Last Wednesday my mate Chris and I were on the road at 4am from chch over the alps and heading south for our pick up at 9am. We had another member in our party my 15 month old beagle Stella. The country we were headed for wasn't too rough so I was keen to see how she would go. After a quick flight in we arrived to a favorite wee hut of mine. 50% of people think its too close to fly to and the other 50% think its too far to walk with the result being it sees less pressure than other huts in the area. A quick flick through the hut book showed not too many hunters since we were last here exactly a year ago with most parties reporting seeing good numbers of chams and deer.

After getting settled in I decided to head up a nearby creek that often holds a chamois while Chris decided to have a poke around in the bush on the flats. I hadn't got 200m up the creek when I spotted the unmistakable shape of a chamois up ahead on top of steep bank with a commanding view downstream just where you'd expect to see one. Quickly hunkering down I grabbed my camera and zoomed in to see a reasonable buck that would go over 9 inches. After quickly snapping a couple of photos I swapped the camera for the .270 and tried to get a good rest. the buck was on his feet staring at the intruder now and looking around nervously. I squeezed off the shot and watched a very healthy looking chamois bound off into the bush. bugger! grabbing my rangefinder I found out it was 280m not the 180-200m I guessed. I went up for a look but was sure it was a clean miss. Carrying on up the creek it wasn't long before I saw a nanny and two kids bound away in front of me. They were safe from me and there wasn't time to for a photo before they disappeared. Further up I noticed a lot of deer sign in a particular area and made a mental note to pass back through here just before dark. Eventually I got as far as you can go without it being a major climbing mission. There's a huge rocky slip to watch over at this point so I sat down and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon occasionally glassing around the slip. Around 5pm I was considering starting back down when a buck popped out of the bush at the top of the slip and started cautiously feeding. I took some photos but it was too far to properly access his size so I just enjoyed him watching do his thing undisturbed. I was going to leave him and maybe have a crack tomorrow when he decided it was time to come down and started heading steadily downhill. I quickly ranged him at 700m and realized if he kept coming down and I headed up I should get within range so I quickly grabbed my pack dropped down into the creek and moved up as quick as I could. When I felt I should be almost directly below him I carefully climbed out on to the opposite bank but he was onto me quickly and started heading up the hill. I ranged him at 320 and considered a shot but with my confidence shot from earlier and the thought of venison on my mind I let him be and quickly headed downstream before I got too dark. Approaching the area I saw the deer sign in the half dark I slowed right down confident id see something but they still took me by surprise as 2 deer suddenly bolted in front of me. I swung on to them and squeezed off just before the yearling entered the bush. It sounded like a hit and I was confident id find a dead deer but nope nothing and no sign of a hit. Rather dejected my this point I carried on down and didn't get another 100m before a hind came out of nowhere in front of me. She stood there confused for a second which proved fatal and I dropped her on the spot. I encouraged my dog who'd been bloody well behaved so far to go find it but she wasn't in the slightest interested  it was basically dark now so I gutted it and left it there and headed back out by torch light. Surprisingly Chris hadn't seen anything on the flats and no joy the next morning at first light either.

After breakfast we cruised up the creek to bone out the deer and have a proper look for the first one but concluded I must've hit a log it ran behind. Arriving back at the hut we chilled out for a bit, collected some firewood, cleaned the meat etc when Chris suddenly says there's a deer across the river! looking over I see a buck casually feeding along the bush edge! (he'd never seen a chamois before) I said quick grab ya gun and he very generously replied nah you shoot it bro it might be a trophy im only after meat. I said you sure but he insisted so I grabbed my gun and pack and set up for the shot. I quickly ranged it at 190 and by now the buck was almost facing straight away from me heading back into the bush. I angled the shot behind the ribs which sacked him on the spot. We yahoo'd not quite believing our luck! We had a beer to celebrate before crossing the river to find a nice 9.75 inch buck unfortunately missing a horn due to rot but we were still stoked. The rest of the day was spent relaxing with a quick hunt on the flats at last light but no luck.

The next day was meant to be the only rain day so I went out for a look at first light for a deer but nothing so I packed enough gear for an overnighter and once the rain cleared headed upstream to check out some new country. Arriving at the confluence of another river I set up my tent and had a quick scout around finding a lot of fresh chamois prints in the sand. I climbed up to a spot overlooking the flats at last light spotting a chamois on a distant slip but otherwise nothing. The next morning I headed up the track. I was about 50m above the main river and as I crossed a side creek all hell broke loose with chamois running in all directions. I could've shot one but let them be and carried on arriving at a creek I wanted to check out. It just screamed chamois and sure enough an hour later I spot one staring at me not far up the creek. It looked good front on so I shot it before another one appeared next to it. Bugger its probably a nanny I thought and sure enough it was. my first nanny after shooting 7 bucks! There was plenty around so I didn't feel too bad. She still had a beauty winter skin surprisingly so I wasted nothing taking the cape and boning out the meat. Id just about finished when blow me down I look up and there's another chamois looking at me. Assuming it was the other nanny I grab my camera and zoom in before it turns side on and f%$k its a damn good buck! I grab my gun but too late he's gone! The day was stinking hot by now and the creek was dry so I decided to head back early to enjoy our last night in the hut having few beers and enjoying a mean venison stew Chris cooked up before our pick up the next morning back to reality! All in all a bloody good trip! if someone can tell me how to make the photos appear here or do it for me that would be great!

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the hind you hit MAY have been looking for her yearling who had piled up in thick stuff after collecting your first shot????? its a mongrel trying to find them in the crappy ferns,keep encouraging the dog when you do get an animal and a few choice titbits of fresh venni while you cut it up will have dog keen to find the next one for you...same with your chammy...make it dogs "job" to lead you to it and the rewards will follow. great writeup,sounds like a great area to keep hush about.

good on ya bud..... plenty of guys wont have 2nd look and I dont know about you but it haunts me for ages if there is any doubt. shes a neat looking wee hound and will keep your back warm at night if nothing else.....man I couldnt go back to not hunting without dog again,it just feels right,even if they just wandering along at heel.

Micky Duck wrote on Sep 30^th, 2018 at 9:41am:


Yeah I think she's got potential and even if not she was bloody well behaved and a pleasure to have around. Never strayed from around the hut and heeled perfectly the whole time. Did surprisingly well climbing up creeks etc too despite only having little legs! Only issue was I need a bigger sleeping bag because it didn't fit both of us very well 

nice story, sounds like a great spot you found there.

Kaboomfa wrote on Oct 1^st, 2018 at 2:30am:

What's you're secret?!
I've got one about the same age but he's a dog. Got to keep an eye on him the whole time. He goes by the old Beagle adage "nose on, ears off"!

The look on the dogs face in the last 2 photos 

Thanks for the write up.


Cheers, Dan

Charlie wrote on Oct 9^th, 2018 at 12:47am:


I think I just got lucky  maybe being a bitch she’s a bit less confident and happy to stay by my side? I took her crate but didn’t need to use it once. Even when we were at the hut she never strayed far which surprised me