jason
14-03-05, 06:45 PM
Finally it arrived«É∂
It had been 9 long months since we had booked our Trip. I was on a 6-day semi-guided hunt with Bill Baker«ÉŸs Pacific Bowhunting Safaris and along with me was my friend Gerry Ross on his first ever hunting trip. The 3hr drive to Toomba station from Townsville airport flew with Bill giving us the low down on the trip and helpful hints on how best to get one of those spotty little buggers. Arriving we were introduced to our hosts for the week Robyn and Ernest and after a chat we unpacked our gear and had a quick shot to see if every thing made the flight OK. Bill then gave us a demonstration on the vital areas of a chital on the full skeleton he had set up in camp. Other than in photos, this was the first time myself or Gerry had seen a chital deer and the size of the full grown stag astounded us, they would be no larger than a goat.
By 5pm we were stalking our first chital 200m from the house, no luck was had with 80m being the closest either of us got before the deer headed for the basalt wall. «É⁄Very wary«ÉŸ was a term used to describe chital by people I knew who had hunted them. That was the understatement of the year. A shadow to a chital is something to jump away from, another deer trotting to the front of the mob while feeding is reason for everybody to run and a horse sneezing, well, that«ÉŸs a sign for everybody to sprint in different directions back to the cover of the basalt wall. A steep learning curve had begun and after 8 years of hunting pigs and goats I thought I had this bowhunting down pat, but these spotty critters taught me a lesson.
Our first full day was upon us. Off the three of us headed, about 1km from the house Bill stopped and said there was a good stag and some hinds in the tree line (This mans ability to spot chital has to be seen to believed). Out came my bino«ÉŸs and sure enough walking out of the tree line they were. :«É˘Right time to belly crawl to a depression near the tree line for a better look«É˘ says Bill. «É˙What tree line«É˘ I say, «É˙The one about 400m away«É˘ says Bill. «É˙Bugger, I thought you were talking about a closer one«É˘ I replied. (Any one who knows me knows I am more built for bulldozing than agility) 30 mins later we made it, I thought I did it tough, but Gerry was crawling staring at my behind the whole time, poor bugger never did look the same after this experience.
No matter how hard we hunted during the week, I don«ÉŸt think anything compared to those 30 minutes for Gerry.
We sat in the washout for 30minutes glassing the deer as they fed our way, Mother Nature then decided to step in and change the wind direction and all was over. A quick whistle and finger pointing from Bill had us slowly turning around. Unbeknown to us, a spiky had walked up the washout behind us and was thrashing a sapling 50 meters from us. A quick rock, paper, scissors and I was on my first good stalk of a chital. I put his head and shoulders behind a large gum tree and slowly stalked in to 40 meters and was doing well, he was still thrashing the sapling. 39metres and I stood on a stick and the spiky turned him self inside out and was about 50 meters away in a second. The wind was now starting to swirl and deer were winding us well before we got close. Slowly stalking through black tea tree swamp we came upon two hinds at 30 meters. The slight clunk of the arrow coming out of the bottom molding of a two piece bow quiver was enough to send the deer somewhere else. Chital don«ÉŸt get the tag of one of the toughest animals in the world to hunt for no reason. Bill did say that they will frustrate you, but I had no idea this would happen within hours of hunting them. Following the swamps we came across a mob of pigs, and as this was Gerry«ÉŸs first ever hunt and as he had not shot a pig, in he went. After a good stalk he hit a one but unfortunately not good enough and it was not recovered.
Monday found us both sitting in tree stands overlooking different game trails. We both had deer come past but just out of range, we met up with Bill and headed off with rainclouds brewing above us. 30 minutes later it was raining, this quietened the ground and was the advantage we were hoping for but the rain did bring with it a swirling wind. Two hours later, and after more blown stalks by wind or kangaroos, we found ourselves crossing a creek bed. As Bill climbed up the steep bank, he froze, and slowly slid back down, a large stag was rubbing a tree about 100 meters away. Bill glassed him and then came back down with the news that he had bedded down about 150 meters away. We had smoko while we let him calm down. «É˙Whose go«É˘ asked Bill, «É˙Jason«ÉŸs«É˘ replied Gerry. «É˙No, I think it is yours«É˘ I said, «É˙No you go«É˘ was what I heard as I was climbing the bank, leaving Gerry and Bill behind in a pile of dust.
