# They worked hard today....harder than they ever have...



## Ozkar

I am one proud and happy family member right now....... 

We left an hour before first light at 6.00am with another hunting buddy of mine called Yak. The pups were suited up in their hunting vests and were very excited to have another hooman along for the hunt. Yak had never seen or even heard a Sambar Deer before, let alone taken one with a rifle or bow, so today was all about letting him get a taste of how difficult it is to get near one of these elusive creatures.

I am not sure if people outside of Oz have any idea of the realities of hunting Sambar deer in our wide brown land. The facts are, they are not a native animal and while they are here, they are not in the prolific numbers that other countries have them. Thus, they are not only hard to find but even more so, extremely difficult to take. Even more so when you do it with a bow and not a bang stick. With a bang stick, you can prop them out of a bedding area and shoot them from 100 metres away across a gully. Not with a bow. For a bow hunter, our effective range is 20-40 metres is you want a guaranteed kill zone shot. 

Adding to that, it also means that the terrain you hunt in has to be just right in order to get near them. Too sparse and there isn't enough cover to stalk in close enough to take a shot. Too thick and a bow is useless as an arrow will deflect from branches and scrub. So the realities are, that out of 20+ hunts, we might get an opportunity to shoot 1 arrow............... So saying it is a challenge, is probably an understatement.

But, today, I was determined to give Yak a taste of Sambar Deer hunting at it's best.

We all walked out of camp fresh and alert and headed downriver along a track which had some signs of Deer the previous day. Nothing showed by the 5 klm mark. So we then crossed the river to head over to a blackberry patch which had also given us some sign of Deer in the preceding days. I stationed Yak at the top of the ridge above the flat where the blackberries stood, with the pups and I following the game trail through the thick thorny bush hoping to flush out a Deer towards Yak. Again he was disappointed with nothing turning up. The pups never even got excited, so I figured there was definitely nothing in there. This was the same patch we had spooked a small doe from four or five days ago. 

After failing to turn anything up in the two areas we had good sign of them previously, I took Yak further up the side of the mountain into some country which had a maze of game trails and had some pretty thick cover. Probably too thick, but I thought it may still hold some Deer. 

Yak wanted to walk and I had to keep stopping him to get him to look and listen a little more than walking. At one point I stopped him and uttered the words, "Less walking, more glassing Yak". No sooner had I said it, when we heard that wonderful barking honk that Sambar are famous for. I knew we were on the right track. The pups were doing there thing better than ever. Both were ranging close to me, pointing me in the direction that the Deer were. The Honk told me that we had been busted. But I thought there may be more than one and that perhaps a Doe might stow a young one in the thick bushes while she drew us away. We split up and headed to where the honk came from with Yak on one side and me and the pups a few hundred metres to the other side. We tracked them up the spur, with the sign indicating that we were tracking at least 3 or maybe 4 different Sambar. Fresh footprints were easily visible due to the rain overnight and there was fresh scat everywhere. Some still with steam rising from it.......... 

To cut a long story short, that was as close as we got. But, Yak was a happy boy, with him seeing and hearing his first ever Sambar. 

Back to the important bit........ the pups....... I have never, ever, ever seen the both of them work as hard for me as they did today. Zsa Zsa ranged nice and close and they obeyed every single request I made. They waited when asked, they pushed up when asked and they searched hard with their noses all day. In the end, it was over 6 hours of hunting in some of the most rugged and mountainous country that Oz has to offer. From sneaking through thick thorny blackberry, to the thickest of Tea tree and Ferns. They never stopped. Their little noses were working overtime and they were the most amazing pups I have ever seen. Proud...yes...positively beaming....definitely. I've never had them work so hard.

For the last hour, even my little energiser bunny Zsa Zsa was DOG TIRED. Her head was down, her tail was down and all she wanted to do was get back to camp and sleep. They slept for three hours without batting an eyelid when we got back.

But, they were rewarded tonight, with a lovely serving of fresh venison back-straps which a friend had given me from a bang stick hunt he did last week. 

I think I must have the best pups on the planet tonight!!!


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## mswhipple

Sounds like you have every right to be proud, Ozkar... and Astro and Zsa Zsa have a right to that delicious venison, too!! ;D


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## mlwindc

You are a proud papa today! Thanks for taking the time to write out the day -- love reading about others and their adventures. I am a city dweller, so we will likely never get to have such great adventures!


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## datacan

Something like this? http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=AbBVKw59QVA&desktop_uri=/watch?v=AbBVKw59QVA

Must be exciting...


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## redbirddog

Ozkar,

A quiet hunt in the forest with your dogs. Doesn't get much better than that does it? 

Good story.

RBD


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## Ozkar

Chilling out today, tending to the war wounds. Astro had cuts and abrasions all over his chest and legs, but poor little Zsa Zsa had some fur and skin missing from the hunting harness chaffing her. Poor girl........ But some love and attention from her hooman has made up for it today........


