phil mcwilliam
New member
I was hunting sambar deer(between red deer & elk in size) in a thick scrub gully in alpine country. I heard a noise down gully & had stalked within 15 yards of the noise.It was then that the branches of a tree in front of me started to move, as a stag thrashed its antlers on the far side of the tree. Because of the dense scrub around the tree I could not see the stag. The wind was in my favour but the last 10 yards to the tree was lightly covered. A faint game trail led from the thick scrub where the stag was thrashing its antlers, right past me. I decided to stay put & wait & see if the stag would proceed along the trail towards me so I could take a shot. After a minute the thrashing stopped . I purposely broke a stick ,hoping the rutting stag would come to investigate. I then slowly stalked ahead through the thick scrub to the far side of the tree, but the stag had gone. Judging from the height of the rubs, the size of its tracks & the size of its droppings ,I had missed out on a big one. What should I have done differently?