PRIVILEGE AND SACRIFICE

I had told myself that I would not take any young up-and-coming stags as it seemed such a waste, so had set my goal at a minimum of ten points. Previously I had turned down three, six and eight pointers for this very reason. While we were there it would be a shame not to get some extra meat to top up the freezer, so we opted for the lazy way out and locked in the chopper for a pickup. It was the first time I planned our time on the block - a big step as I had always relied on Greg’s experience and followed his lead (big girl pants on!).

When hunting this block, it pays to look at the long-range forecast as it can be very unforgiving, and two weeks out it was looking perfect. As it was June there would be hard frosts, but also stunning, clear days. As the trip got closer Mother Nature showed she is nobody’s friend and what started out as four days of perfection was now looking like rain with only a two-day weather window.

As always, a week before, out came the packs and my now refined checklist for this block. It has received quite a bit of fine tuning over the last 18 months as I am renowned for over-packing! I decided to be ruthless and try to only pack for