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Hunting with Hamish from Muddy Waters

Geoff Leave a comment

New Zealand is a land of practically unlimited hunting opportunities – for those who know where to look and how to get there. However, if you live in suburbia, or you’re new to hunting, it can be really hard to get into it and pick up the skills you need to be confident going out solo. It was for this very reason that I took my wife, Kassie, to Muddy Waters to hunt her first deer.

Getting there

Muddy Waters is about 35 mins north west of Whanganui. We travelled from Pukekohe, and total drive time was 5 hours 45 mins, with the best rest stops along SH4 being Otorohanga, Te Kuiti, Taumaranui or Whanganui if you need the luxuries of a bigger town (fast food, petrol station, etc). Although you’re driving south, you do end up going west and then north again, as the location is up a road that has no northern access. This ends up being one of the great features of the block , as it is hemmed in by native bush and other large farms, with no encroaching suburbs or human population. All this means better conditions for the fallow deer that the Whanganui region is known for.

Your last 25 mins or so are on a metaled road with lots of twists and turns, so take it easy, you’re almost there

The Muddy Waters experience

I’ve been to Muddy Waters a few times now, but when I took Kassie there it was my first time there too. The GPS took us a little past the gate, and we backtracked and found our way. We drove down to the woolshed, where we met Hamish and discussed our plan for the hunt. With a little bit of daylight left, it was decided that the best course of action was to do a quick sight in / zero check, settle in for the night, and hit the hills in the morning.

Kassie was shooting my Tikka 6.5×55, which you may have seen a few times on our social media pages or in other articles on this website. We had just switched to ELD-M handloads, as they had only been out a couple years at this point. I was shooting a sporterised Swedish Mauser in 6.5×55 as well, shooting factory Federal ammo.

I checked zero on a kill-zone sized steel gong at 200 metres, as I hadn’t used the ammo before. This zero-checking exercise is also Hamish’s opportunity to identify how comfortable a shooter is taking a reasonable hunting shot. When I put a couple rounds on target, Hamish said “Oh, you guys can shoot, that’s going to make my life a bit easier”.

Kassie then immediately showed her skill, as she stacked two rounds on top of each other, sparks flying off the steel in the fading light. “Oh shit, you can really shoot!” Hamish exclaimed. Yeah, I was a proud husband at this point… Zeros confirmed, we packed away the rifles and saved the rest of our ammo.

If you’re driving from further afield, like us, you may want to pay the bit extra to stay the night and be fresh for your  hunt (or your drive home). The woolshed has a bunk house attached, with four bunks, a reasonable kitchen facility and a shower and toilet. After a quick packed dinner, a couple beers and plenty of yarns, we turned in to get some rest.

Kassie with the fully suppressed Tikka 6.5×55 and her first deer – a well-conditioned doe

Being early June, the crisp weather and short daylight hours meant deer would likely be out grazing most of the day, catching sun where possible. We ambled out after a coffee, without too much pressure on time, and took a quick ride in the side-by-side to the back of the block to start scouting around. I couldn’t believe how many deer were around, and we passed some beautiful looking bucks, but we were there for a meat hunt, not a trophy animal.

It’s easy to forget how much elevation you’ve gained from sea level, but on a clear day the views from the hilltops are outstanding. You can see all the way to snowcapped peaks of Ruapehu in one direction, and out to the sea on the west coast in the other.

After leaving the vehicle we walked a winding track, up and down ridges and gullies, keeping the bush edge largely on our left. After a while we reached the area we had planned to hunt, and passing through the gate we were told it was time to keep quiet and load up our rifle magazines. From here it wasn’t long before Hamish indicated to get low. We started to crouch and move into position, looking into the next valley. Luckily we had the wind in our favour, as the mob of deer ahead of us started to move up towards us and to our left, but at a steady, walking pace – definitely not spooked.

As we were on the side of a hill, with the slope going up to our right, there was no way to get a comfortable prone position. Kassie quietly got into a sitting position, and took a clean shoulder / heart shot on a nice fat doe at 180 metres. Hamish did mention afterwards it’s not the kind of shot he would usually advocate a beginner hunter taking (in terms of distance and position), but having seen her shoot the night before, he was confident in her ability.

I, on the other hand, managed to do the exact opposite. We left Kassie’s doe to peak over the top of the hill we were sitting on, and Hamish pointed out a scrubby looking buck. “Bro, that’s a cull – take him out”. I was stoked to get to take a shot at my first buck, considering we had paid for 2x meat animals, so this was a bit of a bonus.

