137. Pinnacle Hunting Australia

But the rut, man, how, like tell-

Oh

... how did you go? Tell everyone how you went

Mate, um, yeah, so I was, I was actually planning on going down the South Coast, um, for the rut with a few mates and, um, I live with my sister, we rent together and, um, yeah, she was going to Japan.

She was like literally going in the peak of the rut, going to Japan.

She's got a dog, so she was like, "You need to look after the dog." And I'm like, "No, don't do this to me please, please." I'm like, "No." So anyway, I was like, I've, I've gotta make the most of it, you know? And I, um, yeah, I'm lucky enough, I've got a state forest not far from mine and I've, I've, yeah, heard of deer being in there so I thought, oh, I'll go down, have a poke around and, um, yeah, went out there and was just poking around and I was working out the deer were passing through the forest and going onto a private block and, um, yeah, once I worked out where they were going, I went, you know what? I'm gonna go knock on the door and ask these people, be polite about it, and, um, yeah, knocked on the door and just asked and yeah, the guy said to me, he's like, "Mate, you can come on as long as you give me meat." And I was like, "Perfect.

Done.

Perfect." You know, that's, that's great.

So yeah, went out there and, um, I was going for fallow and I started walking around and I started seeing some like some red rubs and I'm like, wow, okay, there's reds here.

I was like, okay.

Right.

So I just kept going for six days straight after work I'd finish and just head straight out there, grab my gear, head out and yeah, it was just one afternoon and, um, yeah, the sun had already set pretty much and it was dark and yeah, I just looked down to this-- Started picking my backpack up and I was like, I'll leave this spot.

I'm not hearing any croaks, so I'll, I'll go around the other spot and, um, yeah, as I started walking, I looked in front of me and I'm like, that's not a log, you know? I'm like, that's not a log.

So I'm looking and looking probably about 150 meters in front of me.

I've looked and I put-- looked through the binos and I've just seen this, this red stag just standing there and I was just like, you're kidding.

I'm like, what? No way.

And I've just like quickly just got the buck fever, you know, you're shaking, you're just like, wow, this is it, this is it, you know? And, um, yeah, leaned up on a tree and he started kind of moving further away.

He got to about 200 and I'm like, it's pretty much now or never, you know? I just laid a hind call and he turned and took the shot and he just dropped on the spot.

Um, and that was, yeah, that was, that was awesome.

Just to see the sheer size of a red, you know, in person, it just shocked me, you know? I didn't realize how big they truly were and yeah, I was lucky to get my mate and my sister, she had come back, so she came and, and took some photos of me with the deer and I said to her, "Mate, can you come out and help me?" And Will, he's, um, he's got Vantall Hunting, which is his new page he's created, um-So yeah, he used to start out home.

He absolutely loves it.

Um, and yeah, he comes straight out and I said, "Mate, I'll give you a meat if you help me pack this thing out." So yeah, he got out there and yeah, that was, that was unreal.

Um, and then, yeah, I got access to another property probably about six days later, um, where this lady, she was breeding horses, so the fallow bucks were coming in and were getting a bit aggressive with the horses and, um, yeah, she pretty much just said to me, "Can you come out and knock a buck over if you can, if you see one?" I was like, "Okay." And went out there on the first night and yeah, just, just on dusk, I just seen this buck come out and I'm like, wow, he was decent, you know, like for, for that area and yeah, got him as well.

But yeah, it was just awesome, you know.

It, it was a great, right-- Like last year I just got myself a little fallow spiker as I started going for deer and, and then now, yeah, just to, to go out, go hard and, and get that result was just unreal, you know? And it's just so addictive.