4th November is a touch early for the easy Red deer, so a lot of thought had to go into the ideal location to get the most out of the hunt. Coupled with this, the trip would involve inclusive use of a bow.
Although new to me the concept is certainly not beyond me as I have spent a lot of my history bush hunting the North island. In my opinion to score deer day after day in NZ bush environment is the true test of a good hunter and is peerless in the world of hunting.
Having said all that bow hunting must come in somewhere below it and not that far down the list either.
Bow hunting consistently in N.I. bush would be the pinnacle of course!
Arriving latish on the first night we spied a few deer with the bins and one in particular was worth the stalk. I handed the rifle to Ben to conclude the stalk at the 100 meter mark, although out of sight for the last stretch the deer was no more that 30 meters away when it was alerted to Ben’s presence and bolted- never mind…I had my freeze dried back at camp!
goat shot on first full day
Next day we stalked and then Ben shot a goat and the thing that amazed me was the sheer killing power. The arrow went straight through the animal but it was dead on its feet and finally keeled over within yards. The arrow was decimated on the hard ground behind, and at $10 a pop I was beginning to thing this could end up quite expensive.
The next day Ben gets his second ever kill with the bow and is rewarded with a Red deer stag, also a first. After a lengthy stalk we got to within mere yards of him and again the one shot kill was testament to the awesome killing power of the modern bow.
We had a few more close encounters with deer but what with swirly winds and undetermined ranges (critical in bow hunting is knowing the exact range). and the fact Ben wanted to go it alone for a few of the stalks (for experience) and totally for the last day, nothing else was shot.
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