Maybe it was the nerves, maybe it was something else, but I pulled the shot left and instead of hitting him in the chest (he was facing us), my round broke his rear right leg. He dropped for a half second and started running / limping off. What was a relatively easy 100 metre shot, quickly turned into trying to dispatch a running deer at over 200 metres, as he rounded a hill and broke line of sight.

This shot was not a good one, and ended up leading to chasing a wounded animal. Not my finest moment

Having lost confidence in my rifle, and not wanting to go back to my pack for more ammo, I grabbed the Tikka off Kassie, and Hamish and I went after the wounded animal. I had a sick feeling in my gut, thinking the poor thing would end up caught caught on a fence, or slowly wasting away, so I was deeply encouraged when Hamish spotted a tiny drop of blood and a piece of shattered bone. At this point it had been about 10 minutes or so, and I was worried we may not see the buck again.

We climbed to the top of a nearby hill to get a better vantage, and we continuously scanned the area where we thought he may have broken for the bush edge. It had now been about 15 or 20 minutes, and I was almost certain the deer had made it to the bush and disappeared. Trying to find it in there was not going to be any fun.

Out of the corner of my eye, I picked up on some asymmetric movement, it was the limping gait of the buck that gave away its position, as it was perfectly camouflaged against a backdrop of felled trees. My heart was racing again, as he was less than 100 metres from entering the bush and dropping over a ridge, where we would have struggled to find him. Feeling more confident in my rifle, but still doubting myself, I took a few deep breaths and pulled the trigger on the 285 metre downhill shot. The buck dropped on the spot, the projectile having gone through half of his body and dumping a huge amount of energy before coming to a stop inside the front right shoulder.

This was the first animal I had not killed cleanly (and so far the only one – fingers crossed), and I was so fortunate to have a good guide with tracking ability, patience and sound advice. I was feeling elated at having shot my first buck, regaining the animal, and also having pulled off a decent shot after such a shocker. We talked through what had happened as we walked back to where Kassie was waiting.

Wrapping up

Now it was time to retrieve and gut our two animals – we were taking them out skin on, to protect the meat on the long ride home, before dropping them off for processing at Counties Custom Killing in Bombay. Hamish guided us through his technique of gutting a deer, which has been refined on hundreds of hunts, and is still the way I gut deer today. Being a fairly new hunter myself, this was invaluable to learn.

Kassie was first up and got stuck in, making a bit of a face when she was elbows deep in the body cavity. She was determined to do the whole job herself, and did well. We stuck the heart up in a nearby tree, and then Hamish and Kassie carried the deer out to the track, where we could get it later on the side-by-side.

A helping hand for a quick carry down to the track
Glad we caught up with him in the end. The shot was downhill as the buck was walking away from us, so went in from the top of the ribs and passed through the vitals and into the shoulder

After getting the vehicle and loading up Kassie’s deer and the rifles, we drove over to where my buck was and it was my turn. Having watched and listened to Hamish’s instructions on the first deer, I tried to incorporate as many of his tips and tricks as possible, and we quickly finished up with our second deer ready to go. I was really impressed when I used my rangefinder from the deer to our position on the hill and found it to be almost exactly the range Hamish had given me when I took the shot. Hamish’s range estimation was done with pure skill and knowledge of the land, so that was a very good indication of just how good a guide he is.

Returning to the woolshed, we hung the deer up in a cool store while we washed up and got ready to go. It was barely past lunch time, and we’d had a full hunting experience – the benefit of having a great guide, with local knowledge. The ride home seemed shorter than the trip down, as we chatted about what went right, and what went wrong, and what delicious small goods and steak cuts we were going to get done. If I’m honest, it wasn’t too long before Kassie fell asleep in the passenger seat, but I was in my own world anyway, thinking about the next time I’d get back there.

It’s been a while

Hamish describing the feel of a windpipe, and how to pull it through

This was three and a half years ago, and I’ve gone back a few times since, once to take my younger brothers out for a hunt, once to stock up the freezer, and most recently for the Crosshairs ELR course, held on the same property. Unfortunately 2021 hasn’t been the best year for getting out and about hunting, but I feel like I need to make another trip down that way soon…

Are there really that many deer?

