Badboymelvin
AH enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2013
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- 439
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- 1,661
- Location
- Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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Hey guys,
After some hectic times at work I finally got a chance to head out to the bush for a chance for some deer!
I was pretty excited about this but what made this particular trip special was my 8 yr old son, Harry was joining me for his first ever deer hunting trip.
He had been with me a couple of times fox hunting but he was super excited to finally be hunting deer.
He was also super excited because on this trip l had given him his first knife (to use under supervision) and it just happened to be the first knife l ever owned - given to me by my father when l was a similar age.
I carefully explained about the responsibility that's needed to own a knife and one must never fool around or be careless with one, and l'm happy to say he was very responsible with it.
We headed off on Thursday lunchtime for the 3 hour drive and the whole trip he was excitedly telling me about the fire he was going to build, and the marshmallows he was going to cook, and all the deer we were going to collect.
The place we went to was a regular spot for me and we got there around 3 in the afternoon. I got things ready while Harry collected firewood. Around an hour later we were all saddled up for the hunt!
The terrain here can get quite thick and the 3 main species of deer here are Sambar, Red and Fallow. I was happy with any of the 3 and we were really here for meat - and to hopefully give Harry an experience that he'll never forget.
So around 4 we were off. I had already explained to Harry that talking must be kept to a minimum and we must be very quiet and walk very slow. We must watch where we step but also carefully look around too. And most important he must stay behind me. Also, l had him wear earmuffs to protect his precious hearing.
It was a lot for an 8 year old to take in but he did everything l asked.
Not only was this trip an exciting one for Harry - it was also an exciting one for me!
You see for a while now l had been trialling some 180gn .338 cal Woodleigh's for NT Firearms Gove. I had taken Fallow with them previously and to say they were emphatic killers would be an understatement, so l was really keen to add to the tally...
Also, l was hoping to finally get a chance to try out the knife my good friend Mal had made for me. This knife was beautifully made and absolutely razor sharp so l was keen to finally christen it.
So there was a lot riding on this trip for both of us, and we made sure we hunted extra carefully. This paid of after about 30 min of stalking when l heard a noise around 50m in front of us. I hand gestured for Harry to freeze while l flicked the safety off while still keeping the rifle pointing down.
A small Fallow walked out into the open and l wasted no time. In a split second l had the crosshairs on his chest as l squeezed the trigger.
The rifle l was using was my much loved Winchester M70 Synthetic Matte, in .338 Win Mag. This rifle has a Magnaported barrel so it allows me keep the game in the scope under recoil, and immediately at the shot l saw the Fallow do a backflip on to his back with 4 legs in the air!
Now, l know that bullets don't have the momentum to actually do this and it was most probably a muscle spasm - but it was very impressive to see. After the shot Harry excitedly asked "Dad did we get a deer?" I said we did and we carefully approached the downed deer. It was a young spiker that would make tender eating but to Harry this was a record breaking trophy deer. And l'm glad he felt this way too.
We took all the meat we could and Harry insisted on carrying some out, so he took both backstraps and didn't complain once the whole 30min walk back to camp.
Once the meat had been packed into the esky's Harry, was keen to get a fire started. Happily cooking marshmallows while chatting about the trip you could see on his face the genuine joy - with not an iPhone or iPad in sight. Excellent.
We tucked into bed around 9 and we were both pretty excited for the hunt the next morning.
The next morning we were out in the bush before sun-up and hunted for the next few hours. We didn't see any more deer but neither of us were disheartened, it had been a successful trip and we both had a great time.
We packed up and were off home, with a very exhausted 8 year old in the backseat. Before he fell asleep he made me promise that l would take him EVERYTIME l go deer hunting.
I think l've got a new deer hunting buddy... and l couldn't be prouder.
After some hectic times at work I finally got a chance to head out to the bush for a chance for some deer!
I was pretty excited about this but what made this particular trip special was my 8 yr old son, Harry was joining me for his first ever deer hunting trip.
He had been with me a couple of times fox hunting but he was super excited to finally be hunting deer.
He was also super excited because on this trip l had given him his first knife (to use under supervision) and it just happened to be the first knife l ever owned - given to me by my father when l was a similar age.
I carefully explained about the responsibility that's needed to own a knife and one must never fool around or be careless with one, and l'm happy to say he was very responsible with it.
We headed off on Thursday lunchtime for the 3 hour drive and the whole trip he was excitedly telling me about the fire he was going to build, and the marshmallows he was going to cook, and all the deer we were going to collect.
The place we went to was a regular spot for me and we got there around 3 in the afternoon. I got things ready while Harry collected firewood. Around an hour later we were all saddled up for the hunt!
The terrain here can get quite thick and the 3 main species of deer here are Sambar, Red and Fallow. I was happy with any of the 3 and we were really here for meat - and to hopefully give Harry an experience that he'll never forget.
So around 4 we were off. I had already explained to Harry that talking must be kept to a minimum and we must be very quiet and walk very slow. We must watch where we step but also carefully look around too. And most important he must stay behind me. Also, l had him wear earmuffs to protect his precious hearing.
It was a lot for an 8 year old to take in but he did everything l asked.
Not only was this trip an exciting one for Harry - it was also an exciting one for me!
You see for a while now l had been trialling some 180gn .338 cal Woodleigh's for NT Firearms Gove. I had taken Fallow with them previously and to say they were emphatic killers would be an understatement, so l was really keen to add to the tally...
Also, l was hoping to finally get a chance to try out the knife my good friend Mal had made for me. This knife was beautifully made and absolutely razor sharp so l was keen to finally christen it.
So there was a lot riding on this trip for both of us, and we made sure we hunted extra carefully. This paid of after about 30 min of stalking when l heard a noise around 50m in front of us. I hand gestured for Harry to freeze while l flicked the safety off while still keeping the rifle pointing down.
A small Fallow walked out into the open and l wasted no time. In a split second l had the crosshairs on his chest as l squeezed the trigger.
The rifle l was using was my much loved Winchester M70 Synthetic Matte, in .338 Win Mag. This rifle has a Magnaported barrel so it allows me keep the game in the scope under recoil, and immediately at the shot l saw the Fallow do a backflip on to his back with 4 legs in the air!
Now, l know that bullets don't have the momentum to actually do this and it was most probably a muscle spasm - but it was very impressive to see. After the shot Harry excitedly asked "Dad did we get a deer?" I said we did and we carefully approached the downed deer. It was a young spiker that would make tender eating but to Harry this was a record breaking trophy deer. And l'm glad he felt this way too.
We took all the meat we could and Harry insisted on carrying some out, so he took both backstraps and didn't complain once the whole 30min walk back to camp.
Once the meat had been packed into the esky's Harry, was keen to get a fire started. Happily cooking marshmallows while chatting about the trip you could see on his face the genuine joy - with not an iPhone or iPad in sight. Excellent.
We tucked into bed around 9 and we were both pretty excited for the hunt the next morning.
The next morning we were out in the bush before sun-up and hunted for the next few hours. We didn't see any more deer but neither of us were disheartened, it had been a successful trip and we both had a great time.
We packed up and were off home, with a very exhausted 8 year old in the backseat. Before he fell asleep he made me promise that l would take him EVERYTIME l go deer hunting.
I think l've got a new deer hunting buddy... and l couldn't be prouder.
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