As a youth I grew up in the small town of Guerie, NSW following my grandfather around his small acreage helping fix fences, harvesting chickens, learning how to grow food and cook, and waiting for the right season to come along when we could go rabbit trapping.
My first introduction to any type of hunting was around 5 years old when I trapped my first rabbit. It was a pretty simple affair, my grandfather and I set a trap just below the earth outside a rabbit warren and we came back a few hours later to a trapped animal ready for harvest.
We checked about 20 traps and about 15 of them had rabbits present. I’m told this is a pretty lucky night, but as this was my first time I just figured it was normal. We arrived home to a kitchen that was prepped with beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, flour and other things. It didn’t take long before we were cooking for the family and everyone sat around praising our efforts.
This was when I realised I was a hunter and that it mattered to me. Not for the adulation of my family, but for the feeling of being able to provide. The pride I felt that night as everyone praised not only our trapping efforts but also our cooking was amazing. I’d never felt anything like that before and I still rejoice it now.
After numerous years of hunting with traps and rifles I’d maintained my love of harvesting from the field, but it wasn’t until I went to my buddy Chris’ place and saw his compound bow that I realised what was missing. His Bear Motive 7 looked to me like something out of a science fiction film and I was immediately enamoured by it’s power and accuracy. A few bullseyes at 20m and I was all in.
On the drive home I googled beginners bows. I settled on a Bear Attitude for myself and a PSE Stinger 3G for my fiancé. We had ordered them off eBay before we even arrived home and so began a few weeks waiting for them to turn up. I was immediately hooked on the sport of target archery and several months of practice later I was hunting my first goats.
During the next fear years I had grown my skill, upgraded our bows and equipment, and developed an even greater appreciation for the outdoors and providing food for my family and friends. I had also developed a love of watching mountain hunting and admiring their harvest in the field – it was time for me to hunt my first deer.
In the start of 2017 during archery training I complained loudly to some fellow archers that I had yet to make arrangements for the rut. I was in the middle of planning a Whitetail hunt in the mid-west of the US, but I wanted to get out on the field during the rut and it hit me that I had missed my chance to make arrangements.
A few days later I saw someone advertising a 5 day rut hunt in Glen Innes they were unable to attend and I knew it was mean to be. I immediately jumped on the hunt and contacted some other keen hunters and began to prepare with just a few months lead time on my first deer hunt.
I began tuning and re-tuning my bows, I build dozens of matching arrows to ensure I would not be in the field and confronted with the idea of not having enough, and I worked hard on my archery form and increasing my accuracy range. I figured if I could hit a deer-sized kill zone at 50m constantly that I could ethically hunt to 30m and be confident in my ability to bring the animal down quickly.
A few months later my Ranger is packed full of gear and the boys and I headed up to Glen Innes. On the drive in to Severn River Bowhunting Park we all remarked at the amount of deer we saw. There was fallow does running in front of our vehicle and despite the small size of the property we were confident we would be able to have success in the field. We settled into the cabin, got our gear ready for the morning and slept restlessly as we anxiously anticipated the first morning hunt.
I wasn’t 200m from the cabin on my first morning that I encountered my first doe. I considered not bothering with her as it felt as though it would mean ending the hunt sooner, but instead I decided to test my stalking skills at least and pursued her until I was within 20m. My rangefinder tells me I am at just 18m as I snap a twig, spook her and she leaves the area. I’m not worried, it’s early days and I have only just started.
My first day was spent mostly watching deer. I saw two more beautiful does that I could not get close to, so instead I watched them and learned about their characteristics and behaviour. I later would see what appeared to be two twin brother spikers having a small wrestle. Their behaviour was incredible to watch and the more curious of the two knew something was going on, but could not be sure of what. I was hidden behind a bush with just enough area to view in and he walked into 10m.
After my first day I was aware of two things. Firstly, I had underestimated how much I would enjoy just watching deer and peaking into their behaviour, and secondly I had underestimated how hard it is to find a mature buck. Especially since it appeared that our pre-rut hunt was looking more like a pre-pre-rut hunt.
The next two days were master classes in dealing with disappointment. It rained so hard we were pinned into our cabin eating chilli over the gas cooker and watching a little bit of television. The torrential rain meant that the deer would likely move off and we waited patiently. On the fourth day I woke up with a renewed spirit. Today I would stop trying to find a mature buck and make the effort to find us a meat doe as we were dangerously low on food and our access to town had been cut off by rain.
I walked to a new part of the property I hadn’t hunted yet and and went slower and quieter than I had ever gone before. I found a gully headed up the hill and noticed a few does were using it as a path back up the hill. Once their small pack had cleared I moved in and found a spot with a good view to sit and watch. I ranged the gully and a few key markers, nocked an arrow and hooked on my release aid and sat patiently for the better part of 90 minutes.
I had almost lost focus on what was happening when I looked through the greenery that was shrouding me and noticed three does with fawns headed up the exact path I had intended on watching. I watched them carefully and quietly, I reminded myself of the hours of practice I’d put in for this moment and that I was ready, and as they neared my shooting lane I came to full draw.
In all the time I’d spent practicing at my local archery range, away shoots, and even hunting goats in the past I had not experienced what happened next. I felt like I was at full draw for a very long time, I carefully kept my pin on her rib cage, and I made a sound to pull her up. “Meep,” I said, as she stopped and looked at me. My back-tension was already built and I knew my shot was ready to fire as I gently increased and pulled through.
As if time went slowly I watched my arrow fly. I knew before I saw it leave the bow that it was a perfect shot and I watched the green X nock on my Easton Axis N Fused arrow disappear into her rib cage exactly where I’d intended. I sat, waited so as not to bump her, and 10-15 minutes later I recovered my first deer.
I didn’t get my first buck when I’d intended, which was an obvious disappointment, but the hunt taught me so much about animal behaviour and how to behave in the field. And to my own luck I’ve had several days in the field that have taught me even more.
Last modified: March 26, 2017