My Greatest Trophy: Kristian Gerathy's First Deer with a Bow
The roar is about more than the size of the antlers on the wall. The best trophies are measured in effort, persistence and the journey it took to get there. Whether it's a first, a milestone or just a hard-earned animal after years of learning from mistakes. For Kristian Gerathy (Following A Broken Compass), his greatest trophy was getting his first deer with a bow.
My Greatest Trophy: My First Deer with a Bow
My best trophy was my first deer with a bow. To be honest, the actual day it happened the hunt was over within an hour. It was almost disappointing. But the lead up to that moment was five years of grit and hard work, going solo, learning from mistakes, and trying to gain my own access to hunting properties. There were multiple trips to NZ, many nights in the bush, and it all came down to knowing the block and being patient. The cool thing is I recorded almost all of these and have it on my youtube.
Anyway- The day it happened... I hiked up to a saddle after arriving with enough time late Feb to get up and have a crack on my first night. I sat down in a spot where I knew the deer usually moved through, I rarely do this- I like to just spot and stalk but something made me just sit. Within minutes a velvet Fallow buck appeared out of nowhere, chewing grass feeding up under me from about 50m. I ranged him out in the open grass as he came up towards the saddle, breathed and let one fly. The shot hit perfect, a double lung straight pass through. He ran off, and I gave him some time- the wait felt like hours.... Finally I went to have a look...after a small blood trail and a few minutes of stress before realising he had double backed in the shrubs I found him piled up - a beautiful little velvet fallow buck. I could not believe the journey was over and honestly I almost cried- the sun was setting, not a breath of wind, I had done it!
That day it all felt so easy, like I didn't actually deserve it. My hunts usually resulted in 3-5 days of tireless work and maybe one deer seen and often never even getting to knock an arrow. But as that sun went down and I was loading him into my pack, I kept replaying all the close encounters from the years that led to this, sunrises and sunsets, the places I had been, and the fulfilment bowhunting had given me. Carrying that deer off the hill that day was something I had worked so hard for and was so bloody proud of myself and it was then that I realised will never stop hunting. It is my real escape and I cannot recommend it enough, especially if life is getting hard and nothing seems to be working. Time in the bush is good for the soul, and if you are like I was back then, knowing nothing, sitting on the couch is not going to achieve anything. Get out there and get amongst it. Every trip is fun and you always see something special in the bush.
This Year’s Roar
This year’s roar I will not be attending because we are having a kid. Timed that pretty badly hahaha. However, last year I took my first red stag, a stag of a lifetime with a bow. I am hoping to still get out to a fallow block for the rut if it works for two nights. With a newborn, I think I will be in a different mindset. I know the block well and I have achieved a lot in bowhunting over the past three years, so I am really just looking forward to being back in the bush.
I am planning to take a more relaxed approach and hunt close to camp instead of doing big overnight missions. I want to enjoy the banter around the campfire, the sounds of the deer, and that exciting feeling before first light when you just do not know how the day will play out. I am also hoping my partner can join me for a bit, introduce the newborn to a small taste of camping, and show my partner just how amazing those interactions with deer can be.
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
