I have hunted sambar deer for over 50 years in the Gippsland mountains (and elsewhere other deer). Mostly I did it because it was fun and an excuse for a day out in the bush which I love. I still prefer lamb, and having been a sheep farmer for just as long, I always had […]
I guess every hunter dreams of some secluded valley where it feels like you are the first person to have ever trod – at least where the deer are as plentiful and tame as rabbits and there is no competition from other hunters. Where you can arrive at your camp after a couple of day’s
Five years flies by very quickly (when you are having fun). I had hoped that this post would be titled ‘The Seventieth Birthday Stag’ but he did not emerge from his lair during my recent sojourn up the bush to check how my hunting camps had fared from the terrible bush fires of earlier this
(or, A Further Use for Toilet Trowels) Disaster will sometimes happen upon you in the wilderness. The important thing is to survive it – as less experienced folk frequently don’t! For months I have been ‘stir crazy’ what with slow recovery from my back operation and (seeming to) need a new knee, but I have
Ponchos, Umbrellas or Raincoats? That is the question. What’s the best way to stay dry in the rain and enjoy yourself in the outdoors while doing so? I have been soaking wet, all over, every ‘warm’ layer down to my skin, more times than I can count. Mostly of course it was when I was
As a deer hunter I have failed to follow my own advice on this one more than once to my regret as you can read in my account of my recent Dusky walk below. Trust your nose, Somewhere upwind possibly just in sight is something important you need to pay attention to. More about New
I know lots of you have seen this photo before as I have used it as a signature image for some time. Unsurprisingly a number have asked, ‘There must be a story behind that stag, Steve. Tell us about it’. Well, here goes…You can no doubt tell by how much I have aged that it
Having spent more than fifty years working outside in the rain I was delighted to see this take on the subject. It reminds me a bit of the old adage, ‘When it don’t rain the roof don’t leak; when it do (you) can’t fix it nohow!’ Most times I love being outdoors in the rain.
You will find many, many posts in this blog which mention hunting (particularly sambar deer hunting which has been a passion of mine for much of my adult life) but there are many more which are relevant to the art and skill of hunting. I have been a hunter since I could walk over 70
As I recover from my total knee replacement operation (five weeks now -and going well so far hopefully, thank you), every morning my attention is drawn to this sight outside my kitchen window. I know as a responsible farmer I should not allow this guy even to exist, but no-one is perfect – and it
