I took an opportunity to travel to the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand for a goat hunt. I had been hanging out to try the .50 cal on a hunt, and do some further hunting with the .308. The .50 cal is good for 3 shots off a 2900 psi fill, and the .308 6 shots off 3600 psi. So between both guns I had 9 shots to play with without refilling, though it meant I had to carry both on the hunt, something with hindsight I would not do again, for reasons of weight and agility.
While the landowner knew I was coming, we didn't manage to meet up so I scaled a high mesh gate to get onto this 70 acre property, and commenced the hunt with 2 guns, a small back pack, range-finder and camera. I surveyed the site from the top of a quarry, and spotted a few goats to the north-east, but my initial focus was on a forested area to the south-east, where I was assured there were goats aplenty. I walked down the hill and came across this prey, sub-species of Fiat known as a Bambina.

But as it hunkered down in the grass, I felt a twinge of pity for it and let it be. Next. as I made my way to the creek I met up with a female ostrich, who I had seen before on a previous hunt, though on that occasion she was behind a fence. This time she was roaming free, but seemed quite placid, and I hissed at her and walked around her, and she showed little interest in me.
I made my way to this creek

and waded across to the pine forest downstream. For an hour or so I combed the forest and saw nothing. So I waded back across and followed the creek towards where I had seen a few goats. here's a few pics on the way...


Finally, in a clearing I saw a small herd of goats, so I lined up one at 50 yards with the .50 cal, shooting a Bob Vogel S&W 500 weighing around 335 grains. The goat dropped on the spot, kicked its legs in the air and died immediately.


The slug did not pass through, meaning that all of its energy was delivered very efficiently for the kill.
I stalked the rest of the herd through the scrubby bush, and at 40 yards I had an opportunity to shoot the .308. I used a 160 grain spitzer, intending a head shot, but things did not go according to plan, as the goat turned sideways as I began to squeeze the trigger, and the shot hit the goat in the hindquarters, disabling it. Another spitzer to the head finished the job.

I continued to hunt the herd for quite some time, which was difficult due to the flat but rough scrub covered terrain. The video below shows the nature of the terrain, and shows my last shot of the hunt (with the .50 cal this time), which should have been the easiest of the hunt, but, to my horror, I missed!

Too much concern about the video and not on preparation for the shot, as both yardage and parallax were incorrectly adjusted.
By now, having hunted for 3 1/2 hours, I was knackered, and decided to head back to the car. I was about 1/4 of a mile from the gate when I came face to face with the ostrich. I thought I would take a photo of her, but as I did I noticed she was becoming agitated. Through the view-finder I saw her alternately flicking each wing out and winding herself up. I recalled that the landowner had related to me how this bird's mate had attacked him and tried to kick him to death, and how he had rolled into a rut and laid there until the bird stopped its attack. His friend was in the car next to them but was too scared to get out because he thought the bird had killed the landowner and that he'd be next. The landowner survived shaken and bruised and disposed of that stroppy male. But he had a soft spot for the widow, and she had been harmless to date.
Anyway, this photo was taken 2 seconds before she charged me. You can just see the wing on the left flicking out.

Well, she charged, fully puffed up and angry. Here I was, encumbered by 2 unloaded guns and assorted gear, with no chance to run, with this huge bird right on me. Fortunately, as I prepared for a good kicking, yelling at her and trying to fend her off, I backed into some tall scrubby gorse, with just enough gaps to allow me to move back from the malevolent monster. She made a couple of attempts to get me, but was put off by the prickly gorse. So she stood there, a couple of yards away, looking like she wanted to kill me. I dry-fired the .50 cal at her three times thinking it would scare her off, but she didn't flinch. So I had to have a plan B (aside from shooting her, which had to be Plan C, as I knew the landowner would not appreciate it) and I forced my way through the gorse to a clear patch parallel to the track I had been on, and set off for the gate. Then I looked across the tops of the gorse and could see her shadowing me. Now the hunter had truly become the hunted! So I took off at right angles to my intended path and made a detour through a small creek and some bush, before rejoining the track. I covered the last 200 yards at high speed, looking over my shoulder constantly, and was over the gate in a flash. As I was packing up, I reflected on what it felt like to be a prey. Not a nice feeling at all!!
Still, it added some extra excitement to an already satisfying hunt, and I learnt a thing or two about complacency.
Can't wait for the next hunt!

Cheers
Neil

Wow! Great story. Really great pics!!!

