
16/04/2025
Went out for a morning scout with the main hunt being planned for Friday morning with a mate. Got to a ridge predawn with a commanding view of two intersecting gully systems that both sport a number of scrapes and plenty of deer sign.
As the light just got decent for glassing I picked out a decent buck and watched him chasing does and croaking away happily through the tree canopy. I never got a great look but I felt he could potentially be the buck we would be targeting in a few days.
Then I watched this youngster walk into a tree, stumble, then walk in a circle to get his bearings. Figuring he must be blind, the Shehane boomed across the valley. Thankfully the does and dominant buck were unfazed by their compatriots demise. An advantage of shots with some distance.
Dropping down and around to the fallen buck I was greeted with confirmation. Blind in one eye and a deep cleft in the offside antler this youngster. Destined for the mincer due to his lack of condition I proceeded to skin him and was further greeted with evidence of an animal in a bad way. Broken rib, damaged front leg and a liver that was off colour with black blotches. It would appear if he wasn’t harvested he had a reduced chance of survival considering the brutal drought conditions they are enduring.