Training Course Sambar Sightings
At first light on the Saturday morning, Warrick Grass, Chris & Josh Grech and Tao Yuan observed these four sambar as they made their way back to their daytime bedding area. Where they moved from and where they ascended to, was precisely as per the script in the Friday Powerpoint presentation.
Precisely as per the Friday afternoon Hunt Smart PowerPoint Script, on the Saturday morning course participants watched this unalarmed stag, hind and calf for 2 hours from 220m on the range finder. Each participant went through the steps from finding, evaluating, ranging, using a steady rest, then taking the shot (without a cartridge) - sambar catch & release.
At dawn this stag was spotted by course participants as he made his way from a nocturnal feeding ground to the safety of a steep, thick and remote gully head.
Course participants observed this unalarmed stag follow an oestrus hind as they walked down out of a gully head onto the floor where the stag lay down with just his head visible. Using a trick taught on the course, I made the stag stand, but the noise of 5 excited hunters moving on the hill above told him it was time to get out of there.
Tired of the click of my Nikon he wheels around in the typical explosive sambar departure.
Jason De Visser’s bloodhound ‘Rascal’ on the trail of the escaped calf.
Whilst excitedly taking photos, a course participant crawls to within 15m of this sambar hind and calf during the 18th Hunt Smart Course of 2009. His mates used their binos to observe the stalk from nearby.
This young stag was observed by all course attendees as he moved to feed.
This was the first encounter with a sambar stag for all three.
Most attendees see sambar during the course and often the deer are unaware of our presence.
For many this is their first encounter. For others it is the first time they have seen completely unalarmed sambar doing what sambar do.
Using my tripod mounted Swarovski 15X binos and Leupold spotting scope, students on my Beyond the Basics Training Course frequently watch unalarmed sambar such as these feeding.
This hind moving from bedding to feeding area at dusk demonstrated her explosive departure to Kurt Vegner, Peter Walters & Mafi Parautua
Pivoting on rear legs, she swings her front around 90 degrees then uses powerful rear hams to propel her away at high speed.
Craig Allen, John Jaensch, Paul Cavalieri and Peter Petroulas watched this young sambar for several minutes.
John and Ian Taylor of Heywood Victoria and Dane Harman of Mooroolbark watched this fine young sambar stag for 15 minutes. They noted that he stood tall every time I pressed the shutter even though the range finder said he was 167m distant.
Mark Briese, Zoran Kricka, Dragan Tasic and Milan Prica observed this hind and her juvenile offspring as they moved from their daytime bedding area towards their evening feeding ground.
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Possessing a wealth of experience and knowledge accumulated during 30 years of hunting and studying sambar, Errol Mason truly is a Sambar Deer Specialist who possesses a deep insight into the mysterious ways of this intriguing species.
Errol’s wife Lynne designed and edited Volumes 1, 2 and 3 in her usual masterly style. Lynne also provides fabulous gourmet meals for hunters attending the Beyond the Basics Training Course.