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## hobbsy1010

Must be the weekend for wounds Oz,
Returned from our hike and Brooks left rear foot had swollen up quite badly ???
Couldn't find any cuts or rips so might have pulled or twisted it on the ice
He limped round on it for the rest of that evening, next day (sat) swelling seemed to have gone down so no need for vet check 
Day off for him no walks for a day or so.

Your two probably deserve a bit of R&R, sounds like they went at it hard on your trip....
Great post by the way, your writing is certainly getting up to that 'book' standard 
Keep up the good work.


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## redbirddog

Weekend in Oz for us via a movie.

*Red Dog.*

Movie about a dog in the 70's in the Northwest corner of Australia.

Neat story based on a true dog's life.

Ozkar, take care of those hunting dogs of yours. They deserve a day off. 

RBD


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## v-john

Very nice. I love to hear how other folks hunt with their vizslas. Especially in other parts of the world.


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## R E McCraith

VVork for some !!! play for your V- when hunting - they haVe no limits - this is why they have a owner - Yes your pup will have injuries - the RED BADGE of COURAGE !!! NEVER put them in harms way - they will find this on their own !!!!!!!! LOVE to HUNT & HUNT they WILL !!!!!


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## Ozkar

RBD, got that on DVD.... saw it at the movies and couldn't help but let the water works flow....... watched it another 4 or 5 times and still has the same effect......... great movie... I hope you enjoyed it....... not sure if you will "get" the humour in it? Us Aussies sometimes have a localised sense of humour. But it does do a pretty good job of showing what it was like out there in the outback back then.


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## redbirddog

Regarding the movie: RED DOG



> not sure if you will "get" the humour in it? Us Aussies sometimes have a localised sense of humour.


I must admit sometimes some of the humor did slip by. But I own it on DVD and I am sure I'll watch it a few more times with the grandkids as they get bigger.

I loved early on in the movie when the narrator said: "Back in the 70's, when men were men and dogs were dogs." 8)

Happy trails,
RBD


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## Ozkar

Favourite line is when the old FB holden swerves, skids and comes to a halt next to Red Dog in the middle of the road and the American thinks he is almost run over, till the bloke says..... "Nah mate....he's hitchiking"


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## Ozkar

We'll, they both got it together from whoa to go this evening and we shot pur first ever Red Deer. We just have to find it in the morning as fading light and a herd which split up made it difficult to find by torchlight. Here's a pic of the herd before I took the shot and the start of the bloodtrail.

Sorry pic quality is crap, but I only had my mobile phone with me and light was fading.

Very proud of the both of them. They actually pointed, shat themselves at the enormous size of the animals (shoulders at my shoulder level so they were big) and ran back to hide behind me.....  then they helped me track the bloodtrail till we lost the light.


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## texasred

That is so great to hear. 
It helps the dogs training tremendously to have a productive meat hunt.
I hope you and the red dogs find it in the morning.
I'm sure I don't have to remind you that a wounded deer and be dangerous. Its the flight or fight mentality


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## redbirddog

Great Ozkar!. Be safe out there. Waiting to hear how this story unfolds.

It has been a long road to this point. Venison steaks.

RBD


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## Ozkar

RBD & TR, we've taken two Sambar in the past, but never a Red. So I was just a bit chuffed about it being a Red............ And ****, are they a big animal. This one looked to be a good 120-140kg doe from the 40 metres distance from where I took the shot. Hopefully the Dingos don't get it tonight and we can have some Venison for dinner tomorrow night.

One thing though I noticed, the Red Deer are not as easily spooked as the elusive Sambar. They knew we were there but kept coming all be it cautiously. Sambar would have just bolted immediately.


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## Ozkar

I went out at first light and picked up the blood trail again. Some lessons learnt, take a torch as dried blood is harder to track. The 2nd lesson learned was to not only take the bow, but put your release on. If I had put it on, there would be a big Sambar doe in the kit tonight. 15 metres, standing staring at me. By the time I got the release on, she bolted into the bush about 10 metres, stopped and honked. But there was no shot available as it's as thick as buggery where I was.

I followed the blood trail 20 metres into the bush and then lost it. The pups couldn't pick it up as there was Deer scent everywhere and each time we came back to the last blood spatter, they went off in a different direction. I tried following the most logical path which was the most open game trail, but the bush thickened that much that she could have been a metre from me and I wouldn't have seen her.

My heart sank and I felt totally horrible thinking that I had wounded the poor girl and she was in pain. But I kept going back over the shot in my mind and i know for certain that I hit the mark. Plus the blood was prolific. Certainly a lot more than the two Sambar Does blood spatters that I have shot on my hunting properties. But, each spatter was maybe 10-15 metres apart, so once in the thick blackberry it was a bit tough to find the next one. I spent two hours looking this morning and then went back up later this afternoon to have another look. But I can't find her. So I either missed the lungs, or she bedded up in the thick stuff that I can't get through. Not even the dogs would go through it and I had there protective vests on which reduced thorns penetrating their chests. Astro opened up a previous hunting wound on his leg trying for me. They both worked so dam hard trying to find her, so even though we couldn't I was still very proud of their achievements.

