Trad Gang
Trad Gang Highlights => Highlights 2008 => Topic started by: ncsturkey on March 19, 2008, 09:41:00 AM
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I just returned from a great experience and hunt. Gerald and Sue Telford of Wanaka,NZ were my outfitter. www.flyfishhunt.co.nz (http://www.flyfishhunt.co.nz)
I booked a 5 day hunt and on the third day was able to make a 33 yard shot on this animal. I was using my original DAS @56#,shooting Beman 360's,4" feathers. Eclipse 145 broadheads, 540 grains. Double lung pass through did the job. Rod
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a82/ncsturkey/IMG_0475_1.jpg)
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Man that is awesome!!! That is my dream hunt for sure!!!! :thumbsup:
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I'm like Tim, my dream hunt. Congradulations are in store :notworthy: :clapper:
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That hunt is definately on my wish list. That is one fine trophy. congrats.
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Very nice indeed. Congats!
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nice red congrats :clapper:
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beautiful animal. I hope you spent more than 5 days there, that is one heck of a trek for such a short trip.
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Great picture. Bet that was a great experience. 33 yards is a long shot for this whitetail hunter. Do you practice at that distance regularly or just for this hunt? How does the Red Stag compare to our western elk in body size? Were you able to bring any meat home with you? How is it as table fare? Congratulations and thanks for sharing. :clapper:
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What a jaw-dropper! Well-done to you!
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hey VI archer it aint that far hell no not compared to flying to the states from here. been there done that. and i was i there for 2-3 weeks. and it took me a week to get over the flight :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
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I did spend a little extra time and it was well worth it. I do practice for longer shots. I shot 20 to 35 yards every day that the weather allowed for 5 months. The Red is not as big as the Rocky Mountain elk. There was no way to take this animal down except in backpacks so I have nothing but a guess on its weight and I am a poor guess. The meat is excellent but it doesn't get to come back. The cape and horns will be shipped and will clear customs and the USDA inspection before heading to the tanner.
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Congrats on a beautiful animal. Hate to hear that the meat has to stay...
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hey ron it taste like crap anyway.
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Congratulations on a great animal !
If you have the time please tell us about how the hunting was conducted how many animals you saw and so on
I think a lot of us have red stag on the "to do" list..I know I have..So we would love to hear the details
Jacob
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Jacob, I will try to condense a 3 day hunt into a few words. I was guided by one of your countrymen. Morton is a young, strong, very knowledgeable Dane who has hunted all his life. He was my best asset.
The hunt was on the west shore of Lake Hawea in a part of the country near Wanaka. We hunted on one of the five high country sheep stations that surround the lake. Wanaka and the home of Gerald and Sue Telford were less than 30 minutes away. The Telfords home served as my base and it was from there that the hunt began.
Morton and I spent many hours glassing the mountains. On our first stop and over the course of a couple of hours three strong candidate stags were identified. Morton felt that we would have better opportunities and we relocated to a second glassing point near the base of the mountain. The Roar was beginning and the Stags were moving but were still in small groups. It is difficult to be sure how many shooters were seen in the scouting process but the total number of stags and females was impressive. My best recollection is more than 10 shooters were identified in the 2 1/2 days that preceded the kill.
On the afternoon of day one we made a long stalk on the best animal I saw over the entire hunt. I am 40 years older than my guide but it is important to remember that it was I who carried the bow. We had a very good wind until the last 50 yards and you probably can guess the rest. I have some good photos but the stag rose from his bed and left for high country. We scouted the wallows and made a decision to install a Double Bull blind in a location that would give me a 20 to 30 yard shot window. This set up was very convenient and we were actually able to take the truck to within 400 yards of the blind.
The blind was a good idea because the second day it rained for the morning hours and the wind was not our friend. While in the blind we observed a large movement of animals that were disturbed by something. Morton was convinced that we needed to move and see where the animals would settle. We found them over the next pass about half mile away. We sat up to glass and observed for the second time the use of a high pass by several stags. We counted 7 that took the same route and as the day came to an end we knew where our day would begin on the next morning.
Day three was a blue bird day with just a breeze filtering down the mountain early in the morning. Soon the roars were frequent and the stags began their trip over the familiar ground, exactly as they had done on two previous days. Morton decided to have a closer look to determine if a reasonable location could be identified for an afternoon hunt. The decision was made and early afternoon we started the climb to find a shooting spot. That turned into a no-brainer. A couple of cedars and some branches tied to rocks to create a back drop and it was 4PM. Morton took a position where he could view the flat meadow that stretched for 4-500 yards just out of my line of vision. He kept me informed on the activity with hand signals. His last message before I made the kill was to inform me that two stags were bedded at 76 yards and one was a shooter. Within the next 60 seconds a third stag bounced those from the rest and my stag on his route through the pass took my arrow.
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a82/ncsturkey/IMG_0460.jpg)
A view of Lake Hawea from my blind
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awesome it sure is a beautiful place wish i had spent longer there!
Great stag thanks for sharing :thumbsup: :clapper:
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That's a great stag Rod! Thanks for sharing the story and hunt with us! Well done! ;) :thumbsup: :clapper:
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THAT IS MY DREAM HUNT AS WELL. IS THERE A TRAD GANG CREW TRIP IN THE FUTURE?
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I'm not sure I mentioned that the main reason that I chose Gerald Telford as the outfitter was because he is an archer and understood what was involved in the process. I was double blessed by the fact that Morton, my guide is also an archer. It is an important consideration in my opinion. Rod
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about the meat rod you aint tasted nothing untill you taste fallow deer in my opinion it is the best that new zealand has to offer. as that is all i hunt when i go hunting. :thumbsup: :archer:
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I'm not sure what a "fellow deer" is but I'm sure that I don't want any. Rod
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well i was not offering ya any :biglaugh: dont knock it untill ya tried it. ya will have to come back and ask if they will take ya fallow deer hunting i am sure they will. obtw it is a deer i aint pulling ya leg. yup i cant spell
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I think you might be refering to Fallow deer which is what we call them. Nice stag Rod, thanks for sharin! Joseph
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Sounds like a really good hunt.
I think I will try and contact Gerald to hear if I can get in contact with Morton ( actually its spelled - Morten )
Would be interesting.
Thanks for the story !
Jacob
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Congrats on a great hunt. I was there last year for work, no time to book a proper hunt, or funds as I was in Namibia hunting the year before!!!!! Once again congrats on a great trophy!
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very nice, boy what beautiful country!!!!
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Awesome trophy and great story!
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your one lucky hunter,what A awsome animal those antlers are sooo massive. great story and great shot.
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Unbelievable, what an awesome experience and story.
Congrats brother.
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Way to go, Awesome!
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Nice, vary nice :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: