RAFFLE RED

By Martin Auldist

Dec 1, 2024

Louise with her red stag, taken on the last day of her hunt.

FEATURE Louise Hogan

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I was fortunate enough to win first prize in the ADA raffle held earlier this year, a guided red deer hunt with Aaron Grant. I drove up with my hubby Wayne and we met Aaron at Kilkoy before heading out to the property.

The campsite is right in the middle of the property on top of a high ridge that gives 360-degree views of the property. There is something special about having the opportunity to hunt the original red deer herd, the origins of which were gifted to Queensland by Queen Victoria in 1873.

Once we got settled in we started hunting and it was pretty full on for the next few days. There’s nothing like camping right in the middle of the action; being woken up in the middle of the night by red stags roaring their heads off all around us is something I’ll never forget. We were up well before daylight every morning listening and glassing for stags, trying to determine where the dominant stag was. Over the first few days we spent a lot of time hunting and saw a number of good stags.

On the last morning we went after a stag that we had been hearing for a few days. It was a terrific hunt and we finished up in a gully surrounded by three stags competing for their girls. Aaron’s knowledge of the area and the deer truly paid dividends with me shooting one of the three red stags to complete the hunt. Aaron was a great guide and host and really put in a huge effort to ensure a great hunting experience. Aaron was ably assisted in camp by Bert from the ADA’s Hunter Valley Branch and Gerry a retired hunting guide from Canada. They could not have been more welcoming and accommodating, the food and hospitality were both first class.

I can’t thank Aaron, Bert and Gerry enough for the effort they made to ensure I had a memorable hunt and a great time. I would highly recommend them. Thanks also to the ADA for making the raffle happen, hopefully they can make it a regular occurrence.