Badboymelvin
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2013
- Messages
- 494
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- 1,959
- Location
- Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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- 2
"Is it much further Dad?"
This was the question that my fidgety 10 year old asked me in the car. "No buddy, we're nearly there..." l replied... and we were.
It had been a long 3hr car ride and we were nearly at our favourite deer hunting spot... and we were both excited.
Harry my 10yr old son has now become my constant deer hunting companion and to watch his knowledge and eagerness grow while out with me has been one of my favourite hunting experiences.
As l said we were both excited but what wasn't quite so exciting was the weather.
It was hot. Really hot.
Today was 38 and tomorrow was going to be 34. We would be hunting the late afternoon today and early tomorrow morning so hopefully we would miss the hottest of it - but it was still going to be in the 30's. At least one good thing about this hot weather was it showed how keen Harry was to get out amongst it!
We reached our spot at around 5pm and spent the next hour setting up camp and getting ready. We dressed lightly and comfortably and as Harry was getting changed I put on my pack and got my rifle ready.
The rifle l had brought on this trip was my custom Zastava built by NT Firearms Gove. It was chambered in 425 Express which had the same ballistics as the famous 404 Jeffery and the load l was using consisted of the Aussie made 360gn Atomic29 copper hollowpoint at just under 2500fps. This gave spot on 5000ft/lbs of energy. Strong stuff indeed.
Now, l'm the first to admit that this rifle is a bit big for deer but my recently purchased .308 wasn't ready and my .243 was too small if we saw a Red Deer, so the 425 it was! I actually didn't mind as it's a superbly made rifle that is very accurate and to date it hasn't taken any game. Hopefully this trip would fix that.
At least you can't say l was undergunned...
By 6pm we were off in the bush. The area where we hunt can get quite thick in places and our plan was to stalk slowly and hopefully see them before they see us. Our main quarry was Fallow but there was always the possibility of seeing a Red - and we weren't fussy either way as we were after meat.
The area can get quite thick...
We hunted hard until dark and although we didn't see any deer, we saw a few Emu's up close, a couple of Wedge Tail Eagles and some really colourful feathers that Harry collected. We also stumbled across a shelter that someone had made. That was really cool and goes to show the things you find in the middle of nowhere...
Shelter...
As it was so hot we didn't light a fire so we just ate a nice light tea and we were in bed ready for the next day.
It was a hot uncomfortable night and both of us were relieved when it was morning, and after a quick breakfast we were back out in the bush.
We walked nice and slow and l was happy to see Harry watching where he walked as well as scanning for deer. After about an hour and a few false alarms with Kangaroos, we came to a clearing and a flash of light brown caught my eye.
It was a deer!
It was about 80m away and hadn't yet seen us. It was slowly walking with it's head down and soon it would be out of sight. I motioned Harry to wait where he was and l quickly walked forward so l could get a clear shot. The deer must have caught sight of me and stopped walking and looked in my direction... and this was what l was waiting for. l quickly threw the rifle to my shoulder, put the crosshairs on it's shoulder and fired.
I lost sight of the deer under recoil but memorised in my head the last place l seen it.
l motioned for Harry to come join me as we went to the area l last saw the deer. I asked Harry to look around on the ground for drops of blood as l did the same. "Dad! l see blood!" said a very excited Harry. I walked over to where Harry was, saw the blood then quickly went to where l assumed the deer would be... and couldn't find it.
You see as it was starting to really warm up l wanted to find the deer and put it on ice as soon as possible, and l made the rookie mistake of rushing. I then chastised myself for being in a rush and not doing things properly. "Harry, where's that blood again?" l asked. Harry showed me and then I could see a trail. "Do you think you can follow the blood trail and find the deer?" l asked Harry. Harry nodded and very slowly and carefully followed the blood trail. This was a good blood trail for a beginner to follow as there was quite a bit of blood and after about 50m Harry found our deer. It was a little doe and would make great eating.
Little doe that Harry tracked...
"Dad, l found the deer! I didn't just watch this time - l helped, and l found the deer!"
He was absolutely right and you could see how proud of himself he was. He wasn't the only one... l was extremely proud of him too.
Once we found the deer l had a look to see how the big 425 performed...
The 360gn Atomic 29 projectile not surprisingly passed clean through and left an exit hole the size of a 50 cent piece. I was actually amazed the deer went anywhere... but luckily l had Harry with me!
We quickly took as much meat as we could and we were off to camp to put it on ice. Harry carried the backstraps and you couldn't wipe the smile of Harry's face even though we had a bit of a walk back to camp in the heat.
Once back at camp we put the meat on ice and packed up for the drive home. Luckily a town nearby had a McDonalds so a very tired 10yr old ordered up a well deserved feast (man can kids eat!).
As soon as he was finished eating he was out for the count and didn't wake up until we were nearly home.
On the drive home as Harry slept, l reflected on the trip as l always do... and l think this was the best yet. On out first trip we got a little spiker for meat, and Harry was rapt as it was his first ever deer hunting trip and we got one.
But l think this trip topped the last one as like Harry said, he didn't just watch this time, he contributed and found the deer.
You could see how proud he was and as soon as we got home he jumped out of the car, ran inside to tell his Mum.
It was a successful, hunting trip and Harry came back excited, happy and with more knowledge than when he left... and really, that's what's it's all about.
