Moutoa

Helen’s First Deer

When I woke at 4am, wind howling around the house, I didn’t really think much of getting up and going down to the swamp. However I forced myself up and made breakfast. After getting some food together we headed off into horizontal rain and wind blowing its guts out. Little did we know that the bad weather would work in my favour.

We had to check in with the farmer at his cow shed at 5.30 to get a run down on where his cows would be in relation to the swamp boundary. It was still very dark and the weather really bad as we parked by the stock bank adjacent to the cattle stop.

We headed off, walking along the leeward side of the stop bank, rain stinging our hands and face with the wind trying its best to blow us over. After looking over the willows along the river and not getting into any worthwhile sign, we moved into the flax. Old foot prints everywhere and the odd deer bed but nothing in the sheltered spots we had looked over. We sat and looked at a large clearing, after deciding to make our way over to the drain and walk down the sheltered side of the flax.

The smell of rotting meat drew us to a large dead hind, part way out into the clearing. There were no obvious signs of bullet holes so we moved on to the edge of the drain. I stopped and looked around but looked the wrong way. Wayne spotted a deer over my left shoulder, standing a few meters away. What a buzz. I was so shocked to see a deer that close I didn’t really get on to it before it reached the other side of a small clearing and disappeared into the the flax. Feeling annoyed with myself I started off looking for more fresh sign when suddenly out of the next clump of flax a hind took off. She was moving so fast that I never had a chance. Now I was feeling really let down. I stood for a while - ‘bottom lip on the ground” just trying to get my thoughts together when “Crash, Crash” off behind me. This time Wayne pointed me in the direction the deer had gone. Off I snuck, along the flax and into a small opening. There it was, facing away from me and looking intently towards the drain. I could just see its head, neck and the start of the shoulder. I wasn’t letting this one get away. The .308 boomed, breaking the yearlings neck and down it went not more than 5 meters from me. Wayne signaled me to go look at what the deer had been looking at. There, standing looking back at me from across the drain was another yearling. I couldn’t believe it, 4 deer in about 15 minutes. what a day.

Rain, wind and my first deer, a Sambar, a “small” one but still a great feeling having seen so many deer in a small area of flax and in a short time. A great day, one I will never forget. Thanks to my husband Wayne.

Helen Curtis (- and YES I did gut it!)

Private

Sambar Hunt 1998

This year I was fortunate and had been given access to a private block for a weekend. This I intended to make the most of ( or so I thought ). I had shot a Spiker two year's earlier on the state block, so this year I was hoping to obtain a good size Stag. One of the conditions of this block was that Stags / Spikers only to be shot, no problems from me on that score.

Anyway, prior to my allocated weekend I was allowed to go and have a wander through the block to check out fresh sign etc, I asked my son (9 years) if he would like to accompany me on this exercise (AIIIIII right, you bet, ye hoar, lets go!)
So off we went on a look see mission, while my son and I where walking down a road in the block, chin wagging away, a good size 4 point Stag bounded away no more than 35 meters from where we were standing, my son was blown away, he had just seen his first wild Deer and it was a Sambar Stag.

Hunting weekend couldn't come soon enough, but eventually it was here, my son tagged along on the first day. (I couldn't break my promise) On the first day we saw plenty of fresh sign but alas no deer to be seen, the next day I was to hunt on my own as my boy thought that I would have a better chance without him making so much noise. Sunday I woke up really late, due to watching the Womens rugby test the night before, or should I say the morning. As I was already way behind time my wife wanted to know if she could have the car for half an hour, why not I thought, what's another half an hour when I was already so late.

I finally made it to the block by 12-30pm and boy was the wind blowing. It was not the normal westerly but an easterly, no problem I will go to the other end and work back towards the car. I had been hunting for about 3 hours in a piece of bush where I had seen fresh sign before, but on this day not a lot. I arrived back at the car and re-thought my plans over a coffee and a bite to eat. I decided to hunt in a different area, on the other side of a creek. Off I went not feeling overly confident due to the lack of fresh sign to date, so it came as a bloody great surprise after about 2.5 hour's of stalking when all of a sudden I heard a deer bark. I must admit I was not expecting this, I looked around to locate the source of the noise just in time to see a hind and a yearling bugger off . Was I brassed off, you bet I was until I saw a large bodied deer standing about 30 meters in front of me. I couldn’t make out if it was a hind or a Stag as it's head was behind a tree. I had the deer lined up in the scope and I was waiting to get a view of its head. When I did get a glimpse, I realised it was a Stag with broken antlers. I fired, and I was sure I had scored a good hit, so it was with great relief when walking forward I found blood. By following the trail a further 75 meters I found my Stag, down and out.

Although the antlers were nothing to write home about as one was broken off at the base and the other was broken in half I was still rapped to say the least. After gutting the beast it was time to get it to the car, I huffed and I puffed but try as I might I couldn't move it. I left it in the bush. The next morning my brother in law came and gave me a hand to get it to the trailer, this was after the bloke from MAF had done his bit. On the way home from picking up the Stag I stopped at Craig Merritts, he is the Butcher who processed my previous Sambar and I asked if he would be able to process this one, no problem, as long as all the papers we in order.

I think it is important to note that Craig will not process any Sambar unless all the paper work is in order.

Dressed out the Stag weighed 105 kilo's. my biggest deer so far, I had it made into mince, steaks and corned shoulders. A month later I had my first taste of this Stag, barbecued mince patties, absolutely delicious.

Steve Williams

Round Bush

“Rob, I’ve got Roundbush” I said over the phone to a hunting mate, “Did you get a block?” - “Not this time - Again” was his reply. This was my third time I had applied so was rapt and keen to have a crack at Sambar. Rob was unable to come with me so I managed to convince my understanding wife to let my son Mark take a couple of days off school.

It took 7 hours to drive down from Auckland and a bit of “Tooing and Froing” to find the access off SH1. I did not want to start at the Western end due to the prevailing wind and possible vehicle damage so got permission from the farmer to the north of the block to park there. 6am Saturday morning Mark & I jumped the fence into Roundbush and were confronted with blackberry. long scrubby grass and some of the densest, vine filled swampy bush I have ever had the pleasure to wangle my way through. I knew straight away what Warwick Beedell meant when he said slow down. After about 2 hours and 500m into the bush we came across a swamp and found a stag wallow with fresh tracks. Small tree trunks were covered in mud and virtually ring barked from antler rubbing. 75% of this block is underwater with dead raupo, large areas of Kiekie and supplejack so thick that even if you spotted a Sambar at 25m your bullet would have a pretty good chance of being deflected. My rubber bullers were definitely the wrong footwear. Socks or bare feet are the way to go - helps to slow you down too.

About midday we put 1 up but it crashed away without us seeing a thing. The rest of the day was uneventful

Sunday I hunted alone and was pretty brassed off with about 20 shots being fired in the grassy area at Wylie road end. Not seeing anyone I hunted the area where the grass meets the swamp and here was the most sign. Fresh sign and resting pads were found where, with a short jump the Sambar could escape into the swamp. The rest of the day was also uneventful but it was still an enjoyable 2 days hunting.

Thanks to Warwick & Ian for their advise and to the Foundation for helping to maintain this herd of Sambar for the future.

John Hansen.