I have always been a very passionate hunter. Starting off young and hunting rabbits with my dad and a recurve, to hunting goats and pigs with compound bows with my mates in the hills around Corryong and western New South Wales. Eventually, I progressed to hunting sambar, going off whatever information I could get my hands on, from magazine articles, to word of mouth or just spending time in the bush and learning as I went.
I have been a member of the Australian Deer Association for over 10 years, originally joining the Melbourne branch, and have always enjoyed attending the meetings, the presentations and the branch hunts with a few of my mates from the area. But after selling up and moving to the Mornington Peninsula I found it harder and harder to try and catch up with the other guys and eventually stopped attending meetings altogether.
One day, while visiting Moroka.30, I was having a chat with Daz and Rob about how I knew no hunters from this area, and they suggested I attend the ADA Westernport meeting that night, promising to introduce me to some of the members.
After quickly striking up conversation with a few people around the barbecue and getting to know some local hunters, I found it an open and welcoming atmosphere and began attending regular meetings and branch hunts as well as volunteering to help where I could. A few years later the opportunity arose to join the committee, and I thought it was my time to try to give back to the branch that had been so welcoming and provided me with many good times and great friends.
There have been a few hunting highlights for me as a committee member over the past year, but one of the most memorable was the opportunity to help a good mate and work colleague, Geoff Vallance, take his first sambar.
Geoff had caught the sambar bug — an awfully contagious thing — after listening to my hunting stories and plans for the upcoming weekends. He had always been an avid outdoorsman and wanted to get involved in hunting deer. After acquiring the essential gear, joining the branch and educating himself on sambar, Geoff attended his first branch hunt, which he claimed to be his first “real” sambar hunt.
Day one was a bit of a false start. After finding a few deer and running through a few basics like bruised plants, using the wind and fresh prints, we spotted a small stag at the bottom of a gully. I signalled to Geoff and whispered for him to find a comfortable spot and prepare to take the shot. Watching the scene play out through my scope, I sat patiently, but after a while there was still no ‘BOOM’. I turned slowly, not wanting to distract an in-the-zone Geoff from his task. Rather, what I saw was Geoff sitting with his fingers in his ears, staring ahead intently and wondering why I hadn’t taken the shot yet.
After a minute of staring at each other I explained I was waiting for him to shoot and I was just watching. Needless to say, he got a bit of a stir-up that night at camp.
So, we ended up watching this stag feed off and disappear into thick cover, all from under 50 meters away. As frustrated as he was, Geoff was also completely stoked to just be seeing deer in the bush.
The next day he was focused, the game plan was clear, and we were able to get a deer down after only about two hours. It was a perfect scene and this time there was no confusion. As the deer travelled up from a creek below us, Geoff took a rest against a tree and delivered a perfect shot. The animal was recovered and after a quick field butchering demo we were on our way back to camp with big smiles and packs full of meat.
It was great to see the atmosphere at camp that night, with everyone sharing their experiences of the day, a few beers, a great feed and a lot of laughs.
I’ve also shared some great trips with another mate I made through the branch and a fellow committee member, Marty Phillips. From his dog, Kita, learning how to change gears in my ute while we were driving, to carrying a stag out in the dark for a few kilometres with only one backup headlamp between us after having hunted hard most of the day and taking it with only one hour of light left, Marty and I have definitely shared some good laughs and had some great trips away — even if he does tell everyone I keep stealing his deer.
Even if the hunt isn’t easy going, having a good mate there to have a laugh with always makes the load on the back feel a little bit lighter, and the walk back to the ute a bit more enjoyable.
Overall, participating within the association and contributing where I can has been a very rewarding experience for me. It has introduced me to new friends and provided me with experiences I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise. I really enjoy catching up with everyone at the meetings and expos and seeing new people growing into their abilities, and the new friendships being formed.
I look forward to watching the association grow and making more memories in the years to come.
Contributed by James Bath.
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