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Yesterday turned out to be 18 hrs of slog but arrived home tired with meat. The day started out at 4.15am when I woke and started breakfast for Foster and me so we could get away by 5. This got us up to the first saddle in the high country at first light where deer had been seen once or twice. We walked and glassed for a while but there was nothing seen and as it was way too early for them to have been bedded down it was soon obvious that there were none in the area. I had heard from the station owner that he had cought a chopper pilot hazing deer off the property toward another area where his friends were allowed to hunt as this station is 27,200 acres of private land that is only accesable to those of us who the owner has given keys to the locked gates.
With no deer we came back down to the lower part of the property and spent the rest of the morning getting a bag of rabbits which were jointed and washed at the mountain creek (beautiful clear cold water) and where we had lunch.
It was then on up another 2500ft elevation and into the bluff system where we wanted to have the first look for goats. We stopped a couple of times on the way in to glass some of the steep stuff that ran over 1000 yds down to the little Nevis river. There were two or three little mobs of 1/2 dozen or so that we saw but that area is very steep and with them being 6-8 hundred yards down with no way to stalk without being seen, we gave them a miss, which in all reality was a good thing as it would have been more than my old legs could have taken to get away down there and carry up any animals we managed to recover.
We carried round to where we have had some good shooting over the years and after leaving the truck walked into the head of the bluffs where we spotted a lone animal so stalked into position over some big rocks for the shot but when we got there we saw the rest of the little mob were in the same gulley system so when we were both ready, the first shot was fired and very quickly thereafter a few more till it all went quiet. We could hear one on the far side of the gut and Foster started the clamber to get round to it and the other two that were over that side while I started the gutting nd head removal of the 4 that fell in the nearer face. (Foster being 10 years younger than my 65 did the honourable young guy thing and took the hardest retrieval) I got my four done and carried the first two with the rifle back to the truck then came back for the second pair and when I had got back again Foster had got the other three back to the first saddle and as we stood there taking a break and a drink of the water that I had bought back, in we saw another little mob on the rocks above us but we both decided that seven was about all we would really need and besides after the hard yaka of the retrieval and carry out of the ones we already had it was going to be just a bit much for the tired bodies to climb away up to get the other lot, so we watched them for a while till the wandered off. I slung one of the remaining three over my shoulder and his rifle while he carried the last two and we made our way back to the truck to a very welcome hot drink.

This was the area that the main action took place

All of them back at the truck so I set up the skinning rack and the boning table and we set to work with Foster doing the skinning and I did the boning out. All of them had the back legs kept for roasts with the rest boned out to be made into sausage and salami so the meat container I carry was full

Skinning rack

Boning table

And a bit of video and while in I say we are going up to the next basin our tired bodies countermanded the intention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmrH5TB5adM&feature=youtu.be

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Von Gruff.

Exodus 20:1-17

Acts 4:10-12

Edited by VonGruff (25/02/17 07:02 AM)