Hunting The Hunting thread

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Looking up the Oamaru valley toward Jacks creek.

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Mohaka river. Plenty of trout, but no fly rod.

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A fair weather bivvy.

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An old campsite I had been in twenty years ago

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Shot yearling at dusk, took a while to locate in the scrub. Star came back after locating. Came back and wandered ahead while I followed. She stops to look back to make sure I'm following. Very mature for only 10 months old.
 
Here's a trick. Few years ago I bought a Browning and the walnut stock was on the piss at the fore-end. Over to one side nearly touching the barrel and so I get a couple of hundred off the price because of it.
Anyway I was about to take to it with the dremel and rebed but did some measurements first and its true in the action, it looked like the fore-end had warped after fitting. So I wedged the side I wanted to open up, pointed the barrel down and simply poured three jugs of hot water gradual down from the lug and the wood between the fore end end of the stock and left it to cool down, then removed the wedges. It worked perfectly.
No steaming, no leaving in the sun all day and weird kinds of other remedies from the web.
 
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My first Canadian goose. They pop up more often these days in a place I hunt. Like many game in NZ its considered a pest by either farmers or greenies. So its open season on them all year.

Over cooked a little bit but very nice. Like duck and something else.
Brined it using an American recipe before cooking. Covered the bullet hole with the bacon. Was still reasonably moist despite me over doing the cooking time.

NZ has a native duck, the Paradise duck. Some says its terrible to east. Like cook it, throw it away and then eat your boots terrible...But I reckon the breast cooked like a venison steak rare is the best thing on a stick in the bush.
That was something I read about Pukeko, boil with a rock, then after 4hrs throw away the pukeko and eat the rock ?
 
Pukeko can be good eating. You take the breast meat and it's really tasty.

My mate does Canada Goose all the time - he says the trick is to treat it almost like a steak and flash cook it. I've seen the results and they do look very nice.
 
As far as I know, goose or duck, or pigeons breast are best quickly or flash cooked.

Just like a rare steak.

In French cuisine or at least some parts of it we have some dishes like “Boeuf Bourguignon” or also pot-au-feu which are essentially very much over cooked (for hours) red meat which the English would call beef stew. I don’t dislike it, and it’s good especially in winter but I still enjoy and prefer any meat beside pork rare.
 
In more hunting related news, another day of hunting in the forest for Jake84’s father.

He definitely has eagle eyes as he’s the oldest geezer amongst his peers of hunters and his comrades more or less always manage to miss boars.

Anyone not too familiar with boars, I assure you that despite they’re very much heavyweights they are incredibly fast and have good nose for humans, also fairly smart.

He shot one a few weeks ago, a young one weighing only 35 kilos but these tend to taste very good and admittedly takes far less space in the freezer.

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In more hunting related news, another day of hunting in the forest for Jake84’s father.

He definitely has eagle eyes as he’s the oldest geezer amongst his peers of hunters and his comrades more or less always manage to miss boars.

Anyone not too familiar with boars, I assure you that despite they’re very much heavyweights they are incredibly fast and have good nose for humans, also fairly smart.

He shot one a few weeks ago, a young one weighing only 35 kilos but these tend to taste very good and admittedly takes far less space in the freezer.

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Grandkids must love that paddling pool…..
 
Took my new Ruger Ranch in 350 legend for a day hunt today. Its a nice carry, like a CZ 527 carbine.
Got on the forestry road before dawn and called for stags all the way along with no responses. Its warm this year. Only heard stories of calls back in the higher altitude valley's.
We got to a track along the edge of the bush and up ahead was some pigs. Got Star to lie down and sat down to cradle the stock for a shot. They were only weaners in the scope. It was tempting but best to let them grow up to a descent size so we let them go.
Star didn't whine or growl. So she is pretty much matured now for a farm dog turned huntress.
We got to a stag scrape and called, but not a response . So headed into the bush and stalked for half hour when a stag winded us.
Started conversing with it to confuse him while tracking him as he headed to his day territory over at the river. After about an hour I lost him in some dense bush so we diverted to the river directly.
Hit a pest control track running along the top of the buffs and followed that into the wind which was traveling down river into us while it was still cool in the morning.
Tried calling and got a distant response about maybe 2 ks away clear across the other side of the gorge. We persisted in that direction hoping to get something to call back closer, no joy.
Doubled back and calling every now an again. Finally a single roar from over the other side.
Conveniently the pest control track dropped down to the river via three benches opposite from where he was. Only one part of it was risky involving gripping onto tree roots and swinging like a monkey.
The pest control involves leaving a cage type trap with an egg for bait and a spring trap to kill stoats introduced as a hope to control rabbit plagues in the 1800's. Now these stoats are eating the native birds. Cages a quite large 1 1/2 ft x 1 ft and 10 inches high so its an achievement to lay them out along trails away into the back blocks that are nothing more than a deer trail through tree windfalls and up and down terrain.
After getting down to gorge bottom stopped to test the wind with a lighter. According to the lighter wind was heading down stream so we kept hidden in the bush and circled down wind, cautiously moved around past the last heard place of this stag.
Got to the river and pulled out the lighter and the lighter said the wind had changed its mind and was going upstream now.
So reversed that circle and got to the river upstream and upwind position of where we expected the stag to reside.
Lay down behind a log and called and waited. Of course that is always too easy and these deer get hunted. They are still alive because they don't come wandering out in the open as that normally ends the genetic tree for that particular deer.
So we crossed over into the Stags living room. This is usually when you get scented or heard as the distance is usually only 30m. Deer having exceptional hearing and scent. Is usually over before you know it.
Star started air scenting. Fantastic.
Climbed up onto the bench above us. Set up behind a tree trunk to break my profile and rest the rifle steady. Called using a few mews then a single roar. Gave it a break and used some soft whistles.
Took about 15 minutes and a hind ran forward 30 m or so away. Stopped half hidden in the fern and Mangamingi scrub. I watched her as she looked around for this other deer. She was focusing on my head and rifle but couldn't figure it out. One of her ears kept flicking back behind her indicating there was another deer there hidden.
She moved forward after 10 minutes and headed to the river. Then a deep red Sika Stag appeared but well hidden. Got him into scope nice and steady hoping he would shift forward just a foot please. He didn't he just stood there. I moved around the other side of the tree trunck which did not improve the view.
Moved back to original set up then decided to creep left and hope he doesn't see the movement. He didn't but the hind whom I'd lost sight of did and bolted with him taking off aswell.
I should have waited and sausages would have been mine.
But anyway that's public land hunting its not suppose to be easy. Ate launch and marked the spot on the GPS
Decided to head up to the top of the bluffs and travel back to an old logging track to head home.
Turned out to be a bit further than reckoned.
By the time we got to the forestry road. Cramp from bush stalking yoga for 6 hrs was starting to set in.
Got halfway back and heard a ute behind us. It was one of the local hunters who must have sensor on this road because practically every-time I'm on it he's right there.
He'd knocked over a couple of big red stags the easy way while waiting near their pad and that's what local hunting knowledge is all about really.
Told him about the day. He sounded keen on the pigs, there'll probably be 20 utes in that direction tomorrow,.
 