2®Ω hours later Bill and myself were 40m from the stag. He had bedded down with his back to us amongst about a dozen hinds. Now was not the time for a coughing fit but after 2®Ω hours of holding it in it was time to come out. The hinds stood up to see what was going on and to our amazement the stag staid put. Then all but 2 of the hinds lay down. 20 minutes of head bobbing and foot stomping later, and the mob decided we were not right and moved off. The stag staid put. This was the break I had been looking, slowly I stalked to 30meters and he slightly hunched, it was now or never, I drew my bow and settled my 30 pin behind the shoulder. I don«ÉŸt remember the shot, all I remember is the stag bursting into a full gallop and at 50 meters stumbling and going down. Bill gave me the thumbs up and came over and congratulated me. Then the realization hit me; I had just taken won of Australia«ÉŸs premier game species with a bow and arrow. 10 minutes later and a total of 3 hours after I started I was standing over the most magnificent animal I had ever seen. Bowhunting does not get any better than this. I radioed Gerry and woke him up (much to his disgust) and told him the news. The next 2 hours were spent caping, skinning and taking rolls of film. Happy does not describe the way I felt.
Afterwards, Gerry and Bill decided to head out, and I decided to stay home and celebrate. That afternoon Gerry took his first ever boar at 20meters and got a shot a spikey, which jumped the string at 25m. Boy were we happy that night.
Tuesday we decided to spend hunting pigs. The rain was still pouring and made for a miserable days hunting. The boars were doing what we should have been doing and taking cover from the rain. By lunchtime we had only seen young boars and sows throughout the swamps. After a bite to eat we headed into a large lagoon and came across the fresh tracks of a large boar. As we came around a corner of the lagoon we spotted him. He was back tracking towards us and at 15m I drove him front on. He was last seen doing 100km/h in the basalt wall. Next swamp a large black and white boar was spotted and Gerry went in after him. At 15meters Gerry put an arrow through his heart with a quartering away shot and he only got in 1step before going down for good. 29 4/8, not a bad second ever boar on your first ever hunting trip. Gerry«ÉŸs turn to celebrate.
On the way back to camp we came across a large boar on the opposite side of the river. He was 20 meters from us and we could see tusk above the top jaw, the 30 pointer I was dreaming of. As time went on the tusk grew bigger and with thoughts of the 34+ pointer taken off the place a couple of months earlier buck fever started taking hold. After 20 minutes he finally turned broadside and I drew and settled the 20 pin on his shoulder and released only to see my arrow sail over his back just clipping him. From the high of my stag to the lowest low, how the hell did I miss a boar at 20 meters? «É˙Maybe I was shaking so much I threw the bow?«É˘ I thought. The 2-hour walk home was miserable with a lot of cursing. When we arrived back I decided to have a practice shot, I thought I obviously needed it. I lined up at 20 meters only to see my arrow sail over the bail «É˙What The«É˘. It was then I looked at my bow and in one of my many falls amongst the basalt I had bashed my sight. (This was not a bowhunters fairytale) this did make me feel somewhat better but I did from then on check my bow every 10 seconds. It«ÉŸs tough country up there.
Wednesday, the rain was finally breaking and found Gerry and myself up tree stands at daybreak. 1 hr after daybreak the stillness of the morning was broken by Gerry«ÉŸs voice over the 2-way. He had just missed a big stag at 30 meters. The stag jumped the string and ducked under the arrow as it took off. Six hinds and a yearling passed my tree stand with only the yearling coming within 30 meters but I passed it up as I already had a good stag. That afternoon Bill and myself headed off after a couple of boars. We came across a good boar on an island but passed him up as he was lacking in the ivory department. 10 minutes later we were onto a fresh sign. In the next swamp a large black and white boar was head down, feeding. At 20 meters I drove him through the shoulders, he took 1 step and went down and best of all Bill got in video. At 252/8 he was my first ever trophy class boar. Another night of celebration.
