While not involving a long range shot, my last hunt sure was interesting. It involved a hunt on Sunday Island at the Para Park Game Reserve in Victoria. Membership of this organization offers the hunter the chance to hunt free range Hog deer and Fallow deer on a coastal Island in Victoria.
The Island is divided up into hunting blocks and hunters draw a block for a two or three day hunt. After every one has had a hunt members may draw another period until the set quota of deer have been taken. My hunt was drawn for the 4th and 5th of April and I arrived on the Island with heavy rain and strong wind. Not ideal Hog deer hunting weather as they hate these cold conditions.
The morning of the 4th I was up early and was greeted to a fine day but with still a strong westerly wind blowing. As I didn't want the deer to smell me I approached my stand from down wind. This involved me putting on waders and to wade through knee deep water and mud for 1000 yards. This ensured that the deer were not aware of my approach to the stand.
Once in the stand I sat there for 10 hours waiting for the deer to come out of the thick Tea tree scrub. Although I saw lots of wildlife, not a deer showed itself. At 6pm I gave up the stand and decided to still hunt up along a belt of Tea tree about 1200 yards long. The deer pop out along this scrub to feed late in the day and I hoped to catch one out feeding.
After a hour and with only 30 minutes of legal shooting light left I reached a high seat that consisted of a single pole 6m high with a ladder up one side and a small seat on top. I climbed up and used my Bushnell 7x50 "permafocus" binoculars to look about and right away saw two Hog deer stags feeding at a range of about 300 yards. Neither was a real big stag so I watched them for a few minutes until another hunter fired a shot on another block, The stags decided to take cover but another smaller one soon appeared in the same spot. I wanted either a Trophy stag or a hind for meat so the small stag was safe.
With only five minutes of legal shooting time left, out of the gloom appeared a very good stag on the scrub edge at 90 yards. He was looking right at me sitting on top of my post like an apple on a stick so it was a test of who was quickest, him or me?
I raised the rifle, leaned back into the seat and as the cross hair settled behind his shoulder on his chest, I fired and was rewarded with the sound of a solid hit. The 100 grain Nosler B.T. out of my 25-06 is a reliable combo on these small deer. This shot left a two inch exit hole in the off side ribs with no loss of meat due to the side on shot.
Photo taken a few moments after the shot.
Some hunters at the meat house checking station.
A happy me!!!
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