It all started in August already. I was scouting the area geting used to whereabouts of the reds. Pretty casual, easy going with iron sighted double I was visiting their favourite points.



My parts



Stags whereabouts



Once I found some promisable signs





The gloves were off - scoped R93 in 9,3x62 and 230gr GS HV custom's, doing 2550fps was brought up



and an exhausting game of seek and hide began...stag was staying on this ridge during the day. Well protected with usual wind from its behind overlooking slope below with a handy thickets few steps away - a true fort.



There were times when my Boy was making me company...



Lots of other game crossed my path (bear cub):



...and days were draging into eternity...hunting became a pilgrimage - humdrum life.

Yet it came September and with it a rut time. Ah - love - love has been the bane of his life, hind has been his undoing.

Rut began rather early this year - perhaps due a long drought during August...anyway I heard it first on September the 3rd.

A young stag enraged Him and He followed into a big walley nearby. Weather was pretty warm - even during moonlighted nights but rut was incredible...



I was close, realy close a couple of times but the wind and young stags were keeping him safe...



Some other respective heads were taken by my mates



And the quota was drying out - only 1 stag left...

Then came the Sunday the 18th. Warm weather was about to change late in the night.
In the Morning the whole lot of main stag with hinds and 2 side stags moved up the near hill and stay in the thickets. Rut was heard well into daylight (8.45 am).
During the day a couple of showers hit us - just to wet grounds and make stalking possible.

Along with my friend we rushed the before mentioned hill. When we peeked over first ridge at 5.00 pm all 3 Stags were already roaring. We pushed hard almost to the top, just under the thicket that covered the top of the hill.
Stag was close - realy close some 100m above us. My friend stayed behind some rocks while I cheated another 15m to observe the edge of the thicket. Bloody squirrel jumped out - causing a minor stroke I admit...then he moved. Strange - he was alone - limping badly still keeping himself just inside the thickets so I had a hard time looking for a smallest openings to squeeze a bullet through. At one moment I was already squeezing already light trigger on my R93 when he moved further on...at the next dormer I was ready. Cross just behind the shoulder - he was going away already and a mild shove to my shoulder that followed a loud BOOM froze the moment. He marked well - high jump and a tucked in hind legs confirmed the hit...then a mad run and out of the sight.

After couple of minutes we climbed to the spot he was at the time of the shot. Blood was there alright - frothy one - from the lungs...





...he took a straight, level cross the slope...bleeding and meandering...shot was taking its tole



Still after 100m or so the trail was beginning tu turn uphill...additional care was taken - wasn't needed - he was dead on his back a couple of meters ahead...Bullet passed from entry behind its left shoulder to exit on its right shoulder.







...then the first drops of rain fell...

Congrats with nice Stag! Thanks for shareing!

Nils-Ole

Nice Stag.

Nice narrative....I was there!
Well told

mousie,

Superb Stag, great Hunt Report; good story with lots of great photos.

Waidmannsheil!

Mouse,
Great hunt report, congrats on a beautiful stag.

Congrats on that beautiful stag! Really nice looking animal
Thanks for sharing

My brother lived in Slovenia 2 years... and never once invited me hunting out there little bastard.

Stunning report,

I am actually there on the slope, thank you for bringing us there.

/Chris

Weidmannsheil, Mouse! Great hunt, great story, great pictures, great stag!
- mike

Very nice
Weidmannsheil, and thank you for sharing

Great thread, but I really expected to see a beautiful tracking dog in at least one photo.

Mouse

As always a super report. Stunning scenery and great woodland setting.

It looks v exciting woodland stalking.

As always thank you for posting.

Hello Mouse,

Excelent hunt report!! Beautiful places, stags and cannot be better with your son company!!! Great!

Congratulations!!

PH

Great looking stag, really enjoyed your report. Looks like some great hunting ground.

Hey Mouse, Great hunt, great report, Congratulations. Is that A Left Handed R93? I have a Left Handed R93 in .300 WSM. Great Rifle. What about your Double ? What Make ? what Calibre?Cheers from OZ.

Gentlemen thank you for picking up my trails...always a pleasure to put up an report and pass it over to soul mates that appreciate it - hunter to hunters. It was a strong fix that is still lasting

Jeff no dog pics this time - bitch was resting in my vehicle 300m lover - just in case that wasn't neccesary this time. Besides - we were rather buggered atm - stag was shot 200m above any suitable place for a vehicle to fetch it, besides thunder storm settled in...we needed additional help from another 2 guys and 2 solid hours to drag the stag through rocks and fallen trees and stuff. We also hardly prevent our vehicle from rolling over - those rocks get icy slippery when wet etc...

dhuish yes it is a lefty R93. I also have an lefty Merkel 140 in 9,3x74R but it wouldn't be up to it this time (not scoped) - it was filigran work of tiny details and most episodes were evolving at first minutes of light in the mornings or last ones in the evenings in thick jungle stuff - no way without optics.

