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Beyond the Basics Training Course

Hunt Smart^® Sambar Success Stories

Sambar – A Highly Elusive & Secretive Quarry

Whether hunted in India or here in Victoria’s Great forested Mountains, Sambar have a well deserved reputation for being mysterious and highly elusive. There can be no doubt that the adage, ‘they didn’t get big by being stupid’ applies to the Premier Game Animal of the South Pacific Region, which arguably rates amongst the world’s top ten game animals.

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 15

Above: Using tactics learnt on Errol's Hunt Smart® Training Course, Robert Zagorski took this unalarmed sambar hind for venison

G’Day Errol,

I would like to thank you for helping me understand sambar. If I only become half the hunter as you, my goals for my life would be achieved, as you are truly an inspiration.

This is the story of my hunt to celebrate the arrival of our first born son, Alexander. On his birth I decided to head to the high country to mark the occasion. On arrival I found sign where the deer had been feeding exactly where Errol said it would be. I strategically placed myself in the ‘zone of silence’ using the Hunt Smart techniques learnt on the course.

I scouted the gully for movement and soon found numerous deer moving down into the feeding ground. I ranged the spot at 300 yards and selected the best deer for quality table fair. I took the animal with a single shot, dropping it cleanly on the spot. I used projectiles, equipment and shot placement suggested by Errol. It was a text book hunt comprising a check list of sambar behaviour. It was very humbling! It has given me tremendous confidence to take deer at distances I would never had contemplated before learning Errol’s Hunt Smart techniques and using the appropriate equipment. I now see more deer in a single hunt than I previously saw in a year, and because they are unaware of me I am able to carefully select the deer I want harvest. I really enjoy this aspect of the hunt.

The only regret I have is not attending Errol’s course earlier as it is truly a great resource about sambar behaviour and how to hunt them. No doubt his books will be here for generations to come as they are like a bible to serious hunters. I knew his course was going be great when I arrived for lunch and sampled some of Lynne’s fantastic cooking. Truly a great hunter and a warm and hospitable host. Thank you once again. You have saved me many of kilometres of wondering aimlessly around the bush. Forever grateful.

Robert Zagorski

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 15

Above: Robert Borsak, Chairman, Game Council NSW, with a sambar stag harvested using the Hunt Smart® system.

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 14

Hi Errol

It was late into my second year of Sambar hunting that I was rewarded with my first Stag.

After attending your Hunt Smart sambar training course earlier in the year, I gained valuable information in a variety of areas that I believe fast tracked me to this much valued 24 inch Sambar Stag.

Thanks for everything Errol,

Greg Young
Shepparton, Vic

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 13

Hi Errol

Another Hunt Smart Success Story for you.

I managed to take a hind using tactics you taught me on your course. One shot instant kill on an unalarmed hind that had no idea I was there. And during the first hour of hunting a new area. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Wayne and I really appreciate the enormous amount you taught us. We will never hunt the old way again.

Cheers

Shane Costello
Corio, Vic

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 12

G’day Errol – well we did what you said and “did it!!”

Peter and I have just returned from a 7 day hunt in the high country and secured a magnificent 28” x 28” stag. We had both read your books cover to cover and took them along to use as a reference after each days exploring.

We found a number of stag “play rooms” ¾ the way up a spur with preaching trees and rub trees in prolific amounts. The stags were obviously patrolling their areas ¾ of the way up the ridge, contouring the spurs. This is where Peter shot this beauty just at about 5.50pm – about a half hour before dark. The stag was at 60m and walking briskly through thick timber. By the time Pete took a sight on a shoulder shot he was moving behind a wall of trees and he stepped into a lung shot with the 330 Dakota and a 225gn Woodleigh PP. 

Unfortunately the bullet hit a bit too far back and the stag bolted at the shot.  Despite a thorough search Pete could not find him so we both returned the next day and spent half the day looking for him. By 2.30 we had given up and were walking out when I spotted a pair of deep hoof gouges 20m from where Pete believed he had hit him. Suddenly I was then on fire, tracking the stag off the edge of the ridge over his game trail and down a gully where he collapsed into a wombat hole completely covered by ferns.

