North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

2 weeks to go and I am off chasing Sambar in the Vic high country for a week. Anyone out there got any Sambar stories to tell? Or any pictures to show off?

I used to know a few blokes down that way who were massive sambar hunters. Ill see if i can track them down.
Take something warm

bushie wrote:2 weeks to go and I am off chasing Sambar in the Vic high country for a week. Anyone out there got any Sambar stories to tell? Or any pictures to show off?

Did a weekend backpack hunt in the Alpine National Park this weekend just gone. This was the result of about 1 hour's hunting, had the choice of taking a juvenile or a stag. Figured the calf would make the best eating, but when I saw the stag had antlers, boom! What I didn't see in the failing light was that he'd already cast one of his antlers. Damn!

Nice mate. Shame about the antler. Never got a sambar yet tho its my favourite to eat.

blw wrote:Nice mate. Shame about the antler. Never got a sambar yet tho its my favourite to eat.

I recall you telling me that. When you've got mates who hunt deer, you'll find some venison coming your way. I'll be eating this for the next year unless I give some away. It is a lovely lean meat, and I have a mincer too so can do almost anything with it. Venison pies will be on the menu soon.....

Ill take some off your hands haha. Mmm love venison pies. My dad grew up in a butchery so makes all his own snags. Venison are great if mixed with 50% lamb fat. So juicy.

Will keep that in mind, as I have a sausage maker and my dad is still raising 'fat lambs'.

I take some of those off your hands too haha

Got this one before I moved to Darwin, a few years ago now. It was only about 30 min into my official deer hunting career having only done half arsed trips before that. Near Merrijig ( near mt buller) on Buttercup Jeep track. Found a gully going off the road in very hilly terrain and started walking down. Just had a sense that something was just keeping in front of me so I picked up the pace to a trot. My mate pulled out and went back to the car for a cigarette. I looked up and it took a while to make them out but a stag and a doe were still as and looking straight at me , they camoflauge well. One 30-06 180 grain to the neck and it was all over for the stag. Spent the next 5 hours carting the meat back up the 45 degree slope to the car. Beautiful lean meat , cut it thin and a couple of mins on a hot bbq. Keeps it tender. There is supposed to be more and more around now. Just got to do some hard yards.

Now there's a trophy!

People are saying there are more around now. I spent a year schooling at Merrijig in the '80s and was out bush every weekend and never saw one. Wasn't looking for them which counts for a lot, but these days I see them on every trip.

blw wrote:Ill take some off your hands haha. Mmm love venison pies.

They're ready - come get 'em! This pie maker turns them out in 5 mins flat. Was stunned by the both the time and the results!

Look delicious

bushie wrote:2 weeks to go and I am off chasing Sambar in the Vic high country for a week. Anyone out there got any Sambar stories to tell? Or any pictures to show off?

Filled the freezer with this gal a couple of weeks ago. So many about atm, this one was just 200m into the forest, making for a relatively easy carry out.

Not hard to find a few sambar these days - on each of my last 5 trips I've taken one. This weekend just gone we had them running though our camp in the early evening. Here are some recent shots.