Australian Adventure

Australian

Adventure

By John D. Rook

Dr. Barry Wensel nominated me through the Montana chapter of Safari International for their special hunter award. General Schwarzhopf presented this award to me in Reno Nevada. Receiving the award from a true American hero was a thrill, but another thrill was when Bo Derek came up and congratulated me. I told her that she had not changed since the last time I saw her. But the greatest award was an all expenses paid hunting trip to Australia for my sighter, Lenny Rock and me.

Mick McCormick and his lovely wife Cheryl, of Australian South Pacific Safaris, presented the hunt. Bill Dodgeson from Utah was a cosponsor.

Both Mick and Cheryl told me that they wanted me there during the first two weeks of April, which is the roaring time of the red stag. They said that way I could get the most out of my hunt considering my blindness. I can never thank them enough for their insight. Mick told me that I would be able to harvest four big game animals, and that I could take two red stags. The odyssey of a lifetime began.

Dave Kidder of Kidder Safaris located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, made all travel arrangements. He did a superb job. He told me that all expenses would be paid, from Pittsburgh back to Pittsburgh, and that I would need to take no money except for souvenirs. That could be handled by credit card.

It was pretty hectic because I thought they meant April of the next year, but they said, "No, April of this year". They already had everything set aside for me and no one had been in the area before us.

I would be hunting on the largest ranch in Australia, Water Valley Station. It is located in the state of South Australia and comprises 1,750,000 acres. We would be hunting a concession comprising 320,000 acres. The size absolutely boggles your mind.

We would be hunting several species of deer, but they wanted me to harvest a sambar. Sambars are native to India. It is the East Indian stag.

It was a long journey from Pittsburgh to Australia. It took 5 hours to get to Los Angeles and another 16 hours to Sidney. The final leg took an hour and a half to Melbourne, where Mick met us.

As soon as we got to Mick's ranch, I dug out my Kota longbow and assembled it to make sure it had survived the trip. Tim Findlay of Oberon, North Dakota made this bow for me especially for the Australian trip. It is 62" long with a pull of 60 pounds. The limbs are red elm with a Bocote riser. The arrows I used were self nocked Chundoo, tipped with 130 grain Zephyr Scirocco broadheads. The combination performed flawlessly.

Lenny and I put the finishing touches on our shooting technique and were confident that, if the opportunity arose, we would be equal to the task.

Mick had told me that he wanted to try and make sure that I would get some superb trophies. I told him that I had been hunting since 1946 and that I considered anything taken in fair chase with a bow and arrow as a superb trophy. Mick told me that he had a reason for his goal and would tell me why later.

After being situated in a really nice ranch house, we set out for our evening hunt at about four o'clock. Mick had told us about a potential world record stag that he had spotted, and that he wanted us to try for him first. Mick said that the stag was in full velvet and that this was the best time to hunt him, as he would avoid the heavy Eucalyptus brush. Funny no one had told the sambar about this!

We topped one valley and Lenny said that his mouth just dropped open; you could see for 35 miles in each direction. Everywhere he looked he saw deer, there were animals everywhere, thousands of them! This concession contains over 35,000 red stags, along with myriad species of other animals. The least numerous are the sambar. And you could travel for forty miles in any direction and never see a fence.

We got to the place where Mick had last seen the big sambar, and sure enough we soon saw the magnificent stag. But he was running with a very respectable rusa stag.

There was an opening in the Eucalyptus brush and Lenny and I set up with Mick just behind us. Mick said to his assistant, "I hope they don't shoot the second stag."

Through the brush came the sambar, and Lenny didn't know a sambar from a sandbar. Lenny tugged on my elbow. I came to full draw. The rusa stag stepped in the opening and the arrow was on its way. It was a perfect one for twenty. The rusa went about fifty yards and went down. Mick said, "They shot the wrong animal"

The stag was magnificent! The rusa was one of the quarries that we would be hunting and we had just taken the biggest one Mick had seen in the entire area. What an auspicious beginning to a hunt.

We spent the rest of the evening trying to get a shot at the elusive sambar. But he stayed in heavy brush where I would not attempt to put an arrow through.

That night we heard red stag roaring all over the place. There were literally hundreds of them with their harems of hinds. Mick and Cheryl said they roared like a lion and that is exactly what it sounded like. It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.

The next morning we were out bright and early after the sambar. We came in contact with him almost at once. Then, for the next 6 1/2 hours we tried unsuccessfully to get a shot at him while he stayed in the heavy Eucalyptus brush. On Saturday evening we went after our first red stag. Mick knew where there was a water hole these animals had been using. As we approached the water hole we saw a very respectable stag herding his harem toward it.

As the stag came in he was roaring in all his glory. I could hear him. I could smell him. I could taste him. Actually, in my mind, I could see him.

