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Hi guys, been hunting for just over a year so still pretty green on it. Been putting in lots of range time and have developed loads for both my bush and long range guns
Has anyone got any tips / advice they could share?
I did learn lot over the last year and a bit but any advice would be great. Or any storys on what you have done but would of done differently
Tip number 1.
Go hunting lots.
Get up early and get to your spot before sunrise.
Go with Thar
I hadn't even considered TharQuote:
Originally Posted by Gapped axe
I know its stating the totally obvious but get out in the hills as often as you can, more time out will mean more success, if you can don't shoot the animal right away, watch it for a bit and learn its behaviour. Where are you?
The deer will be where you find them...
If that helps haha
Don't under estimate an animals sense of smell. Keep the wind in your face!
What oneshot said, the more time in the hill watching them and their patterns of behaviour eg time of day moving from food to water to shelter bedding spots in the day, interacting with other animals.
If it's bush your hunting, then if your sweating your going to fast. Into the wind and hunt where the sign is.
Don't look for the whole animal look for something that's not right i.e. Ear flick, back, foot and shape. Then identify.
If you can go out with someone who has more experience then so much the better as they can show you the finer points that you would miss by reading about it so like the above posts keep at it get out there.
As a side note it took me three years to shoot my first one in the Kiamais but once I got my first then it all seemed to click and I was averaging 1 for every 2.5 days. That was back in the early 90's when deer numbers where a lot lower than they are today.
Good luck
Put your location/where you live in your profile, provides a more personal approach when asking for help/info. Also tell us where in the country you are asking about info for.Where have you been so far? What have you been up to when there?
People on here that live near or hunt those areas may pop outta the woodwork and be happy to help, on here or in person, you'd be surprised the difference sharing some of your info may make.
A lot of the knowledgeable high percentage hunters have a huge amount to offer, but with little from your end they may not.
Good luck!
Tahr is an old fart on here who walk harder and gets more Deer than most.Quote:
Originally Posted by BLR-Bushpig
Get out hunting lots
Sometimes when you shoot something at long range the end result is not what you want.
Thanks Antsman, i didn't realise i didn't have my profile set up properly, cheers for the heads up.Quote:
Originally Posted by ANTSMAN
I've mostly been focusing my time in the Kaimanawa's, a mixture of bush hunting and glassing from lookouts. I've also spent some time in the Ruahines and Pureoara's North block and piropiro flats
Oh thanks for that, i was thinking Tahr hahahaQuote:
Originally Posted by Gapped axe
Now watching them for a while before taking the shot is great advice, cheers!! Im in HamiltonQuote:
Originally Posted by oneshot
Can anyone recommend a good book for hunting sika that has their habits etc?
I reckon we can pick the guys who had hunting easy when they were kids where dads and uncles introduced the privileged little buggers to hunting in nice easy country (often private farmland) with plenty of game animals to harvest with little effort spent. Probably shot their first deer at 7 after already cutting teeth on goats earlier.
Seriously, some of you guys are so full of your own prowess that you can't even give a positive supportive tip of advice to a guy who's trying to teach himself. Shame.
For those who did throw a bone, thanks, from a self taught hunter who spent waaaaaay too long missing out on being successful because selfish bastards wouldn't share some basic info.
@BLR Bushpig - Start by choosing your preferred and/or most accessible area. From Hamilton, I suggest you should be heading to Pureora or Kaimais. Both are pretty challenging though, for very different reasons. Kaimanawas are awesome with healthy animal numbers of both species, particularly on the western side (Desert Rd). Then stick with it. Get to know the area by studying Google Earth and time on the hill working a grid. Eventually you'll learn where the deer prefer or travel through. Then slow right down, hunt with the breeze in your face and eventually you'll ambush or stumble over one (Murphy will always reverse the prevailing breeze just as you're getting close to a deer by the way, so always be ready for a burst of action).
Think about what a deer needs to live. Warmth and shelter, a safe place to sleep, a constant source of good food and, to a less extent, social interaction and water. So where will they be? Start with sheltered north facing gullyheads and slip faces/clay pans.
Remember: go slow, stop and scan often, wind is key, and...assume EVERYTHING that moves is human until you cannot possibly be mistaken that it's a deer.
The shooting is the easy part.
Good luck!!...Because much of this hunting game is just that. Right place, right time
Cheers
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunt4life
Thanks for both your information and help!!!! It sounds like you started the same way as me with being self taught. Anyone can be handed a deer but that's shooting not hunting
The Sika Hunters is a good book or nz hunter has seasonal calendars on there website with good info.Quote:
Originally Posted by BLR-Bushpig
Personally find sika easier to hunt using the sit and wait method and lots of bino work. use google earth find some feed areas, slips, clearings, mountain tutu and wait it out. Sort out a spot to shoot that's far enough not to spook but close enough for you to shoot ethically.
Beat the feet and do some scouting, chances are your not the first guy in the area doing the same thing.
And enjoy it!!!!
