Ok so i have Ten minutes to sit down an write this one out.
Heres what happened , and Why.
So i see this Deer out in the field and im not 100% sure if its these Tiny deer or what... I hadnt by then seen Sambar in this environment to gauge from and thought knowing my luck it will walk into the thicker Marsh and it would be a prized Hog deer...
So (this is where it can get interesting pending mindset already)
I set up to Shoot this Deer.
Not thinking about- The possibility the marsh gets Deeper, There is not 'higher ground' toward the animal, What if it runs off into the taller marsh, and What happens if its not a Trophy animal , And something to Factor in is With the HOG deer themselves (50kg), with the Tag, I must take the whole animal to the checking station after harvest..
With Note- Being in Australia, the way the rules and Regs percieve these Animals leans well toward the "Pest" end of the spectrum in which, i mean, there is NO real strict and religious "laws" around killing one these days, inside of 'Common sense' persay : Now Sambar are a "game animal" an i can only hunt with permit,in certain areas, with a certain type of gun in standard hunting hours mostly in the name of a fair chase hunt...
to elaborate somewhat, We do not have Tags and we do not have Game officers or the like...... maybe 3.
we have no rule about taking anything off the carcass, which is a very respectable differing of opinions for majority of You guys from the Hunting world of Canada and the States etc..
happy to answer anything specific regarding any of this side of life here.
So..
I think, If it is a Hog, Sweet as!.... shoot it, get a bit wet , carry or slide it out later in the day....
Bang, Wack, splash splash, ####..gota go find it. go over there, still alive, honk, takes off i kill it , thinking ive injured it first shot (video seems good hit- animal doesnt)
bang its dead, #### that was unreal... but .
BUT
now what, what the ####.. its a mature sambar stag, but it has a deformed damaged coronet and skull, its not a trophy, its rutty and its 180+kg and in the middle of a Swamp.....
elation for 10 mins ...hunters remorse for half an hour..
what next?
My situation-
Vehicle based 30 mins from nearest store, im 5 hours from Home and know no one at all here, Ive got enough meat and supplies for the week and no real esky /cooler to contain the meat for the remaining 5 days ... its not a trophy to skin out, nor a skull to take, ......
i took its Antlers off and left it out in the Marsh.
Why did I do this.
National Parks Victoria organisation have in the past 12 months Spent millions of Public citizen Donated Funds for Bushfire recovery handed down by the Government in some Fkd up way wich allowed Aerial culling across the whole Parks in the state, favoured hunting areas, historic areas, non problem areas........... hunters were not a piece of the puzzle and it was a kick in the guts.
lots of whinging not much backlash, but we tried to rally the troops a bit...
So i am in a Coastal area a hundred K from the mtns and its in Hog deer terrortory prior to the arrival of Sambar in the area (10yrs) an getting thicker they push the smaller deer out........
hunters remorse was soon settled the following morning as i filmed 9, Yes 9 sambar deer across the marsh in different areas but infront of my 180 field of view........ wow. but i did not see any Hog deer, altho maybe a handful of sign...
my thoughts then felt better due to the Australian culture somewhat, I killed A Big Deer, in little Deer country, in my effort to help reclaim the area for the lil deer.... i will target a hind or two next trip for this fact.
as i know there is many or enough Sambar.
Although the arguement can be that I wasted that particular Deer........... in the future i did not just kill another in the middle of the marshes, and i have since met like minded hunters in the area who WILL take meat from a Carcass to utilise any future harvest of whatever Deer.. bonus.
the dingos and foxes in which i seen many tracks, will clean up the carcass, as will the sea eagles, an not take the Victoria Parks 1080 baits
So quite a few downers here for your culture, altho after a night of hunters remorse due to my hunting itself maturing an trying to really take on much different cultures to ensure i appreciate an also conserve what it is i am hunting seeing as the Govt is very much against the live off the land and firearms in civilians arms a big no no , we are going to be fighting for our previlidges very soon and finally the bushfires cleaned up so many of the deer they simply are not a problem anymore, so the excessive culling, does not need my 'help' what so ever, the Deer do.
hope ya understand.
Cheers
Rhys.
