best buck . For another two years he watched and through a spotting scope he counted every point each year . But then the buck seemed to disappear . Alain was almost convinced a poacher had taken it .
Then in midwinter 1983 Alain and two friends found the great fallow buck again . “ He was so big and impressive . I did not waste time .” He lay prone , shooting steeply uphill with his . 270 and the big buck tumbled over a bluff , crashed down through some matagouri and came to rest just 30 metres from them .
His patience had been rewarded . The 209¼ DS fallow buck won the NZDA Orbell Trophy for that year . Another especially satisfying trophy was his rusa , In the first year of his rusa search in the Whakatane valley , he saw one good stag but it was out of range ; and at Galatea he passed up two average stags . “ Because rusa are so hard to find , people told me any rusa with antlers was a trophy !”
The following year produced nothing despite numerous hours , daylight to dusk , watching slips . “ That ’ s very long time to keep still without moving ,” he said .
Next he went to New Caledonia , where he shot a big 34 ½-inch trophy . ‘ But it didn ’ t feel right . I wanted all my trophies to be from New Zealand .”
Alain returned to the Whakatane valley despite knowing the rut was over and chances were probably diminishing for that year . Wary of being caught out by darkness in early winter , one night he was making his way back to the hut through a mixture of windfalls , toitoi and flax , when he spooked a big stag and took a quick shot .
He searched in the fading light but could find no blood or fresh prints skidding downhill . In the end he trudged back to the hut with a heavy heart . Had he missed ? Was it wounded ? If so , was it lost ? Questions swirled around in his mind .
Finally , with the first grey sign of dawn , Alain had breakfast and headed back to the area . At first he dismissed the sign he found as just reddish beech leaves , but then realised it was congealed blood .
“ I got down on all fours like a pig dog , all senses fully alert ,” he said . “ Then I found a large stag hoof mark , then more blood , and further downhill I saw a large splash of blood .”
He momentarily lost the tracks , but retraced his steps around the other side of a big rewarewa tree and found sign heading more steeply downhill .
“ And then , there he was : hunched up and stiff , my greatest trophy . A beautiful rusa stag !”
The shot was dead centre in the shoulder . The . 270 130 grain Norma had done the job all right . Eleven months later Alain ’ s rusa trophy won the 1981 Orbell Trophy for the best head of any species , with a Douglas Score of 173.25 , equivalent to 315.13 for a red deer .
Alain ’ s final quest was for a sambar to complete the Grand Slam . In August 1989 he was hunting the Manawatu , where the elusive , big-bodied sambar frequent the flat coastlands habitat of sandhills , lupins , swamps , lakes and pine forests .
As one evening advanced towards nightfall , Alain spotted a hind . Reasoning a stag could be nearby , he silently stalked closer . At about 200 metres he saw five hinds and a big black stag . Light was fading fast , but he could see clearly through his Leupold 4X scope . He examined the head but it was not large enough for his liking , so he held fire .
Darkness threatened but then across the other side of the clearing he saw a pine branch swaying .
“ It was then I saw him . He was a gem - a big , long , grey stag standing on his back legs marking the radiata pine with his preorbital glands - a territory-marking habit .”
The stag jumped the fence and stood with the hinds . Carefully Alain eased to the edge of the forest , found a rifle rest and settled the crosshairs . It was so dark the horizontal crosshairs were invisible against the target , but by raising the crosshairs to a lighter background , then lowering the rifle to just the right level , he was able to aim and squeezed off the shot .
The flash of the rifle blast momentarily dazzled him . He ran to the stag ’ s last position . Nothing !
But suddenly Alain saw the big black stag just 50 metres away . It took off past him , hitting the fence line with a crash , then disappeared into the forest . Alain followed . Deer were barking and branches cracked ahead .
“ Surely I haven ’ t missed ?” he frantically wondered .
Carefully Alain picked his way through the gloom . Then he heard some heavy breathing and saw the big stag in front of him . He raised the . 270 , fired – and his Grand Slam was complete .
At the time , owing to conflict between NZDA and the Sambar Deer Foundation , the trophy was not recognised by the NZDA Executive . Alain was deeply disappointed and put it down to a case of “ sour grapes ”.
Today he lives in Gisborne . and still occasionally hunts despite the loss of one lung owing to cancer . Ironically , he has never smoked and puts it down to passive inhalation of smoke when he was working as a wool buyer .
Alain maintains a deeply passionate interest in deer and their management . He is amazed and delighted at the resurgence in the quality of heads , particularly with red deer . Warnham Park bloodlines from deer farm escapees have injected some quality traits into wild herds , he says . “ It ’ s due to what farmers call ‘ hybrid vigour ’. The infusion of new genetics has resulted in some top heads today .”
He cites the Nelson and Marlborough regions as traditionally having poor heads but with farm escapees , today there are really good heads available .
“ Today a record red deer head is potentially available in many parts of New Zealand , particularly on the back of farms where the essential nutrition can be got from pasture .”
He welcomes the attitude of an increasing number of farmers who just enjoy seeing deer and have them as a recreational bonus for their staff and also often make them available to private hunters .
However , Alain considers Kiwi recreational hunters generally need to lift their style from being just shooters to selective hunters . Two trips to the USA and observing management there , particularly on an Apache nature reservation , convinced him of this .
He has no time for poachers and spotlighters . “ It ’ s sad - in effect they are stealing . We need heavy fines , cancellation of firearms licence , no hunting and forfeiture of vehicle , rifles and other gear instead of a slap with the proverbial wet bus ticket .”
30 NZ Hunting & Wildlife 196 - Autumn 2017