FEATURE Peter McDonell
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This year, 2024, was shaping up to be a great hog deer season with several deer appearing on my trail cameras including calves, hinds, and stags. But for me the best news was that the duck season would start 10 days after the hog deer season had commenced. This is a real bonus for anyone who hunts hog deer with duck swamps nearby, as in past seasons I had observed that when duck hunting starts all animals move to cover and become more nocturnal, not just the deer. This is a good reason, in my opinion, to move the hog deer season forward so that it starts before duck season.
Hog deer, for me, are a 52-weeks-a-year fascination and obsession that drives me to gain more and more knowledge, through trail cameras and checking for their sign. But back to the hunt!
My hide has been in the same location for three years now. It is 50m from the junction of three tracks. One track leads to water and feed, one goes past my hide, and one leads into the bush. Twelve months of photos taken at this junction had given me some idea of deer movement times and the number of animals using the tracks.
Over 12 months maybe eight different deer had been photographed at the track junction, but in some weeks only one or two deer would pass. Time of movement was also very variable. One week there might be no daylight photos, the next week it might be all daylight photos or a mix of both. Why this was is a topic for more investigation but the majority of daytime movement was between 10.00am and 2.30pm.
One stag in particular had my attention as I had been following him for several months as he cast his old antlers, went through velvet and rubbed clean. His antlers weren’t great but he was clearly a mature animal and I would be only too pleased if I could get a shot at him during the April season.
The night before opening morning I loaded my backpack with all that was needed to sit from first to last light, checking each item off my list: books, food, drinks, phone fully charged, pen and paper, etc. Hide hunting can be boring, so whatever helps to pass the time is useful. I also took tags, rifle, ammo, knife and a sheet to cover the deer with when I got him. Positive thinking is the only way to go!
I could hardly wait for the morning alarm. It was set for 4.30am but I did not need it as I was already awake. I had breakfast then went outside to start the car and pack. The first thing I noticed was the fog. It was thick! The normal 30-minute drive took me over an hour but I had heaps of time, sitting in the car waiting for half an hour before sunrise, the legal starting time of the season.
The fog was so bad as opening approached, that I decided to stay put and wait until I could see 30 to 40m before walking the short distance to my hide. Finally, I got to the hide without spooking any animals - no kangaroos, wallabies, rabbits, deer or birds - so up the ladder I went to get sorted and comfortable.
My hide has a cushion on the seat for comfortable sitting and carpet on the floor to dampen noise. I hang a blanket over the back opening to keep the inside as dark as possible. One other thing in my pack is a bottle of eucalyptus oil which I put on the carpet every 30 minutes to mask my scent. Does it help? I don’t know but it doesn’t hurt.
I set about arranging my gear, keeping movement to a minimum and with the rifle pointing forwards with the butt positioned so that l could move it into my shoulder when needed. Now the wait was on, but within 30 minutes my mind had started “How long will it be before a deer appears? Minutes, hours or days?”
In 2023 I sat for eight days from before daylight until dark without taking an animal. I did see four deer, three hinds and a young stag, but none that I was happy to take. At present I leave all hinds and young animals to breed to hopefully increase numbers on the block for the future.
There was still no movement as 11.30am came and passed.
Sitting and waiting is a mind game that I break down into 30-minute sessions of reading and looking: a lot of looking, then at the end of each 30-minute session, a drink or something to eat as a reward.
The fog took a long time to lift but by 10.30am I could just see past 60m. It was a strange morning with not a bird, wallaby, kangaroo or rabbit showing themselves and no breeze at all. It was also cold waiting for the sun to break through and hit the hide. At 11.00am I had something to eat and drink but then felt the call of nature – too much coffee and the cold didn’t help. A screw-top bottle sorted that problem.
Sitting there happy again, and with the sun now on the hide, I continued with my reading and watching. There was still no movement as 11.30am came and passed. Just trying to stay focussed and alert was becoming challenging. At 11.59am I put the book down and looking to my front; nothing. OK, I will roll a smoke. With smoke rolled and lit I gazed out “Shit! A stag 50m away and feeding! Where did you come from?”
Slowly I put the smoke down and moved the rifle butt to fit nicely into my shoulder. My mind was going fast now, is he the one I want? There was only one stag that I was happy to shoot this year, the one that I had been following on my cameras. He had a bigger right antler. It looked like him! Then a look through the scope. Yes, it is him! Cross hairs on the spot, a slow squeeze of the trigger, then bang, he was down but I could not see him. A quick climb down out of the hide and with rifle in hand I decided to do a fast walk around to a clearing on the other side and wait rather than walk straight to where he had been.
Five minutes of waiting, looking and listening seemed like ten minutes. OK, I will start a slow walk back to where he was when I fired.
How pumped I was to see him laying there is hard to put into words. Over five hours with not a thing moving, then he was there right on 12 o’clock. So, with tag fitted, some photos taken, deer dressed and loaded all that was left to do was to ring Cam and make a time to meet at the checking station. Luck was still on my side as he was already there!
After a quick drive to Bairnsdale and a congratulatory shake of hands with Cam, the deer’s particulars were taken. As I was going to get the head mounted Cam removed the cape up to the base of the skull so that I could leave to look after the meat. That night Cam let me know that when he was finishing the caping job, he noticed shotgun pellets under the skin on the skull and that the stag was blind in one eye. I had noticed that one eye was clouded but, in the excitement, had paid it no attention.
The stag also had a damaged front hock and yellowing, possibly from old bruising, under the shoulder skin. Who would try shooting a hog deer with a shotgun? I don’t know, but this is why we have minimum calibres specified in the game regulations. It is all about animal welfare and the most humane despatch that is possible.
Australia Deer magazine Editor