Will , you are such a charmer ....... and gifted photographer . From what was dangling in that river between you all , at least the croc would have only got a small meal :D . Really though , sure wish I was there . What an experience , now get your part of the story finished Mr Nelson . Can't wait for a re-run of the accounts around next years Elk Camp Campfire , you gotta be there too Rob ..... And Rex ( I'll supply the Malt ) . I know I already said on Facebook Rob , but Congrats on the Wedding Buddy .
This weekend while on stand, I had some time to reflect on this Australian adventure. I must admit, when I left Oz, I sort of had a hollow feeling. I wasn't exactly sure why. The feeling certainly didn't stem from a lack of laughs, extreme conditions, close encounters, or good companionship. Au contraire, being in Australia and sharing the events with this group of friends, well, that was a dream come true! I shot all the animals I had hope for. And, even the fact that I left the trophies there didn't phase me (I knew I was going to do that going into the hunt.) I made some awesome shots.. why then did I have this sense of emptiness? A part of it came from spending time with young Wesley. He did crazy innocent things which made me think of my own daughter back home (only a kid would dive into a slow body of water -barefooted- and with zero regard for the ever present crocodile). I truly wish I could have shared this trip with her. There were times when I knew she would have been a pig in slop! I also now know, for sure, I am not a city boy! I/we Spent five nights and four days in the City of Darwin. It's a great place but not a place for me. I would have much rather spent those days in the outback-for me, the city is extreme whereas the bush is Heaven. The farther I can get away from it, the better... And then there was this (Click on image to start video): On the last day of the hunt, after we had packed camp and were heading out, I kept my bow readily available. I still wanted to arrow a scrub bull if the opportunity arose. To our surprise, we saw one while motoring up the two track-it saws us as well. The moment we stopped the 2500 pound bovine disappeared like draft beer on nickel night! Farther up the road, we came across a group of buffs (as seen in the above video). They were several hundred yards in the bush. Rob and I vacated the Patrol and aligned trees to make a stalk. Our advance went well. I delivered an arrow from 30 yards and watched as it struck behind the cow's shoulder. At the time, I felt I could not have made a better shot! Side note: Remember, I had switched back to a lighter arrow and an expandable broadhead setup. I watched as the cow ran off... she slowed and began to lag behind. I pursued (I lost track of Rob since my focus was on the buff). I managed to work within 80 yards of the injured girl . I was directly behind her and she was facing away. I moved forward. I had thoughts of emptying my quiver as Rob had done two days earlier. I advanced 20 more yards. Suddenly the buff turned, saw me, and depart the vicinity post-haste never to be seen again. We never recovered her. The trouble we went through searching for her was fruitless. Up until this weekend, I thought the reason for the non-recovery was due to my choice of arrow and broadhead. I have been hammering myself for making the decision to switch gear. Or worse yet, applying that gear in that situation. I felt horrible... Upon reflection, The biggest mistake I made was following the beast too quickly. I had her right there in sight. I should have let the arrow do its job. She was showing signs of demise. I should not have pushe d her. I should have left her alone to die! Trying to get more into her was the worst thing I could have done! She was bleeding internally...I should have given her more time.... These are some tough critter as Rob's buff clearly demonstrated. What works on one doesn't necessarily work on another. The scrub bull tommorrow...I promise ( I needed to air this first).
After searching in vain for the water buffalo, Rob, John, and I trekked back to the truck. It was a good thing Rob was paying attention to the terrain and compass orientation. I had gotten myself lost in the pursuit. Without Rob, I would still be wondering… We continued up the road… From the vehicle, my group of hunters located a lone scrub bull about 400 yards in the bush. The area where he was bedded had been burned; there was absolutely nothing for ground cover. I pressed Scottie to drive on…the plan was to move significantly past the bull and then unload. I was going to make a solo stalk from a downwind direction. The others were going to drive back up the road and use our vehicle as a distraction. The plan worked beautifully! As the feral oxen’s attention was on the truck, I slipped down into a depression. I quickly made up distance (three eights of mile or so). I was now two hundred yards from my target. I used ant hills and termite mounds to gain another 100 yards. I then lined up two small trees to edge forward another 20 yards. At 80, I ran out of cover. I remember thinking, “cautious baby steps from here.” I slowly advanced. When I was sixty yards out, the bull came to his feet. He obviously knew something was amiss. But rather than bolt, the bull moved ten yards closer to investigate. I ranged him at exactly fifty yards. He was staring at me while in a quartering to position. He continued to shift his head from left to right. My read was, “he getting ready to run”. I drew my bow. He turned his head and body slightly to the right. I settled my fifty yard pin between his neck and front shoulder. In a flash the arrow was on its way! The Radial X Weave rammed through the bull’s bone structure all the way up to the fletching. He took three stumbling steps backwards on impact. He spun and ran three steps. Then, he began spinning in circles. He walked ten more steps and fell over dead. I was elated! Again, I would like to thank Rex, Ben, Scott, Rob, and Jackson for making this an incredible adventure! This is a trophy photo I will always cherish:
Will/Rob, Awesome! Really enjoyed this post...sure sounds like a whole other world over there. Great testament on those buffs how lethal archery equipment can be. Anyone sticking to the 80lb bows once they get home? Does Scotty wear flipflops 24/7? I sure enjoyed Scottie in Elk camp last year - not only can he all out get after it when hunting, there is never a dull moment... Nice job guys!
I switched back to my 70# limbs the day I got home. Drawing and holding 73#'s is like child's play now.
Sweet , that was one excellent read . Well worth the wait and so envious , thanks for the entertainment Guys .... And I'm thinking yeah , Scottie wears flipflops 24/7 too Matt
Those would be "jangoes" in Kiwi or "thongs" in Oz. He even had me hunting in Tevas by the last day. I got pretty scratched up as a result while chasing after that last buff Will shot, and his scrub bull (AKA brush buck in Rex lingo).
Haha ( almost spat my single malt out ) , Rex is one funny Guy . That's what I'm gonna refer to them as from now on lol :D
Dave, Did you catch the "Jason", "Josh", "John", and "Jackson" throughout the thread? If it was a name starting with "J", Rex applied it to Justin. I thought I would keep the tradition going now that we're home. And all this time you thought I was losing it!
I don't know how many times poor Justin got called Jason between Rex and me. By the end we just resolved to call him J.