Yes. There are bloody heaps. Manawatu-Whanganui has a fallow deer problem like northern Taranaki has a goat problem. If you go out with Hamish, you will likely pass multiple animals just getting to the spot you want to start your hunt from.

Are fallow deer good for first time hunters?

Yes, fallow are a great animal to hunt for your first time. They are a fair bit smaller than red deer, so are easy to process and / or carry out, especially if you are learning or getting fit. Unlike other deer species in New Zealand they almost exclusively eat grass. This means they are often considered to be the best tasting venison, so you can share your hard-earned kai with non-hunters without them turning their nose up at a gamey flavour. Or not. You’re probably not going to want to share…

Having such a predictable diet also makes them easier to locate when hunting, if you know the local terrain and likely feed spots.

Once you’ve picked up some knowledge and head out on your own, fallow is a great target species, often found at the boundaries of DOC land and farms (be careful to be on the right side of the fence).

Is Muddy Waters only for beginner hunters?

Not at all. It’s a really good environment to learn in, and especially to pick up hunting skills if you haven’t had the opportunity to do this with friends and family. However, it’s equally good for more advanced hunters to have a casual meat hunt with some mates, or if you want to nab a trophy buck.

Given that the hunting is so good, you can also use the opportunity to test your equipment out for harder missions, or tick off bucket list activities. For example, a couple years ago I took my longest range shot on a deer at Muddy Waters, and this year Graeme from Taranaki Long Range Shooting achieved his goal of taking down a deer with an original condition Lee Enfield No1 MkIII.

Muddy Waters can also accommodate very accessible hunting, so if a long hike is something that is difficult for you for whatever reason, this could be a prime way to get into hunting.

Is Muddy Waters fair chase hunting?

Absolutely. While you have very high odds, due to the sheer number of animals in the area, it is up to you to hunt and shoot effectively. The deer are not fenced in, and migrate freely between the native bush, the beef and sheep farm Muddy Waters is located on, and the neighbouring properties too. Free range, fair chase, ethical hunting.

Hamish maintains a really good line of genetics in the herd by culling out animals which may not have the best coats or antlers – these animals are targeted for meat hunts. So even though the animals are not a farmed herd, they do benefit from superior genetics surviving multiple seasons, which means you can call up Hamish and talk about a hunt for a prime trophy buck.

What do I need to hunt at Muddy Waters?

Not much. Take a sleeping bag and pillow if you’re going overnight. Appropriate clothing and footwear (including wet weather gear), food, snacks and water. But otherwise, talk to Hamish about what you want to take. He does have a rifle that can be loaned to clients if you don’t have your own, or want to take a new hunter with you.

How do I book a hunt and what does it cost?

You can reach Hamish on the Muddy Waters Facebook page, or by email to enquire about bookings and pricing. At time of writing there is a special rate on meat hunts due to high deer numbers.

Guided hunt with Richard from Balnagown Hunting

Geoff 1 Comment

I think I need to start this article off by saying my wife is awesome. Not only for all the usual reasons, but also because she’s very understanding of my shooting habit (habit, not hobby – I am addicted). So, for Father’s Day this year my one year old son, with a bit of help from my wife, booked me a hunting trip with Richard from Balnagown Hunting.

Before the start of October rolled around, I was able to get out for a day with Richard, and spend some time on his amazing property, appreciating some great game animals and other wildlife.

I’d already been to Richard’s place, when I attended one of Kerry’s Deer Processing courses, where Richard shared his knowledge on how to gut and skin a deer efficiently. Country Meat Processors were also there, and showed us how to butcher an animal that had been hung for an appropriate length of time (i.e. we didn’t butcher the deer we had just skinned).

Anyway, I digress. I punched the familiar address into my phone and commenced the 1 hour 13 minute drive from my place in Pukekohe, to Balnagown, which is just a bit further than Kaukapakapa.

Richard assured me beforehand that he had everything I needed, so don’t go out buying new stuff if I didn’t have anything on hand. This is great for any new hunters who don’t have the spare cash to get flash camo gear, or who don’t know what they might want to invest in long term.

Is this what they mean by finding "sign"?
Is this what they mean by finding “sign”?

However, I came fully prepared and met Richard at the Wool Shed, where we compared our Tikka rifles and had a general chat. He took me through his safety and hunting procedures, focusing on when to load up, who will be loaded at what time, and when your finger touches the trigger, as well as reloading immediately after taking your shot. After signing in and enjoying a coffee, we checked each other’s rifles were unloaded and went for a walk.

