Last weekend a mate from a local hunting forum invited me to go deer hunting in a state forest down south.
About 4 or 5 years back the NSW State Government made the biggest step forward they had since the big gun ban in '96 and set up the NSW Game Council.
The Game council organises conservation hunting and access to state forests for hunters to be able to hunt introduced species in order to take the pressure off native species which have taken a hammering.
This meant that once hunters sat and passed the test for a Restricted Lincence (which you'd have to be stupid to fail) and paid their $75 a year they could book any of the declared state forests and hunt in them almost all the time.
We can't hunt national parks yet but the time is coming and as we hunt introduced species, not natives, this sort of hunting is something the tree huggers have no defense for.
Only the animal rights mobs still protest but that's pretty hollow too because if you don't hunt feral species you drive the native ones toward extinction......what sort of rights are the native animals enjoying in that situation?
The Game Council introduced seasons for some species of deer but it actually represented the first game management the state has had and made it legal to be able to hunt in the forests.
In other words now the poachers had some competition and the authorities had some weighty legislation for people who were caught.
I've had my Restricted Licence for state forests for a while now but never used it before and I've definitely never hunted deer so the invite was very welcome.
This particular guy has hunted literally since he was 10 or 12 and his family eats venison almost the entire time.
He's out at a number of hunting spots every second weekend and is super experienced so I got ready to be a sponge for the weekend.
I drove down to his place about an hour away and then we loaded our stuff into his car and headed south about 2 hours dropping in for a quick bite not far from the hunting spot.
From about 3pm onward we hiked 6km up and down hills, along flats, through bracken, around big rocks and generally kept up the pace.
He did fine.
I, on the other hand, am a true lounge vegetable, and it just about killed me.
But the walk was an education in itself.
"See this plant, red deer and sambar love it.......see how it's chewed down, they've been here in the last week."
"Look at the rubbing on this tree....pigs did this with their tusks."
"Remember what I said about deer sign on the drive out.....these little ones are fallow deer and they're about a week old; recent stuff is really slimy."
And on the info went.
When we finally made it back to the car I already knew a heap.
We even saw 2 little fallow does scooting away into the brush.
Then we headed for another flat and sat there until the sun went down in the hope of bagging a deer but not such luck.
We had pasta for dinner and chatted for quite a while before hitting the sack with a relaxed view of getting up.
It rained pretty heavily during the night but we both stayed dry and the next morning my mate had already gone for a walk.
Apparently I was snoring hard, a sure sign I was tired, so he checked last night's flat and some other places he knew well.
No fresh sign or prints even after the rain.
We headed out again after some brekkie and hiked another 2.5km, this time in easy increments.
But there was more to learn.
I learnt as much about where to look and what to look for as which conclusions to make about what you found.
But more importantly to be alert because you could turn a corner when there was no sign or prints and see a deer looking you in the face.
In the end we didn't bag any deer but the time out there was great and we hit a great bakery cafe on the way home for lunch.
My wife's due date in late May for child No4 means I won't get out again in the rut this year but we arranged to fix a date in late September or early October.
The most amazing thing is that my friend only wanted $20 for the whole weekend and that was for fuel.
He fed me while we were hunting plus lunch before we headed out on Saturday (a roast venison sandwich with gravy and mustard no less!) and also led me through the paperwork I needed to organise to hunt in the state forest.
I really can't say enough about his generosity in terms of his time and knowledge and he's a top bloke just to hang out with.
But I have to say I have muscles hurting that I didn't even know I HAD!!!
