Noah Gillet not only opened his fallow account with a very precise shot, he won a Vanguard bipod for this short story about the hunt! You could win too by entering our Hunting Depot Hunter’s Diary contest. Click here to find out how.
I started hunting only about three years ago when Dad got his shooter’s licence. I was always interested in it and really wanted to try it. I have lived and grown up on a property with family who have hunted for years and years. Dad’s first gun was a Sako 85 Varmint in 6.5 Creedmoor.
A few months went by of me watching Dad shoot feral pigs and foxes, but he eventually taught me how to shoot. It was excellent and I was hooked.
A couple of years later, with a massive passion for the outdoors, I was walking to the shed and spotted something in the back paddock. It looked different to a cow — it had a slimmer body and longer legs. Deer!
I got a pair of binoculars and it turns out there were three big fallow bucks feeding and resting. The rangefinder in the Burris Eliminator 3 on Dad’s Sako ranged them at over 600 metres so we got the buggy out and I jumped on the back with the rifle over my shoulder. We drove towards the back paddock and there they were, a herd of about 25.
They spotted us and got spooked. Most ran into the neighbour’s property. I knew I had to be quick and precise with my shot as deer do not stick around for long. A large chocolate fallow buck and a doe stopped just before the neighbour’s fence. They were in an awkward spot where a shot in the lungs or heart was not an option. I had to go for a head shot.
I quickly ranged it. The buck was 261 metres away, and the Burris’s reticle indicated the small amount of holdover required. I set up the bipod, chambered a bullet, took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger with the red dot dead on his head. The buck dropped on the spot. The bullet went straight through his eye.
I was overwhelmed with excitement. My first buck!
It was a special moment with Dad and one that I will never forget. I have the antlers hanging on my wall and I will have them my whole life. They come with a special story of when I shot my first buck.
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