Am I hunting in the right locations?

Hey guys

I've been teaching myself to hunt for the past wee while, and have and recently been trying to get into deer hunting. Yet to get my first animal, I've gone out maybe 10 times

I hunt the tararuas, and just wanted some opinion on my choice of location.

I go in from the west side, in different points north of waikanae. I've been hunting an area lately that has north facing ridges with clearings and what looks like deer beds everywhere. fair amount of deer poo and tracks in the area. And more clearings + bush along the river bed below which also have a bunch of deer tracks through them. My assumption is that around this time of the year the bucks will be heading down to the marshy wet stuff to get ready for the rut right? So if I keep on cruising up along the riverbed my odd's would be higher than up on the hills if I'm correct?

What part of the terrain would the doe's usually hang out in this time of year are they more likely to stick to higher altitudes or does it not even matter?

Appreciate any tips!

if you seeing deer beds and deer shit you are in right place......get the wind right and SLOW DOWN....also them deer arent currently in said beds or arses above said poops..so they are somewhere else...NO SHIT SHERLOCK you say..well where is it??? where are majority of footprints leading to???from??? again get wind right,slow down and find out.
the deer will be,where the deer will be. you just need to find out where that is.. one thing 40 years of chasing them has taught me..all the rules are broken. nothing is a dead cetainty,even crop of turnips next to forestry at 02;00 can draw a blank....

I assume you mean stags and hinds?In the tararuas?If your hunting reds,id say your in the wrong place for stags at the mo they are all heading bush now, marshy stuff is not attractive to them, thy will wallow anywhere they can find a bit of damp stuff they don't need to go to a swamp.if you seeing heaps of sign but not animals id say your technique is flawed and that's what you should look at changing.one tip I would give is keep your eyes forward as much as poss,stop looking at prints and shit all the time-i still have to remind myself to do this regularly and since I have concentrated on this I see and kill ALOT more deer in the bush,you will be surprised how many deer see you coming and just move away quietly without you even knowing they were there.

If you are seeing fresh sign. Prints, Poo, Hair on what you think is a bedding spot, then you are in the right place. However if you are not seeing the deer, then you are in the right place at the wrong time.

The beds in the stream bed / flats grass are probably not 'beds' as such but just places they lay down to cud during the night. They then return to their beds proper for the day which will be 2/3 the way up the hill on the shady side. Get on that ridge in the dark of the pre-dawn and hut down working along into the wind and along the face. If you find a real good spot with good vis stop and watch for 1/2 n hour

You’re not far off the mark

Walk half as fast
Look twice as much
Wind in your face
Expect the unexpected
Breathe

Look for the colour & shape, once you’ve positively identified…100%….1000% identified
Your eyes/ imagination will play tricks on you

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Originally Posted by whanahuia

If you are seeing fresh sign. Prints, Poo, Hair on what you think is a bedding spot, then you are in the right place. However if you are not seeing the deer, then you are in the right place at the wrong time.

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what he said

Early mornings befor day light and late evenings into dark.Watch a good clearing with lots of sign n green feed.Wind in yr face on edge of clearing.Sit under bit of cover.Out of ten trips they will make a mistake once,your turn.

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Originally Posted by Bent Barrel

You’re not far off the mark

Walk half as fast
Look twice as much
Wind in your face
Expect the unexpected
Breathe

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Dead on. I'd go breathe with your mouth open..

What time of day are you hunting? You may spook them out of bed if you are in the middle of the day. Early morning before it gets hot or evening is a good time to catch them in the feeding/drinking areas.

Appreciate the advice given by all of you.

Sounds like I just need to keep at it, I've only just managed to get my head torch replaced today so I've been hunting until 730ish and then walking out but this weekend I'll head in overnight and catch the late evening and early morning
I'm thinking camp out in a promising spot I know down in the gully, seems to be a couple good clearings next to the river I'm thinking I might catch them at. Tons of sign in that area

And yeah I mean stags & hinds sorry, I really just want to get some meat so I don't care for either or as long as I can eat it. I'm completely new to deer hunting and everything about it so I'll probably get some stuff wrong

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Originally Posted by choppypython

Appreciate the advice given by all of you.

Sounds like I just need to keep at it, I've only just managed to get my head torch replaced today so I've been hunting until 730ish and then walking out but this weekend I'll head in overnight and catch the late evening and early morning
I'm thinking camp out in a promising spot I know down in the gully, seems to be a couple good clearings next to the river I'm thinking I might catch them at. Tons of sign in that area

And yeah I mean stags & hinds sorry, I really just want to get some meat so I don't care for either or as long as I can eat it. I'm completely new to deer hunting and everything about it so I'll probably get some stuff wrong

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youll def get some stuff wrong, you always will.just stay at it experience is the best teacher and you'll start picking up moves along the way, if you stick at it and when that penny drops and your taking deer regularly its one of the most rewarding things.

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Originally Posted by choppypython

Appreciate the advice given by all of you.

Sounds like I just need to keep at it, I've only just managed to get my head torch replaced today so I've been hunting until 730ish and then walking out but this weekend I'll head in overnight and catch the late evening and early morning
I'm thinking camp out in a promising spot I know down in the gully, seems to be a couple good clearings next to the river I'm thinking I might catch them at. Tons of sign in that area

And yeah I mean stags & hinds sorry, I really just want to get some meat so I don't care for either or as long as I can eat it. I'm completely new to deer hunting and everything about it so I'll probably get some stuff wrong

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Take care not to camp too close to your SpotX, you’ll scent up the area…humans stink

Ya gotta head out before it’s light (lazy hunters don’t get the deer) get in a downwind position of where they are and wait for it to get light, if none appear cover some ground, always hunt into wind, do the same at night don’t leave before it’s dark, prime time(as the light changes) is you best bet, be patient, invest in good gear, invest in an accurate rifle do plenty of range time in a variety of positions, make sure you have a quality scope (Swaro, leupold ect), get someone that knows what they are doing to check your scope screws and alignment, be persistant, stay motivated! I’ve been where you are keep plugging, hunt the roar hard you’ll find them then!

