You asked for it...sorry for the length, I just kept writing and writing! It was a long day you know...enjoy."We had not been to one of our local hunting properties for quite some time and having an unexpected Sunday off from work, had decided to fill the whole day in scouting the property for goats and foxes. The phone call was made and we were off.
It was truly a winter's day. The wind was howling when we left home but at least the down poor the previous night had subsided. The wet ground would certainly make for better stalking conditions. As we neared the property, the wind seemed to disappear altogether and there was actually more blue sky than cloud - things were looking up.
We arrived and unloaded our gear. A quick check that we had not forgotten anything and we were away. The country in this property has many different areas to hunt, from sparse tussock areas to thick tea-tree and some large patches of gum trees filled with fern covered ground. Foxes were prolific in these latter areas and this is what we hunted first up. We walked the perimeter of the first two large paddocks in hope to see a redcoat to call in on the whistle; none were seen. This was very uncommon for this property so we set up in a large fallen tree and whistled for 30 minutes or so, still nothing.
We proceeded to cover a fair bit of ground in the hope of spotting some goats or a fox from a distance and would then try and put in a stalk. The wind had picked up by this stage and luckily, was in our favor for the direction we wished to hunt. This area is renowned for sudden swirling wind changes but today it stayed fairly constant. Things were getting a little desperate, this property has a good population of goats and although there were no super large heads to be had, they were great fun to hunt all the same; still, no goats were to be seen.
We stopped and had a bite to eat and to discuss a plan of attack. We had decided that the 2 days of wet weather may have put the goats down and there was only one place we could think of that they could be, an area we had not hunted before. We had already checked out the eucalypt/fern patches with little result, other than a very lucky rabbit, lucky my shot was out by 6" over 25 yards. These sticks take some getting use to you know.
Well, we had arrived at the edge of the swamp. Not a pretty sight, they were thereafter named, 'The Dead Marshes' -(see Lord of the Rings ~ book or movie). You guessed it; the place we wanted to get too was on the other side of that there swamp. We proceeded to jump from tussock cluster to tussock cluster. More often than not, a well-misplaced foot ended in water up to your knee. It was not the sort of day to be wet either as the wind had gained a certain chill to it by now.
We were on the other side and could see the edge of the lake through the tea tree. We proceeded to walk into the canopy and were surprised by how much goat sign was to be found there. The lake had obviously picked up some momentum from the sweeping winds and gave an excellent sound cover by the waves hitting the shoreline. We started to walk along the shore skimming in and out of the game trails when it hit us. I am sure we have all been hit with this lovely smell before, Billy's. We knocked an arrow each and paused listening.
We continued along at half the pace and we both immediately froze. My brother and I had seen the goats at the same time, 25 yards ahead and slightly to our left. It is amazing how they can blend into the surrounding tea tree like they do. We proceeded to creep along and with the two goats feeding towards us, were soon 15 yards apart. I got the nod from Marc to take the first shot. This was my first outing with the longbow and I think I was more nervous than ever before. Pick the spot I repeated over and over. I drew the bow and picked out about the only shooting lane I had, the goat slowly walked feeding and his vitals were now in the gap ~ I looked consistently at a patch of grey colored hair behind his shoulder. I could feel my back muscles starting to tense as I was ready to release when the goat looked up at me, straight into the eyes. The arrow sailed in front of his chest just under his chin and buried into the foliage. They were off. I retrieved the arrow and replaced it in the quiver, got a funny look from Marc and we continued silently on our way.
The goat sign was building and we looked at each other with amazement on several occasions, we should have checked this side of the property out years ago. Eventually we came to a couple of clearings, which made the stalking a little easier. We had only walked another 50 yards when we sighted movement up ahead. We crouched and watched through the binoculars at a couple of nice Billy's that we had never encountered before. Most goats in this area were either grey or a combination of grey and brown. These lads were all black. We continued on their tails for another 100 yards or so, they were in no hurry and were oblivious to our presence and as we had now followed them closer to the shoreline, had picked up our pace using the sound of the crashing waves as cover.
We had closed the gap to 30 yards when a nanny turned and gave a warning sign. Soon enough, we had 20 pairs of eyes glued to our location and they turned and proceeded along the trail at a slightly quickened pace. We decided to stay put and have some lunch then follow them up in 20 minutes or so. The clouds had started to close in by now and the air had become quite cool. A very light drizzle had started to fall, which hurried our lunch.
Talk about luck, we packed up and moved only 20 or so yards to see that the goats had camped under some tea tree not far from where we ate. They seemed to be getting out of the light rain and as it was my brother's turn for a shot, I squatted and watched the action through the binoculars. I think I enjoy watching a good stalk more than taking a shot myself sometimes! It was great to watch Marc move ever so slightly and getting into position for a clear shot at the Billy. He was only 25 yards away and the next 20 minutes went very slowly as he waited for a clear shot at the goat, who had evidently set himself up at the rear of the mob.
The Billy finally presented a shot and I saw Marc draw his bow. From what I could see, he had to shoot through an 8" fork in a tree. This bush was thick! He released the arrow and I watched it pass through the Billy effortlessly, right through both lungs. The goat only walked 10 yards and dropped on the spot.
The others, knowing something was not right, trotted passed Marc and proceeded back along the trail and were no doubt going to pass my location. I knocked an arrow and quickly kneeled into a shooting position. If they followed the trail, they would come within 8-10 yards of me. I drew back and held. The goats at the front made me out and went into second gear. They bolted past me and thoughts of getting bowled over and trampled ran through my mind, what a buzz! The last goat was at a much slower pace and I felt comfortable at taking the shot at that speed. He was a smaller Billy but had a beautiful coat. Along he came and as he closed in, he took a track away from the trail that the others took and was jumping over some timber coming in at only 3 yards from me. I released as he jumped over a small log to my left. The arrow had cleared his chest just behind his shoulder and had missed by mere centimeters; I mean 1 or 2 at the most! He had jumped the arrow while jumping the timber. It was not my day it seemed.
We took some photos of Marc's Billy and completed the usual backslapping and shaking of hands for a clean, effective and well-placed arrow. The drizzle had subsided for the photo shoot and had started up again just as we had finished. We decided to call it a day - it was bloody cold by now.
Although I did not take any game on my first ever hunt with the longbow, I had learnt some very valuable lessons and I know I am hooked for life with this 'stick thing'.
A great day and I cannot wait for the next outing".