As I was the GSP for the day, I used every bit of info you wrote in Volume 1 on the animal’s reaction to a shot, the bipedal jump, the collective track of a panic gallop, lung blood drops, etc. I found the first blood spot 30m from where he was standing when Pete fired and he was lying dead about 100m from where he was hit.

Seeing I had never really tracked a Sambar before I could not have done it without your information. In fact, Pete and I reverted to the books each evening to refresh what we saw each day.

Best regards

Bob Shepherd
Dubbo, NSW

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Hi Errol,

I owe this fine stag to you because of what you taught us through your books and your Hunt Smart training course. I persevered with what you said to do and proved your system works.

We thought you would really like the photos showing your books either side of my wonderful stag.

Regards from a very happy Sambar Hunter

Peter Russell
Dubbo, NSW

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 11

Hi Errol

Another Success Story from your ‘Hunt Smart’ training course.

Luke and I are so happy with your course - the pictures say it all.

I have just come in from caping. Luke would not let me go to bed without sending you the pictures.

Will tell you the story another time.

Regards

Andrew and Luke McMahon
Tumut, NSW

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 10

Above: Ron Conrad's success story from Corryong Hunt Smart® Training Course

Hi Errol,

I have been hunting (aca chasing) sambar for about 12 years without success. After doing your course I learnt more about ‘hunting’ sambar in 1 weekend than in the past 12 years. I was able to bag my first sambar - a hind - the very next day using the knowledge gleaned from your course.

It was text book stuff.

I first looked for sign of sambar in the area, found browse, fresh droppings and tracks. I found a wallow and took your advice about getting in 1 hour before dark, getting down wind and building a hide overlooking the wallow.

Right on dusk I heard crashing through the bush and a stag and hind appeared. The stag knew something was wrong and honked in my direction several times but I could not get a clear shot at him, so decided to take the hind.

My family are now enjoying plenty of venison.

Thanks Errol

Ron Conrad
Sydney

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 9

Dear Errol,

Just a quick note to thank you once again for the great course you ran. I got lots of really helpful information in regards to tracking and hunting of Sambar which has been really useful.

After leaving Swifts Creek I went up to Mansfield for some fishing and of course to try out my new skills at hunting Sambar. After two days of looking,I found a moist gully that looked promising with lots of sign. I was able to harvest a Sambar hind whilst she was making her way down to feed. I took her with a cross gully shot from 120 metres. I used the high shoulder blade/spine shot which you taught me and her legs buckled as the 180gn Norma hit her and she tumbled down into thick bush. After a bit of searching I soon realized that Sambar are as hard to see dead as they are alive. After finding her I took the attached photo. Although the bullet exited there was no blood trail at all. I was able to kill this unalarmed hind instantly with one shot by applying a number of techniques and tips you gave us on the course so thanks once again.

I must say how incredibly fantastic it was to watch 3 unalarmed sambar – a hind and her calf plus a spiker on 3 separate occasions during the course. This was priceless!!! By studying them for long periods I could see just how elusive they are - how slowly they move and how hard they are to see especially when bedded.

A final thank you to your wife Lynne for the great meals and the very warm hospitality she extended to us whilst we were there. It was greatly appreciated. The food was so good it was the stuff you would write home about. So thanks again to you and Lynne.

Happy Hunting

Wayne Robinson
Melbourne     

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 8

Above: Bluey Smith of the Game Council NSW with his first ever sambar – a fine spiker in first class condition. Well done & congratulations Bluey.

Above: Errol Mason explains to students on the AHI/Game Council NSW Hunt Smart Training Course how to age faecal pellets and how to determine the size and sex of the deer that left them.