Richard had been telling me about some previous clients who had spotted a deer 5 minutes into their hunt and wanted to take a shot. Of course Richard told them to hold on, and get a bit more out of the experience than a 5 minute walk into the pines. He reckons they were fishermen, and that a catch in the first 5 mins certainly wouldn’t be thrown back. And I get that, but after putting so much time and effort into preparing for a hunt and a hike through nature, shooting in the first 5 mins and heading home within an hour seems like a waste of an experience to me.

Well, true enough, we bumped into some deer within the first 10 minutes. We came across a couple that Richard spotted with well-trained eyes, and we watched them for a bit before moving on. He pointed out some does and fawns in a paddock as we progressed along the edge of the forest/bush hunting area and rounded our way into a block of pine that Richard planted when he first bought the property.

The well-established trees and dry, brown pine needles provided perfect cover for the fallow deer in between their winter and summer coats. In fact I spotted a buck across the pine block, but he was so well camouflaged that I had to check with Richard if I had seen right, or if my eyes were deceiving me.

See a deer?
See a deer?
How about now?
How about now?

As we exited the pines along a ridge, Richard shared his technique for spotting deer in a valley from behind a ridgeline, without being made out by the deer. Not only the deer down there, but also the animals across the valley on the opposite shoulder, who might see us and bolt, alerting our quarry to our presence.

We could see a few animals here and there across the valley and around the opposite ridge, and we decided to keep going around the edge of the property, through some native bush, and circle back to a purpose-built blind where we could hopefully spot some animals to stalk up on.

We kept low as we transitioned from the pine block over the spine of the hill and into the bush. We spotted some fat wood pigeons and had a chat about possums and rats, when all of a sudden we saw ahead a beautiful doe, on the larger side, standing broadside in the middle of a clearing. We hushed and kept still, observing the animal and seeing if she had spotted us.

Watching and listening under the native canopy was great - try spot the fat wood pigeon!
Watching and listening under the native canopy was great – try spot the fat wood pigeon!

Unaware of our presence, she continued to graze and Richard whispered, “That’s not what we’re after.” We continued to observe for a couple minutes. “Don’t worry,” I eventually replied. “I’m not in a hurry.” I was there for the full experience of Richard’s guidance, and there was still plenty more ground to cover. From what I had seen of Richard in the Deer Processing course, I knew this man had a wealth of knowledge to share. I certainly wasn’t going to get gung ho and pick off an animal an hour in, just to pack up and get home by lunchtime.

We quietly moved off into the bush and made our way south west, keeping our eyes open for sign and animals. After a while we came to a clearing with some very fresh droppings, obviously where some animals had camped the night before. Richard quickly spotted a few deer amongst some dead gorse. I can’t reiterate enough how good his eyes and instincts are. It took me an age to find them, looking off in completely the wrong area. Even when I did find them keeping them in sight amongst the dead, dust-coloured gorse was definitely a challenge.

There was a buck flanked by two spikers, and Richard urged me get my rifle in place and crawl up behind it, while he kept low and spotted for me. The wind was in our favour, gusting gently at around 7 or 10 mph, straight into our faces. There was no way they could smell us.

We waited about 10 or 15 mins for them to move into a clearer patch amongst the gorse and ti trees, when Richard told me to quietly and slowly shift behind another bit of vegetation where I’d have a better shot. Once in position, I realised I had nowhere near enough elevation to make the shot at the deer which were higher than us, unless I want to try an unsupported shot, but there’s no way I could hold that position for 10 or 20 minutes and make a good shot.

I whispered that I was going to shift back a foot or two, so my body was on a better incline behind the rifle. With the bipod at full extension, I now had a good view of the deer. We waited another 10 minutes, sitting silently and stationary, with the wind in our face. Everything was in our favour, with nothing to do but wait for a clean shot.

Then they bolted.

The buck did a quick sidestep and ducked into the bush and out of sight, with the two spikers hot on his heels. Richard laughed. “They’ve got a sixth sense.” He said. And they certainly do. He couldn’t have heard us or seen us, but something didn’t feel right and he decided to get out of there. “That’s why he’s still alive,” Richard said, “Clever buggers…”

Richard has a knack for decorating.
Richard has a knack for decorating.