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Went in for an overnight.
On the way in got replied by a mature stag but couldn't hunt him as my sleeping bag was over at the bivvy where I was heading.
Only carrying light gear. A waist bag and a pikau, that's just a fabric sack with a harness.
Me and Star hunted around the bivvy. Calling plenty to amp up the stags for the morning.
It worked or there was a hind on heat. They were calling well all through the night.
I had planed to hunt south into the breeze. But changed that plan to make use of the activity only a few hundred yards away.
So before dawn packed up and stalked to be near a clearing and down wind of any stags that often roam through or near it looking for hinds.
We called, got some responses back but looking at the ground it wasn't wasn't well used. Just felt this wasn't the place and had seen better used trails on the way in so we turned back up the track I'd made many years ago. To the place I had shot a few stags.
Snuck in slowly in case a stag was already close. The wind when was in the face. So waited and called. The sun came up warming the air starting to disrupt the Katabatic flow, the wind started playing up in different directions so and had to move over closer to a stream gully that was still funneling the cool morning wind down. This only offered a limited field of view. But the tracks were well used. Recent.
Still nothing was happening and the minutes of the morning were ticking. I needed to catch the deer before they spread out into the bedding areas up on the hill faces.
So moved forward to where the bush opened up due to years of deer browsing and there was cover about 40 yards away that the deer like to use. Air was strong in the face and it offered both directions to shoot in. Any deer heading along the trails to the bedding areas would step through that undergrowth and into the clear area. This was perfect.
I sat down on a log and had Star sit beside.
Called and wasn't long before the light on the top if the hill flickered. Something was moving.
A hind bounded forward and stopped, she saw us. Her fawn ran up to her and she bolted away with it. Something had made her run in my direction. Deer don't run, they move quietly along unless disturbed. Another hunter? A stag? Those are two things that will stir things up for a hind.
After another 20 odd minutes the wind started to blow into the cover. A stag and a hind started warning whistling. I repeated back to them their calls to confuse them and maybe pull them in for a look. Sika are inquisitive.. I could see a little movement. Then they moved away. Bugger. He sounded big.
Wind went back to in the face so decided to stay and wait .
After half an hour Star started indicating. She could wind and hear movement. Then a dark young 8 pointer steeped forward stopped in the clear and I fired directly into his front chest.
The 350 Legend simply made him fall over. He barely kicked.
For a little cartridge its terminal power is way beyond its size!
I hung up the legs to cool on tree branches and sat down to enjoy the perfect satisfaction that comes from knowing the family gets fed.
Have often wondered what it must have been like for our ancestors who maybe were close to going hungry if the hunter didn't succeed.
When my freezer is low there is a sense of very real pressure to take home food.
Even though I can fill it up from the super market. There is this probably primordial desire to get that animal on the ground.
Packed into the pikau. The waist back supports it from underneath, so its a fairly comfortable load. We made good time with the load out.

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Went back home over Easter weekend and finally blooded the Adler. Unloaded the mag on this sucker and got at least five hits before he finally went down on the other side of the paddock. Got another one shortly after that in the ute but forgot photos.
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66 dead possums. Aftermath of a very successful nights hunt by me and a mate - and to be fair, he got about 40 of them. Spent about 250 rounds of .22LR subsonic ammo between us.

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The 350 legend strikes again.
This 2nd stag moved 5 yards.
1 stag moved 0 yards.

The hills had plenty of hunters last weekend. Was a bit surprised to bump into another hunter in the bush. Its fairly rare.
On way out humping the load of meat all the way no stops for a breather for the old man ..me and Star bumped into an Asian Kiwi hunter. Also fairly rare.
He was filling in ruts with logs on the Department Of Conservation unmaintained road. I noticed he was also cleaning out the drains. What a good guy.
 
Nice score. My mate invited me to come out with him to Woodhill for a deer hunt this Sunday just been. I scoffed and said "you'll never get a deer there, it's been hunted to extinction" and declined. Cheeky bugger got himself a decent sized hind.
 
First run with the thermal on our farm. I don't get much time to hunt anymore, and the properties i used to hunt on have been sold. Cat thought i couldn't see it, it watched me dismount the ute, and walk within about 50 m before giving him a headache. Big tom cat, shot with 223r 55gr PSP handloads.
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8 wolves!

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Beautiful snare 4.10
 

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