month before and they were growing up. They were slowly grazing down the hill to our left towards us. Just then a black and a white nanny, followed by that spooked out grey one I saw before, walked out in front of us about ten metres away. They were pretty small. Then I looked to my left and the nanny and kids were only two metres away. Simon moved his head it spooked the nanny and kids and they took off up the hill. Simon pulled back his Martin Phantom and he hit the white nanny in the intestine and she took off. The black nanny was still there but looking right at us, I didnÃ*t hesitate, I drew the bow, put the top pin on him and let hell unleash. The arrow hit just in front of the front leg and hit behind the other leg and blood sprayed out every where and the goat ran behind the bush and died. My first nanny goat and a heart shot. We saw SimonÃ*s nanny goat lying down looking around and he put another arrow in it and it ran 15 metres and died. I dragged my goat down to his for a photo shoot, the removing of the head and the removing of a leg for meat.
Simon is eighteen and has been hunting for ten or so plus years and me Ben Hohnke, am 14 and have been hunting for 2 to 3 years. These weekends proved to be the best in the history of my hunting trips.
By Ben Hohnke
I woke up at 5:40 to the sound of my very noisy annoying alarm clock. I jumped to my feet turned it off and put on the kettle and toast and got into my Advantage Timber Guillie suit. I then grabbed my Dads 23+ year old 45# Browning Deluxe Nomad Compound Bow, with Jack Pine five arrow quiver full of Port Orford Cedar Shafts, with feather flights, Pro Nocks and tipped with 100gr Ribtek Broadheads with no sights (note I had some but took them of for more of a challenge two weeks before).
Breakfast was finished, I had my warm brew put on my bag grabbed my bow and set off down the road at 6:45. I arrived at my mates house to find he had slept in and was still getting ready.
We were ready to go and his Dad said he had ìseen some goats in the distance on the cliffsî. We set off but first we were going to try for some rabbits around the hay shed. I finally decided to set off in search of those unpredictable goats and put the arrow away when we saw a rabbit in the paddock but, by the time I was ready to shoot, he was off.
We came to a hill and looked up at the cliffs. No sign of the goats, oh well, we will just have to go up there and see what happens. We walked down the hill, up a hill and we were finally at the base of the cliffs.
We started walking up the summit and the scrub was thicker than I thought. 2 hrs later we were ten metres from the top. We were almost stuffed. We sat down and got a drink when I saw some little goats with little horns but these would make a great first kill of species (fkos). I studied them but they were too busy studying me. The shot would be a 30 metre shot easy done on the target range but not here. My hands and my legs had the shakes and the target panic and adrenaline were getting to me. I pulled back the bow and snap, shot the arrow and it went too low and smashed on the rock below them. They ran in a circle and came back to study me further. I took another shot too high. I got the arrows but the second one wasnÃ*t broken. I left this one loaded and went after them again. they were standing on top of the cliff I fired, still shaking and the arrow skimmed across its back and went soaring like an eagle off the cliff. I watched them run off down the cliff, and they were long gone.
We thought of a plan to walk to the left hand side of the cliff then walk back to the right hand side. We walked up a little spur on the top of the cliffs to have a look around. I saw a spot of white and I pointed it out to Robert and he said ìitÃ*s probably just the skyî. I stared at the white, then it moved and I saw the full back of a goat. We closed the gap to 50 metres where we came to a rock. I told him to sit and watch. I looked and all I could see were two kids and a big grey nanny goat. I again, with the wind in my face, closed the gap to 20 and a bit metres and stood behind a boulder.
I poked my head out the side of the rock to see if any thing else had arrived I was right, I counted the goats, 20 including the kids. I observed all the billy goats a small black one around 50 points and two big white ones at least 120 points each. My plan was to wait until the big one got closer. I crawled to a pine tree to the side, stood up and looked at the goats. I spooked the grey nanny and she coughed and took the kids and other goats with her. I thought itÃ*s now or never so I drew back and shot. Just as he was moving off and missed, he stopped from the noise of the arrow smashing and bolted down towards the cliff face. I called Robert over to go down the cliffs to have another go at them. We walked down the entire summit and looked back up the cliffs to see the goats walking around on the top of the cliffs.