CORRYONG HUNT SMART TRAINING COURSE SUCCESS STORY - DAVID ‘BLUEY’ SMITH

Two days after attending Errol Mason’s Hunt Smart Training Course for Orange AHI members and Game Council managers, Chris Hyde and I headed to some farm fringe country not burnt by the 03 fires. Finding fresh sign on the fringe we moved up and glassed the North West face of a gully head. In the bottom I spotted a spiker as he got up out of his bed. A high shoulder/spine shot (with bone fragments splintering into the lungs) from Chris’s .325 WSM dropped him on the spot and I had my first Sambar. He was bedded not 200m from the ‘hub’ and 50m up the face from the bottom of the gully.

I sincerely believe that Errol Mason’s Hunt Smart Training Courses are the only choice for those hunters wanting to learn the ‘Secrets of the Sambar’. The Hunt Smart System provided a wealth of information and put it into a commonsense approach to hunting. 2 days after attending Errol’s course I used the tips and techniques I learnt to take this spiker - my first Sambar. Thank you Errol !

Cheers mate!

Bluey

David Smith
Game Manager: Sydney Metro / Central West
GAME COUNCIL OF NSW
Conservation Hunting

Above: Using his middle fingers, Errol Mason explains to students how to age tracks and how to determine the sex and size of their maker.

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 7

Above: Left to right, Errol Mason, Anthony Macciocca and Paul Brincat examine a fresh sambar bed at the base of a large eucalypt. Errol explains how to tell it is actually a sambar’s bed, how to tell the sex of its user and in what weather conditions it would be used.

Since attending Errol's Beyond the Basics hunting course I've found that I now have the knowledge to better utilize my limited time in the field. When previously I would have gone on a 3 day hunt and seen maybe one stag, I now find that I can go to a particular spot, apply the tactics and things I have learnt on Errol’s course and see stags more frequently.

It has also helped to put the pieces together to determine a stags behaviour and habits based on such factors as weather, food sources and breeding grounds. Recently I was applying this knowledge one afternoon whilst glassing a known wallow at 4 pm when a 30 inch stag materialised out of nowhere. While observing this magnificent animal for a total of 30 seconds, I was amazed to see just how cautious and calculating his behaviour was.

He travelled stealthily, in total sneak mode, intentionally keeping to the bushline and avoiding open patches although totally unalarmed and unaware of my presence. Hence his escape. This experience alone has proved to me that trying to hunt these animals on the same face would severely narrow my chances of ever taking one of these animals unalarmed.

I believe that by constantly applying Errol's ‘Hunt Smart’ tactics, I will greatly increase my chances of taking a fully mature stag in the near future.

Paul Brincat
Mickleham, Vic.

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 6

Above: Using knowledge and tactics taught on Errol Mason's 'Beyond the Basics' Training Course, Andrew Winwood of Tasmania finally outsmarted this fine 24 x 24inch heavy antlered stag after spending several days working out how to 'Out Smart' him

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 5

Above: Andrew Winwood and Paul Binns stalked silently into the best vantage point for the prevailing conditions - then using binos - spotted this massive bodied stag whilst he lay in his bed. Paul harvested this old stag, who had proven over many years that he was very elusive, with a single shot from a 30/06 (see Secrets of the Sambar Volume 2 page 65).

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 4

Above: Using knowledge and tactics learnt whilst hunting with Errol Mason, Andrew Winwood (right) assisted John Butts to take this old wily stag.

After many years hunting fallow in Tasmania I thought it was time for a greater challenge. After hearing of Errol Mason’s success guiding hunters to trophy sambar and reading his articles in Guns & Game magazine I decided to book a 4 day hunt with him. I thought I didn’t really need a guide but I learnt so much during my first hunt that I have no hesitation recommending Errol to anybody needing a start with Sambar hunting or wanting to upgrade their skills. The knowledge Errol passed on was invaluable, not only for sambar, but I have used some of his tips for hunting fallow in Tassie. Errol’s tactics helped me take a couple of nice 220 and a 229 D.S. fallow, along with two very nice sambar stags and a few sambar hinds for venison.

