OP
OP
JP100
WKR
Hey guys thanks alot for the comments
Here is the rest of the story haha(I was away Tahr hunting so didnt finish it all)
Day 7
This was our last day of hunting and I was pretty happy to have an easy day around camp glassing Tahr. Mirella wanted to some painting and drawing and Kadin was feeling pretty ill. Adrian was off up into the bluffs that Mirella and I had hunted on day 5.
Kadin got bored of camp and went for a walk across the river into some icy bluffs, he got back in a few hours a bit shaken up with a close call in the tough terrain, but luckily he had taken my ice axe.
Mirella and I spent most of the day watching Tahr on the bluffs and a Blue Duck in the river, but at around 2 pm we spotted a Bull low down across river. The bull bedded down in the open tussock and Mirella was keen to have a go at him. Kadin watched from camp as we climbed the face and began to sidle toward the bedded Bull. I stayed back about 30 yards behind Mirella and after some sneaking she indicated that he just got up and was starting to feed only 60 yards from her. I stayed put as I didn’t want to ruin the stalk. After about 30mins Mirella returned with a big smile on her face. She had stalked into the bull as he was feeding getting to about 30 yards. He wouldn’t stop walking as he fed and she followed him along for nearly 200 yards like this until he spotted her and took off. She didn’t get a shot at him but was happy none the less with an exciting stalk.
We were about to head back to camp when we saw another bull crest the ridge above us and disappear behind a rock. We climbed up into the snow where we had last seen him. Mirella crept along and peered over a boulder and there he was, 45 yards away. He was bedded down facing toward us. There was no wind and every step on the snow was like standing on egg shells. We tried a few approaches on him but he heard us and tore off into some bluffs. It was very exciting having two opportunities like that in less than 2 hours. It was starting to get dark so we made our way back down to camp.
Adrian was at camp when we got there and he had a frustrating day in the bluffs. Getting to about 100 yards on some Tahr but couldn’t close the gap.
Day 8
We were flying out today and the pilot had told us to be ready by 8.30. We were all packed up and the weather seemed good to us. We sat there all day waiting for a helicopter that never came. We could see cloud building on the other side of range and knew that they couldn’t fly from the heli pad about 25 kms away. We unpacked our tents and hoped for better weather.
Day 9
It started raining at about 4am and unzipping the tent to low cloud and rain was not a good feeling. We discussed the weather a few times and decided there was no way the helicopter could get us today and we would just have to wait it out another day. Not long after lunch time to our great surprise and relief we heard a chopper suddenly appear above our tents, I scrambled out and the pilot gave me a thumbs up and indicated he would be back in 10mins! We were pretty relieved as we were sick of being in our tents. In a mad rush 8mins we packed all our now wet gear away and sat waiting. We were all puzzled as to how the chopper had got here as the cloud was very low and it was blowing hard and pissing down with rain. We sat there in the cold rain and after about 30mins we wondered if he would ever come back. Then we heard him and saw the chopper not 100ft above the river coming up the valley. We loaded most of the gear and Kadin and Adrian jumped in. Another half an hour later he was back to get the rest of the gear and myself and Mirella. It was a great relief to be in the chopper. He took us straight down the valley to Haast. There we saw a big group of hunters waiting by the road side. After we unloaded the chopper we found out we would take a van from here back up to the heli pad (2hours north). This was a great relief and the pilots went well out of their way to get us. They told us the weather report was for heavy rain for the next week and it was now or never.
It was a good ride back up being able to chat to the group of Australian bow hunting mates who were at the camp below us. They had some success with a mature bull on the ground and a young animal for meat and the skin.
It’s amazing the differing opinions of hunting in a country with no seasons or bag limits. One rifle hunter from one of the other camps talked proudly about shooting 9 bull Tahr none of them over 12 inches and only recovering 4.( I hope he reads this haha) It seemed such a waste to shoot so many animals and not even bother to put in the time or effort to go and get them.
Anyway it was a great trip and after only 6 months of archery I am now fully converted to the bow. Bow hunting Tahr is not a high success game but it’s definitely worth it.