Richard’s admiration for the animals he hunts was clearly evident throughout the day, as he discussed how intelligent and aware they were. His knowledge of their habits was equally impressive.

We picked up our bits and pieces and moved off along the edge of the property to see if we could come across the three males again. We did spot some very fresh sign, but they were gone. And the cheeky sods obviously led us through the gorse. Thankfully not too much of it. We continued through the bush, and pushed through to a large downhill slope, thinly dotted with trees. At the bottom of the hill I could see Richard’s blind.

We meandered our way down and took a seat for a while, glassing the valley to see if there were any animals worth stalking up on. There were a few groups of does and fawns, but no good game animals immediately apparent. We had a bit of a chat and Richard told me about some of his older clients who aren’t up for a long trek through the bush, and how they sat patiently in the blind with coffee and snacks and waited for deer to come into range. Not what you think of when you think of New Zealand hunting, but hey, if I still wanted to get an animal every year when I’m 80 and my legs wouldn’t take me through the bush, maybe I’d do the same.

I was told to take a rest while Richard went off to scout for a few minutes. I pulled out my Vortex Ranger 1500 and spent some time practising estimating distances, and then confirming with the range finder. I won’t say what my strike rate was, but I am improving! I had a bit of water and watched as two swallows decided to play fight around the blind.

The Vortex ranger proved handy throughout the day, lining up potential shots, and was also good fun to test myself against during down time.
The Vortex ranger proved handy throughout the day, lining up potential shots, and was also good fun to test myself against during down time.

After a while, I began to wonder where my guide had got to. He was quiet, and invisible. Eventually, he came back, but the report wasn’t good. Although he managed to sight a fair few animals across the valley, no groups had any decent spikers, they were mostly concentrations of does and fawns.

So, we made the decision to leave the blind and climb up a ridge to look into the next valley. It was good to get moving again, even if it had only been 20 minutes or so. It wasn’t long before we were out of the trees and covering some open ground uphill to our next position. All the while, a trio of Paradise ducks had decided to fly overhead in a holding pattern, squawking away our position to every creature under the sun. Before long, we had crested the hill, taking care to peek over the top, looking for game.

After a couple furtive glances over the top, we concluded everything on four legs had retired beyond the tree line, and so we moved on a bit before taking a seat and glassing the valley. On the way, Richard showed a patch of fence that had seen better days. “Bucks have been fighting here,” he pointed out.

We sat for a while, looking over at a handful of goats to our left, seeing if a deer or two would give away its position by interacting with them. No such luck. Keeping an eye on the tree line across the valley, we saw a deer come out a couple times in the same spot, but no further activity. We glassed a bit and I played around with the rangefinder, estimating distances to where we saw the deer, the opposite side of the valley, and checking out the goats too. We took a guess at the distance to the goats, and were both surprised it came in at 103 metres.

“Doesn’t seem like a whole rugby field between us and them, does it?” I asked. “That’s just what I was thinking!,” replied Richard. It was interesting to note how the changes in terrain made distances hard to estimate.

We continued to see if there’d be any more activity at the valley floor where we saw the deer before, swapping stories. Richard told me how he had come to acquire his land, and how different it was trying to get a home or a slice of paradise back then, compared to now. Both challenging times, but different challenges. We even ended up talking politics, work, and all sorts of nonsense. The deer didn’t come out again and the goats weren’t being the deer-Judas they might have been.

So we picked up again, and rounded the shoulder of the hill, getting ready to tackle this last stand of native bush before heading in for lunch and trying our luck again. After getting under cover and out of the midday sun, it wasn’t long before our eyes adjusted and a couple young spikers made themselves apparent. Richard confirmed I was loaded and indicated for me to take the lead and begin stalking cover to cover to get a clear shot. As I progressed to cover, trying to keep the trees between myself and the deer, I realised we had walked around into the wind, and it was no longer in our favour. Thankfully it was still for the moment, but any puff of wind would carry our scent right towards our waiting quarry. The wind was the least of our concerns, as the closest spiker saw or heard a bit of movement from my direction and decided to skip along a bit.

They hadn’t seen me yet, but they were aware of my presence, or at least the presence of something that wasn’t there before. The pair went down towards a stream, putting more cover between themselves and my rifle. Over the next ten minutes of tiptoeing through the fallen leaves and branches I spotted them twice more, but only briefly each time, before they got spooked enough to run off where I couldn’t see them or catch up to them.

