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Mike Neeson

I have finally graduated from paper puncher to beginner hunter!


The shooting took place on a property in South West Queensland, AUS where a large population of fallow deer run between the station and bordering national park. The hunting areas were large fields interspersed by trees and the odd pile of rocks. Cover was limited and hunting was difficult. The kangaroos had been recently culled and were grazing among the herds. They nearly always saw us first and put the alert out. My first fallow was taken after a long and tiring crawl through clumped dry grass ranging from mid calf to about knee high. Sun was behind me and wind was cutting left to right. We spotted a nice buck with a good rack in a group of about five, but this was a meat hunt and it was meant to be does only. No place for a stable rest. I tried to take a sitting rest, but was sucking air so hard there was no way I was going to trust the shot. SO after crawling about 50m, looping up and then sitting up for a shot, I had to roll onto my back, curse a little about being so damn unfit and crawl some more. As I got closer I could finally start to see over the grass and managed to get my bipod onto a raised clump which settled my sights down. The deer fell instantly to the shot. I remember seeing the deer roll his head towards me as he went down. I remember every detail about that first shot, the recoil, the blast, the tinkle of my case as I chambered another round and the silence afterwards. It was surreal. I lay there breathing hard, looking through my scope at where the deer once was. I had just killed something. Heavy man. As my mentor - Michael - approached he told me to head over to my deer and stay there as he and Chris were going to have a crack at another herd off to the left. I walked the 100m or so (I didn't measure the distance) over to where he lay and yes, I was mortified to find I had shot a spiker. I couldn't make out the tiny spikes on his head through the grass. I sat by him for about 10 minutes by myself looking at the once majestic animal that now lay dead before me. What looked like a tear was rolling from the buck's eye which did not help the situation at all! Michael and Chris returned and Michael proceeded to demonstrate gutting the animal. The buck turned from animal to food before me and our mentor was a patient and well practiced teacher. The Hornady 308 165 SST @ 2710fps worked well. I pulled the shot right which meant the bullet hit the base of the neck and thoracic region. No exit wound, not too much damage and excellent result. The next day was a day full of frustration. Couldn't get close to the herds. On the Sunday I shot a Doe from close range, the bullet entered the left shoulder, caused extensive damage to the heart lung and did not exit. She fell instantly too - another close range shot after a shorter crawl to a small rock. As I popped up to take aim at some does about 100m out, this one appeared out of the grass at about 20m and presented herself broad side. There was a large herd in that paddock, they didn't know what was going on after the shot and milled around. I took aim at another and shot. The doe jumped as i pulled the trigger and she was hit in the pelvis. The SST broke her hips and she couldn't run. It was awful and unfortunate. Michael went to her and dispatched her quickly and I learned a very hard lesson. Only take a shot when your quarry presents an excellent shot. The high highs of hunting and the low lows.
Amazing weekend. I now have a 75L chiller/esky/chilly bin full of venison... hopefully I can do it justice when I cook it.