Thursday, Gerry and Bill went one way I went the other with neither of us having any luck. I got to 20 meters on 2 spikeys and came to full draw but was winded before a good shot presented itself. Gerry and Bill got 30m on 2 bedded stags after 3hrs only to have the wind change direction as Gerry was drawing his bow. That afternoon Bill and I headed out after pigs while Gerry went to a tree stand we had not been in. Bill and myself sat on the basalt wall overlooking a large swamp with over 50 pigs in front of us. One good boar was spotted amongst them and he was my target. After a quick stalk across the waist deep swamp and the back to were I started from I put an arrow threw his shoulders from 30m and he was down in 50. The other pigs were not too concerned so we sat and let them move off. After 10 minutes we went to have a look at my boar. We did some videoing and dropped our packs and decided to roll him on his belly for some photos. As we rolled him over he got a second wind and thought we were helping him up. Neither of us had a knife so while Bill held him down I got the knife and we finished him off with a bit of a fight. These boars do not get their reputation for toughness and aggressiveness for no reason. The boar ended up having a broken tusk and only went 22 points and would have went 26 by the good one. I did learn a valuable lesson, it was next time Bill says that was his last breath, he can check.
Our last day was upon us and we split upon again. Bill and Gerry had another frustrating morning, with either wind or roos ruining their stalks. I spotted a hind bedding down and after 30 minutes of stalking I got to 25m. The shot looked beautiful and I was confident I got her. 10 minutes of her barking at me from 50m away ruined that dream. At 25m with a bow doing 240+fps and from a sleeping start she beat the arrow. That afternoon Gerry and Bill went after pigs while I went after some deer. I saw some hinds with young and left them be and managed to shoot a young boar at 5m not far from the house on the way back. Gerry and Bill came back well after dark with a chital hind over their shoulder. They went after pigs in some swamps and came across some hinds and Gerry got a shot at 30m with her going down in 80m. He got his deer in the last hour of the last afternoon. He was ecstatic. What a great way to end a great trip.
I would like to thank Bill Baker for his brilliant guiding, without him we still would only be looking at chital on paper and Robyn and Ernest for the great food and hospitality.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/jason3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/jason2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/jason1.jpg
The stag on the wall
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/103_0374.jpg
It had been 9 long months since we had booked our Trip. I was on a 6-day semi-guided hunt with Bill Baker«ÉŸs Pacific Bowhunting Safaris and along with me was my friend Gerry Ross on his first ever hunting trip. The 3hr drive to Toomba station from Townsville airport flew with Bill giving us the low down on the trip and helpful hints on how best to get one of those spotty little buggers. Arriving we were introduced to our hosts for the week Robyn and Ernest and after a chat we unpacked our gear and had a quick shot to see if every thing made the flight OK. Bill then gave us a demonstration on the vital areas of a chital on the full skeleton he had set up in camp. Other than in photos, this was the first time myself or Gerry had seen a chital deer and the size of the full grown stag astounded us, they would be no larger than a goat.
By 5pm we were stalking our first chital 200m from the house, no luck was had with 80m being the closest either of us got before the deer headed for the basalt wall. «É⁄Very wary«ÉŸ was a term used to describe chital by people I knew who had hunted them. That was the understatement of the year. A shadow to a chital is something to jump away from, another deer trotting to the front of the mob while feeding is reason for everybody to run and a horse sneezing, well, that«ÉŸs a sign for everybody to sprint in different directions back to the cover of the basalt wall. A steep learning curve had begun and after 8 years of hunting pigs and goats I thought I had this bowhunting down pat, but these spotty critters taught me a lesson.
Our first full day was upon us. Off the three of us headed, about 1km from the house Bill stopped and said there was a good stag and some hinds in the tree line (This mans ability to spot chital has to be seen to believed). Out came my bino«ÉŸs and sure enough walking out of the tree line they were. :«É˘Right time to belly crawl to a depression near the tree line for a better look«É˘ says Bill. «É˙What tree line«É˘ I say, «É˙The one about 400m away«É˘ says Bill. «É˙Bugger, I thought you were talking about a closer one«É˘ I replied. (Any one who knows me knows I am more built for bulldozing than agility) 30 mins later we made it, I thought I did it tough, but Gerry was crawling staring at my behind the whole time, poor bugger never did look the same after this experience.
