Damp and miserable

The forecast was good a fine day it would seem.  Nothing is what it seems though. It rained heavily the night before so as soon as me and my buddy strode into the greenery on first lite we were welcomed with deluge upon deluge of congregated water, held captive until we sprung the trap on our selves.  This coupled with a heavy mist that just would not lift, gave me the feeling I should have still been wrapped in my blankets at home.

I was further convinced upon reaching a certain elevation and the Southerly started to blow in earnest that this was the place not to be.

The hunting reflected it too, cold damp and misty was not the conditions to find deer in mid winter. The sun was beginning to break through but no way faster enough for us two.

We were striding through quite high fern, when Wilson took off a couple of meters with nose held high. A grumpy snort issued forth and a black shape hurtled past me at a rate of knots.  Rifle was up and ready but the brain recognised the black shape as the mutt.  We all went dogo for several minutes before said pig took off. I managed to get a brief shot away as it slowed in an open part of the bush, but after a moderate search concluded I had missed.

Onward and upward as they say.  An hour or so later the dog is keen but was facing into the strong wind direction instead of where I expected an animal to be ahead of us.  The sun was now out and we were in a warm dry area of bush, quite open too.  We were following a trail with recent sign showing, but the wind was quartering down and behind us.  The dog was catching something ahead but was fooled into thinking the stronger wind was the answer.

So slowly slowly and respecting the nose of the dog occasionally, looking upward and back.  A slight rise ahead and the hind was sighted she was standing and looking straight at us .  The .222 was up and firing, the hind went down like the proverbial sack of spuds.  Another two appeared and were definitely confused, eventually taking off and after a few minutes a couple of barks ensued from a gully over.