The stag in the accompanying photograph is an Indian Elk or Samba Deer as we call them in Australia

The stag is about 4 to 5 years in age and I harvested him 29th of October 2005 in North East Victoria Australia. With Sako rifle model 75 in 375 HH calibre with 270-grain bullets the head measured 27 X24 inches

My mate and I had seen this particular stag on one or two times over the season but he never allowed a shot. With the Southern summer approaching the weather had warm up for a very warm spring and the snakes and flies were very active I had stopped hunting for the year.

A friend Gave me a call he need some work done on his farm My mate and I arranged to head up the following weekend I put the gun in Just in case, Saturday dawned to heavy rain and wind. We decided to go for a quick walk and see if we could locate a yearling Deer for the freezer

With the word ring in my ears don’t go to fare in to the bush from my mate I pick up the walking marks of hind and calf and started following them a third Deer joined them latter and three hours latter in heavy rain I was watching the three deer a Stag and hind with a calf in thick bush in a very tight gully head . At the shot the stag jumped and crash away I could hear him crashing and rolling down the gully following the sound I found him dead he had travelled less than 40 meters. That when the real work started the GPS told me I was 3 kilometres from the fence line with 400 pound of meat and trophy to get out my mate Neil and I spent the next 8 hour packing the meat and trophy out in heavy rain. Not to much work got done onthe farm tht weekend.