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And the cull continues.........
Before we went into level 4 lockdown, BH and I headed up to cull a few more deer off the horse farm.
I purchased a hand held thermal a while ago to help with cull operations, its a Guide R510nano and we had been using it on rabbits, possums and for spotting deer at night. I have been slowly putting it through its paces and learning how to 'read' it under different conditions so we took it with us.
After covering most of the property we ended up on a ridge overlooking the lake and the native bush clad slope on the opposite side. After glassing the area thoroughly with the bino's I used the thermal to scan the native bush. ( It was about 3pm in the afternoon and the sun was fairly high but the bush was in shade)
Sure enough, the thermal started to pick up deer resting in the shelter of the native canopy which were invisible to the naked eye. A pair of fallow 208yds away were particularly bright and by keeping both eyes open while using the monocular we were able to pinpoint their position.
In the pic below there is a black hole in the rough shape of the African continent in the centre of the pic.
Here is a closeup of the 'hole'...
At the base of the hole where the 'Horn of Africa' would be you can see 2 tree trunks with a black strip between them. One of the fallow was sitting facing the trees with its head and shoulders behind them.
With the bino's it was possible to make out the line of its back but we were unable to see which way it was facing. After watching it for about 5 minutes it stood up and we could see from its body position it was facing to its right and the front shoulder line was just clear of the left hand tree.
We conferred and I was confident I could 'thread the needle' and take the shot. After dialling the scope up to 200m I settled in using my pack as a rest and sent a 120grSierra psp on its way. The sound of a solid hit was followed by the deer rearing up on its back legs and collapsing down the hill through the bush DRT.
15mins later we were standing over a med sized doe and inspecting the damage. The projectile entered the shoulder about 2" higher than I would have liked, hitting and severing the spinal column with fragments passing down through the lungs.
As I didnt have my camera/ph I didnt get any pics at the time. ( The above pics were taken last saturday to show the area.)
We did recover the projectile when we processed the animal 10 days later and here is a pic of the projectile on the scales.........
It lost 19.7 grains while doing the business.
Fast forward to the end of the lockdown last week and we decided we would head up to see what wildlife had become complacent on the same property.
I headed up to the top of a bushy hill to spot any animals that were wandering around while BH and D headed up to the 'Grassy Knoll' overlooking a paddock bordered on 2 sides with mature pines.
Here are a couple of pics taken from my lookout....
In the top right of the second pic you can see the green grass that the grassy knoll overlooks. The knoll is out of sight to the right. While I waited for the other 2 to get into position I scanned whole area with the bino's to see what was around. As I scanned the treeline of the top paddock I saw 2 deer about 30yds back in the pines slowly making their way towards the paddock, at the same time I could see BH and D slowly stalking up to their position. I knew they wouldnt be able to see the deer so waited till they settled in then called them up by whispering into my walkie talkie that there were 2 deer about to exit the pines about 60 metres north of them........They acknowledged and then I sat back to watch the action. The deer walked out onto the paddock and began feeding..........and I waited......they continued feeding.....and I waited. It seemed like about 30 mins but it was only about 2 minutes later when I saw one deer collapse and when it was halfway down the other collapsed as well. The shots then followed about half a second apart.
2 spikers down.
After field dressing them we carried them back to the vehicles and I made fresh coffee while we watched the sun go down. Just before it got too dark to see, I wandered about 50 m away from where we were sitting to overlook a large basin. I then went back to the other 2 and said there are 2 deer just entering the basin and one is a large Buck!!! After a quick conference we decided to 'tool up' and have a closer look. As it was full dark by then, BH attached a thermal to his scoped 300 Blackout, I set the 7mm08 up with the spotlight and we stalked around the basin with me using the hand held thermal to try and spot the deer. 15 minutes later I indicated to the others where the animals were and BH got into position to take the shot using the thermal scope. A solid 'thump' and the Buck was down......then BH said the other deer is a buck .......so I switched on the rifle light and caught intermittent glimpses of the second buck running up the side of the basin in the scrub. Next sight I had of him was as he crested a small rise and started running flat out up a small ridge about 100-120yds away. Closing the bolt as I lifted the rifle to the shoulder I swung through the animal and when the cross hairs hit the front of his chest I squeezed off. We heard the thump of the hit and at the same time he cartwheeled over hitting the ground.
BH and D went down into the basin to deal to the first buck while I made my way over to the second to dress him out........and took the following pic.
4 deer down ( plus a doe I shot the night before) and when we got back to BH's place we struggled to fit them all into the chiller. On sunday we processed 3 of them to send away for sausages and salami's and the other 2 are aging in the chiller to be turned into steaks in about 10 days time........
BH and I headed back up there yesterday afternoon as the owner wanted the peacocks culled.......Counted over 60 in various groups on the property and took 5 with the 1187 and 1 with the 22. Here is a pic of a couple of juvenile males taken.......
Will be going back on the weekend specifically to deal to the peacocks..........
Still enjoying the trip of a lifetime and making the best of what I have.....
Replies
"The Un-Tactical"
The South Island makes the North Island look drab...........Lol. Its just a pity that the Socialists that govern us dont make life easy.
Thanks. Every time I head into the outdoors I am grateful for what we have, with the exception of the ones that rule us........
Ha. I dont think any Govt makes sense in this world at the moment.....
Very True statement
"The Un-Tactical"
Reuters, Dec 2020.