No matter how hard we hunted during the week, I don«ÉŸt think anything compared to those 30 minutes for Gerry.
We sat in the washout for 30minutes glassing the deer as they fed our way, Mother Nature then decided to step in and change the wind direction and all was over. A quick whistle and finger pointing from Bill had us slowly turning around. Unbeknown to us, a spiky had walked up the washout behind us and was thrashing a sapling 50 meters from us. A quick rock, paper, scissors and I was on my first good stalk of a chital. I put his head and shoulders behind a large gum tree and slowly stalked in to 40 meters and was doing well, he was still thrashing the sapling. 39metres and I stood on a stick and the spiky turned him self inside out and was about 50 meters away in a second. The wind was now starting to swirl and deer were winding us well before we got close. Slowly stalking through black tea tree swamp we came upon two hinds at 30 meters. The slight clunk of the arrow coming out of the bottom molding of a two piece bow quiver was enough to send the deer somewhere else. Chital don«ÉŸt get the tag of one of the toughest animals in the world to hunt for no reason. Bill did say that they will frustrate you, but I had no idea this would happen within hours of hunting them. Following the swamps we came across a mob of pigs, and as this was Gerry«ÉŸs first ever hunt and as he had not shot a pig, in he went. After a good stalk he hit a one but unfortunately not good enough and it was not recovered.
Monday found us both sitting in tree stands overlooking different game trails. We both had deer come past but just out of range, we met up with Bill and headed off with rainclouds brewing above us. 30 minutes later it was raining, this quietened the ground and was the advantage we were hoping for but the rain did bring with it a swirling wind. Two hours later, and after more blown stalks by wind or kangaroos, we found ourselves crossing a creek bed. As Bill climbed up the steep bank, he froze, and slowly slid back down, a large stag was rubbing a tree about 100 meters away. Bill glassed him and then came back down with the news that he had bedded down about 150 meters away. We had smoko while we let him calm down. «É˙Whose go«É˘ asked Bill, «É˙Jason«ÉŸs«É˘ replied Gerry. «É˙No, I think it is yours«É˘ I said, «É˙No you go«É˘ was what I heard as I was climbing the bank, leaving Gerry and Bill behind in a pile of dust.
2®Ω hours later Bill and myself were 40m from the stag. He had bedded down with his back to us amongst about a dozen hinds. Now was not the time for a coughing fit but after 2®Ω hours of holding it in it was time to come out. The hinds stood up to see what was going on and to our amazement the stag staid put. Then all but 2 of the hinds lay down. 20 minutes of head bobbing and foot stomping later, and the mob decided we were not right and moved off. The stag staid put. This was the break I had been looking, slowly I stalked to 30meters and he slightly hunched, it was now or never, I drew my bow and settled my 30 pin behind the shoulder. I don«ÉŸt remember the shot, all I remember is the stag bursting into a full gallop and at 50 meters stumbling and going down. Bill gave me the thumbs up and came over and congratulated me. Then the realization hit me; I had just taken won of Australia«ÉŸs premier game species with a bow and arrow. 10 minutes later and a total of 3 hours after I started I was standing over the most magnificent animal I had ever seen. Bowhunting does not get any better than this. I radioed Gerry and woke him up (much to his disgust) and told him the news. The next 2 hours were spent caping, skinning and taking rolls of film. Happy does not describe the way I felt.
Afterwards, Gerry and Bill decided to head out, and I decided to stay home and celebrate. That afternoon Gerry took his first ever boar at 20meters and got a shot a spikey, which jumped the string at 25m. Boy were we happy that night.
Tuesday we decided to spend hunting pigs. The rain was still pouring and made for a miserable days hunting. The boars were doing what we should have been doing and taking cover from the rain. By lunchtime we had only seen young boars and sows throughout the swamps. After a bite to eat we headed into a large lagoon and came across the fresh tracks of a large boar. As we came around a corner of the lagoon we spotted him. He was back tracking towards us and at 15m I drove him front on. He was last seen doing 100km/h in the basalt wall. Next swamp a large black and white boar was spotted and Gerry went in after him. At 15meters Gerry put an arrow through his heart with a quartering away shot and he only got in 1step before going down for good. 29 4/8, not a bad second ever boar on your first ever hunting trip. Gerry«ÉŸs turn to celebrate.
