The Hog Deer is a herding animal and is found in the coastal tea-tree swamp areas. Chital Deer in Victoria is unclear. It may have occurred in their native range, in captivity prior to release, or following release in Victoria, as chital deer were introduced at about the same time," Ms Hill said. He was a good stag, and he carried a high, heavy rack. Next morning, I got Peter to drop me off along the top of a ridge that followed a creek that meandered snakelike for several kilometres before it emptied into the Burdekin River. Hog deer (Axis porcinus) Hog deer were released at various locations around Victoria in 1865 but today their range is limited to areas of south and east Gippsland, where suitable habitat still exists. Click here for more information on Taxidermy work with Magnum Hunts Red Deer occur in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Hog Deer (stag)                                         Hog Deer (hind). Red Deer (stag)                                                                        Red Deer (hind). These include the most established and widespread deer in Victoria. The Hog Deer is the smallest deer species in Australia. Hog Deer do not cast their antlers in a regular fashion, however, around August to October is most common. Their strongest foot-holds are Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales. As soon as I reached the timber just under the opposite ridge, I found the deer moving slowly through some brush about 200 metres away. Our Hunts are conducted in North Queensland on very large private property. Chital Deer What is Velvet ? History. Sambar and rusa are mainly woods deer and a rifle that might prove ideal for shooting at close range in the brush would lack velocity for a long cross gully shot. Sambar Deer were introduced to Australia from India, Ceylon and Malaysia in the 1860s. It stands 90–95 cm (35–37 inches) at the shoulder. 2 Objective To determine the historical and current distributions of Fallow Deer, Red Deer, Hog Deer and Chital Deer in Victoria. There are a number of Rusa species and they are similar to the Sambar and are able to inter-breed. Over a venison roast he told us that chital do well in this hilly, semi-arid country, where the climate apparently is much like that of the Indian plains from which they come. It lives in grasslands and forests in India and Sri Lanka in herds of up to 100 or more. This herd of chital (axis axis ceylonensis) are descendants of a stag and two hinds introduced from Ceylon by William Hann in 1866. He had three points to a side on a high, evenly matched rack. A mature stag will stand up to 110cm at the shoulder and weigh around 135kg. Chital Deer Hunting. He was well out of rifle range, but I could see clearly his long antlers. In rut, the buck makes an unmistakable croak, similar to a grunting pig which makes them an easy target for hunters. Raising my binocular, I studied the deer for size. Hinds are approximately two-thirds the size of the male. I’ve scored more instant kills using traditional cup-and-core bullets like the Woodleigh, Remington Core-Lokt, Hornady Interlock and Speer Mag-Tip in calibres from .270 to .308, but for rifles in the 6mm and .25-.26 calibre class it pays to use a controlled expansion bullet like the Barnes TSX which will open up uniformly, yet hold together and penetrate deeply. Today Victoria has a healthy deer population, predominantly made up of Sambar, Fallow and Red Deer. The prettiest of all Australia's deer species, the Chital is also a quality hunting adversary. A mature stag stands around 70cm at the shoulder and weighs about 50kg. Then, much closer and almost directly below us, we found some more pigs that were coming right towards us. In Victoria, Hog Deer hunting is permitted under strict regulations to ensure the species is hunted sustainably. Chital furnish excellent venison. Calibres for chital start with the .270 Winchester and a good quality telescopic sight is essential. Sporting Shooter magazine is for those who love the outdoors and the thrill of the hunt. The day after Peter shot the deer, we drove out and up onto a rocky hill to glass. We walked out and sat on a low ridge to scan a long sparsely wooded valley. Chital deer are gregarious and roam about in large herds. The Fallow is a very pretty deer of medium size. They prefer to graze at dawn and dusk. Mature stags will stand around 120cm at the shoulder and weigh approximately 160kg. Victoria has a very healthy population of Sambar Deer and are one of the most difficult species to hunt. The underside is whitish. Chital are prolific breeders. They have a dark chocolate brown coat with extensive small white spots spread over their body. The hind is about two-thirds the size of the stag. There are four different colour variations: red, black, white and menil (meaning spotted). The deer kept going for another ten metres before piling up in a heap. The Fallow Deer are a herd deer inhabiting semi-open scrubland and frequent and graze on pasture that is in close proximity to cover. Rusa Deer (stag)                                                  Rusa Deer (hind). The antlers are typically three points on each side (six tined) and are thin and slender growing up to about 35 inches. Chital (pronounced Cheetal), also widely known as Axis Deer and Spotted Deer – are regarded by many as the most beautiful deer in the world. A liberation, in 1868, of 35 chital at Longeronong Station in the Wimmera district was more successful and within 80 years Aborigines told of seeing herds of spotted deer in the Grampians up to 80km from their original release point. After we took some photos, it didn’t take long to field dress him, but we had some work to do with axe and crowbar before we could get the 4x4 down into the gully where the deer lay. Meat or trophy. Species considered pests include red, chital, fallow and rusa deer. It was rocky and it was hard going for a while, but I finally came out on top of a grassy slope that allowed easy access to the creek bank where the country was more undulating and