Lone Star Bowhunters Association - 2009 LSBA Banquet Hunt Harvest in New Zealand with Southern Hunting Safaris

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hot4huntin (Post 20479)

:hello::hello: JO!!!

Anxiously awaiting pics and story!! :whistle:

Okay, the wait is finally over.....Long read.....but short version.:D

After several months of preparing for the hunt of a lifetime in New Zealand, it was finally here. I was finally in New Zealand. My adrenaline was racing as much as it was the night that I won this hunt at the Lone Star Bowhunters Association Annual Banquet. After a quick meet and greet and wonderful nights rest, I found myself with my guide, Scott Thomson of Southern Hunting Safaris on our spot and stalk for a trophy red stag.

When we arrived at the area I would be hunting, the scenery that surrounded me overwhelmed me. As we approached the hunting area, Scott said, “We are late! They are already in the willow bottom." At that point, I was crushed. Suddenly, Scott said, "Look there are two stags just to the left of the hilltop. Let’s put a stalk on them." Our stalk began by utilizing a belly crawl to get me into position. I am positioned out in the open about two thirds the way up the hill from the willow bottom with only knee high tall grass for cover. Scott is ten yards behind me calling the stags. They begin to answer him and he says, "Get ready, they are coming towards us." I am on one knee and I quickly nock my Victory arrow and clip my Scott’s release on my loop. I am excited and my adrenaline is elevating because my opportunity to harvest my stag is about to become a reality. Suddenly, the red stag turns and starts to go away from us. All I can hear is their roaring starting to fade as my chance to succeed on day one is starting to fade. I put my arrow back in my quiver. Scott decides we need to reposition ourselves. The good news is this does not include a belly crawl for this stalk. The bad news is now we need to slide down the hill in a seated position! Scott says," Follow me but watch out those plants have thorns." We repositioned ourselves at the face of the hill so that the willow bottom is to our right and the taller mountain is to our left. Scott gives me a hand signal letting me know that he has spotted a nice stag behind the willow bottom. We patiently wait since the rutting stag decides to follow a hind that is heading our way. Then to our left another red stag comes out of nowhere. He is running a zigzag pattern down the hill towards the willow bottom. I am astonished by his speed as he chases the hind down the hill. At this point, it is just a matter of which stag will get in range first. Again, Scott tells me to get ready when suddenly the red stag coming down the hill breaks away and goes directly into the trees. The stag on our right decides that he likes the coverage of the willow trees as well. Now, there are several trophy red stags in the willow bottom. All I can hear is a thrashing noise echoing from the willow trees as they rub their antlers and intensify their roar.

Scott spots two more red stags. Scott gets my attention and says, "Come on, we got to make our way up the hill. They are behind us." We crawl on our knees as he gets me into position. Scott says, “Get ready he is coming." Again, I nock my Victory arrow and clip my Scott’s release onto my loop of my Mathews Passion. I am not nervous at this point because this is the third time I have nocked an arrow. Suddenly, a red stag appears to my left. Scott says, "You can take him. He is twenty five yards away." As I begin to stand and draw my Mathews Passion, Scott says, “There is another red stag on your right at twenty five yards and he is bigger, take him! Take the shot when you are ready." Before coming to full draw, I redirect my focus on the red stag to my right. I look at him and he turns and looks at me briefly then he looks away. I place my pin just behind the shoulder and confirm that I am level. I release my arrow and I connect. I hear the arrow and watch it bury into the red stag. However, my arrow placement is further back than I anticipated. All I can think is what happened? I reach for another arrow but my quiver is on the face of the hill. I also realized I forgot to turn on my camera! My bow was set up with the Texas Boar Bracket, which allowed me to attach the video camera into my riser but I was so focused on my shot that I forgot to press the record button. We can see that he is badly hurt as we see him stagger away. I turn to Scott and he says, “When you released the red stag you were aiming at lunged forward to fight with the other stag on your left." Scott says, "Let's get your arrows and make our way in front of him for a follow up shot." At this point, I am so dejected but I know that I have to get another arrow in him. As we make our way up the other hill to get into position for another shot, I cannot help but beat myself up for not connecting like I had practiced. We cleared the hill and there is no sign of the stag. I am really beginning to panic. I know he is hurt and we need to locate him, Where is he? Scott says, "He must be at the face of the hill. We are ahead of him. We have to go down the face of the hill and locate him." Now the quest to find my stag intensified. Here is where the experience of a guide is very important. As we backtracked, Scott used his binoculars and quickly located my stag. He says, "I got him. I see him. Can you see him?" I reply, " I do not see him." He whispers, "He is to the right of you. He is about sixty yards." Suddenly, I see some antler tips moving. Scott says, "You are going to have to slide down in a seated position and I will tell you when to stop." I begin my descent in hopes of getting a follow up shot. I look up at Scott and he signals for me to stop and get ready. He lets me know that I am thirty-five yards away. We patiently wait for the opportunity. The red stag finally stands up and I see that my arrow is still in him. However, he lays down again behind a bush. A few minutes later, we see him get up and Scott says, "Here is your chance." I see him ease forward as I draw back my Passion. I release and my arrow connects. After the shot, all I could see is a set of huge antlers gracefully lay down in slow motion. He gets up one more time and runs down to the bottom of the hill. Scott comes down to me and says, “Good job on the follow-up shot. He is hurt badly, let us give him time to expire and not push him. We will find him here in the morning."

I was still in shock. I was happy that I was able to harvest a red stag but upset with my initial shot. I was so disappointed with my first shot that I did not allow myself the opportunity to celebrate. In my mind, I had dreamed of this hunt for months and had practiced the shot over and over but the hunt did not happen as I had practiced. As we all know, 3D targets do not move even though there are times when we swear they do. For me, my shot reinforced the idea that things can change in a split second and being prepared for a follow up shot is critical. In this situation, I was extremely grateful that my guide, Scott Thomson, was able to get me within bow range but most importantly he had the experience and knowledge to locate my fatally wounded stag and get me a follow-up shot.
As we approached the area where we last saw my red stag, I heard Scott say, "Yeah, there he is mate!" My magnificent red stag was right where we last saw him the night before. It was at that moment, I realized my quest for a red stag in New Zealand was now complete. I was in awe and could not find the words to describe how it felt to see just how magnificent and beautiful the red stag was at that moment. He was even larger than I imagined and much more majestic than I recalled.

This hunt would have never been possible had it not been for the Lone Star Bowhunters Association and the generosity of their outfitter, Scott Thomson of Southern Hunting Safaris. I have no doubt that when the opportunity arises to return to New Zealand, Scott Thomson of Southern Hunting Safaris will be my outfitter. My thanks also go out to the volunteers of the Lone Star Bowhunters Association for their dedication and efforts. The Lone Star Bowhunters Association is a wonderful organization that is dedicated to preserving and promoting the sport of bow hunting in Texas as well as introducing our youth into the sport of archery. Support the Lone Star Bowhunters Association and attend their annual banquet, which is quickly approaching, because you never know when your dream hunt could be yours by simply raising your hand.