BIG TOPS HUNT 10/10/2010

It was Sunday the 10th of October 2010 when l came across this stag. I spotted him from approximately 300 metres and he was hastily heading towards the head of gully. Once he got into that maze of bush, it would be all over bar the shouting of frustration. I'd walked up the spur for a while, and then I dropped in low to that gully, where there were some well-used game trails leading up the gully. I heard a sound and then looked towards the top of the gully, and there he was slowly browsing on coprosma along that trail, about 80 metres away. He looked at me just as I I shouldered the rifle. I aimed at the point of his shoulder, and with a gentle squeeze of the trigger, he bucked into the air and took off at a warp speed, down towards the gully floor. l watched him vanish through the thick coprosma and dogwood. Momentarily, l thought I had squeezed off a good shot? My next move was to patiently wait and listen for any out of the ordinary noises. I could hear the cracking of branches, stumbling sounds, and then stones rolling about on the creek bed and then absolutely nothing. Whilst walking down, I found it quite easy to follow up. There was a good flow of red clarit leading down with a well-defined trail of smashed branches and sticks where the stag had past. I got down onto the creek bank, and l looked across to a small flat adjacent to the creek, where l saw the stag lying motionless in a small clearing. I sat and watched momentarily for any movement or life, pondering what a magnificent stag. Fortunately, l had managed to film him several times earlier that year, so l knew he was exceptionally good. He had all the symmetry what you would look for in a Sambar stag. Proportional big tops, heavy brows and beams., After taking a few photographs and some video, it was time to do the necessary work to salvage as much venison as l could carry out, plus the tedious work of caping him out. It was getting late in the year and warming up. My window of time was very limited because of the humidity and my concern that the venison would spoil from fly strike. I managed to get him out in one piece without too much fatigue but plenty of sweat, tears of pain, and ecstasy. This rifle was rebuilt from the original old Remington BDL, 700 model mountain rifle. But over time, it became too heavy for my style of deerstalking. Weight was paramount because l love to get into back country, but l really struggled to do with this custom-made rifle because of the extra weight . My daypack also carried DSLR cameras, lenses, tripod, plus the essentials, food & water. After this hunt, l did invest in a Tikka T3 synthetic 7mm rem mag rifle that made life much easier for my hunting.