I was never lucky enough to take a sambar stag whilst hunting with Errol but I had many great experiences such as watching countless unalarmed sambar. One of my most memorable experiences unfolded one evening. First I heard a black bird disturbed from its evening roost, then the fence moved, and despite the very low light, through my binos I could just make out the unforgettable sight of a mature hind and her calf. It was unbelievable. During the next thirty minutes or so another 9 sambar entered the farmland via the same hole in the fence. This sight was an awesome experience for a guy that only got to hunt these great animals for four or five days each year. Errol had another client take a very nice 28inch stag in the same area a week later. This was one of the greatest evenings I have ever spent in the bush. I had many more experiences just like these whilst hunting with Errol and I gained enough knowledge to try hunting without him. Despite this, we have remained very good friends and I cannot thank him enough. In the two years after I hunted with Errol I was lucky enough to take two great sambar stags. I also successfully guided my friends, Paul Binns and John Butt to stags. For me finally achieving success on sambar has been one of my life’s ultimate achievements.

Anyone who knows anything about sambar will tell you that you will never stop learning about these amazing animals. I have continued to increase my knowledge by studying Errol’s Secrets of the Sambar books. They are dense with knowledge, tips and tactics which will help any hunter regardless of their experience level. By studying them I continued to be consistently successful. Knowledge gleaned from them culminated in one of my most memorable hunts when I harvested a stag with impressive antlers measuring 24in x 24in. As we hunted this stag over several days, many of the things I learnt from Errol fitted into place like clockwork. For example how to interpret sign - what a rub line means and how to hunt it - how to tell if pellets are stag size and how fresh they are. Identifying freshly used scrapes, how and where to find well used game trails. And last but not least the importance of perseverance. To be successful hunting sambar you must be persistent and persevere for it is not an activity for those who want success to come easily.

Andrew Winwood
Spreyton
Tasmania

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 3

Above: Kurt Pongratz of Eden Vic. helps Iias Salagaras and Toby Gumbridge build a hide on a ‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course.

I am 69 years-old and have been hunting sambar for 20 years without much success. In fact in all this time I had not seen a single stag so I decided the smart thing to do was to attend Errol Mason’s ‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course. During the information packed 2 days I picked up many very important tips which I used on my next hunt. As a result of what Errol taught me I changed my hunting tactics considerably. This enabled me to take a shot at my very first sambar stag within a week or two of completing the course. The mature stag was broadside and unalarmed when I fired. I have to say that it was the things which I learnt from Errol that enabled me to achieve what I had been unable to achieve in 20 years of sambar hunting. If you attend his training course you are guaranteed to become a much more successful hunter – not only of sambar – but of all game animals.

Kurt Pongratz Eden, Vic.

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 2

Above: Mark Walker with his first stag taken shortly after completing Errol Mason’s Beyond the Basics Training Course

Mark Walker had this to say about the course.

'After 11 years of unsuccessful sambar hunting I recently attended Errol Mason’s ‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course.

Shortly afterwards I hunted the ‘High Country’ where I put into practice a lot of Errol’s hints and tips.

It all paid off when I took a magnificent 25 inch stag doing precisely what he recommended.

Without Errol’s vast knowledge and experience behind me I would still be wandering around the bush hearing a lot of crashing noises in the distance.

Here I am with the ‘Trophy of a Lifetime’ – a most magnificent stag.'

‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course Success Story No 1

Above: A wily old stag taken by Brett Cooke less than 24 hours after attending Errol’s ‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course.

In Brett’s words, 'I firmly believe my success on that hunt was largely attributable to Errol’s tuition and my employment of his ‘Hunt Smart’ system. I believe that in this world we make our own luck. I made mine when I consciously decided to gain knowledge by participating in Errol’s fabulous course. Without hesitation I recommend his ‘Beyond the Basics’ Training Course to all hunters, regardless of experience level.'