Dear Errol,

It was an unseasonably hot day for Oct - 28 deg on my GPS - so I selected a sit and wait spot in a particular gully based upon what I learnt from your books. Using this knowledge of the animal I was able to pick the route that he walked down in the evening.

I was glassing this gully for 3 hours when I picked him up. One second nothing - the next he was there. I was blown away with just how silently and quickly he appeared! I watched for about 10 seconds as he walked closer then picked up my rifle from next to me and shot him where you recommended for the distance - through the central neck. He dropped and slid about a metre up against a dead burnt out tree. Distance stag shot from was 100 yards, paced out from shooting position.

The result, a memory burnt into my head for the rest of my life. Thanks again for two great books – I sincerely believe that what I learnt from them made the difference between success and failure.

Calibre and bullet were what you recommended in Volume 1. A 30-06 and a Barnes "tipped" TSX. I used the 168gn boat tail (in front of 57.5gns of AR2209) because my rifle seems to shoot it more accurately than 180 and 200grainers. As you continually mentioned - it is ALL about shot placement - and I cannot say how strongly I now agree with this. My stag was dead when he hit the ground because I was confidently able to place the projectile in a place where it hit the bottom edge of his vertebrae. I have attached photos of the recovered projectile and when weighed on my scales it came in at 167 grains! Barnes are the only way to go in my book.

I used a Tikka T3 Stainless/Synthetic and was wearing Stoney Creek pants and top, full face veil, camo gloves and blaze camo cap. Also a liberal spray of Bosisto’s eucalypt oil!

Special mention to my bino’s…after much saving and working 2 jobs - I saved and bought a pair of Leicas’. Again the quality, magnification and objective diameter I selected was based upon what you said about binos in Volume 1.

Ben Donegan, Oakleigh Victoria