August sixth 2005 ( Saturday ) the phone rang and it was my good hunting mate Simon Marquet. He asked me if I wanted to go hunting again on a place near ours called Shady Glade he said he had seen and shot some goats there and wanted to get his hands on a big trophy black one he had been seeing. I said ìsee you tomorrowî and he said ìyepî. Sunday lunch time I got ready and we walked up the back of our place and walked across to PeteÃ*s place and walked up to the back corner of his property. We found a really fresh boar wallow and walked to the cliffs to sit down and get a drink. We were sitting down talking about great new hunting products when ìMMMMAAAAî Simon said ìsshhî and again ìMMMAAAAî. We estimated 50 metres behind us so we snuck over to a ridge, dropped our bags and went to the top of the ridge.
We saw the big black one Simon wanted and he said ìwait until IÃ*m in position before you shootî. He snuck off and I saw the big white one again but he saw me and he was off but I saw a smaller white one around 70 points and settled for that. I closed the gap to five metres and had the shakes again with one leg in the air behind a bush and the nanny became spooked and they started to walk off. This time I wouldnÃ*t miss because the sites were back on the bow. I pulled back the bow, stood up, put the pin on him and let all hell be unleashed, ìMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAî the arrow half in the lower chest.
I called Simon over and said ìI just shot a goatî And he said ìI know, I heard itî. We followed the blood trail and gravox like blood was every where. I saw the goat lying down 30 metres away. The arrow must have snapped and come out. I aimed for the neck. It went straight through. It jumped to its feet and ran down the hill. Simon said ìIÃ*ll find him you go get the bagsî. I ran up the hill so excited at my first goat. Note to self carry bag with you they are very hard to find in thick scrub. I got a drink and went down to find Simon and the goat 30 metres from where I neck shot it. Simon said ìIt stopped here and I put an arrow in it but it was already deadî. It was a beautiful after noon and it was almost sunset and the morale was high. I will never forget the best hunting trip with my best hunting mate.
13/08/05 I went into town early to buy the new Bow Hunting Down Under magazine and read it at the Coffee Pot with Mum, Dad, my little sister and little brother. On the way home I remembered the hunting trip last weekend and needed to go again. I rang Simon and he said ìyep IÃ*ll come out as long as you pick me up from the tar road.î He said ìpick me up at 2 oclock pmî I said ìyepî. I jumped in the shower washed off the BO basher I put on in the morning and rounded up the bow knives and bag and I was ready to hit the hills again. Mum dropped me and Simon off at the property and went and spoke to Pete. We started walking and looked over at the hills behind us with the binoculars. There were the goats we shot at the week before. But we headed up the hills in search of the pigs. We had seen so many marking and diggings of. We sat near a wallow we saw last weekend when we heard a faint bleat behind us up the cliffs. We ditched the pig idea and went for the billies. I said ìSimon itÃ*s your shot firstî he said ìokî. We were near the cliffs when we heard him again, he was by himself standing on the cliff, an eighty point black billy. When Simon began stalking and I followed closely behind and then he vanished and when Simon looked around for him he was gone, we know not where. Simon looked everywhere for him and I walked around on top of the cliffs. On the next cliff along I saw a medium sized dingo heading our way with a mob of about 30 goats. The dog was about fifty metres ahead of the goats and I quickly found Simon and we went back to the top of the cliffs. The dog was gone but heading down the hill were the goats heading towards us we quickly tried to sneak to a good ambush position when a 100+ black billy goat saw us; we froze. Simon whispered ìtheyÃ*re coming towards usî then we saw a big black nanny walk towards us slowly followed by two white kids. The same ones I saw the month before and they were growing up. They were slowly grazing down the hill to our left towards us. Just then a black and a white nanny, followed by that spooked out grey one I saw before, walked out in front of us about ten metres away. They were pretty small. Then I looked to my left and the nanny and kids were only two metres away. Simon moved his head it spooked the nanny and kids and they took off up the hill. Simon pulled back his Martin Phantom and he hit the white nanny in the intestine and she took off. The black nanny was still there but looking right at us, I didnÃ*t hesitate, I drew the bow, put the top pin on him and let hell unleash. The arrow hit just in front of the front leg and hit behind the other leg and blood sprayed out every where and the goat ran behind the bush and died. My first nanny goat and a heart shot. We saw SimonÃ*s nanny goat lying down looking around and he put another arrow in it and it ran 15 metres and died. I dragged my goat down to his for a photo shoot, the removing of the head and the removing of a leg for meat.
Simon is eighteen and has been hunting for ten or so plus years and me Ben Hohnke, am 14 and have been hunting for 2 to 3 years. These weekends proved to be the best in the history of my hunting trips.
By Ben Hohnke