Alpine Hunter
04-20-2004, 12:26 AM
I would have posted this in the hunting section but there is no space for hunting outside the American and African continants.
Went out up to near a town called Corryong in NE Victoria after a fallow stag on Friday morning. Arrived at the property about a half hour after first light and walked up the hill along the bush line without seeing anything but sign. From the top we could hear the stags grunting in the thicker scrub down the hill but couldnt pick out how far away. So we decided to follow up the noises just to see what would happen. After walking all the way down almost to the bottom which had a small creek two does walked thru the scrub in front of us. We spread out slightly and headed in the general direction we had seen the does which had continued off to the right. After reaching the clearer gully bottom my Brother (who got a stag a couple of weeks ago) alerted us to some noise in the blackberries. As I got closer to the clump I could see antler tips but nothing else. I would take a couple of steps every time the antlers moved about. I am guessing he was trying to prepare a bed for the day. From 20m I still hadnt seen anything but antler but could tell that although he wasnt huge he would be a good first stag. I decide that rather than wait him out I would try to get closer still. At about this time I realised there was a second deer with him but out of view. At 8m I could see most of his antlers and his rear end but didnt have a clear shot. I could also see the eye of the doe with him and it was looking in my direction although he was still unawares. As I paused to work out what to do the breeze turned slightly and the doe took off with the stag following behind still not sure what was going on. I ran about ten meters in the direction they took and the stag was standing side on and slightly facing me about 15 m away. I raised the rifle and fired at his chest. At this he took off but fell against a tree after travelling just over 10 metres. The 180gr 358win projectile went in the chest, took out the lungs and exited just behind the ribs which you can see in the photo. We dragged him clear of the scrub and took all the photos. Other than my bro finding a cast antler the rest of the day involved cleaning the skull and resting.
Went out up to near a town called Corryong in NE Victoria after a fallow stag on Friday morning. Arrived at the property about a half hour after first light and walked up the hill along the bush line without seeing anything but sign. From the top we could hear the stags grunting in the thicker scrub down the hill but couldnt pick out how far away. So we decided to follow up the noises just to see what would happen. After walking all the way down almost to the bottom which had a small creek two does walked thru the scrub in front of us. We spread out slightly and headed in the general direction we had seen the does which had continued off to the right. After reaching the clearer gully bottom my Brother (who got a stag a couple of weeks ago) alerted us to some noise in the blackberries. As I got closer to the clump I could see antler tips but nothing else. I would take a couple of steps every time the antlers moved about. I am guessing he was trying to prepare a bed for the day. From 20m I still hadnt seen anything but antler but could tell that although he wasnt huge he would be a good first stag. I decide that rather than wait him out I would try to get closer still. At about this time I realised there was a second deer with him but out of view. At 8m I could see most of his antlers and his rear end but didnt have a clear shot. I could also see the eye of the doe with him and it was looking in my direction although he was still unawares. As I paused to work out what to do the breeze turned slightly and the doe took off with the stag following behind still not sure what was going on. I ran about ten meters in the direction they took and the stag was standing side on and slightly facing me about 15 m away. I raised the rifle and fired at his chest. At this he took off but fell against a tree after travelling just over 10 metres. The 180gr 358win projectile went in the chest, took out the lungs and exited just behind the ribs which you can see in the photo. We dragged him clear of the scrub and took all the photos. Other than my bro finding a cast antler the rest of the day involved cleaning the skull and resting.