HIDE HUNTING BOREDOM ‘TAKE TWO’

Back in 2020 I wrote a story for Australian Deer titled ‘Hide Hunting Boredom’ about the many hours spent sitting in wait over a dam for an elusive hog deer trophy.

During the 2020 and 2021 seasons I didn’t hunt much at all as it didn’t seem right that I could hunt on private land and most hunters couldn’t get out at all due to the Covid 19 pandemic. With fingers crossed, I was looking forward to the 2022 hog deer season and ‘Take 2’ of hide hunting.

In December 2021 I rethought my hide location and how best to hunt hog deer in coming seasons. It had been a wet spring and summer and, consequently, there had been enormous growth of fresh vegetation, both in the bush and in open areas, far more than I had seen in the previous 12 years that I owned the block. Because of the wet weather, there was almost always water laying somewhere, so water availability would not be an issue for the wildlife in this normally hungry and thirsty coastal area. Over the winter and spring, I had also been slashing metre-high grass to provide green grass pick for the wildlife, including any hog deer in the area.

During 2020 and 2021 my hide had remained overlooking the dam but with few daytime trail camera photographs of deer out in the open, the decision was made to move the hide back into the bush where deer would likely be more comfortable moving about in daylight. I also decided to make it higher for two reasons — to get my scent further above ground level and to increase my field of view.

The new stand was three-times the height of the old one but then the next question was where to place it to take full advantage of the resident deer. This was a hard decision with days spent walking around searching for likely locations and looking at hundreds of trail camera photos! Finally, I chose a spot 100 m back in cover overlooking a game trail that connected the clearing that had good feed with the dam. Then, with the stand in place, I created four shooting lanes radiating out from the hide. Each was 50 m in length and about four metres wide, with heavy bush in-between.

Within a few days of me creating the shooting lanes animals started using them to travel around the area, including foxes, kangaroos, hog deer, wallabies, cats and wombats. That seemed like a good omen for future hunting!

All this preparation occupied many weekends. Trail camera photos had helped me immensely in learning how animals were using the area and how many deer there were. In March, prior to the hunting season, it appeared that I was hosting three hinds, two calves, two young stags and a mature stag with wonky antlers.

I made my mind up years ago not to take any hog deer hinds or young deer so ‘Wonky’ had to be it, but success would likely be elusive. I had photos that were almost certainly Wonky from 2017 but only one photo of this unusual stag in daylight during the previous two years, and about 20 of him at night. He appeared as a ghost amongst hundreds of photos of the other deer.

So now everything was ready for Friday, April 1; Hog deer season! My wife, Helen, was going to open the shop for me that day so that I could be at the block by daylight. Great!

On Thursday work went crazy and with rain that night that continued through to Friday morning I decided to work rather than go hunting. Helen said I was in a grumpy mood. But despite work and the rain I put my rifle, ammunition, tags and a knife in the car; maybe I would go after work.

Friday was also mad at work, but at 4 pm I decided to go, and told Helen “I am going to the block and will sit till dark”. After a quick pack up, I shut the doors and gate and was on my way. Driving out, it rained on and off, with some wind and I thought “this will be a waste of time”.

At 5:30 I turned the motor off, changed my hat and jacket and grabbed my gear. This was the start of my season, and I had a month to get Wonky.

On the way to the hide there were ‘roos out feeding that took off in all directions. Meanwhile the rain had turned to drizzle, and the wind had dropped to a light breeze. I climbed the hide ladder, got my chair and rifle right and I was ready! The time was now 5.40 pm and the wait started.

My hide has small openings on the sides and front and a rear entry, so I was moving my head like a sideshow clown. After 35 minutes with no animals appearing, not even a rabbit, bird or mozzie, and with the breeze and drizzle having stopped, there was nothing to fill in the time and boredom started setting in. What can l do to make time go faster? My phone was the answer! I took a photo looking out the front of the hide and sent it to a mate.

Two minutes later it happened! Out of the corner of my eye and through the right side opening there was a glimpse of movement. It was a hog deer with antlers 40 m away. It was walking on an angle to the front opening but because of the corners of the hide I couldn’t see him anymore. Slowly I lifted the rifle to my shoulder pointing out the front of the hide and waited. Would he re-appear and was it one of the young stags? My thought was it had to be.

Then I saw movement just inside the cover in front and as it walked out it was ‘Wonky’, the one I wanted. Shit, stay calm, crosshairs on the shoulder, trigger squeezed. Nothing happened, not a thing! Shit, safety on! Now with safety off, crosshairs still on the spot, trigger squeezed again. Bang, he was down 45 m away. You bloody ripper! Yahoo!

My only excuse for the safety on is years of hunting and only taking the safety off as I lift the firearm. Or was it excitement?

I sat the rifle down and started climbing out of the hide. With phone in one hand, I rang my mate of three minutes earlier, yelling “I got him, I got him!” He responded “What, Wonky?” I said “Yes, yes!” and then my phone cut out.

I was on the ground now and with a fast walk I was sitting with the stag. To say I was over the moon and quite emotional is an under-statement. It was 6.19 pm and I sat there for some time reflecting on the years it took to get here and on the animal before me.

With no camera, just my phone for photos and the battery now flat, I ran back to the car and plugged it in to recharge. Driving back, I could not stop yelling “I have done it”. With photos taken and the deer dressed and cleaned it was time to load him, but no matter how hard I tried he was too heavy to lift.

“The tractor, I will get it” I thought. As I was walking to it, I wondered “Will it start or not?” as sometimes the battery is flat. Luckily it turned the engine over and started and I was able to lift the stag onto the tray of my ute.

It was the end to my 2022 hog deer season with a great trophy and some venison that had been 12 years in making. I had finally achieved my goal of taking a stag off my block of land. Something that I will always remember. Boredom can change in a few minutes; this time about 39 minutes!

- Peter McDonell