A HUNT WITH A TRUSTY COMPANION

FEATURE Jim Stevenson

Over the past three summers, I had noticed the tracks of a mature sambar stag on a river bend while trout fishing. My thinking was that he must come to this area to grow his antlers in a relatively safe place during summer, as during the hunting season, there are usually plenty of hunters in this mountainous and scrubby locale.

I decided I would have a crack at this stag in late spring, hoping that he still had his antlers. I would enlist the help of my black 2.5-year-old GSP, Sika, from Flynns Creek Pointers, to locate this cagey old stag.

Walking to the top of the river flat in the late evening, I noticed the dog had become very switched on and realised that there was something of interest close by. The evening air was cooling, and the draughts were starting to slide down into the gullies. We continued cautiously on, and as we approached a large patch of blackberries, Sika suddenly froze! I scanned for a deer to no avail and proceeded to sneak up to where the dog was positioned to have a closer look, only to find a wallaby feeding 25m away. We circled away from the wallaby to avoid detection.

Sika continued to scent the downward draughts as we moved around a bend in the river. The conditions had drastically changed, and underfoot, it was now dry and rocky, and the dog had lost interest. Here, the ground was still warm, and the thermals must have still been rising. We dropped back toward the flat, where she became a lot keener again. Suddenly, Sika slowed her gait and began to point. Feverishly scanning the area, I could see nothing. Where was this damned deer?

With only half an hour of daylight left, we stood for a brief moment scanning the blackberries and scrubbing for any sign of a deer, but still nothing. The whole time, Sika held point, so I knew this time it was a deer. I felt a cool draught on my face and could see that she was sifting the air through her super-sensitive nostrils, all the while still at full point. Suddenly, I realised the draught was drifting down the slope and across the river directly at us. The deer must be on the other side of the river!

Beyond the river, the country was steep with thick scrub and the occasional open grassy patch. I surveyed every inch of the river flat and worked my keen eyes up the slope towards the head of the gully until, through a microscopic window in the scrub, I finally caught a glimpse of a very impressive stag. He was feeding side-on to us, totally unaware of our existence.

With no time to hesitate, as he could be swallowed up in the dense scrub, never to be seen again, I took aim with my trusty .30’06 Tikka, dropping the crosshairs onto the middle of his chest, and fired!

The stag jumped forward and trotted into the dense undergrowth and halted. I was confident the shot was on target, but as the seconds ticked by, I started to doubt myself. Suddenly, the sound of a breaking branch indicated that the stag had fallen and was tumbling down the slope, with his final resting place being a large burnt-out gum.

The light was really beginning to fade as we crossed the river. Fresh out of the water, Sika took up the trail and led me directly to where our quarry lay. He was definitely a better stag than I had anticipated; what a ripper he was! All in all, it was another great day out in the bush with my trusty hunting companion, Sika.