Thread: Advice for new hunters?

"Sit and glass. That is one piece of advice I'll always give someone. Find a nice valley or gully and a vantage point downwind and watch it. Animals will be there. Last week a friend and I watched one smallish basin (2km x 1.5km) for 9 hours non stop, most would have a quick glass and move to the next basin up valley. We saw over 20 deer in this one catchment over the course of the day as they stood up/sat down/moved to feed/came out of the bush etc. When we first arrived, we saw one spiker in the open...all the others were sitting down out of sight..."

I remember seeing about 8 fallow deer run from the open paddock to hide among about 5 manuka shrubs. The sort of tiny patch you would never think could hide that number of animals if you hadn't seen them go in.

I was watching NZ Hunter Adventures with my elderly mother and she said "the reason they see so many animals is because they are so patient" :-) Another time the Duley's (first season I think?) got a big red stag; about a 16-pointer If my memory serves me right. Another party were at the top of the valley but left and the Duleys stayed glassing for all of the next day and nailed the big fella....