I'm staying up here a little longer, so I'll leave it a few days and have another look around. She can't have got far.


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## hobbsy1010

Hi Mate,

Sounds like you had a very productive and also a very frustrating weekend and the pups worked hard for you. 

Just a thought, we (me, Jo and Liv) went to a falconry centre this weekend and watched a truly awesome display of falconry with a number of hunting raptors.

During part of the display, the falconer brought out a Peregrine Falcon who in his words was trust worthy with regards to returning to him, but as a precaution he put a tiny radio transmitter on her in the form of a tiny 2inch transmitter wire attached to her foot.
This was in case she made a 'run' for it from the display. This transmitter had a range of 20 to 25 miles and if she did make a bolt for it he could follow her by car and track her and hopefully retrieve her. :-*
Just a thought, is there any way that you could attach a similar sort of tracking device to your arrows in order to track your quarry??
It would be such a shame if you don't end up finding your targets after you and the pups have worked so hard!!
Please tell me if this sounds a stupid suggestion 

Hobbsy


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## datacan

Bummer. 
Better luck next time. Rooting for you and the pups.
Prolly ended up on someone's lawn far from the place of impact if you can't find her. 



Hobbsy, falcons clear the runways and keep fisheries free of birds, as far as I read. Very Eco friendly creatures.


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## hobbsy1010

I'm loving what I saw at that display yesterday

http://hodj.smugmug.com/photos/i-JC6v3z5/0/XL/i-JC6v3z5-XL.jpg

Hobbsy


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## datacan

I can just picture him with a soldering iron in one hand and the phone in the other placing orders to Japan for transistors and circuit boards. 

Just fit an ecollar on the deer, that'll learn'em ;D


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## hobbsy1010

Data,

Don't get him started on the 'collars' ???


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## Ozkar

Hobbsy... nice thought....... but you need to understand something about a modern compound hunting bow. If there were two people standing in front of me, one with a 30/06 or a 308 and the other with a compound bow fitted with a broadhead and I had a choice of which projectile to receive, I would take either of the bullets before an arrow.

I shot this Deer, which was a good 160kg plus animal from 40 metres distance and the arrow went in one side, out the other and landed 20 metres the other side of the Deer it went through. These things will punch an arrow in one side of a 2000lb scrub bull and punch it's way out the other side through the shoulder bone. They are a nasty bit of gear mate. 

So putting a tracking tag on the arrow will only ever help me find an arrow


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## Ozkar

Just on dusk I saw the same herd of Red Deer walk past the bottom of the camp ground..... there were only four of them, so I am pretty certain that doe I shot is stopped up on the side of the mountain amongst the blackberries having a little rest. While it's difficult to be 100 percent sure it was the same animals, the buck looked the same, and there was a hind in tow with the two other doe's. As there aren't that many Red Deer around these parts, London to a brick it was the same herd.


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## Ozkar

Egg on face today............. 

Not sure what's got into them, but they broke point 3 times yesterday on absolute sitters of shots from 20 metres on some Red Deer. The final one they busted past me knocking me almost over while I was at full draw about to release. Bloody lucky not to end up with a broadhead through one of them. Lost the arrow too. 

Then just now, 5 minutes into a hunt, 20 metres from the Deer, they both broke again. 

I marched them back to camp and locked them in the van and am now sitting waiting for the Deer to settle and pop their heads back up.

I guess sometimes a dog just wants to hunt for itself................. Grrrrrrr.
Back to the drawing board........


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## DougAndKate

Ozkar, love following your adventures! I'd be willing to donate $20 towards getting you a Go-Pro Video camera that you can strap to your head on these hunts, I think we would all love watching!


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## Ozkar

Pleased to report normal transmission resumed.......

did a hunt this morning with a mate who came up. The pups did their job........  I was starting to think we had to start all over again and wasn't looking forward to another 18 months of training........  

There are fires burning all around us at the moment, so the Deer have backed off a lot and are not at there traditional haunts. So I am waiting a few days more before trying in earnest again to get one of those Red deer onto the BBQ................


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## sniper john

I love following your adventures too. If I were a rich man I would fly my dog and me down under and join you.


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## harrigab

sniper said:


> I love following your adventures too. If I were a rich man I would fly my dog and me down under and join you.


ditto...


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## Ozkar

Doug and Kate, when I can go back to work, I will buy one and post a few edited videos. Edited, as often a stalk on a Deer will last hours. Also, as sometimes (read every 2nd word) the language which comes out of my mouth isn't fit for being televised!!!   It's because I'm an effen Aussie!!  

