20+ Hours Of Travel -- The Final Hunt For Stag

Finally, after more than 20 hours of travel I'm home in Montana. With the long days hunting, it was a real rush to finish up the hunt and get to the airport. But the last hunt was incredible.

A strong wind was coming off the mountains as a low pressure front slid across the bottom of the south island. Finally the chopper was fixed -- a new tail rotor had been delivered from the States and tested (good idea). I really wanted to film some aerial footage of the mountains, lodge and wildlife. Flying was not an option with the high winds.

It was the last day. I was starting to worry. Stag was still on the menu so we worked through a couple of drainages figuring they would be down low and out of the wind. No luck. Back at the lodge we had lunch, but the pressure was on. We had to find a good stag.

As if scripted, the wind died down and the clouds moved off. I wanted chopper footage so Sam (also the resident copter pilot) brought the Robbins R22 up to the lodge. We pulled the door and I attached my harness to a hard point on the seat. Off over Mt Cecil Station we went -- filming fallow buck, hinds (red deer females) and even a few tahr females. We set up a few nice landscape aerials then did the obligatory lodge circling shot. Great light = great footage!

Back at the lodge Henry, our cameraman, said he hear stags roaring above the lodge. After a five minute run up with the Yamaha Rhino 4x4 we were high on the ridge above the lodge. We walked into the wind and through the grass tussocks. After working over a couple of minor drainages we spotted several stags feeding up the drainage.

It was a text-book stalk. Wind in our face. Lots of knee high grass tussocks for cover. We crawled to the edge of the ridge before it dropped into the drainage. The stags had no idea we were there. Sam picked out the largest -- he would go 340-350 inches and sport a rack with 7x8 points. I sat up with the silenced 300 win mag on shooting sticks. The shot was a mere 150 yards. The stag turned broadside. One shot and he dropped.

What a great way to end a 7 day hunt in New Zealand.

Next month I head to British Columbia for a spring black bear hunt with hounds along with a little turkey action.

Awesome Finish

Day 6 was pretty much a wash. After two back to back 15 hour days we took the AM off. The afternoon was spent looking for a big fallow buck. The fallow deer are in the peak of their rut (same as the red deer). They are loud buggers -- my Kiwi guide Sam Coulter calls the buck's grunt-like mating sound a "burp" or "croak." The bucks hang on steep ridge faces in thick brush. But the "burping" can be heard from a long way off. We saw five or six bucks, but a real nice one wouldn't give us a shot staying deep in cover.

Early yesterday morning, day 7, found us on a ridge face deep in brush listening to several fallow bucks "croak." We had two bucks down the ridge and one across the creek below. It was tough going. You had to be quiet. We ran into several red deer hinds (females). Luckily, they spooked below us and away from the two bucks on our ridge. Sam decided we needed to work down to get below the bucks. Slowly, we made our way through the brush and along the steep hillside. It was tough. Climbing down a steep hill, full of dead timber and loose soil. All along the bucks kept up a chorous of "burps." They were running hot fallow does.

Finally we were able to get into position just below one buck. He kept running in circles chasing does and pushing off young, immature bucks. After about ten minutes he came down hard after a small buck, "croaking" right into my sight. I had only about a two foot opening to thread a shot. Henry, our cameraman, said he had him. No time to waste I took him through the right shoulder with the 300 win mag -- topped with a silencer. He dropped 50 feet down the hill. It was a great stalk.

Tomorrow I'll give you the low down on my 350 inch red stag -- my reward for seven hard days of hunting.

5 solid days of NZ hunting

OK, been kidna hard to find time to write the last five days. We've been hunting Himalayan Tahr in some hardcore country. Days start at 4am, on the mountain by 5am for a 2-3 hour hike. Overall 14-15 hours on the mountain. We do 2000-3000 feet of vertical each morning. And it is straight up. Some of the trails are basically stairs (really built with wood). The tahr bulls are still in bachelor groups, but we are only a week or two from the rutt. Both my guide, Sam Coulton, and Kiwi cameraman Henry Coulton felt tahr and chamois decoys would do very well in the rutt. Sam said a chamois deocy would bring in a buck from across a mountain. A new project for Jerry at MT Decoy to work on.

Yesterday found ourselves in position on a group of 15+ bulls we had seen the day before. After a 45 minute hike down a ridge spine, and through some really thick brush, we were in position for a 400 yard shot. Yeah, sounds long, but 250-400 yards is fairly norm. Once in position the sun popped over the mountains and our tahr went to the brush -- eliminating any chance to shoot. After a half hour wait two bulls appeared on a ridge on our side of the drainage. Quickly, I made a good shot. The bull acted like he wasn't hit. I put two more 300 win mag rounds into him before he fell. Another long hike throuh thick brush we found the huge bodied bull down in a dry creek where he had fallen. He measured almost 13 inches and was every bit of 350 pounds. After all the regular work of skinning, pics, etc. we headed out.

We chose to go down to the creek only to find most of it impassible. Waterfalls and huge boulders blocked our way. We side-hilled through steep, unreal brush. It was tough going. After 4 hours we had only traveled maybe 1/2 mile from our shooting position -- still a long way from the truck. Sam Coulter, my guide, made the decision to hike straight up through more thick brush. It took us another 2 hours to get up to the top of the ridge. Then another 1.5 hours to the truck over the ridge tops. It was very dark when we arrived at the truck -- all of us quite spent.

An epic adventure for a huge Himalayan Tahr bull. Next up fallow deer in the rutt.

OK, what decoy did I take?

I'm hitting New Zealand's red stag roar (similar to elk rut). Should hit the peak of action. Jerry sent me his prototype "Miss September" feeding cow elk and I had a old cow elk rump decoy in my arsenal.

Sitting in LAX for my 4 hour layover.....then 13 hours to Auckland and 1 more to Christchurch.

Off To New Zealand With My Montana Decoy

OK, short flight from Kalispell to Salt Lake. Two hour layover. Almost two hour flight to LAX. 4 hour layover. Air New Zealand flight -- 13 hours to Auckland. 1 hour lay over. 1 hour flight to Christchurch. I hope Lindsay from Lindsay Fraser Safaris is not late picking me up at the airport.

Check out his website at www.trophystag.com

Tom

Off to New Zealand with my