There’s a time of year in Australia that no Bowhunter in his right mind should miss, The Fallow Rut. Generally towards the end of march through to late April you can get into some serious hunting action as the Bucks become vocal and aggressive. This is a great time of year for any international hunters to book there Fallow hunts in Australia with frantic hunting experienced by most as bucks fight off other bucks and chase the does.

As the new rut arrives I thought I’d share some old photos of some pass success.

This is the rut.

A few years back now I had the pleasure of hiking this good Fallow buck out during a 5 day hike hunt in the state of New South Wales.

This year seems to be shaping up nicely with good feed producing some of the best antler growth and stalking we have seen in New South Wales for years. I’ve done my scouting and now I just wait for the estrus to kick the bucks into full gear.

Low clouds concealed the mountains right to the valley floor and soaked everything in their path as they blow about violently in the dark of morning, yet still the roar of a mighty Red Stag above camp could be heard on the wind. Laces pulled tight, bow quiver full of razor-sharp arrows I headed off into the cloud towards the prime hunting grounds.

I follow the sounds of roaring Stags under the thick cover of clouds in hope that they will lift to allow for glassing and putting my overly keen eyes on a beast with antlers.

The clouds rose along with my binoculars and after a bit of searching I settled my eyes on a hunters dream, a true free range monster Red Stag. An amazing, astonishing beast in all its prime and grace, little did I know that the rack of antlers apon that stags head was well and truely the Australain record. The only thing that crossed my mind was a primal hunting urge that registered a surge to hunt my hardest for that animal and not to rest until I’d used all the effort within myself. If it ended without the kill that would be alright, my passion is for the hunt, not the kill. I sensed some sleepless nights, aching legs and an awesome adventure ahead of me. A great moment in hunting and a privilage just to see such a beautiful animal.

The clouds rose along with my binoculars and after a bit of searching I settled my eyes on a hunters dream, a true free range monster Red Stag. An amazing, astonishing beast in all its prime and grace, little did I know that the rack of antlers apon that stags head was well and truely the Australain record. The only thing that crossed my mind was a primal hunting urge that registered a surge to hunt my hardest for that animal and not to rest until I’d used all the effort within myself. If it ended without the kill that would be alright, my passion is for the hunt, not the kill. I sensed some sleepless nights, aching legs and an awesome adventure ahead of me. A great moment in hunting and a privilage just to see such a beautiful animal.

The next morning I was out of my sleeping bag well befor first light and geared up to head back up the mountain through the low clouds to try and locate the massive Red Stag. In position I waited for the clouds to rise yet again and after a lot of searching I spotted the Monarch of the Mountain making his way down the far ridge appearing in and out of the clouds as they blew past. I eventually got the drop on him in while visiting his wallow. A well placed arrow had him grounded. A trophy of a life time.