SJ you and your pup or pups are always welcome for a hunt down here. I reckon you'd fit in well with my lot.........  

Hobbsy....get your arse down here so I can see how good that pup of yours is going to be!! 

We did a hunt at lunchtime today. We got bored so figured we would just go for a stroll and see what turned up. Three big Red Deer was the answer. But my bowhunting mate is a little inexperienced and rushed the stalk spooking them. I was a little frustrated as we had devised a plan where I would circle around them and if they spooked, they would run straight into him. But he got greedy and stalked into them at a rapid pace. He didn't take notice of their reactions and kept moving in on them when they had their heads up. I was up above on a ridge watching the whole thing transpire just wishing him to stay put. The one I had targeted was a really blonde Red Deer. Not blonde as in dumb........ but blonde as in a really light colour red and I thought it would have been a nice catch as it was so unique. Plus I was already thinking of Venison sausages, marinated back straps and a rich venison stew    

When he goes, I will see if I can find the little blonde one again. I took a pic of it, but it was from 100 metres with my mobile phone. Tomorrow when I am rested, I will log on and post it up. Not sure how clear it will be. I lost my good camera when someone broke into my car a few months back and until I go back to work, a camera isn't on the priority list.....

Oh..... and to top off him rushing the stalk....... he dropped one of my UHF radios into the river!!! So it was not a brilliant day by any means........ I think I enjoy either hunting with someone with some patience, or hunting with just the pups and I. 

Astro and Zsa Zsa were well behaved on the hunt..... but were not well behaved when I was trying to eat dinner.... (Venison stew). Astro copped his first ever whack when he tried to steal food off my plate........ I felt bad...... really bad...... I've never struck him ever, but it was an instinctive reaction that happened before I realised what I was doing. Poor boy was most upset........ But, I am sure he will build a bridge and get over it. Just goes to show that even with my immense patience, things like that can happen. A lesson learnt for me though.......


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## Rudy

Where do we send the meat? 8)

Deer, Elk, Moose, **** birds, ducks We share

its like where the beef?

she said ;D  :-*


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## Ozkar

Got bored while waiting for a herd to arrive. Here's a few pics for the voyeurs.....


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## Ozkar

Yesterday's Blondie. You can just make it out....and no camera criticisms please....I'm poor arse broke and the last one was stolen.....


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## Ozkar

And just to add insult to injury... I did the dishes at lunchtime and discovered my little mate had stirred the stew with my metal BBQ spatchula.............. Problem being..... it was a very expensive Teflon coated pot!!! Now it has scratches all over it and the Teflon is peeling off like 100 year old wallpaper.................. Grrrrrrr..........  Bloody expensive weekend for me... no Deer, no UHF and a duffed cookware item! That's a 300 dollar weekend for me without going anywhere!!!


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## hobbsy1010

Jeez mate that's a serious looking bit of kit in picture #3!!!!

It's got so many wheels on it, I bet your not sure wether to ride it or fire it  

Sorry to hear about your weekend with your 'stalking guest' :-\
Been down that road myself with 'friends' not respecting loaned expensive kit, very annoying when it's not respected, lesson learned I expect!! 

Can't expect to get something (blondie) every outing I suppose otherwise everyman and his dog would be up there with you trying their luck 

Great pics, great posts as usual, keep us all up to date on your trails and you and the 'Gang' stay safe  

Hobbsy

Ps.
Just out of curiosity are you a left or right hander?
Interested looking at the setup of the bow...


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## Ozkar

Hobbsy, with those wheels even I'm sometimes unsure if to roo.... err ride it or shoot it!!  

As for being a lefty or righty.......... I am right handed, but I am left eye dominant, so I have to shoot a bow and a rifle left handed. It's a pain to be honest... literally.... as my left shoulder which draws the bow and takes all the weight, is held together by 6 screws and two metal plates. The plates are more like Girders!! And the screws more like bolts. I became Mr. Mechano after a 220kph get off at Phillip Island in 1995. I'd qualified 2nd on the grid riding a little 600cc bike against all the litre bikes in the first qualifying session and without being a tosser, was doing it easy. So I thought I would go out in the last few minutes of the last qualifying session and drop a second or more and demoralise the opposition........... ala Valentino Rossi........ Or Mick Doohan as it was back then.......  

Anyways, the guy on pole was out trying to lower his time, so I slipped out of pit road behind him and made up a lot of ground on him during the next two laps. By the final turn, which is a cracking banked 200kph+ left hander onto the chute, I was on his back wheel and about to pull out and pass him. Right at the apex, his FZR1000 Yamahappiness got unhappy and threw a rod thrrough the cases and dumped 4 litres of oil onto the track and my front tyre. I went down like a boxer on the take and was sliding along on the tarmac before I even knew it had happened. That was all OK, I just kept moving my body around to reduce the friction burns, as the leathers transfer a lot of heat to the skin at 200kph+ speeds. Then I left the track on the outside of the turn and hit the grass. It's not common knowledge, but at 220kph, a tuft of grass 4 inches high acts like a ramp for Evel kenieval to jump the grand canyon. It catapulted me into the air about 15-20 metres and commenced a process of hit the ground, tumble violently, back up in the air tumbling like a rag doll, back down on the ground tumbling violently etc, until I eventually hit the tyre wall on the outfield. 

