“The deer was right there when we started this stalk an hour ago”
“How the hell did that goat know to look this way?”
“60 metres downhill, so close but too far for this boy!”
These 3 scenarios had all played out the previous weekend whilst hunting a good size loop of some handy public land.
Now, a week later we were looking over a gully in a block observing the movements of 3 red deer and a pig, weighing our options. Opting to continue up the spur, gaining height before the air started to rise we spot a small mob of goats hanging out in the morning sun.
The deer and pig instantly become a distant memory – are you even a bowhunter from Marlborough if you pass on an opportunity to shoot a goat?!
Dropping my day pack and sidling up the opposite side of the spur to the goats I sneak through a low saddle, keeping a bushy manuka between me and them. At times like this I often think it would be good to be a foot shorter than I am!
Just as I reach the bush an unseen goat spooks from the other side of it, taking the mob with it. Stink!! Oh well, push the intrusive thought that these goats would have been dead 150m ago if I’d had a rifle out of my mind, pick up my pack and we carry on.
Cresting a small rise, a fair way up the spur now, there’s another 3 goats feeding amongst the scattered scrub.
Cue the same routine as half an hour ago.
Gaining elevation to put the daytime thermal in my favour I move quietly across the face, getting to about 15 metres from the small bush they are feeding below. Patiently I wait, sight set, arrow nocked. A small goat pokes around the side of the bush, has a look in my direction and carries on feeding. This isn’t the one I’m looking for, it must have bedded down. I move slightly to my right and wait, eventually a larger black goat moves out from under the scrub and walks into the open.
A quiet “MEH” from Beno on the sideline stops it. Quickly assessing the angle of the hard quartering away shot I pick the path I’d like the arrow to take and to my surprise the shot breaks pretty cleanly.
A full pass through of the pump station means this nanny only just makes it over the spur before expiring-Stoked! This is the first animal I’ve shot in a couple of months so I’m rapt with a clean kill.
Making the call to cut through the heads of a couple of rocky gullies heading for the main ridge we bump a small mob out of the matagouri.
They move off, offering no opportunities.
Stopping briefly we can hear movement in the scrub some 40 metres below. Sneaking down to investigate we find 2 billys, completely unaware of our presence or the fact that their mates have gapped it.
Preparing for the possibility of a shot we wait, watching the scrub.
With little warning one of the goats suddenly emerges from the bushes to be full broadside at 20 metres, a fatal mistake with a fixed blade broadhead attached to a reasonable length of carbon fibre making short work of him. The “Bonus Billy”.
If you’ve followed this yarn till here you’re probably wondering “Why a story about hunting goats?” Well, once you carry a bow around the hills the humble goat suddenly becomes a very worthy target as sometimes getting super close to them isn’t too easy.
After a bit of a snack and some discussion about the mornings events we wander the ridge above the main valley. Deciding on a ridge to drop down for the return journey we make our way slowly, glassing as we go.
A mob of goats off the end of a steep spur provide another chance and we manage to get right amongst them, bagging 2 more with the others disappearing in all directions.
We wait out the last of the daylight hoping to see a pig but nothing shows, just a couple of deer on the far side of the valley.
A pleasant walk out down the valley back to the ute rounds out a great day, pumped to have bagged a few goats, learned some stuff and had a poke around a bit of the province I hadn’t seen before with some good company.
Thinking about it, it’s hard to believe that only a week back success had been hard to come by despite good opportunities presenting themselves. I guess that’s all part of the hunting roller coaster ride that keeps us coming back for more right?
