COME TO SHELLEY

FEATURE John MacLeod and Keira Wilcox

The Australian Deer Association (ADA) runs four National Hunt Camps per year at the Shelley Forest Camp located along the Murray Valley Highway in northeast Victoria. The surrounding public land hunting area covering hundreds of square kilometres contains abundant sambar and fallow deer populations, and some red deer.

Deer hunters of all abilities coming to the Camp are offered a wide variety of hunting challenges ranging from blocks suitable for beginners up to challenging 4WD treks through relatively untouched yet high potential deer hunting areas.

The Camp provides a true hunting lodge environment with accommodation options of bunk houses or camping, fully equipped communal kitchen, large lounge, laundry, meat hanging/butchering room, freezers and most welcoming hot showers (male and female) perfect for after a long day of stalking a deer in the field.

National Hunt Camps take pride in a theme of ‘camaraderie’ where knowledge and assistance are readily shared at all levels between the experienced and those starting their hunting journey. Discussions cover access routes, stalking and sit locations, recent sightings and signs, wind and thermal patterns and terrain knowledge. Camaraderie also means if a deer is taken then there will be help in Camp bring out as much prized venison as possible, with any excess to needs often being shared among others. Why should we waste any part of a wild deer, since venison is a natural, free-range, sustainable product?

Providing hunting opportunities for hunters of all experiences and capabilities is the hallmark of the ADA National Hunt Camps. Last year Keira Wilcox, an experienced deer hunter, joined the Camp for the first time and took out much venison…and was most generous in sharing with other less fortunate hunters.

This is Keira’s story from an interview.

How did you first get into hunting? When I was in primary school my best mate's Dad had a ferret called ‘Nips’. He used to take us rabbiting all the time with nets and I became fascinated with hunting and gathering wild food. I’ve also always been big into computer games and when I was a kid, I begged mum to buy me each release of the Deer Hunter series on PC and loved the simulated hunting, stalking, scent work and tracking involved. It wasn’t until I was 26 and living in Wollongong that I realised there were deer populations in Australia. I immediately latched onto that. I was so excited, got my firearms and hunting permit and the rest is history.

Approximately how many deer, goats and pigs have you have taken? I’ve been hunting for 14 years now and have been very successful in that time. I’ve taken over 12 goats, seven rusa deer including a lovely big velvet stag, more than 14 fallow deer. I have only recently started chasing sambar with two mature hinds, one spiker (taken at last year’s ADA National Hunt Camp) and a yearling taken so far.

Why you like ADA Hunt Camp Shelley? I particularly like attending the ADA National Hunt Camp for the camaraderie. I’ve learned so much from speaking with other hunters and have made some lifelong friends. I have also really enjoyed cooking a few of the camp dinners for attendees, acquiring and cooking game meat, and having the opportunity to share it with people, which is one of the primary reasons I hunt.

Describe a more recent success. Not long ago I was checking out a new state forest. I really love hunting public land. I don’t have access to much private property, but I’ve never missed it either, most of my success has been in state forests. I enjoy the added challenge of identifying changing game patterns and figuring out a whole new area every so often.

This forest was completely new to me, and I spent a whole day driving and walking around to try and figure out how the deer were using the area. I had originally decided to sit up off a fence line I could see was a heavily used transition zone. I was just about to get out of the car and make my way there when I just had this urge to check out one last spot before committing. I went to an area with a steep east face and straight away could see tracks and signs of feeding, so I hunkered down in a rock pile with a great 180 degree view of the face and flat feeding area. I was shocked, to be honest, when not more than 15 minutes after I had settled in a fat sambar hind stepped out between some pines on the face and started feeding on some blackberry bushes 260m away. I watched her for more than 20 minutes. I’ve never really had the opportunity to just watch a deer doing its thing with no idea I was there, she was stunning.

I have never taken a shot over 150m, but I had been doing some practice at the range lately and examining the projectile drop over longer distances. I set up my Kimber Hunter .243 on my bipod and spent a good 10 minutes looking through the scope, judging the shot before I slowly squeezed the trigger. The hind made a little jump, all four legs an inch off the ground, then walked unhurried back into the pines. I honestly didn’t know what to think. I knew I’d been careful in judging the shot, but the animal’s reaction didn’t seem to match up with a kill shot. I waited a little while then started to cross the small field towards the creek. Halfway across the clearing a yearling calf jumped out 10m away from me, stopped and looked at me, then ran off a little way into the bushes. I thought he was gone but again I bumped him, and he stood looking at me broadside at 20m. At this stage I didn’t know if I had been successful with the hind so I took the calf home in the fridge (then served him up at the March 2025 ADA Hunt Camp).

I then continued across the creek and to the exact spot where the big hind had been feeding, no blood…nothing. I walked through the pines in the direction she had headed, starting to feel disappointed. Then 10m through the pines I found her at the entrance to a blackberry tunnel, laying down like she had decided to take a nap. I had taken a perfect double lung shot from a PB distance of 262m and was absolutely stoked!!

Describe your thrill of taking the sambar spiker at Shelley. Attending my first ADA National Hunt Camp I was rather nervous, especially because I didn’t know anyone. Very soon after arriving though I was chatting away to four people who I now count as very good friends and communicate with regularly outside the camp. John has become a big brother to me, and we choose to hunt together whenever the option arises, as we did at my first hunt camp. I’d never really hunted in Victoria but John was familiar with the area and had knowledge to share, so we headed out together to a block he had had success on in the past. It was late morning by the time we got to the end of the block and started along a track to take us on a loop through some bedding areas and back to the car. John and I had got to a split in the trail, he continued skirting the bedding area while I (overenthusiastically I believe, in John’s opinion) decided to take the main train smack through the beds. I’m glad I did. I was looking at my feet at some sign when I heard movement just ahead. I looked up and saw a lovely sambar spiker nosing around under a cherry tree not 30m ahead of me. It was a quick decision to raise my TIKKA T3 .270 and snap off a shot. ‘BOOM’ ,then all hell broke loose! I hadn’t seen the young stag behind the spiker and clearly neither of the deer knew what had happened because next minute I had a stag and spiker barrelling down the track towards me. The stag propped up and did a skid turn not 2m in front of me (in that second I thought, ‘funny …I didn’t think this is how I would die, bulldozed by stag… huh poetic’). The spiker followed, crash, crash…silence. I followed a few feet up the track and found blood. ‘YOOOSSS!’ John came jogging over through the bush. “That’s a beautiful sound!” he said as he gave me a big hug! I was shaking and repeating “I got him!”. We followed the trail for not 12m and found the spiker piled up, one shot to put him to sleep and it was done. It was so much fun and I’m so glad I got to experience it with someone who has become such a close friend.

How come you have so much skill in preparing a dinner for 10-15 people? I love cooking for my family, I just extrapolate it out from there. I kind of wing it most of the time. I like things to be organised and in their right place though, so that probably helps

Why would you recommend coming to ADA Camp Shelley? The ADA National Hunt Camp is inclusive, welcoming, so much fun and we can learn so much from the many lifetimes of hunting knowledge.

If you want more information in the ADA National Hunt Camps, go to the following link. We hope to welcome you very soon.

https://www.austdeer.com.au/NationalHuntingCamps