Back then there was only an old broken wire fence separating the spectator area and the outfield. Next thing I knew, I woke up hearing this old lady's voice asking if I was alright................... She had hopped the fence, slid down the tyre wall and was trying to help me. All I could think of at the time, was that my racebike was lying on it's side with the motor bouncing off the redline as the throttle tube was full of dirt and stuck at wide open. I started yelling at her to go switch it off........... it stopped making noise of it's own accord a few seconds later, when the oil pick up was no longer picking up oil.......  Then it went silent..... forever!!  
Thankfully the St. John's Ambulance arrived 5 or so minutes later with the green stick for me to suck on while we waiting for a whirly bird to land and fly me up to Melbourne. 

Diagnosis was smashed shoulder, collar bone, scapula, 6 broken ribs, two broken arms, two broken wrists, a broken scaphoid, broken foot bones and two fingers pointing in the wrong direction............ Something like 14 different broken bits. But thankfully, very little muscle and tendon damage, which are the slow healers. 

Naturally, the first question I asked the surgeon when I woke up............... "When can I get back on the bike?"  12 weeks to the day and I was lapping the Island again.


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## hobbsy1010

I was going to say that you also took a bang to the head that day.... that the medics didn't pick up at track side 
To be honest you got to have a screw loose to be travelling at those speeds to get your 'highs' 
So the long and short of it is you got more plates,bolts and pins in you than Barry Sheen and airport security must have a field day with you when you want to travel!!! 

Was travelling to work one morning about two years ago now, it was a crisp, frosty morning with a dusting of ice on the road. I came up to a round about in the van and gave way to a biker taking the junction ahead of me, when all of a sudden his bike went from under him and flew from under him and across the junction!
We jumped out to help him but like yourself all he was worried about was switching the thing off and was there any damage(scratches)to the bikes tank!!! :-\
Think he broke a wrist and bust his ankle, he was however thankfull we stopped for him 
Frigging 'organ donors' that's what we call them over here    
Me and Jo came a cropper on a moped once when we were on a Holliday in Ibiza (a long time ago!!), took a bend too fast and the thing went from under us :-[ :-\ :-\
Jo didn't speak to me for a few days :don't blame her


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## Ozkar

Hobbsy........many knocks to the head to get to this point.......


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## datacan

Hi, sorry... All those nuts and bolts they had to reassemble you with, Tinman... And now you have to deal with scratches on your Teflon plated pots :'(

Teflon is not that healthy, anyway.


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## Ozkar

*Re: Re: They worked hard today....harder than they ever have...*



datacan said:


> Hi, sorry... All those nuts and bolts they had to reassemble you with, Tinman... And now you have to deal with scratches on your Teflon plated pots :'(
> 
> Teflon is not that healthy, anyway.


Don't worry mate, I won't be alive long enough for the Teflon to effect me. In case you haven't caught on yet, I've been a slow learner all my life.............. .  My brain has only just worked out that my body isn't indestructible. But even now the red mist still descends over the visor. I did a few comeback meetings in 2006. I still have my 1995 ZX6 Super Sport 600 racer. It still goes oright too just quietly.  The younger guys got a little grumpy when the old girl rounded them up. Then when I took my helmet off and saw an "old guy", well..... They just got plain embarrassed.......


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## Ozkar

Some hard work for little reward over the last couple of days. I've been chasing a herd of Red Deer and have been watching daily where they are coming from and going to. I discovered a little valley that they were using each day and each night. So I decided I would sit on that gully and wait for them one night. So, two nights I have sat there, from 4pm till 7.30pm and the buggers haven't come through. The hide of some Deer!!!  

Anyways, it wasn't a total loss. Last night, when curfew had hit ( It is illegal to hunt Deer in my state one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset), I packed the arrow back into the quiver, turned off the sight light, turned on the headlamp and started walking out of the bush to a track which leads back home. 

I got maybe 20 metres from where I was and a branch snapped to the left of me. Close, very close. There are a few wild dogs about, so I spun my head in the direction of the noise, to be greeted by 15 pairs of yellow eyes staring back at me. I scanned from my left to my right and there in front of me, were a herd of little Fallow Deer, walking nose to tail along the river bank. They stopped, looked at the light, took a few more steps, looked at the light and just kept cruising past almost nonchalantly. There was a Buck and lots of Does and of course some Bambi's to keep me happy. I love fallow, they are the cutest little Deer. They were tiny compared to the big Reds and Sambar we normally hunt. I had never seen them in this area in over two years of hunting them here. I think perhaps the back burning of late has driven them down the mountain away from the burning bush. Anyways, I held the headlamp on them and watched these little cuties walk along the river bank and then up the side of the gully I was in. The little ones are just soooooo friggin cute!!   I want one to take home with me as a pet!! 

