Another dream run of a Winter this Year, similar fashion to Last Winter an I'm feeling well and connected with the Sambar Gods, mostly put this down to learning so much more about the Animals by being out there with the Animals so often and so much.
I've been more tactically hunting these Elusive "brown ghosts" of late as opposed to stalking blindly most of the day,, this may be hard to understand for non sambar hunters, theres something about these animals which doesnt put them in the places they are 'supposed' to be in and any variable in weather seems to vary the animals behaviour big time from one day to another, week in week out.... aamazing , but thats what i dig about them.
I always figured If i was quite, silent and stealth on my stalk by being in areas I think the deer are likely to be , will eventually work out for me, an it has for years , touching on my point that no hunt has been without learning something about the animals and weather that is just following game trails and understanding why an how they do things or where they go and why, has been monumental in my journey.
So the other day I sneak out from my Hut and walk up along a ridgline on the edge of the bush, up a hundred or so elevation and i cut onto some great game trails leading back along the front of another ridge leading deeper into the bush.
it gets early morning sun and is a good spot to cut off the deer from fringe to bush.
i was in the late arvo and plannin a sit and wait, so i contoured along the steep face along toward a really steep gulley gut which offered visual on all sides and these game trails felt really active, the trail indicated this.
the problem is the sambar will come out from this shoot tonight, 3 up tomorow night, 5 back the following an then might use shoot 3 for a few days at a time, the variables in the wind an temp displaces them into various areas after the feed down low... learning.
So i sat for a good while before dark but typical to My style i just feel i need to peek over the next ridge or into the next gulley....
So i did, an it wasnt long, almost instantaneously that I get a HONK- mature hind leading 2 calfs, last years and this years down to the Fringe, i get some footage an hope the few other Honks havt alerted a Stag which may be trailing them...............
perhaps it did as i never seen the Stag and in the breif moments before dark i scoped the smaller calf an thought about the other 2 skins drying in the Shed.... would of made a beautiful addition
but i held off with the 30-06 Accubonds.
Fast forward to this morning, 2 days since the attempted sit and wait, an this time im on Cracka Dawn patrol, pleasantly suprised to look out the hut door and see minimal Fog an clear skies..... i took a leak an as i did could hear alert birds chirping fairly hard below my ridge!! that was the best kick start and one i needed in the 0 degrees dawn light, I grabbed the 9.3x62 this time and set off down the ridge to the opening valley floor where i can see what sneaks back to the bushline as the light glows brighter.....
Bingo-
a stag stood out as the light brightened up an the dark brown shapes become easier too see on the green grass, through the zeiss i see he isnt much in length, perhaps a 16 inch antlered model and certainly not what im after today!
as i decide an throw the scope on him for practise and sight pictures etc , i hear as if another deer is just further around to my right and I would assume it to be a Hind lagging behind... then i see these good looking sticks well above the deers head as it slowly cut across further to my Right.
i fairly swiftly moved around to my right an get a better picture as he nervously tried to follow the tree line back to the bush, zeiss on 8x and as he angled slightly away I pressed on the Trigger and the Tikka barked and at 150m the Stag just dropped on that spot and kicked a few times before lights out.
i was wrapped, hes a mature animal, 28 inch X 30 inch on the Left. trophy material, old, scarred and ripped, mud encrusted with a rough set of bush horns.... Dreams are made of these old buggers!! for me anyway
Now, packing the Vehicle and Boat! off for the Lake trip round 3 and a little later in the year than prior, hope to find Rutting Stags!
cheers and see yas back in a Week!
Heresa few snaps
I've been more tactically hunting these Elusive "brown ghosts" of late as opposed to stalking blindly most of the day,, this may be hard to understand for non sambar hunters, theres something about these animals which doesnt put them in the places they are 'supposed' to be in and any variable in weather seems to vary the animals behaviour big time from one day to another, week in week out.... aamazing , but thats what i dig about them.
I always figured If i was quite, silent and stealth on my stalk by being in areas I think the deer are likely to be , will eventually work out for me, an it has for years , touching on my point that no hunt has been without learning something about the animals and weather that is just following game trails and understanding why an how they do things or where they go and why, has been monumental in my journey.
So the other day I sneak out from my Hut and walk up along a ridgline on the edge of the bush, up a hundred or so elevation and i cut onto some great game trails leading back along the front of another ridge leading deeper into the bush.
it gets early morning sun and is a good spot to cut off the deer from fringe to bush.
i was in the late arvo and plannin a sit and wait, so i contoured along the steep face along toward a really steep gulley gut which offered visual on all sides and these game trails felt really active, the trail indicated this.
the problem is the sambar will come out from this shoot tonight, 3 up tomorow night, 5 back the following an then might use shoot 3 for a few days at a time, the variables in the wind an temp displaces them into various areas after the feed down low... learning.
So i sat for a good while before dark but typical to My style i just feel i need to peek over the next ridge or into the next gulley....
So i did, an it wasnt long, almost instantaneously that I get a HONK- mature hind leading 2 calfs, last years and this years down to the Fringe, i get some footage an hope the few other Honks havt alerted a Stag which may be trailing them...............
perhaps it did as i never seen the Stag and in the breif moments before dark i scoped the smaller calf an thought about the other 2 skins drying in the Shed.... would of made a beautiful addition
but i held off with the 30-06 Accubonds.Fast forward to this morning, 2 days since the attempted sit and wait, an this time im on Cracka Dawn patrol, pleasantly suprised to look out the hut door and see minimal Fog an clear skies..... i took a leak an as i did could hear alert birds chirping fairly hard below my ridge!! that was the best kick start and one i needed in the 0 degrees dawn light, I grabbed the 9.3x62 this time and set off down the ridge to the opening valley floor where i can see what sneaks back to the bushline as the light glows brighter.....
Bingo-
a stag stood out as the light brightened up an the dark brown shapes become easier too see on the green grass, through the zeiss i see he isnt much in length, perhaps a 16 inch antlered model and certainly not what im after today!
as i decide an throw the scope on him for practise and sight pictures etc , i hear as if another deer is just further around to my right and I would assume it to be a Hind lagging behind... then i see these good looking sticks well above the deers head as it slowly cut across further to my Right.
i fairly swiftly moved around to my right an get a better picture as he nervously tried to follow the tree line back to the bush, zeiss on 8x and as he angled slightly away I pressed on the Trigger and the Tikka barked and at 150m the Stag just dropped on that spot and kicked a few times before lights out.
i was wrapped, hes a mature animal, 28 inch X 30 inch on the Left. trophy material, old, scarred and ripped, mud encrusted with a rough set of bush horns.... Dreams are made of these old buggers!! for me anyway
Now, packing the Vehicle and Boat! off for the Lake trip round 3 and a little later in the year than prior, hope to find Rutting Stags!
cheers and see yas back in a Week!
Heresa few snaps