By this point I had descended about halfway down to the stream, and Richard was waiting a bit higher up towards the tree line. I signalled to him to see if he still had eyes on the two animals, but he shook his head. I wandered up to his position, thrilled from the chase, but annoyed I couldn’t quite close the gap.

We headed towards the bottom of the valley, and Richard gave me some pointers on stalking while we walked down. “Don’t look at the deer,” he said. “You know where they are. Just walk directly to your cover, keeping the tree between you and them – you can re-check their location when you get there.”

We talked a bit as we walked, but mostly in a low whisper. There were plenty of animals in this patch of wood, taking shelter from the heat of the day, browsing amongst the fallen leaves. Some movement ahead revealed the location of a few deer.

Right. On point again.

We weren’t far, maybe 150 metres away when we spotted the group moving around their grazing spot. I went forward, remembering Richard’s advice, moving from cover to cover in a straight line. Richard stayed back with his binos, keeping an eye on the deer. I turned back once I had reached the small group of trees to see if Richard still had the animals in his sight. He had his phone out, taking pictures or a video of me approaching the group. So I took that as a yes. No pressure!

From where I stood, I was definitely close enough to take a shot. I knelt down next to a small tree, holding the forend of the rifle against the trunk with my left hand, creating a rough and ready support. I looked through the Diamondback 4-12×40 scope, and moved the magnification ring up to about 6 power so I could get a clear picture of the deer amongst the dry, brown foliage. I had a quartering shot on a smaller animal, but it didn’t feel great. The deer was moving around slightly as it nosed through the leaves and undergrowth. I didn’t want to take a desperate shot and risk shooting it in the hind quarters if it decided to turn. I knew the 140 gr ELD-M was leaving my 6.5×55 fast enough to shatter the leg and hip bones if struck there, meaning the deer wouldn’t get far and a follow up shot would be needed, but I preferred to make a clean shot that would minimise suffering for the animal, and do less damage to the meat as well.

As I was thinking all this, the deer made up my mind for me and turned to follow a couple old does off to my right. I tracked them in my scope until they came to a stop, but now I had a new problem. The multitude of native trees made for great cover for me, but also got in the way of a clean shot. Time to move.

I headed towards another small group of trees that would keep me from view, but allow me an unobstructed view of the browsing deer. I was almost to my chosen cover when a smaller doe turned around a tree, and looked straight up at me. She stood stock still. Okay, she hadn’t seen me, but she certainly saw or heard my movement. Now I had a decision to make. This young deer obviously hadn’t developed the experience of the older animals, and was still curious enough to try and figure out what was going on, when a deer a couple years older would have done a little jump and buggered off, taking the whole group with them. How much time did I have to take this shot? There was no way to try and take cover and wait for the group to present a better animal. The ponga next to me wasn’t exactly going to hide my 6’2” and 100kg frame.

Standing square on to the animal and with no support in sight, an offhand standing shot was not looking like a great idea, as I would have been way to unstable. Taking the time to move my feet into position and raise the rifle would be all the time the doe needed to make up her mind that she didn’t like the look of me. So, I tried the opposite. I slowly sat back, keeping my upper body as motionless as possible. I felt my water bottle get in the way, and wasn’t sure if I’d get a good seated position with it hanging off the back of my belt. Screw it, I was going to try anyway. I put as much weight on the bottle as possible without making a noise or unbalancing myself. Not bad. I won’t put my water bottle there again, but I was stable enough.

I was still square to the deer, with my feet out in front of me. I slowly lifted the rifle to my cheek and got my elbows settled into the tops of my legs, just behind the knee caps. Feeling pretty stable and good about my position and shot, I took the Tikka off safe with a slight move of my right thumb.

All of this positioning took seconds, even though it felt like I was moving at a glacial pace. I now had a good view. I felt calm and my breathing was good, as I had taken my time to settle into the shot. The young doe continued to look in my direction, but still not quite making me out amongst the low scrub.

Looking through the Vortex scope I could see the deer standing basically broadside to me, on a slight angle, with her head up and looking in my direction. I definitely only had a few seconds to decide on taking this shot or giving away my position and letting the group get away. An older doe walked behind the one I was glassing, and I was tempted to switch targets, given her much larger size, but the small break in the trees that I was aiming through wouldn’t allow me to shift enough to the right. The older doe moved on, heading towards my right, and I continued to check out the smaller animal.

