Last weekend I hunted red stag in southern Ohio. It's steep country and heavily wooded. Ranch size is approx 300 acres.
Saturday I hunted from a ground blind for many hours but did not observe the herd of red deer. Sunday morning I was assigned a different location in the forest. At about 9:30 AM the herd crossed a ravine approx 300 yards away and bedded down in direct sunlight on a steeply sloped hillside. Did I mention it was very c-c-cold? After an hour, it was obvious the red deer were not moving so I stalked as quietly and slowly as I could. But when about 150 yards away, I was spotted and the animals spooked and trotted over the ridge.
My guide and I discussed options. We split up. I posted behind a colossal hickory tree while he circled around to spook the herd toward my position. I heard them approaching through the forest and the tension was exquisite!! My stag led the herd at a fast run at approx 85 yards. I swung the carbine and just as the crosshairs were even with his mahogany mane I squeezed the trigger. But the stag showed no sign of being hit. The action was quickly levered and another shot was fired. This slowed the animal considerably and turned directly toward me as I levered the Winchester and fired again. The great stag stumbled and toppled over.
During skinning we observed where the shots had struck. First two impacted behind the shoulder and struck within 2 inches of each other. These bullets completely destroyed the chest organs and broke through ribs to vanish into the snow. The third shot struck center of chest and penetrated the length of the body and we found it in the hip area. This bullet appears very much like a magazine ad photo. My guide took most of these photos. What a memory.
Hunting exotic animals (non-native to North America) is not for every hunter. But I had a ball and brought home much meat, a fine trophy, and a great memory!
Red deer are European cousins to North American elk. Males are called stags and females are known as hinds. This stag had approximate live weight of 375 lbs. But a 5 year old red stag taken in Bulgaria was weighed at 525 lbs.
TR
