I snuck in a couple of hunts in last days of 2022. The first was a Buck coming out on a small clearing. I got there early With A mate Andy and sat waiting. With nothing showing close to dark we decided to move to a new spot, We stood up and walked 20 meters and heres a buck grazing in the only 4 square meters of clearing that I couldn't see. A 223 to the neck at 20 meters and I have 55kg of prime summer venison. It had been there for some time proving that maintaining quiet is important. Next morning we headed in another direction and the first deer we saw was a monster buck! We passed up on him as we would rather let him finish his antler growth and hope to find him in a month or so. A couple of ks later and Andy who's in front, dropped to the ground and signalled a deer in front of him. We set up and Top predator, who was also with us moved up and started to film while Andy settled himself and took a nice 120 meter neck shot and he had his summer venison as well.And that finished off our year in perfect fashion.

Next morning and first day of the new year and I took some young guys for a long wander up a river too a cave system. The bush here is loaded in goats, so the lads had a rifle each and we stalked our way up the valley and picked off 18 on the way there and back. The boys shot well and nothing escaped which was good to see. Though it was mostly about the boys having fun, I did grab the rifle a couple of times and pick off a couple of goats that were wandering through the trees myself.
Bloody good way to finish a year and start the new one.

Sounds like big fun Craig!

Good one, Craig!

Did you get James to smile? (Outside of promising him a trip to Macca's)

Well I have seen him smile. I beleive he was talking about Meghan Markle at the time.

I too felt that a hunt was the right way to spend the last hours of the year. I left them alone while they were fawning but on New Years Eve I crawled up behind an old Puriri tree on top a ridge. Below is a little valley where a mob of Fallow were lying out in the sun. My scent drifted across and they spooked into the bush but I could see them moving around so I waited. Eventually a spiker emerged at about 200m and a 100gr .243 went right through his ribs. Venison for the grandkids. Unfortunately my wife wont eat or cook venison since she got cancer. Too many years when it was the only meat in the freezer so now she only wants chicken or pork in the time she has left.

Sorry to hear about your wife's situation, mate. Mine won't eat any game for any reason. Not even store-bought pheasant or quail.

Craig, was your buck a fallow, too?

Yes Pom, thats a sad situation. Wish you and your wife all the best!

Paul, Yep Fallow. They are one of the best eating deer you can get at this time of year. Ill actually, because of the situation here with the forestry moving in and culling the herd soon, try and take a few does and fawns this summer as well. Not something Id do normally, but the fawns are actually awesome as schnitzel. Just bone out the back legs and then put whole leg on the bacon slicer. I made a mistake a couple of years back and shot a fawn instead of the yearling Id intended, and thats what I did with it and it was superb.