There was a something in the way of my shot, right around the heart and lungs. I backed the scope out to 4 power and got a bit of a better focus, given the short range I’d stalked up to. The brown blob in my way was just a bunch of leaves. That’s fine, I knew where this shot was going, I could see enough of the animal. I focused on my breathing for a second, exhaled and squeezed the trigger on my Tikka.

The sound of the shot sent the rest of the animals running. I counted 6, Richard reckons 7. And I only saw 2 or 3 when stalking in. Damn these animals can camouflage. The doe dropped on the spot, falling backwards into the leaves, exposing her white belly. I watched her, knowing she wasn’t going to move at all, but I remembered to reload again anyway and continued to watch the animal for a few seconds. Richard walked up and congratulated me on the shot, shaking my hand after I had unloaded the rifle and picked up my stray piece of Norma brass (wasn’t going to leave that behind).

I put the magazine and brass in my Hunter’s Element pouch, which sat on my left hip, and pulled out the Vortex Ranger 1500. I placed the illuminated crosshair over the white belly of the doe – 53 metres. No, not a long range shot, the challenge was in stalking up close to the group. I was happy with that. I could only imagine the thrill of the chase for a bow hunter, who gets within feet of his prey. Speaking of which, Richard was talking about opening up a bow only hunting area, but that’s another story.

I walked over from my shooting position, and inspected the animal while Richard took a couple photos for me. As I was walking over I could hear a motor start up and a quad bike heading in our direction. When I got to the deer and inspected the shot placement, I was happy with what I saw. Below the spine and in line with the shoulder, the shot, taken from a higher elevation, had passed through the lung and left a decent sized exit hole on the other side, gushing blood from the wound.

A decent exit wound on this lung shot, thanks to the Hornady ELD-M.
A decent exit wound on this lung shot, thanks to the Hornady ELD-M.

The 6.5mm 140 gr Hornady ELD-M travelling at 2740 fps was probably overkill for this size animal, and a .223 or .243 could easily have done the job, but I was happy with the clean, emphatic kill.

We only had a 100 metres or so to go the edge of the tree line, were Richard expected his son was driving their quad to meet us. We dragged the deer downhill, talking about shot placement and other bits and pieces as we went. I was still buzzing from that stalk.

We got there in a few minutes, and did a final unload and show clear, as Richard’s son pulled up on the quad. He had been preparing lunch when he heard the shot, and decided to come and pick us up. The deer was tied to the front, and we climbed on the back with the rifles, heading towards the hunting hut where we had previously done the meat processing course with Richard, and Kerry from The Bloke.

As we pulled up, there was water on the boil for a cup of coffee, and a good ol’ Kiwi BBQ spread being put on. Our timing couldn’t have been better! I washed the blood off my hands, took off my water bottle and belt bag, and sat down for a hot meal and a coffee with Richard’s family. We discussed the day’s events and other items, and before the others left and Richard and I got to gutting and skinning the deer. It had been a while since I had seen Richard’s pretty awesome technique, so I was glad to get another opportunity to learn this part of his process. If you’re ever looking to learn a bit more or refine your gutting/skinning method, one of the Hunter Education courses is certainly worth the time and money.

We packed the carcass into a vehicle and cleaned off our knives, hands, and the covered deck area where we had hung up the deer. I received a quick tour around the hut and some new “glamping” accommodation Richard was building, overlooking a waterfall and some native bush. From there, we headed back to the main house and my vehicle, my day of hunting complete. Given that I was going to be back in the area in a week, Richard kindly offered to take my deer down to Country Meat Processors in Kaukapakapa for processing into steaks and mince.

Overall, the day was fantastic, and I can see how Balnagown Hunting attracts so many repeat customers. I determined before I left that I’d definitely be back, maybe taking my wife for her first hunt.

 

Meat processing course with The Bloke and Balnagown Hunting

Geoff 1 Comment

I recently heard a quote that went something like ‘if everyone gave more than they took, the world would be at peace.’ Well, while we can’t claim to be tackling world peace, it’s a fact of shooting sports that many take a lot and give very little.

This is why I was very impressed with an initiative by Kerry Adams of The Bloke to implement a hunter education and deer processing course. It’s something that our community is increasingly missing – those that give back, and also those that know what they’re doing.

For many hunters in their 20s and 30s, they didn’t grow up in a hunting family, or their dad or uncle didn’t pass on what they had learnt from their dad. And with an increasingly globalised Aotearoa, many come from countries where they either didn’t have access to hunting environments, or had very different sorts of hunting available to them.