(Back burning FYI, is a controlled burn conducted to reduce the fuel load on the forest floor to alleviate massive bushfires...... like we have had for the past 4 years. The left wing hippy Greenies got the Govt to stop the controlled burns, stopped people cutting down trees near their houses and got lots of 4wd/fire trails closed. So naturally, we built up a good load of firewood and on Black Saturday a few years back, we burnt half the state to the ground and couldn't get into the bush to fight it due to the tracks being shut down....... So now, it's gone back to the old days, which worked... controlled burns to reduce fuel loads, opening up all the tracks to give fire control access and allowing people to clear trees from around there houses to alleviate fire threat. Of course.... it only took 100 people to die and thousands to lose their homes for the Greenies to realise they were idiots......)


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## Ozkar

Had the best hunt in over two years today. Didn't take an animal, but boy the pups nailed it!!! 

We left camp early, just on dawn after a light breakfast. We walked up the mountain to a spur which has held both Sambar and red Deer in the past. Plus it was the spur which led down to the gully which appeared to be a bit of a Deer superhighway, with more tracks than a Las Vegas junkie. 

Not long after hitting the top of the spur, Astro locked to a solid point on the crest of a steep slope. So I honoured it and said.... "lead the way Astro boy" and he did just that. He tracked the scent all the way down the spur until it veared off into a thick green gully with a small creek running through it. Several times he would stop, sniff the air, then the ground, then backtrack a little and take another game trail. I trusted him and let him lead. Zsa Zsa had come to heel as soon as she saw the arrow go into the bow and was happy to stalk behind me. I think these large Deer put the wind up her a little. I guess when you're a 20kg GSP, a 160kg Deer might appear a little daunting   

We kept on down the gully zig zagging our way till we hit the river flat. Then Astro froze. His nose was pointing slightly to the left and his body was quivering with excitement. We were obviously close to something. I had heard a few large cracks and a fe big thuds as we came down the hill, so knew it was some type of Deer. Our Kangaroos and Wallabies have lighter landings than the Sambar and Red Deer have. So I knew it wasn't a Roo or a Wobbly.

I popped and arrow into the string and we just stood waiting to hear a noise. 10 minutes, 15 minutes, Astro still shaking uncontrollably with anticipation. 20 minutes, 25 minutes, then crack......... A twig snapped and it was close. Maybe ten metres going by my ears. We scanned the bush in the direction of the noise and there it was. Three Red Deer. I drew the bow, waiting for a clear shot. It never came. The combination of the thick bush and the Deer not moving meant I could not get a clear kill shot. I let down the arrow. There was only one way to get this Deer and that was to prop it out of the thick stuff and track it to where we can get a shot. So I gave the go find it command and pointed the two pups into the thick bush. They only took one step into it and the three Deer crashed out the other side, into the river and crossed to the other side.

We could have easily followed them across, but with a bow, it's a waste of time as they would keep at least 60 or 70 metres in front of us. Too much distance for a bow. 

So I put a plan together and ran it past the pups. They seemed in favour of it so we went ahead. The plan being, to go back up to the top of the spur, track west along the top, then drop back down to the river and cross it and approach them from downwind coming east up the river. This I thought would give them time to settle down again and perhaps become engrossed in feeding on the river flat grasses. I was right! 

We were walking quietly along the track once we had crossed the river. I knew they wouldn't be far ahead and thought they might still be on the grass flats before the mountains started to rise. We soon enough found the place where they had crossed. Wet rocks and hoove prints in the dirt. I placed my finger to a print, got the dogs to sniff it and gave the "find it" command. Astro was on fire.... nose to the ground he quartered up the track following from scent mark to scent mark. Then he stopped. Mid track. Looking to my left I noticed some movement. It was the three Deer, feeding on the river flat grasses about 70 metres from us. The problem was going to be how to get close enough to get a shot. One way was open grassland for 200 metres and gave us no cover, as well as being up wind of them. So that was out. The track coming from the west towards them from downwind was also open with no cover. I could maybe get to 60 or 70 metres that way. The only option left open wasn't all that much better, but it was the only one apart from trying to get them in the thicker country on the side of the mountain. That would make for even more difficulty. 

So we started stalking in from the river north towards them. The ground was covered in leaf litter and dry branches with the lack of rain we have had of late. Each step sounded like a rock concert in my head. Each time the pups stepped on a twig or cracked a dry leaf I thought the Deer would hear us.... but they didn't.

We came in towards them using a small bush and a tall tree trunk as cover. We got to 40 metres, which is my outer limit of range. I figured we would only get busted if we tried to get closer, so I knelt down and placed an arrow into the bow. The pups were right by my side. Astro's gaze was fixed intently on the Deer. Zsa Zsa was hiding behind me!  I really think they frighten her. 