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Originally Posted by Bent Barrel

Take care not to camp too close to your SpotX, you’ll scent up the area…humans stink

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Yep I was thinking of camping out maybe half a k or so away from the spot

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Originally Posted by duckndeer

Ya gotta head out before it’s light (lazy hunters don’t get the deer) get in a downwind position of where they are and wait for it to get light, if none appear cover some ground, always hunt into wind, do the same at night don’t leave before it’s dark, prime time(as the light changes) is you best bet, be patient, invest in good gear, invest in an accurate rifle do plenty of range time in a variety of positions, make sure you have a quality scope (Swaro, leupold ect), get someone that knows what they are doing to check your scope screws and alignment, be persistant, stay motivated! I’ve been where you are keep plugging, hunt the roar hard you’ll find them then!

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Thanks for the good tips I know I've been missing out by now catching first/last light so I'll go catch both tomorrow/sunday.
This clearing I'm looking at has good high ground all around it so I'll go get a downwind perch somewhere with a good view before sunrise and hope something comes out
have done plenty of range time in all positions feel pretty comfortable with my rifle , just need to find a deer!

In ambush,cover your face and yr hands.Deer can see your face and the back of yr hands in half light while you are under cover waiting.They got xray eyes so please keep still.your movenent will be spotted by them.

I'm happy to help, send me a PM if you're keen and we can have a yak.

Have you thought about doing a hunts course & when you get a deer do you know how to cut it up to bring it out off the bush I get have a very high kill rate on doc land but I spend alot off my time walking in dark & in morning if I'm heading to a look out when I get close I turn light off & walk the last bit in the dark slowly so my light doesn't spook anything. The other thing I look for when bush hunting in the day after you done clearings in the morning is if it calm look for lower branches on feed trees moving I have shot quite a few deer by seeing a branch moving and them seeing the deer feeding away on the branch.

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Originally Posted by hunt08

Have you thought about doing a hunts course & when you get a deer do you know how to cut it up to bring it out off the bush I get have a very high kill rate on doc land but I spend alot off my time walking in dark & in morning if I'm heading to a look out when I get close I turn light off & walk the last bit in the dark slowly so my light doesn't spook anything. The other thing I look for when bush hunting in the day after you done clearings in the morning is if it calm look for lower branches on feed trees moving I have shot quite a few deer by seeing a branch moving and them seeing the deer feeding away on the branch.

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Yeah the times I've gone to book it, it has already been booked out unfortunately. But I have done a lot of research I just need to put it into use. I've got a pretty good idea on what to cut off and have the right knife n bag etc. That's a good tip, I get distracted trying to look for things deer shaped and soon every ponga looks like one in the corner of my eye

Went out yesterday arvo-late morning today. Perched up by a big clearing by the river till dark saw nothing but good sign around. Pretty sure I heard some deer around during the night but unsure.

Watched the same spot for 30mins at change of light and nothing so stalked up the river for a bit then back up the hill where I think they were bedded but no luck still. I didn't make it super far through the hill I think they were up on so I'll head back and spend a whole day up in there stalking around, by the looks of the forest and all the fresh scat, tracks etc where I was they're definitely there that hill looks real promising so I'm itching to get back in there

Patience is your friend, took me 2 years to get my first deer, that was nearly a year ago and I might get a second one this year.

Your first deer is the hardest deer you’ll ever shoot, each one from then on gets easier.
It’s almost impossible to learn to hunt from forums and YouTube, you need time in the bush and animals under your belt. You need to think like a deer and have a bit of luck as well. You need to ‘change the angles’ but not move too much as movement can spook deer. When you’re not seeing deer it’s tempting to cover move territory but in reality, once you have the right area, it’s a matter of moving very little and waiting for the deer to reveal themselves. We spend most of our time sitting down watching and it’s amazing how many deer you see when you stay still.
You’re in the right place, there’s plenty of deer on that side of the Tararuas.
I know someone else has offered you this already but you’re welcome to phone me on 0274339294 and I’ll offer you some tips.
We can even talk specific areas on that side of the Tararuas.

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Originally Posted by craigc

Your first deer is the hardest deer you’ll ever shoot, each one from then on gets easier.
It’s almost impossible to learn to hunt from forums and YouTube, you need time in the bush and animals under your belt. You need to think like a deer and have a bit of luck as well. You need to ‘change the angles’ but not move too much as movement can spook deer. When you’re not seeing deer it’s tempting to cover move territory but in reality, once you have the right area, it’s a matter of moving very little and waiting for the deer to reveal themselves. We spend most of our time sitting down watching and it’s amazing how many deer you see when you stay still.
You’re in the right place, there’s plenty of deer on that side of the Tararuas.
I know someone else has offered you this already but you’re welcome to phone me on 0274339294 and I’ll offer you some tips.
We can even talk specific areas on that side of the Tararuas.

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Yep I can imagine it feels like a mission right now, but I'm loving being out there nonetheless.
Good point I'll try that next time I'm out, The spot I've been hunting lately has all the right signs so I'll go perch up there for the weekend soon and quietly shift around where it seems like they all hangout
Yeah I've come to realize I need to be a lot more stealthy and patient, I'll try that out next time I'm in there
Yep seems like the area I'm around is a good spot, only a matter of time I reckon!
Appreciate the offer, might give yah a bell later this week