Two at a time makes the day go quicker. And yup, that's your's truly elbow deep in a deer carcass. Photo credit - Kerry Adams
Two at a time makes the day go quicker. And yup, that’s yours truly elbow deep in a deer carcass.
Photo credit – Kerry Adams

The 6th deer processing course

So the course I attended was Kerry’s 6th, and you can see that all the kinks have been worked out of the event, as everything ran as smoothly as you could want. No doubt Kerry will aim to continuously improve the experience, but I certainly enjoyed my time at Balnagown Hunting and learnt a lot from Richard, the land owner and proprietor.

I heard rumours on the day of the next course being in October, so keep an eye on The Bloke’s FB page, or check out updates at The Gearlocker website.

The format of the day

Even though we had spots of heavy rain, sideways rain, and even frozen rain, the afternoon was well coordinated and followed a pretty good timeline to get you back on track with your weekend by just after lunchtime.

After arriving and parking up near the main house and sheds, we carpooled in a few 4-wheel drives to get to the hunting hut and Richard’s new meat-hanging ‘gallows’ and barbecue area.

Equipment

We started out with some basics on equipment, having a look at a few different rifles and their various accessories. Hunter and writer Dougie kindly provided us with some of our fresh meet for the day, and we got to check out her rifle as well.

After looking at things that go bang for a while, we looked at small, sharp, pointy bits. The knives in Kerry’s box of toys were awesome, but also told a story of trying everything under the sun to come to the conclusion that, generally speaking, less is more. If you’re wondering what knife to buy for your first hunt, I’d wait a sec and hop on this course and actually have a go with some different knives on an animal. So, armed with an insight into which knives to avoid and which ones are suited to small game such as fallow, we commenced with the processing part of the day.

Richard was great at explaining what he wanted us to do, but also let us make some mistakes along the way.
Richard was great at explaining what he wanted us to do, but also let us make some mistakes along the way.

Dressing

First up, Richard gave us a very good introduction to his land and what he does. After that it was all pretty hands on as Richard took us through skinning and gutting a deer. Most people volunteered at some point and had a crack. With my lack of experience, I took all the opportunity I could to be the guy with the knife. Speaking of knives, there were a couple giveaways too, so a fair few us walked away with a new knife as well.

After the first dear was completely skinned and gutted, we tackled another, but this time field dressed it.

Getting me some backstrap. Photo credit - Kerry Adams
Getting me some backstrap.
Photo credit – Kerry Adams

Breaking the animal down

The two fresh animals were taken away and a couple that were a a few days old and already dressed came back on the quad. This is where the lads from Country Meat Processors jumped in, showing us how to cut off backstrap, spare ribs, etc.

After breaking down the animal we wondered over to the bench and everyone had a crack at butchering a bit of deer, producing their own steaks for the bbq. It was amazing to figure out the different cuts and what really goes on if you usually just send a carcass to the butcher for processing.

Overall impression

After we’d all cleaned up and enjoyed a healthy bbq of venison steak sammies, accompanied by warm coffee, everyone stuck around for a bit of a yarn. There was a vast range of experience among the attendees, with a couple never having put a deer down, to experienced hunters looking to learn some new tricks (like punching out the skin – you’ll find out what that means!).

The banter was good and there was plenty of food. To be honest there was plenty of time to talk and have a cuppa throughout the day as well, it wasn’t like a classroom setting. It was a very relaxed atmosphere in which it was okay to learn and even make mistakes.

Richard was an absolute master at communicating the skills he’s picked up over the years, and if you’re ever in the market for a fallow meat hunt, or even your first ever hunt, a trip to Balnagown may be in order. Kerry was the consummate host, ensuring everyone benefited from the event, and again, it was great to see someone giving back to the hunting/shooting community by taking on such a big task and organising a day that many people benefited from.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Whether you’re trying to figure out what to do after you shoot your first game animal, or you’re experienced and trying to find out better ways to do what you’re already doing, there’s plenty to take in throughout the day, and it’s a perfect excuse to spend some time outdoors, talking crap and enjoying the company of fellow shooters.

For a reasonable cost of $80 per person for just over half a day of education, food, great bush scenery and good mates, you really can’t pass it up! I’m even thinking of going again just to cement what I learned the first time.