could have a look and check him
out. It didn’t take him long to
realise why I was putting in so
much time on this guy. Andy
had never seen one this good and
he works on the property nearly
every day.
That damned boundary fence
once again prevented me from
getting a shot at him. He was so
close, yet so far. Despite waiting
him out for an hour or so, Andy
had work to do, so I reluctantly left
him yet again.
After a two-day break to settle
things down, I was out for an arvo
hunt with my girlfriend’s brother.
Nothing great showed up on my
side, so we glassed next door.
100m from where I saw the big
fella two days before, lay a fresh16 | SPORTING SHOOTER _ APRIL 2015
That damned boundary
fence once again
prevented me from
getting a shot at him.”
3
away according to the rangefinder.
He still had about 15 does with
him too, which wasn’t what I was
expecting this long after the rut.
It was 8.30am and I had nothing
else important to do, so I sat back
to watch and wait and see what he
would do. Well, eight hours later
I was still there and he and his
girls had only moved 300m all
day, but no closer to my side of the
fence. I waited until dark, then
headed for home – this buck was
starting to piss me off!
One week after my all-day
stake out, it was my birthday
and I couldn’t help but go for a
birthday hunt. I needed some luck
and I thought what a great
birthday present it would be to
finally nail him. My girlfriend
mentioned the same thing,
although I think she just wanted
the whole thing to end as it had
now been going on for five months
and I think she was over it.
I hit the crop paddock at first
light trying to catch some hungry
deer on it, but no luck. I changed
course and hunted a section of the
property where I had seen the big
fella for the second time with my
brother. As I topped a rise, the
country opened up and I sat and
glassed the area. Plenty of roos,
then in between some trees, I
spotted some deer – a few does
plus some antlers, big antlers. My
8x binos didn’t have the guts to
check him out properly, but the
200x digital zoom on my camera
did, which acts as a cheap and not
so clear spotting scope. It worked
though and confirmed my
suspicions – it was him. To top it
off, he was finally on my side of
the fence, so it was definitely
game on! Numerous plans racedON THIS
PAGE3
Reid’s buck
right side.deer carcass with its head
removed. I was gutted. Same
colour, same area, I was sure my
old mate was now on someone
else’s wall. I wanted to jump the
fence and go and have a look, but
it was pointless really – with no
antlers, it could have been any old
deer and in the end, it was.
I lost a little bit of momentum
after the headless deer episode, but
I still looked for him, ever hopeful.
I didn’t care if he was next door, I
just wanted to lay eyes on him again.
May rolled around and it wasn’t
until late May that I saw him
again, despite plenty of looking
earlier in the month. I had the day
off work and was in the paddock
at first light yet again. Once again,
he was next door, but only 370mFA LLOW
DEER