On the way back to camp we came across a large boar on the opposite side of the river. He was 20 meters from us and we could see tusk above the top jaw, the 30 pointer I was dreaming of. As time went on the tusk grew bigger and with thoughts of the 34+ pointer taken off the place a couple of months earlier buck fever started taking hold. After 20 minutes he finally turned broadside and I drew and settled the 20 pin on his shoulder and released only to see my arrow sail over his back just clipping him. From the high of my stag to the lowest low, how the hell did I miss a boar at 20 meters? «É˙Maybe I was shaking so much I threw the bow?«É˘ I thought. The 2-hour walk home was miserable with a lot of cursing. When we arrived back I decided to have a practice shot, I thought I obviously needed it. I lined up at 20 meters only to see my arrow sail over the bail «É˙What The«É˘. It was then I looked at my bow and in one of my many falls amongst the basalt I had bashed my sight. (This was not a bowhunters fairytale) this did make me feel somewhat better but I did from then on check my bow every 10 seconds. It«ÉŸs tough country up there.
Wednesday, the rain was finally breaking and found Gerry and myself up tree stands at daybreak. 1 hr after daybreak the stillness of the morning was broken by Gerry«ÉŸs voice over the 2-way. He had just missed a big stag at 30 meters. The stag jumped the string and ducked under the arrow as it took off. Six hinds and a yearling passed my tree stand with only the yearling coming within 30 meters but I passed it up as I already had a good stag. That afternoon Bill and myself headed off after a couple of boars. We came across a good boar on an island but passed him up as he was lacking in the ivory department. 10 minutes later we were onto a fresh sign. In the next swamp a large black and white boar was head down, feeding. At 20 meters I drove him through the shoulders, he took 1 step and went down and best of all Bill got in video. At 252/8 he was my first ever trophy class boar. Another night of celebration.
Thursday, Gerry and Bill went one way I went the other with neither of us having any luck. I got to 20 meters on 2 spikeys and came to full draw but was winded before a good shot presented itself. Gerry and Bill got 30m on 2 bedded stags after 3hrs only to have the wind change direction as Gerry was drawing his bow. That afternoon Bill and I headed out after pigs while Gerry went to a tree stand we had not been in. Bill and myself sat on the basalt wall overlooking a large swamp with over 50 pigs in front of us. One good boar was spotted amongst them and he was my target. After a quick stalk across the waist deep swamp and the back to were I started from I put an arrow threw his shoulders from 30m and he was down in 50. The other pigs were not too concerned so we sat and let them move off. After 10 minutes we went to have a look at my boar. We did some videoing and dropped our packs and decided to roll him on his belly for some photos. As we rolled him over he got a second wind and thought we were helping him up. Neither of us had a knife so while Bill held him down I got the knife and we finished him off with a bit of a fight. These boars do not get their reputation for toughness and aggressiveness for no reason. The boar ended up having a broken tusk and only went 22 points and would have went 26 by the good one. I did learn a valuable lesson, it was next time Bill says that was his last breath, he can check.
Our last day was upon us and we split upon again. Bill and Gerry had another frustrating morning, with either wind or roos ruining their stalks. I spotted a hind bedding down and after 30 minutes of stalking I got to 25m. The shot looked beautiful and I was confident I got her. 10 minutes of her barking at me from 50m away ruined that dream. At 25m with a bow doing 240+fps and from a sleeping start she beat the arrow. That afternoon Gerry and Bill went after pigs while I went after some deer. I saw some hinds with young and left them be and managed to shoot a young boar at 5m not far from the house on the way back. Gerry and Bill came back well after dark with a chital hind over their shoulder. They went after pigs in some swamps and came across some hinds and Gerry got a shot at 30m with her going down in 80m. He got his deer in the last hour of the last afternoon. He was ecstatic. What a great way to end a great trip.
I would like to thank Bill Baker for his brilliant guiding, without him we still would only be looking at chital on paper and Robyn and Ernest for the great food and hospitality.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/jason3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/jason2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/jason1.jpg
The stag on the wall
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v477/smee99/103_0374.jpg