I drew the bow waiting for the Deer to turn slightly to give me a quartering away heart, double lung shot. The Deer looked straight at me. It stared for what felt like an eternity. All the while I am thinking two things..... 1. FFS..hurry up...my shoulder is killing me holding this bow at full draw..... and 2. FFS, don't look down as you'll see Astro's face staring at you.........  

The Deer took the 2nd option...... it saw Astro, barked twice at us and took off with his harem of Does up the hill into the thick stuff. 

All that transpired over a period of four hours. Both the pups and certainly I, was done for the day. We thankfully were not far from camp, so we strolled back talking all the way about the big red Deer we had tracked and how we were going to get them tomorrow. I think the pups are really liking this Deer stuff. Even Zsa Zsa, though the big ones put the wind up her a bit...... she knows she is safe behind me   

I also think Astro is going to turn into a Deer hunting machine by the time he is 4. At 2, he really has a good handle on what it's all about. I'm bloody impressed with him and never expected him to be so good at it, so early on. I thought if I could have him to this point by the time he is 4 or 5 I would have been happy. so at 2, I'm simply elated.


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## Ozkar

We ate fresh Venison last night................... mmmm It was yummy.......... 

We had gone for an evening "walk", not expecting to even see anything as there are lots of people around at the moment, all trying to get the last weekend of camping in before our winter truly sets in. Not sure I understand that logic, as camping in mid winter to me is far better than the warmer months. Sitting by a roaring fire on a cold night is something to enjoy IMO. 

We were walking up a fire trail, when my little body locked to a point with chest muscles quivering. It told me something was very close. Then when Zsa Zsa came and hid behind my legs, I knew it was a Deer. It was getting dark and I was hoping like **** I would spot it before the daylight faded completely. My eyesight isn't the best and in low light it's abysmal and as we aren't able to hunt Deer under spotlight, I only had a few minutes to locate it and get into a position for a shot. 

I asked Astro to lead on and he only went ten foot before he again froze solid and lifted his nose to the air. It was obviously close. I squatted down in the cover of the Tea trees and Fern trees and pulled out the binos to see if I could spot it. There it was, a Red Spiker of an estimated 120kgs, feeding along the bottom of the gully. I had a nice clear laneway to shoot through, so nocked an arrow into the bow, drew and waited for him to turn a little to give me a certain kill shot. I settled the breathing, quietly whispered to Astro to wait and continued waiting for the Deer to turn. I was at the point of letting the bow back down as my shoulder was starting to hurt and the bow was getting wobbly, when he finally turned. I mustered my last ounce of strength, steadied the bow and squeezed the release. 

I watched as the arrow arced it's way across the gully towards the Deer. It struck with a sickening thud just behind his left shoulder. From there I couldn't see where it went. Astro and Zsa Zsa then took off towards the Deer. Almost at the same time the Deer reacted, it jumped up and spun a little before taking four or five tentative steps and laying down. I was relieved. The shot was good and it was all over for him in almost an instant. 

I followed the dogs path through the Blackberry and down to the downed Deer. He was not yet gone, but was fading rapidly, his breathing rattling as his lungs filled with blood and his heart slowed to an eventual stop. I stroked his neck gently and spoke calm soothing words to him in his final moments. Apologising and thanking him at the same time. 

It was then dressing time. So I did what I had to do, took what I could for myself and the pups and buried the remains to reduce the opportunities for foxes to gain a free feed. 

The pups were very happy and proudly trotted back to camp, each with a leg in there mouths. Naturally, last nights Dinner was some yummy Venison stew for me and dry food and fresh Venison meat for the pups, with a leg each to chew on for an after dinner treat. We sat by the fire together, them knawing away the fur and hoeing into the leg bones, me savouring every morsel of tender Venison as I quenched my rabid hunger. It was a wonderful end to a great hunt. 

I took a few pics this morning in the daylight. What's left of the legs and the remainder of the fresh meat. I would like to keep more, but I have a small fridge in the caravan and no freezer. It's why I pass up larger Deer as I am reluctant to be so wasteful. I probably would have passed this guy up normally, but I really thought it was important to take an animal for the pups benefit. I don't want them losing interest. It certainly has peaked their interest again though, as they were ever so focussed when we went for a walk this morning.

I will post the pics once they have uploaded from my phone.


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## datacan

That ain't no bull 8) 8)


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## R E McCraith

Congrads !!!!!! back strap and tenderloin 4 me - ground meat 4 burgers - jerky made 4 PIKE and me - LIFE is GOOD !!!!!!!!!


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## Ozkar

I tried a few times to load these. Internet reception is patchy up here, so here's a fourth go at it.......


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## Ozkar

Had to load in a couple of posts as it kept timing out with 4 pics............