Sika are reasonably predictable, I have found that this time of year they frequent areas of good food eg river flats, open tops, or slips and clearings in the bush. Come winter I have had good success hunting the sunny faces around clearings and gully heads as they are suckers for warmth, on a cold frosty morning work the faces into the wind and you will most likely run into animals.
During the rut they can be quite vocal so stalking into the wind until you close the distance then try and bring them in with a caller, the less you move the better the chances they are pretty switched on with all there senses.
+1. And your local deerstalkers club and do the Hunts course. The first ones are handed on a plate, but there are good buggers that don't mind sharing info and even offering a tag along trip.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hunt4life
if your handle is anything to go by you have the rifle bit sorted out right from the get go.
the books by lentle n saxton especially red deer in new zealand are well worth the time to read over and over again.
bush huntin is all about taking your time and keeping the wind right...at 44 and having been hunting since early teen years Im still learning and still loving it.harvesting a deer out in the open is a bonus..a deer in the bush is a buzz.
Thought I should add this.
I got sick of going for armed walks with the boy,seeing his disappointment and interest disappearing. The course cost was around $280 and that gave the both of us membership. It seemed a lot, but in reality was only a drop in the bucket to what I'd wasted with nothing to show. They took us back to basics along with first aid, navigation and marksmanship, ethics...... We had 2 hunts, which while challenging, put us in pretty good locations to achieve our goal of taking an animal. Then got shown how to process it properly.
I thought it would be full of blowhards and big noters, but I haven't come across them. At the end of the day every group, club and organisation has them, but no sign yet. The knowledge that was shared, along with invitations to hunt other places and animals far outweighs the negatives. Then you add in access not normally given to 'Joe Public' and the huts,insurance etc, I believe it far outweighs the negatives and is great value for money, especially as someone trying to learn and teach your child.
Yep self taught as well.
Thats why it was three years before I got my first.
Hunt4life is right in that the Kaimias are a challenging place. But I did see plenty of animals it was just i was busted most of the time and the rest where out of range.
From memory I think I was busted five times before I shot my first.
I don't have my dairy's on me but Id say that I was out once a month in those three years
Thats 36 outings, most where just to find where the animals where. So id say 15 where recon. Once I had access to a good spot it still took me the rest to get one on the ground.
One Stag that I missed out on in early on had his head down eating I was aiming at the wrong end but did not want to pull the trigger as I could not identify the kill zone, was not until I moved to get a better sight line that he lifted his head and ran. Not sure weather he saw the movement our smelt me. But very very frustrating watching horns run away.
In the end I very nearly chucked the whole game in but I stuck with it and finally it came right.
I must also say that not long after my first I had a trip down to Stewart Island with the Thames Valley deer stalkers, after all the frustration of hunting the Kaimais it really paid off down there with one on the floor on the first day and three in total for the whole trip.
Keep at it and good luck.
Perseverance is the key. Hunts course is a very gooid Idea too.
I grew up in a "non hunting" family. I am mostly self taught and had given hunting away until a certain forum member here dragged me out. Now I am back into it.
I am sure you will succeed it just takes time. People too are wary of taking people to their "private access only" spots ie private land. Trust is something that has all but disappeared.
Good luck
Basically get up and get into it
You can do all the reading on the net but until you have experience out there doing it its basically just reading on the net
When I started out I joined the Auckland Deerstalkers and meet up with other young fella's keen on hunting. We hunted every weekend we could and went on all the monthly party hunts.( despite this it was a year and a half before I shot my first deer. The mates I made back then are still mates other than two who have passed on, one in a hunting accident. Joining the club is a good way to start out and getting to know people. You will get some people that are blow hards but generally you will meet some really good buggers.
Thanks Mooseman, i had my first sika roar last year and coudn't tell you how many i spooked, i think i was a bit early though because no matter how long i waited none of them came in, or their hinds would catch me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooseman
Great information though thanks!!!!!!
Thats exactly what im doing, just trying to learn as much as i can between hunts as wellQuote:
Originally Posted by 199p
Thanks mikee, Sounds like a hunt course is the way to go, maybe i was just being to stubborn wanting to earn the first one myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by mikee
I can totally understand the lack of trust these days and most people hve worked bloody hard to get the access they have got so completely understandable
Never stop learning in this hunting game!!Quote:
Originally Posted by BLR-Bushpig
Good on ya mate :)Quote:
Originally Posted by BLR-Bushpig
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Thanks mikee, Sounds like a hunt course is the way to go, maybe i was just being to stubborn wanting to earn the first one myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by mikee
I can totally understand the lack of trust these days and most people hve worked bloody hard to get the access they have got so completely understandable
Cheers mate, every little bit helps
" i had my first sika roar last year and coudn't tell you how many i spooked, i think i was a bit early though because no matter how long i waited none of them came in, or their hinds would catch me."
that tells me your in the right place, keep at it.
Alan Simmons (of the other pub fame) wrote quite a good one 30 something years back....Quote:
Originally Posted by BLR-Bushpig
there are some good dvds to ..cant think of the fellas name......I can see him in bright orange swanni talking to a stag in normal voice but cant get the name....plurry oldtimers.