What started as a painfully early Saturday morning boys fishing trip in mid January, would end in the early hours of the following Friday with my sons first deer hunt.
After a mate convinced me that a 3:30am wake up on Saturday was the best way to target the plentiful Tasman Bay snapper that were back on the chew after spawning, we drafted a plan for an early morning boys’ fishing trip that set sail from the port at 4.00am.
Just like the crew after waking up so early, steaming out to the 30 metre mark was sluggish and slow but once the lines were in the water, morale lifted and the fish came on the chew. One after another we filled chilly bin with snapper. I was even lucky enough to land my first kingfish and a personal best snapper, tipping the scales at 16 pounds—what a day!
The following Thursday, after months of promising my son I would take him for his first deer hunt, all the plans were set in motion and we headed out to a block in Rai Valley in hopes of getting a nice red deer for the freezer. After a very small walk from the truck and a quick scan with the Pulsar Thermion 2 XQ35 Pro, we spotted a nice hind some distance away in the farm’s top paddock.
Under the cover of night, we quietly closed the gap. Once in range, I found a good rest, lined up the crosshairs and squeezed the trigger. My Begara B14 6.5 Creedmoor bowled over the unsuspecting hind. The hind had been fattening up on summer growth and was prime to fill the freezer.
My boy was over the moon that we had gotten a deer on his first hunt and I was rapt that we were gonna have a freezer full of venison.
Huge thanks to everyone putting these trips together and massive thanks to Pulsar for letting me use some gear.