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## hobbsy1010

Hi Oz,
Great hunting mate, that venison looks awesome 
No need to ask what the pups thought of it!!! Not much left on their plates......
Why does it always play like that? When we go out not expecting to see much, and hey ho all **** breaks out. I guess its a lesson when we go out to be prepared.Who cares, gets the heart rate up and it's exciting..  

Shame about the freezer/fridge situation back at the van, I bet you would love to stock up and store some of that beautifull quarry for leaner times?
Ever thought of getting a bit of 'business'(£££) going with the local butcher, just a thought 
You say the weather/season is on the change, does that have any effect on the deer regarding their movements?
Are you able to still hunt them through your winter?


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## Ozkar

REM, backstrap is a fave too. But I do for some reason love the shoulder meat. If you prep it right it has very little fat. I cut it separating the muscle groups, then trim the thin line of sinew between them off and then marinate it. I gave some neighbours a first ever taste of Venison last night and they loved it. Now....Jerky.....Have you got a recipe and method for this mate?? I want to make some from the next Deer we take. Sausages I can do, but I have never done jerky before and all three of us love beef and kangaroo jerky. 

Hobbsy, again, the laws in Oz preclude me from selling the Venison meat. It has to be farmed to be on sold. No game meat is allowed to be sold to the general public. Why I will never know. The wild Deer eat healthier all their lives and I have never taken a bad Deer yet. I always have a look at the liver and make sure there are no parasites in it. If it's all clear then it's off to the dinner table. As I said, never have I found a Deer with anything wrong with it in the wild. They appear to be very healthy creatures. 

As for the Freezer situation, the next one I take will be kept. A friend nearby has offered me some freezer space. So I will butcher the whole thing. Leaving only the insides. 

As for the dogs eating it. I just don't understand Zsa Zsa. I have offered her Venison both raw and cooked previously and unlike her, she turned her nose up at it and refused to eat it. But this time, she watched me cut it off the animal and I think it all clicked what it was and she ate it like she hadn't eaten for a month. They both chewed the fur off those legs, then chomped down on the rest of it, as always leaving nothing behind. 

What I probably enjoyed the most was cutting pieces off the grounded Deer and hand feeding the pups some small morsels while I butchered it. We were all in heaven. 

I just went for a short hunt by myself. I went to go with the pups, but Astro is lame on his front right paw. I think he scraped the pad on the river rocks this afternoon while out walking. He didn't want to go and stopped and sat at the edge of the camp with his paw in the air to let me know he was wounded. So I took them both back to the van and let them have the last of the venison with their dry for dinner while I went out. 

But, I did have a breakthrough. He normally won't let me touch his paws. But when I got back from my short hunt, he popped it up for me to look at. He's seen Zsa Zsa do this so often I think he's starting to lose his fear of it. Zsa Zsa will always come and show me if she is injured. She has learnt that I can often remove the offending thorn or whatever hurts her. It's very cute when she does it. 

Then to top off a fantastic day, the three of us just had a wrestle and some cuddles on the bed. I got a kiss off Zsa Zsa, which is something she doesn't often do, so i was pretty dam chuffed about that. I always get kisses off Astro...just try stopping him in fact!!  

I've got the last of my Venison in the camp oven now. I rolled it up like a mini roast, with some Garlic and some butter and spices, then tied it with some string. It smells delish............

Speaking of Ol factory wiffs......... the van has a rather pungent odour of dog and human Venison nocturnal emissions at the moment!!!   Is that compliments to the chef???


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## mswhipple

Ozkar, here is a recipe for venison jerky that gets pretty good reviews, although I haven't had the opportunity to try it myself:

http://www.food.com/recipe/deer-venison-jerky-15725


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## Ozkar

Thanks Mswhipple....you're a star!!


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## hobbsy1010

Apologies for repeating myself regarding selling of your catch!
Forgot that we discussed that in previous post's :-\
When you butcher do you keep any of the skins/antlers? Are you allowed??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171021825156?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

The above seems to be a popular little side line!!!

With regards Zsa Zsa turning her nose up until now maybe she'd prefer it slightly under done with some seasoning and a light garlic sauce 

How long you planning on staying up there, as long as the hunting stays good I suppose!?!?

Hobbsy


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## R E McCraith

Oz try this web site - bowhunting.net/susieq/jerky.htm a lot of great recipies - PIKE likes a simple Teriyaki jerky - me I like it HOT!!! - here in Kentucky there are a lot of specialty butchers that just do game - cost about $2/# well worth it - I love to have a summer sausge with pepperjack chesse smoked - once you go WILD !! you neVer come back (strap) LOL


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## Rudy

;D 

Age 10 Bloke lmao

10,000 earned feet and climbing

unnatural world of writing and saving all wildlife he speaks in the lands of the great Oz and banging pans and eating teflon

My Son

carry on

Da meat stackers ;D

paddy whackers for less


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