I thought I would share the first hunt I had with my Bob Lee recurve. This is a recurve I purchased a year or so ago from a Tradgang member "Soap Box". When I spoke with him he told me this bow came with Mojo. Well he was correct about that, this bow had a sense of presence about it. What a first hunt it was, read on.
I just received my new Bob Lee takedown 60” AMO, 55lb @ 28”one week before Xmas from a Tradgang member. I spent the next couple of weeks building up some shafts which ended up at around the 600 grain mark with a 300 grain point weight. A couple of weeks later I was heading to the River to get acquainted with Bob and blood him. On this trip there would be Special and myself, after a bit of planning we were set. The date would be the Australia day long weekend. We arrived at the property about the middle morning and spoke with the property owner. After a rather long conversation we were off to our camp site for the weekend, which was only a couple of Km’s away from our current location.
As soon as we hit camp Special was into the Weaco for a Super Dry, after all it was Australia Day. With the gear unpacked we set a couple of block targets up and I assembled the takedown and began slinging arrows. The day was very hot and we decided to do a little fishing prior to an afternoon hunt. Special decided he would continue on the Extra Dry and catch river rabbits.
I grabbed my kit after touching up a few ribbies and I was off into the hills. We did not bring any meat with us for the weekend so my first task was to put a nice young goat on the ground for a goat roast for dinner. I jumped in my Kayak and headed up river, stopping every now and then to glass. It wasn’t long and spotted a small mob of goats feeding about 100 metres off the river. I beached my yak and planned the stalk; the wind was up to its old tricks as it does.
I decided to head up high and that would give me a few options pending wind and the goat’s movements. I walked about 400 metres and I now had about five goats 100 metres below me. I dropped into a gully and used the lay of the land to close the gap. Before I knew it I was 40 metres out with a slight rise in front of me. An arrow was nocked and I pushed forward using a small tree as cover on my final approach. Now at 30 metres and normally I would take the shot with my Monster MR6, but still too far with the curve. I finally made it into 15 metres and ready to draw, the young nanny gave me a quartering shot. I released and the arrow was away finding its mark, initially I thought may be too much quarter and only one lung. I nocked another arrow and it was away to secure dinner for day one.
After taking the back straps I moved on, about an hour later I was on to a small mob of young Billys. I made my way through the timber, half ghost and half cat. Closing the gap to about 25 metres I wanted another five to 10 metres. Finally the goat turned away from me allowing the extra few metres. I came to full draw anchored for a few seconds and the arrow zipped on through. A couple of photos and I was off again.
I moved off and began to climb high in pursuit of more game. I wanted to just walk the river and about 100 metres in from the water, but the wind was changing as I passed each gully. I decided to move up higher for the reason of the wind and too allow me the option with an approach. As I got higher I sat and glassed the river flats, whilst doing so I heard movement from behind. I turned around and hoped up; I observed a small billy which looked lost. An arrow was nocked and I began to nanny call, after a minute or so I had the small billy running at me like a fox too the whistle. As he got to about 15 metres I drew and held anchor, finally at 5 metres I shot him quartering on.
I was one very happy hunter now, I came with the intent to down a critter with the Bob Lee takedown and I had already had dinner and a couple on the ground. A couple of pics were taken and I sat there reflecting on the last couple of stalks. I love bow hunting goats and have managed to down a lot over the years but the recurve takes that to a whole new level. I thought then I need to take stock of my arrows and cleaned a few up and touched the blades up with a small diamond file. As I did this I spotted movement down below me and a couple of hundred metres to my left, mmm pigs.
Checking the wind I devised an approach plan, continue up higher and drop down to a ferned area along a game trail. I got to where I had last seen the pigs and nothing, as I edged further over a small bench I spotted a couple of small ones. I then thought there could also be some pork on the menu for dinner. Managing to get into 10 metres from them I noticed there were three pigs. With an arrow already on the string, I drew and the arrow was away only to shoot over the top of the pig. The arrow sailed into the water and I nocked another arrow, as the pig walked across to my right I drew and shot in one motion hitting my pork dinner nice. I was over the moon that I had downed a pig with the new curve.
With photos taken I thought I would make my way back to the Kayak and have a few coldies back at camp, it was only day one and I had achieved the blooding of the recurve. I made my way to the top of the spur line this allowed me to glass both sides of the ridge on my return. Further glassing along the way, then I spotted two pigs rooting through some blackberry bush down on the river. A plan was devised and I was dropping down to their position, as I did so I made my way across a small flat with thick dead tussock. As I approached all off a sudden I dropped down to my waist in what I realised then was a wombat burrow. The tunnel had collapsed and I was now in it, after I made my way out of it I took stock of a number of cuts to my arms and checked my bow and arrows. By this time the pigs were gone, but glassing around had me onto another small billy. The wind was perfect and I put a few trees between me and him. I was now at about 20 – 25 metres, I thought I could get another 5 – 10 metres on him. Now at around 20 metres I drew anchored for a couple of seconds and the arrow was on its way. I watched as it entered tight in the sweet spot, the arrow zipped out the other side and into a tree. The billy made a half circle and ran down hill about 30 metres, awesome stalk and shot. I made my way down to the billy and obtained a few happy snaps.
I made my way towards my kayak and as I glassed ahead I spotted a feral cat, a nice plump fat one. As I glassed, it was I noticed two black cats, it was decided to back up and go higher to drop down on to the location. I made my way back into the timber and climbed higher.
After getting up higher and dropping down to where I thought the cats were, they were nowhere to be seen. After some attempts to squeak them in I decided I would head back to camp and as I paddle in I see Special with his rod bent over and fighting hard on the rod. As I pull in he is dragging a 10lb carp to the water’s edge, he hooks it with a homemade wire landing jig and drags it up onto the shore. I see he has set up his stool and surrounding the stool there would have been 15 – 20 carp and as many empty extra dry’s beer bottles next to him. By this stage I am rather parched and get into the spirit of Australia day. What a great first day on the hunt with another two days to go.
To be cont...
Topic: Getting Acquainted With Bob. (Read 830 times)
