Twin Elements Podcast · Hunting Stories
My First Velvet Fallow Buck: Bull Ants, Bachelor Mobs & A PB Billy Goat!
Fallow bucks in velvet are one of the most underrated opportunities in Australian hunting, and this January I finally got my very first one on the ground. Before I get into the story, though, I shed light and break down how to actually find them. Because once you understand their habits, preferences and patterns during the velvet stages of antler growth, they’re some of the most predictable animals you’ll ever hunt.
My first fallow buck and a curious fox, which came to the carcass and interrupted the photo session!
In This Report
From the Field
Finding Velvet Country
Velvet fallow bucks don’t behave like they do the rest of the year. Growing out a new rack means they avoid the thick dogwood and deep gullies they’ll retreat to later. Instead, favouring semi-open, sparsely timbered country for the time being. Those delicate antler tips simply can’t afford to be smashing through dense scrub. Not every property holds velvet animals either; plenty of deer will travel ten to twenty kilometres from where they rutted just to cast, then grow out their new antlers somewhere quieter.
The easiest tell is cast antlers. If you’re finding them on a property — even old, bleached, chalky ones — mark the spot. That’s exactly how I found my own honey hole: On a recent hunt, Dad accompanied me and discovered a big old, white, chalky cast antler. The type you normally wouldn't look twice at.
We were navigating new terrain searching for goats, when he found it. Right on the edge of the property boundary up in open, semi timbered goat country.
Nobody looks for deer up there, because nobody’s looking for sheep or cattle there either. I noted it, then went back eight months later and found a genuine bachelor mob of bucks growing out their velvet in exactly that spot.
That’s really the whole secret: privacy and a tight, repeatable home range. Fallow bucks might only move a few hundred metres a day between bedding and feeding, and they’ll use the same quiet, out-of-the-way gullies year after year unless something drastic changes things.
A nearby eradication / chopper cull, serious hunting pressure, land clearing or cropping with new dangers. Something that wipes them out or forces them to move. Find that place once, and you can go straight back to it every season like clock work without needing to scout it all over again.
The Stalk
I only had one afternoon free between presenting our Rut Ready event at Venture Hunting and travel. Plus vet work and the demand of editing for YouTube had eaten away most of my summer.
So I shot out to a spot I’d already patterned, arriving at around 4:30pm.
Due to daylight savings, I anticipated having enough hunting light until around eight.
I set up what I expected to be an ambush on a west-facing slope where I knew the bucks would likely be bedded. West facing slope, because during the heat of the day it would have had the most shade on a hot summers day.
Before seeing a single deer, I already had the boots and pack off, expecting them to feed out toward me as the day cooled. They didn’t disappoint — a mob of fallow bucks appeared around one hundred and fifty metres out, feeding exactly where I’d hoped. That’s the beauty of these animals. Hunting in general is chaotic and involves alot of guesswork. Yet, as is the theme of this hunt, bachelor mobs in velvet will follow the same script practically every day.
The stalk was on.
Even if I made one reckless mistake early. Moved between cover when I probably should have sat tight. This resulted in catching the attention of a few animals from this group of bucks at around one hundred metres. Luckily, they never spooked. No real harm done, and after some time they re-settled and continued feeding.
Trying to cut the distance again, this time I dropped down of the ridge and out of sight navigating through some thicker country. Instead of deer, I ran straight into a mob of billy goats sharing the same slope. This complicated things.
Their line of sight was perpendicular / side-on to me, meaning that every step I took registered as full-body movement to them rather than the more forgiving front on movements the deer were getting.
The Ants
Then things got properly uncomfortable. I’d taken my socks off to deal with grass seeds and unknowingly planted a bare foot straight into a bull ant nest. What followed was, without exaggeration, one of the more painful stalks of my life.
Repeated bites carried on around the toes. Each time more and more excrucating. Yet, I had to stay frozen in place whilst a buck held his gaze and looked my way.
He had not seen me, but i also didnt want to give him reason to after being so invested in the hunt. Unable to shift my foot without blowing the stalk. At one point it felt less like bad luck and more like a coordinated assault. Every time I paused near an ant, it seemed to sense the opportunity to strike and come straight for me. I ended up dispatching a few of them just to reduce the assault, copping another hit or two in the process.
Eventually the goats moved off, the bucks settled, and I found a decent game trail to work along. Carefully mind you, given everything that had already gone wrong to that point in the afternoon.
The Shot
After the hazard of the goats and ants, I quickly moved ahead of the bucks. Mixing my own and their movements, I closed to around thirty metres using a scatter of small acacia bushes as cover. Mainly shifting my feet inches at a time whenever a flock of lorikeets overhead created enough noise to mask my movement. The biggest buck in the group had re bedded. He lay, body facing me but his neck kinked to stabilise and look down the hill. Likely meaning that if he stood, I’d hopefully get the shot I desired.
“He eventually stood, stretched, looked around — genuinely one of the fattest, most impressive, well conditioned animals you’ll see for this time of year. He was built like a forty-four-gallon drum on these four skinny legs! Despite my plans, just like that, ignoring the script entirely, he walked away dropping straight over the crest of the hill instead of coming my direction.”
Two younger spikers followed him down, which opened up the ground in front of me to follow. I edged forward another couple of steps, revealing new ground over the ridge. To my surprise I found the second-biggest buck in the mob feeding unaware at thirty metres, slightly quartering away. As he fed, i drew back cautiously as not to blow out the other deer and kangaroos they mixed with. Settled my thirty-metre pin, released, and watched the Kayuga pilot-cut do exactly what it’s built to do.
The buck covered maybe twenty metres before folding over for good. A second, equally handy chocolate-coloured buck stood nearby the whole time, oblivious, looking at his mate. These are the kind of moments that archery, nd the silence of the bow, affords you that a rifle hunt never would. I let him and the other bucks be, deciding that i had more than enough quality venison and antler to pack out for one evening!
The Long Walk Out
Getting photos sorted in the dark with nothing but an iPhone and a Walk and Stalk Game Bar was its own challenge. Compounded by the arrival of an inquisitive three-quarter-grown fox pup that kept circling the carcass and my gear, sniffing everything, utterly unbothered by my presence.
He would have done well to catch my scenet and flee. Instead as it grew more brazen, I’d finally had enough, grabbing my bow and dispatched him too at a mere five paces. Purely pest control, not a hunt, but satisfying all the same.
The buck himself carried close to an inch and a half of fat across his back and rump.
I was genuinely impressed by its condition for this time of year, as it had been dry all summer and domestic animals such as cattle and sheep looked worse for wear. I guess thats the benefits of being a wild, free ranging animal, having the ability to move and feed wherever you desire.
Butchering the buck, I packed out the back straps, back legs, one good (un damaged) front leg, and the skull. The packout was steep, and across some rocky country, some of which required side-hilling and navigation.
I didn’t get back home until roughly 2am. Although I'd say thats a fair trade off, being completely worth it for the adventure and memories acquired.
A good caffeine hit and the fact that you’ve actually connected on something makes carrying all that weight out feel a lot lighter than it should.
This was my first velvet fallow buck down, and a reminder to plan ahead for next years summer bachelor mob hunts.
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The Adventure Continues
Join the Twin Elements team as they head back into the Australian bush.
Want the full story behind this episode, in James’s own words? Listen here.
Prefer to see it play out on camera? Watch the next adventure on the Twin Elements YouTube channel.
This piece is adapted from episode 57 of the Twin Elements Podcast - Velvet Bucks