And, you must not have been too knackered, if you could sprint like that, climb a tall gate ... and all with two guns and two goats over your shoulders!!!





Way to go. Excellent post - thanks so much.

Gary

barnespneumatic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow! Great story. Really great pics!!!
>
> And, you must not have been too knackered, if you
> could sprint like that, climb a tall gate ... and
> all with two guns and two goats over your
> shoulders!!!
>
>
>
>
>
> Way to go. Excellent post - thanks so much.
>
> Gary

Gary, you must remember that I am much much younger than you..at least until June next year

Hehehehe

Neil

Great post Neil! Thanks for sharing it here. By the way do you ever travel to places that don't lend themselves to postcard photos? Beside having a huge bird wanting to kick you to pieces, that was a good hunt and and a great place to be.

Jerry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great post Neil! Thanks for sharing it here. By
> the way do you ever travel to places that don't
> lend themselves to postcard photos?
> Beside having a huge bird wanting to kick you to
> pieces, that was a good hunt and and a great place
> to be.

Cheers Jerry.
I keep wondering why this female hated me so much when she didn't even know me

It's the culture Neil. Females are taught to suspect and distain males, on sight. You may have reminded her of a previous "crush" ... it's hard to tell.

Good thing you were young and agile.

Gary

Thanks for the story Neil, I'm glad you were given a chance to tell it.

Beautiful pictures. New Zealand is without a doubt one of the most scenic places I know of.

Do you eat the goats? If so, how much meat do you pull off of one?

Thanks for taking the time to take the pictures and write up the story!

Griffin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the story Neil, I'm glad you were given
> a chance to tell it.
>
> Beautiful pictures. New Zealand is without a doubt
> one of the most scenic places I know of.
>
> Do you eat the goats? If so, how much meat do you
> pull off of one?
>
> Thanks for taking the time to take the pictures
> and write up the story!

Thanks Griffin.

I wasn't well placed to carve up the goats but a local wanted that privilege. He prefers the back legs and has a recipe for slow roasting them.

Regards

Neil

Great hunt story Neil!! Looks like you had a wonderful hunt. Thanks for sharing the pics and video.

Perfect shot placement on the Ol'Goat. Collected the second with a quick follow up and clean miss on the third. Sounds like Foster Time, or do they only export that brew here?

That's a good lookin' goat, but who's that guy with the beard?

Just for Rotorhead and me, what's your favorite goat recipe?

Thanks for the post.

Kent

Cajun Justice Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great hunt story Neil!! Looks like you had a
> wonderful hunt. Thanks for sharing the pics and
> video.
>
> Perfect shot placement on the Ol'Goat. Collected
> the second with a quick follow up and clean miss
> on the third. Sounds like Foster Time, or do they
> only export that brew here?
>
> That's a good lookin' goat, but who's that guy
> with the beard?
>
> Just for Rotorhead and me, what's your favorite
> goat recipe?
>
> Thanks for the post.
>
> Kent

Well Kent, let's straighten out the important things first.....Fosters is from Australia!!! Our most famous New Zealand beer is Steinlager, have you tried it? Pop over and I'll shout you a few

For complex reasons (eg my wife loves all animals including feral pests) I don't bring home the bacon (or the goat). The West Coast locals cook up the hind legs by slow roasting in milk I believe. I'm owed a meal or two so I'll let you know more when I'm over there next.

Cheers
Neil

Just by way of sharing ...

A fella and I went airgun hunting, years ago, and he took a nice goat. He prepared some of the meat, and cooked it at home. From his account, the "aroma" of the cooking, nearly forced them to have to sell the house. His wife was ... less than pleased. And he was forbidden to EVER do same again.

So, you may have made a wise decision there Neil. However; if may taste alot better than it cooks. Sure were some fine looking trophies.

Your camera and video did really well. Do I see you pinching a remote shutter device?

Gary

I just knew your eye for detail would pick that up Gary!! Yes, the camera, which is a Fujifilm S2000HD comes with a handy little remote for self-portraits....
Cheers
Neil

Great job. I'd love to have a camera like that. Funny, I now see it in both, but I noticed it in the pic with the goat, and it's down behind the grass .... just the position of your thumb (and the fact that I wondered how you managed to get into such a good postion quick enough for a timer).

Ah ... technology ... next they'll be slicing bread!

Excellent pictures. I wanna come along the next time ...

Gary

Great hunting story Neil! A great airgun hunting adventure in paradise. I really enjoyed it, congrats!!

Thanks Peter!