Here is the rest of the story haha(I was away Tahr hunting so didnt finish it all)
Day 7
This was our last day of hunting and I was pretty happy to have an easy day around camp glassing Tahr. Mirella wanted to some painting and drawing and Kadin was feeling pretty ill. Adrian was off up into the bluffs that Mirella and I had hunted on day 5.
Kadin got bored of camp and went for a walk across the river into some icy bluffs, he got back in a few hours a bit shaken up with a close call in the tough terrain, but luckily he had taken my ice axe.
Mirella and I spent most of the day watching Tahr on the bluffs and a Blue Duck in the river, but at around 2 pm we spotted a Bull low down across river. The bull bedded down in the open tussock and Mirella was keen to have a go at him. Kadin watched from camp as we climbed the face and began to sidle toward the bedded Bull. I stayed back about 30 yards behind Mirella and after some sneaking she indicated that he just got up and was starting to feed only 60 yards from her. I stayed put as I didn’t want to ruin the stalk. After about 30mins Mirella returned with a big smile on her face. She had stalked into the bull as he was feeding getting to about 30 yards. He wouldn’t stop walking as he fed and she followed him along for nearly 200 yards like this until he spotted her and took off. She didn’t get a shot at him but was happy none the less with an exciting stalk.
We were about to head back to camp when we saw another bull crest the ridge above us and disappear behind a rock. We climbed up into the snow where we had last seen him. Mirella crept along and peered over a boulder and there he was, 45 yards away. He was bedded down facing toward us. There was no wind and every step on the snow was like standing on egg shells. We tried a few approaches on him but he heard us and tore off into some bluffs. It was very exciting having two opportunities like that in less than 2 hours. It was starting to get dark so we made our way back down to camp.
Adrian was at camp when we got there and he had a frustrating day in the bluffs. Getting to about 100 yards on some Tahr but couldn’t close the gap.
Day 8
We were flying out today and the pilot had told us to be ready by 8.30. We were all packed up and the weather seemed good to us. We sat there all day waiting for a helicopter that never came. We could see cloud building on the other side of range and knew that they couldn’t fly from the heli pad about 25 kms away. We unpacked our tents and hoped for better weather.
Day 9
It started raining at about 4am and unzipping the tent to low cloud and rain was not a good feeling. We discussed the weather a few times and decided there was no way the helicopter could get us today and we would just have to wait it out another day. Not long after lunch time to our great surprise and relief we heard a chopper suddenly appear above our tents, I scrambled out and the pilot gave me a thumbs up and indicated he would be back in 10mins! We were pretty relieved as we were sick of being in our tents. In a mad rush 8mins we packed all our now wet gear away and sat waiting. We were all puzzled as to how the chopper had got here as the cloud was very low and it was blowing hard and pissing down with rain. We sat there in the cold rain and after about 30mins we wondered if he would ever come back. Then we heard him and saw the chopper not 100ft above the river coming up the valley. We loaded most of the gear and Kadin and Adrian jumped in. Another half an hour later he was back to get the rest of the gear and myself and Mirella. It was a great relief to be in the chopper. He took us straight down the valley to Haast. There we saw a big group of hunters waiting by the road side. After we unloaded the chopper we found out we would take a van from here back up to the heli pad (2hours north). This was a great relief and the pilots went well out of their way to get us. They told us the weather report was for heavy rain for the next week and it was now or never.
It was a good ride back up being able to chat to the group of Australian bow hunting mates who were at the camp below us. They had some success with a mature bull on the ground and a young animal for meat and the skin.
It’s amazing the differing opinions of hunting in a country with no seasons or bag limits. One rifle hunter from one of the other camps talked proudly about shooting 9 bull Tahr none of them over 12 inches and only recovering 4.( I hope he reads this haha) It seemed such a waste to shoot so many animals and not even bother to put in the time or effort to go and get them.
Anyway it was a great trip and after only 6 months of archery I am now fully converted to the bow. Bow hunting Tahr is not a high success game but it’s definitely worth it.