Nice story and pictures, thanks for sharing. Also good to read that you already involve the future generation of hunters.

Great story! I felt the adrenaline pumping
Thanks for sharing.

Wonderful stag!

Congrats mate. I just love hunting Stag.

Beautiful stag!

Thank you for taking the time to share your hunt with us.

Congrats! Great stag

Mouse great stag and story. That side profile really shows him off to his best.

K

Those Slovenian stags are huge. We dont see many like that in the Scottish highlands. I bet he was quite heavy to drag out. Well done

felt as though I was there with you. Great narritive! Beautiful country. Whats that building in the background in the second landscape photo? Beautiful photo.

Thanks guys!

D - that is a small church - those are riding the tops of many hills around and are remnants from Turkish invasions from 15 and 16th century - they sounded alarms by tolling and offered a refuge to the folks from vicinity. Turks were usualy happy with loot they got in the villages and didn't bother to climb the hills so many escaped by hiding inside those churches.

quote:

Originally posted by mouse93:
Thanks guys!

D - that is a small church - those are riding the tops of many hills around and are remnants from Turkish invasions from 15 and 16th century - they sounded alarms by tolling and offered a refuge to the folks from vicinity. Turks were usualy happy with loot they got in the villages and didn't bother to climb the hills so many escaped by hiding inside those churches.

Very interesting Mouse. I love history. Thank you.

Nice looking stag! My buddies are back in Alberta chasing elk as I write this. I imagine stag hunting must be a lot like elk hunting and if so it's fun indeed. Thanks for sharing such a nice story.

Thank you - yes rather similar - tho they (stags) sound better IMO

Great hunt report.

Did you weigh the carcass (or the skull)?

What a fine stag.

Mouse - great pictures and fantastic report. Congratulations on shooting a magnificent stag on my birthday. Good also to see a picture of the next generation Master Hunter along with that famous Slovenian shooting stick.

I must admit, I agree with Jeff - you've made a star out of that dog of yours and now her fans are demanding to know why on earth you would leave her out of the show???

Guys sorry - there realy was no place nore time for a dog in this hunt. Many situations evolved as close as 15m, great majority 30-50m. You can't play it with animals such as red deer - with senses a couple of times better than those of roes not to mention their instincts and inteligence...the only time the dog would be brought up, would be in case if we could not find the stag after the shot. With nighfall and thunderstorm going on it would have to wait till next day.

Bog - sory no data (yet) - stag was big bodied at its peak (10 y. o.+). We usually weight all the game before the meat goes to sale, however this time stag was bought up front for agreed sum...my guess is it weighted app. 170-190kg gutted. Should pull 2 cents easy before the rut - live weight app. 260kg...guessing. It was the biggest in the freezer among others - without legs and head it was hanging upside down under the 2,5m ceiling - still with neck on the floor...
My friend is taking care of the skull - will report when I get some more info.

P.S. Front hoof measured 11cm (4.3") in length and 9cm (3.5") in width

Wow!

Well done as Always Mouse, both on the hunt and the report.

260kg Live weight isn't that much smaller than a North American elk...

quote:

...then the first drops of rain fell...

Bravo!

Superb. Wonderful pictures. I like your forest.

Weidmansheil! I enjoyed your photos and narrative. Slovenia is a wonderful country for hunting. I was able to hunt alpine chamois near Krn in 1999, and greatly enjoyed the area, the people, and the hunt.

Real beauty, all around! Someday......

Well done, enjoyed the story and pics, Waidmannsheil Mouse, Dom.

Bog skull weight (fresh 1 week) is 7,2kg - and a pic for Jeff and Cazador (emphasise on dog) - I just couldn't get the thicknes of this guy on the pic (I guess the first pic from the side does it best, not long 102cm-R, 100cm-L, realy thick, massive and heavy) - some measures: length of the skull 47cm!, circumference of the R roset is 27cm...). The guy that cleaned the skull said the whole skull in the forehead was yellow bruised under the skin from continuous fighting.



kenoneill - splendid - you have met some natural beauty with historical background. The WWI front line was just there in the valley beneath - you are standing on our side (Austrian then) the valley of Soca (Isonzo) and over on the other side (Italian) was Papa (Ernest Hemingway) in the 1918 - there he got his stuff up for "A Very Short Story" and "A Farewell to Arms" -

Well done! And a nice story!! Thank You.

Mouse,
Yes, I'm familiar with the Italian "front" in WWI and Hemingway's service there as an ambulance driver, fictionalized in "A Farewell to Arms". I visited Soca, Kobarid, and the Museum there, and traveled throughout many parts of the country with my hosts. I particularly enjoyed the Postojna caves and Predjama castle.
Ken

Mouse congratulations
It is very nice stag and the story just made my afternoon.

I was in Bovec for 7 days hunting with my clients from Ireland.
4 chamois in 1 day near Krn where Kenoneill was.
Can't wait to go again.