Finally a hunt report.

[Orchidman]

Since August, I have been back on the boat doing up to 5 charters a week....with the rest of my time taken up with chores I havent had time to go hunt/cull pests. Finally got a guy to take over crewing last week leaving weekends free.
Headed up to the farm to pick up BH's quad ( it needs repairs) and took the 243 a, the 17hmr and the thermals... Got the bike and headed to the horse farm to chase deer.
While driving up to the back of the farm after I closed one of the many gates, I walked back to the truck when BH said " There are 3 bucks watching you from up the hill and the ginger one has got a really good even head"
They were standing in some scrubby brush partially obscured and I could see a black coloured fallow looking at me and the arse of a ginger poking out of some bush. I managed to get the 243 out,load a mag and get a rest on the bonnet( Hood for you guys )....and picked them up in the new Leica scope. BH reiterated that the ginger has a good head. My reply was 'I can only see its butt'.....Nek minit the ginger backs out of the bush, yep it had a good head.....and with the clarity of the Leica I could see a small white patch about an 1/2inch on its neck just below its head. Put the crosshairs on it, the t3x barked.......and all hell broke loose!!!
At the shot, the buck crumpled on the spot, and the concussion of the shot set the alarms off on the Hilux almost deafening us both!!! The horses further down the paddock decided that they didnt like their sunday afternoon being disturbed in such a raucous manner and added their displeasure by whinnying while 3 more large fallow bucks broke cover and stampeded for the hills!!
Details of the shot.
T3X 243 topped by a Leica Amplus 6 2.5-15 x 50i
Factory Remington 80gr PSP
Distance a measured 91m..steep up hill shot.
Hit where I aimed....obliterating the white mark.

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Projectile shattered the neck bone on the 1st neck vertebrae below the head leaving the head held on by skin. ( the pic shows the exit hole)
A quick field dress and we hung the buck in the shade to cool down before heading to the far end of the paddock, where we found some shade,broke out the deck chairs and sat back for an ice cold drink.......
One of the horses was elected spokesperson for the herd and wandered over while we relaxed to give BH a talking to...

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After a break we drove to our original planned spot where we finally located some red deer...stalked in on them but stalking into the setting sun/wind was difficult due to scope flare... visibility was so bad we couldnt get a shot and we got busted.
Sat and watched a tree line till it got dark, saw another 18 animals before we broke out the thermals....
Got a pic of 2 good bucks with the thermal which I will download and post up shortly....
While walking back to the truck we saw a large Fallow spiker so after a stalk BH dropped it with a neck shot with his 300 suppressed Blackout......the spiker knew something was up and ran towards us, Bh dropped it at less than 20 metres as it ran past.
No pics as the phone was charging in the truck unfortunately.
Was great to get back 'on the hill' and chase something other than piscatorial.....Impressed with the new scope and spent time enabling BH into getting a Leica.....it worked and he should have one in the next few weeks....

[Diver43]

Glad you got out and were successful. Always enjoy your reports

[Chiro1989]

That is a cool rack! No wasted meat with a neck shot, that is a good shot

[Orchidman]

Glad you got out and were successful. Always enjoy your reports

Thanks. I felt really relaxed for the first time since august..

[Orchidman]

That is a cool rack! No wasted meat with a neck shot, that is a good shot

Thanks.
We have a trophy between D, BH and myself called ''The Meat Waster Trophy"......
Its a recovered projectile from a deer soldered on to a key ring.
D has held it for the last 8mths with a shoulder shot.....Now BH owns it courtesy of his shot on the spiker last night.....It is the source of a lot of light and not so lighthearted banter between us.....and It certainly puts extra pressure on you when you line up on a deer.....
Glad I didnt win it yesterday.........

[12th Man]

Very nice, congrats

[GrapeApe]

Congrats, my friend

[Orchidman]

Thanks Paul.

[bullsi1911]

Great report. Congrats…

And man, Fallow are pretty animals

[Zee]

Hell of a rack!!!

[CPJ 2.0]

She’s dressed in yellow she says hello come sit next to me you fine….fallow.

[Orchidman]

Hell of a rack!!!

Thanks,,,,,,Not many points but the head is even and symmetrical. It is still in velvet but has hardened up. Hung it in a tree and will pick it up later to strip.

[Orchidman]

Great report. Congrats…

And man, Fallow are pretty animals

Thanks. Glad I was finally able to contribute a hunt report.

[Jayhawker]

Thanks for the report...sounds like a helluva good time...

[Orchidman]

Thanks for the report...sounds like a helluva good time...

It was......

And yesterday my enabling worked.....BH and I took a ride to a couple of Firearms shops....at the first Bh bought a Leica scope

It is a Leica Fortis 6 2-12x50i 30mm L-45A Reticle. Also bought a Contessa Tactical Quick-Release 1-Piece 34mm Ringmount with Bubble Level - Fits Picatinny Rail. On the way home I reminded him that Duck hunting season is only 2 months away and that he should really buy a new pair of waders...He took the bait and we picked some up on our return journey..

The scope is now mounted on his new Tikka T3X in 308....(another of my enabler efforts)
The only problem in being 3 for 3 is that the arms race has heated up and his last purchases are going to cost me to match....

[Zee]

He needs a thermal!

[Orchidman]

He needs a thermal!

BH's got one, an Infiray RL42 with rangefinder......I responded by getting the Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF XP50 Pro Thermal Scope with Laser Rangefinder ..........then upped the ante by getting the Leica 2800 range finder and the 2,5-15 Leica Amplus 6 scope....This was his response...

We are both going broke with the arms race...........

[Zee]

How do the two thermals compare?

[Orchidman]

How do the two thermals compare?

Performance wise, when I first compared them, the Infiray had a slight edge in clarity of picture but that changed when I became familiar with the Pulsar and adjusted the settings to suit my eyesight lol. The Infiray weighs slightly more ( perceived) when compared side by side. With the rangefinder clipped on the side it isn't as balanced as the Pulsar when mounted on a rifle (it has a tendency to cant the rifle over) whereas the pulsar, with its 'inline' rangefinder is more like a scope and retains the balance both side to side and fore and aft. The Pulsar seems to be more sensitive to heat signatures at longer ranges and the controls are easier to operate especially in the dark. ( but familiarity and more use would change that)
The Infiray only has 3 zero settings so you can zero it for 3 different rifles whereas the pulsar has 10...this means you can have the ability to zero the scope for different bullet weights on the same rifle....
Battery change is easier with the pulsar, the batteries last longer and the pulsar has the option of using the bigger APS3 batteries
There is not much difference in the overall performance though......in some areas one will outdo the other and vice versa.
I chose the Pulsar because it more resembles a traditional rifle scope..

[Zee]