Elvis wrote:

This is same place as yesterday's deer...slow learner I am.

Did a big walk in new area yesterday. Found some tahr,climbed up big steep hill,shot three of said tahr...spent an hour being torn up by vegetation while clinging to other vegetation to cover the few hundy yards to where they were...and combination of STEEP terrain and hostile vegetation saw me bug out up and out of there empty handed . Not going to die for a jolly goat. Lovely day but gutted by wastage.

Elvis wrote:

Did a big walk in new area yesterday. Found some tahr,climbed up big steep hill,shot three of said tahr...spent an hour being torn up by vegetation while clinging to other vegetation to cover the few hundy yards to where they were...and combination of STEEP terrain and hostile vegetation saw me bug out up and out of there empty handed . Not going to die for a jolly goat. Lovely day but gutted by wastage.

That’s a shame mate. Might be worth investing in some quality dynamic climbing ropes so, if nothing else, you can safely reach the game you’ve harvested/shot. Just thinking outside the square…would you be able to build something like a sled you could put the critter on and pull it back up the slope after you’ve climbed back up? I’m probably going stupid and unrealistic here, but you could even employ say a block and tackle type arrangement to make it easier.

All well and good IF you can find the plurry things. I don't leave animals on hill lightly but I knew I was pushing boundaries as it was....when I shot the first animal it cartwheeled about thirty yards then off into space...yeah nah don't want to follow that lol

Elvis wrote:

All well and good IF you can find the plurry things. I don't leave animals on hill lightly but I knew I was pushing boundaries as it was....when I shot the first animal it cartwheeled about thirty yards then off into space...yeah nah don't want to follow that

BUGGER…when they go over an edge like that, I wonder if it is worth the trouble of trying to find them…they’d be a real mess after hitting the bottom. I suppose that is part of the problem with hunting NZ mate…big steep hills and no shortage of ultra steep drop offs or cliff faces. I wouldn’t be able to hunt those types of areas now. Maybe 30 years ago, but not now. My knees are aching now just thinking about those mountains.

My knees ache too. My good lady bought me two retractable alloy walking poles for up on the hill. Will take one to begin with,they sure help on downhill bits as can reach down n find solid bit to poke end into then step down,still having two points contact,making balancing much better.

Elvis wrote:

My knees ache too. My good lady bought me two retractable alloy walking poles for up on the hill. Will take one to begin with, they sure help on downhill bits as can reach down n find solid bit to poke end into then step down, still having two points contact, making balancing much better.

Unfortunately mate, my sense of balance went south quite some time ago…either that or I’ve become very top heavy. Once I start to over-balance I find it very difficult to overcome having a tumble. That, plus my knees are not good anymore and even a short walk of 500 metres will pull me up painfully.

I find walking uphill is much easier than walking downhill these days. Walking uphill is just hard work, but walking downhill is just downright painful and difficult, especially with foot placement, it pounds snot outa my knees, and one wrong step and I face plant. Factor in carrying something like a full backpack and a rifle, and I seriously doubt I’d be able to achieve much on the big hills and mountains like in NZ.

I hear you mate. I'm hoping by using poles now,I can keep on keeping on for much longer before it's" go visit doctor and do battle with heath system" time to deal with rooted knees.