semi-open. One thing’s certain, there's no advantage to being over-gunned for lightly built, soft-skinned chital. During the rut, the stags fight for possession of the hinds, but do not roar; instead, uttering a long, shrill shrieking noise. No matter, my mate Peter Schubert took a crack at a young stag with his .30-06 and we heard the bullet hit a split second before the deer dropped. Chital Deer were introduced to Australia from India in the 1860s. Hurry”. On this trip we’d been hunting on a property about 120km west of Charters Towers for four days searching for a trophy animal without luck. Chital Deer (stag)                                                      Chital Deer (hind). Red, fallow, hog and chital favour lightly timbered, undulating grassy country where long shots are likely to be the rule rather than the exception. Males will weigh up to ninety eight to a hundred and ten weight unit and also the tail, 20 cm long, is marked by a dark stripe that stretches on its length. Adult bucks (males) stand around 90-95 cm at the shoulder and weig… Suddenly I noticed a movement on the slope ahead of us. In Victoria, all deer are declared to be 'wildlife' for the purposes of the Wildlife Act 1975 (the Act). Rusa are found in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. Just like on other properties in the area where we’d hunted chital before, at night the chital seem to congregate all around farm buildings and dwellings showing little fear of humans. The stags' antlers are quite different from any other wild Australian deer and are palmated (similar to the moose) with a reasonable representative trophy being around the 20 inch mark with 12 or more points. Only isolated populations of Rusa are found in Victoria and only limited hunting opportunities exist. Enjoy a full on Fly camp experience and maybe learn some tips along the way. Breeds available are Plymouth Rock, Australorp and one cross. The antlers are large in relation to the size of the deer, reaching a length of up to 96cm in India. It appeared to be large black boar, but he was traveling away and would soon be out of sight and out of range. Feral chital deer is a restricted invasive animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014. Spot and stalk is the main method used or sometimes a hide or blind is another successful method. He has survived competition with domestic stock, unrestricted hunting and can live in the open as well as in the bush. On this day I was carrying my Mark X Mauser in 6.5x65mm RWS shooting a handload of 49gn of AR2209 which lofted the 120gn Barnes TSX out at 3180fps. In 1862, chital deer were released by the Acclimatization Society of Victoria in two locations. A game licence is required to hunt in Tasmania, including all deer. The Hog Deer season is open only in the month of April each year (i.e. The next morning we rose just before dawn and ate a hurried breakfast before driving toward the far boundary. The main concentration of chital deer in Queensland is in the Charters Towers area, centred around the adjoining properties of Niall and Maryvale where the original release took place. The underside is white/cream. In 1862, chital deer were released by the Acclimatization Society of Victoria in two locations. Deer in Australia. Sitting down I rested my leading hand on the side of a tree and followed the deer through the Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8x scope, waiting for a clear shot. “Take Him,” Peter urged me in a whisper. They can be found in a variety of habitats, including open grasslands, open and closed woodlands, thick forests and … Chital Deer were introduced to Australia from India in the 1860s. The Rusa is a uniform greyish/brown and has light creamy under-parts. No chital have been seen in these areas for many years and the ones on the “Prom” are thought to have interbred with the hog deer there. It must not be kept, moved, fed, given away, sold, or released into the environment. My rifle is a Ruger M77 that’s been long throated to drive the Barnes 100gn bullet at 3250fps. Rusa Deer form small herds. Like other Asiatic species in Australia, chital stags will be seen in various stages of development at all seasons of the year. Photos of Chital Deer can be found in the hunting section. The graceful animals took flight when they saw the vehicle and ran through a clearing for about 150 metres before cutting across the track in front of us. Several other liberations which took place in Queensland seem to have failed. Red Deer have some well-established populations and provide reasonable hunting opportunities in Victoria. Fallow are now found in all states with the exception of the Northern Territory. Protected wildlife: Chital, fallow, hog, red, rusa, sambar, sika, sika-red hybrids and Wapiti are listed as Protected Wildlife under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is an offence to hunt, take, or destroy these deer species unless authorised. In Australia most chital rut between June and July and the fawns are born between January and February. Bag limit: one (1) male (stag) and one (1) female (hind) may be taken during the open season. Their coat is predominantly fawn with some white spotting, or dark brown. This is because our six different species of deer vary greatly in size and choice of habitat. However, one cannot entirely dismiss the possibility that a few chital deer are still roaming the Grampians to this very day. The first species of deer to reach our shores was the chital (from the Bengali word for spotted) which is native to India and Sri Lanka. They are a browsing animal that will also graze on pasture; for this reason they prefer areas of open forest. Most Red Deer hunting occurs on private land where permission must be sought from the landowner. Sambar Deer are a very large deer. No world record, for sure, but a good representative head. Chital, (Cervus axis, sometimes Axis axis), Asiatic deer, belonging to the family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla). 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