All of a sudden, he walked over to the water hole. Lenny tugged on my elbow. The bow came back effortlessly. Lenny said, "Shoot", and the arrow was on its way. It was a perfect hit. The huge animal went 22 steps and was down. What a thrill! He was a 5x5; field dressed at 500 pounds, and had main beams that were 39 inches long. Mick said that this would be the number one stag taken in Australia with bow and arrow and would score high in the Safari Club International record books. It was the finest animal I have ever taken. Up until that time people had asked me what was my most favorite animal to hunt and I could never honestly answer the question. Now, there is no doubt that my favorite animal to hunt in the entire world is the red stag of South Australia.

It was an emotional experience with Lenny hugging me, and Mick hugging me. Mick could not get over how effective the longbow was with a two-bladed broadhead. This huge animal had expired in just a few seconds, and the broadhead had also performed well on the rusa stag. The rusa had dressed out at 370 pounds. These are very, very big animals.

On Sunday we spent another 6 or 7 hours hunting the sambar. We had no trouble locating him, but we could not get a shot. Mick said that, if we could take him, he would undoubtedly be a world record for bow and arrow. We spent the rest of Sunday practicing. The Safari Club International had sent Bob Markworth over to document the hunt. He took photos and interviewed us on Sunday.

That evening, the red stags roared everywhere. It was an unbelievable sound. Australia has no indigenous big game animals, unless you consider kangaroos and wallabies as big game. And they basically have no predators. We saw a tremendous amount of wildlife. There was one flock of 200 black cockatoos. Mick said they would bring as much as $50,000 a bird if they were available in the United States, but they cannot be imported or exported. We saw green parrots, gray parrots, emus and many, many kangaroos. It was an amazing trip.

We were out early again on Monday morning, which was April 6. April in Australia is equivalent to our October. It was chilly in the morning and evening, and I would say that one night the temperature got down to the mid-30s. During the day the temperature reached into the 70s and one day made it to 85.

When the hunt was scheduled, Mick told me that his hunts are usually scheduled for five days, but mine would be for eight due to my...uh...inconvenience(?). We were on the fourth day of the hunt and had already bagged two magnificent trophies.

Now we were once again after the elusive sambar. We spotted him, but after and hour and a half of fruitless stalking we could not get a shot through the thick Eucalyptus brush. Mick said, "I hate to say it, but we will have to give up for the day."

Just as we started to leave, we came upon an even bigger sambar. Things happened so fast that it is hard for me even to describe them. We set up. Lenny pulled on my elbow and I came to full draw. "Shoot." The arrow was on its way. The arrow hit. The animal went 120 yards and was down. What can I say? The Good Lord had to be guiding my arrow and everything had to be right in the world.

When we reached the sambar, Mick was awestruck. He couldn't believe the size of the animal. Sambars get up to around 600 to 650 pounds and this one dressed out at 450 pounds. He was down in size, but his antler mass was magnificent. Mick got out his tape measure and said, without a doubt, this would be the new world record taken with a bow and arrow. His main beams were 29 inches long.

Mick was hugging me and said, "John, what next? What would you like to go after?" I said, "Mick, without a doubt, I'd like to try for another red stag." He said, "We won't tell Lenny. We'll let him think we're going after an axis or chital deer."

That evening we set out for another water hole and spotted a large stag with a harem heading toward it. We beat him to the hole in plenty of time and set up. I could hear him coming in bellering. I could hear him shuffling. I could actually smell him. He smelled just like a bull elk in full rut. I could taste this one too. It was an experience I cannot even begin to describe.

Lenny tugged on my elbow.

Back to full draw.

"Shoot."

The arrow was on its way and I heard a solid hit.

Lenny grabbed and hugged me and said, "perfect." The stag dropped in no time. The arrow went directly through its heart.

When we got to the stag, Lenny at first could not say anything. He finally said, "John, you have to feel this." He had me kneel and I could not reach around the base of this magnificent stag. His main beams were 44 inches long and almost a yard inside spread. It was indeed a royal stag.

Without a doubt this was the most thrilling moment of my life. I've known Lenny since 1960 and I have never seen him cry. He cried there. I cried. He cried. Mick cried. We were hugging this magnificent animal, fallen in his splendor.

There was a great amount of sadness there, seeing this wonderful beast taken down by a longbow, but the ecstasy was also there. I just could not believe what had happened. Here I was, halfway around the world, looking down at an animal that I could never, ever believe I would have the opportunity to hunt. He was every bit as large as a bull elk. He field dressed at 600 pounds.

Everyone was sharing in this exciting experience. Mick came over to me and said, "John, ever in your fondest imaginations did you ever think that you would ever hunt in Australia and bag four magnificent big game animals in just four days?"

I answered, "Mick, I never did. I thought that just the opportunity to be here was the greatest thing in the world. In all reality I never thought that I would be able to bag anything. But I've been fairly successful since I've been blind."

Mick told me the reason that he wanted me to get the best trophies I could was that he received a lot of kidding when he told people he was taking a blind hunter. And when he said that this was a blind traditional bowhunter, they really laughed. He paused and then said, "Let 'em laugh now."