Bloody amazing John for you to have walked all over the bush for a few days and even sat in one of the super secret spots for only a few glimpses and here are the deer in the pics you have feeding by the road. Knowing where they are I imagine they are well protected from the road shooter`s etc.

I cant express enough how so many sambar hunters have never seen such a sight,many sambar hunters often dont even see a deer anywhere,true!

To clarify "The agreement was he had rights to the big boy if it came out"
I took John into the place I have seen a thumper and have spent several years hunting him and those years being of enormous amounts of time..one period last year was 87 afternoons till dark rain or shine out of 90 days and just about every other week being out at least 6 arvos and many many mornings in the quest for the 'big un' This year is no different.
John could have had any other stag if it had showed up and here is a pic of one such stag that isnt a monster but he would look very bloody good on JH`s wall if he had of walked out. Especially for a non Victorian to come over and take home.There was no such limitation as to the other top spots we hunted,whatever jumped was his.
This pic was taken by my game cam only a few hundred yards from where we sat in a patch of high fern and dates to a week earlier than Johns trip over.He`s "about" the place and will only grow bigger.He is fresh out of his wallow as the cam has snapped him.
I wont shoot him ,perhaps JH will next year?