Good job Harry, I'm proud of you little buddy.
This was the question that my fidgety 10 year old asked me in the car. "No buddy, we're nearly there..." l replied... and we were.
It had been a long 3hr car ride and we were nearly at our favourite deer hunting spot... and we were both excited.
Harry my 10yr old son has now become my constant deer hunting companion and to watch his knowledge and eagerness grow while out with me has been one of my favourite hunting experiences.
As l said we were both excited but what wasn't quite so exciting was the weather.
It was hot. Really hot.
Today was 38 and tomorrow was going to be 34. We would be hunting the late afternoon today and early tomorrow morning so hopefully we would miss the hottest of it - but it was still going to be in the 30's. At least one good thing about this hot weather was it showed how keen Harry was to get out amongst it!
We reached our spot at around 5pm and spent the next hour setting up camp and getting ready. We dressed lightly and comfortably and as Harry was getting changed I put on my pack and got my rifle ready.
The rifle l had brought on this trip was my custom Zastava built by NT Firearms Gove. It was chambered in 425 Express which had the same ballistics as the famous 404 Jeffery and the load l was using consisted of the Aussie made 360gn Atomic29 copper hollowpoint at just under 2500fps. This gave spot on 5000ft/lbs of energy. Strong stuff indeed.
Now, l'm the first to admit that this rifle is a bit big for deer but my recently purchased .308 wasn't ready and my .243 was too small if we saw a Red Deer, so the 425 it was! I actually didn't mind as it's a superbly made rifle that is very accurate and to date it hasn't taken any game. Hopefully this trip would fix that.
At least you can't say l was undergunned...
By 6pm we were off in the bush. The area where we hunt can get quite thick in places and our plan was to stalk slowly and hopefully see them before they see us. Our main quarry was Fallow but there was always the possibility of seeing a Red - and we weren't fussy either way as we were after meat.
The area can get quite thick...
We hunted hard until dark and although we didn't see any deer, we saw a few Emu's up close, a couple of Wedge Tail Eagles and some really colourful feathers that Harry collected. We also stumbled across a shelter that someone had made. That was really cool and goes to show the things you find in the middle of nowhere...
Shelter...
As it was so hot we didn't light a fire so we just ate a nice light tea and we were in bed ready for the next day.
It was a hot uncomfortable night and both of us were relieved when it was morning, and after a quick breakfast we were back out in the bush.
We walked nice and slow and l was happy to see Harry watching where he walked as well as scanning for deer. After about an hour and a few false alarms with Kangaroos, we came to a clearing and a flash of light brown caught my eye.
It was a deer!
It was about 80m away and hadn't yet seen us. It was slowly walking with it's head down and soon it would be out of sight. I motioned Harry to wait where he was and l quickly walked forward so l could get a clear shot. The deer must have caught sight of me and stopped walking and looked in my direction... and this was what l was waiting for. l quickly threw the rifle to my shoulder, put the crosshairs on it's shoulder and fired.
I lost sight of the deer under recoil but memorised in my head the last place l seen it.
l motioned for Harry to come join me as we went to the area l last saw the deer. I asked Harry to look around on the ground for drops of blood as l did the same. "Dad! l see blood!" said a very excited Harry. I walked over to where Harry was, saw the blood then quickly went to where l assumed the deer would be... and couldn't find it.
You see as it was starting to really warm up l wanted to find the deer and put it on ice as soon as possible, and l made the rookie mistake of rushing. I then chastised myself for being in a rush and not doing things properly. "Harry, where's that blood again?" l asked. Harry showed me and then I could see a trail. "Do you think you can follow the blood trail and find the deer?" l asked Harry. Harry nodded and very slowly and carefully followed the blood trail. This was a good blood trail for a beginner to follow as there was quite a bit of blood and after about 50m Harry found our deer. It was a little doe and would make great eating.
Little doe that Harry tracked...
"Dad, l found the deer! I didn't just watch this time - l helped, and l found the deer!"
He was absolutely right and you could see how proud of himself he was. He wasn't the only one... l was extremely proud of him too.
Once we found the deer l had a look to see how the big 425 performed...
The 360gn Atomic 29 projectile not surprisingly passed clean through and left an exit hole the size of a 50 cent piece. I was actually amazed the deer went anywhere... but luckily l had Harry with me!
We quickly took as much meat as we could and we were off to camp to put it on ice. Harry carried the backstraps and you couldn't wipe the smile of Harry's face even though we had a bit of a walk back to camp in the heat.
Once back at camp we put the meat on ice and packed up for the drive home. Luckily a town nearby had a McDonalds so a very tired 10yr old ordered up a well deserved feast (man can kids eat!).
As soon as he was finished eating he was out for the count and didn't wake up until we were nearly home.
On the drive home as Harry slept, l reflected on the trip as l always do... and l think this was the best yet. On out first trip we got a little spiker for meat, and Harry was rapt as it was his first ever deer hunting trip and we got one.
But l think this trip topped the last one as like Harry said, he didn't just watch this time, he contributed and found the deer.
You could see how proud he was and as soon as we got home he jumped out of the car, ran inside to tell his Mum.
It was a successful, hunting trip and Harry came back excited, happy and with more knowledge than when he left... and really, that's what's it's all about.
Good job Harry, I'm proud of you little buddy.
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