Bush Hunting - tips on identifying stalkable areas

Hey team,

I was wondering if anyone has any good strategies on identifying bush that is open enough to stalk efficiently - from the computer at home (Topo maps, satellite imagery etc).

Just had an awesome weekend in the Ruahines, marked down a few spots to check out prior to going by looking at the topography and finding areas that weren't too steep or looked to have some wider flatter areas.

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We ended up bush bashing along the path in red on the picture. While it was great fun and there was some sign - it was often nearly waist high thick bush that made moving through it quietly mostly impossible haha. Ended up dropping into the creek after a couple kms and walking off to find some slips.

Anyway - just wondering if anyone has a better method short of just going to check the spot out for identifying good stalkable bush !

Thanks in advance, also if this has been already covered please just point me in the direction of that thread.

Chur

That's pretty much what I do. I don't claim to be an expert, but it works occasionally. You can't shoot an animal if you can't see it or move reasonably quietly through the bush. Just be aware that clearings seen on satellite maps are often steep bluffs rather than land that is navigable. That's caught me out a few times.

what you really need is learn your palatable species - my guess is your route was way to low for Ruahines this time of year - There is a strong feed belt there higher up and what you need to find is feed - and the level the deer are on - look for five finger mahoe pate fushia - summer will be grass and slips but its winter now the growth wont happen until later - most beech forest areas windfall especially Tawiri make up a huge percentage of deer feed and that makes it a little more difficult because they are constantly moving -try to pick North facing country gets more sunlight - When I was culling in Te Urewera my plan was I would climb up onto ridges mid day glass for head gullys with palatable species and slowly from mid afternoon glass and listen into those areas -have in plan any slips or grassy areas to hit on way home late - Ruahines likely the same

Yep, the ol' Ruahine feed belt. Never fails to provide :thumbsup:

You could possibly use Google Earth. Find a piece of nice bush on real life. Then find that spot on Google Earth. See what it looks like and look for similar looking bush. You might also find that similar facing slopes at the same height have similar bush.

To be honest, most of the deer I've shot in the bush hasn't been when I've been stalking super quietly or slowly. I've found getting to know 1 area really well instead of chasing different blocks around when you first start off helps a lot. Hunt the same area 10 times in a row and you'll start figuring it out real quick

It sounds stupid but ask yourself 'if I were a deer where would I be right now?' you'll be surprised how well that works!

Doing a little mew when you slightly spook a deer that hasn't winded you works well too, they'll usually stop.

The bushline below the tops is usually a a goodie to stalk around.

I have shot a few deer now bush stalking and the success i have comes down to two major things .
1 Find country thats in your favour and not the animals . I always look for mature native , bit more open and easy to travel thur , less noise and better vision ahead.

2. Find sign in those places, no sign give it a miss. If theres sign the animals are there, go back and go back!
Hard yards are now required, hunt that whole area and after a number of trips you soon work out where the deer are and will bump into them.

You cant beat experience and that only comes with hours on the hill ....its just a fact so dont expect quick success, if you do its just luck, not skill.

Hunting the easy country, the more open contours is a good start when starting out but in the end you wasting your time in many cases.
Deer love the steep crap, and many cases in areas that are popular that easy country is where every man and his dog hunts.

Secret is to start early, first light, when in most cases the winds coming down the hill, its in your favour.
Then gain height, and be prepared to get high up in that steep crap. heads of creeks are great, leading ridges that go onto high terraces are good too.

When the ground heats up and the sun gets up the winds tend to go up. So if you already up high you can slidle and when you hunting back down the winds in your favour.

Stags will be based up high, 3 quarters up the hill at least or higher, often in rugged shit spots .
Ive shot heaps of stags outside the roar bush stalking and many have been up very high , and sweat and tears are required if you want success.

Could go on and on from what ive learnt but one thing is for sure, hunting easy flat country you going to get crap results generally.

My first 2 points will help you lots, and follow the sign.
Good game tracks that are well used heading up into the bluffs thats where you head. you find the deer in bands of good feed 3 quarters on the way up etc and hunt that height.
Steep stuff follow the game tracks, its the easy way to travel and thats where the animals travel, shot untold deer just by doing just that.

yip...the deer feed in the creeks n gullies..NOT on the open ridges..... find the height the sign is in and sidle with wind in your favour...you will shoot stuff all with the wind up your gunga. keep going back to an area.... and keep going full stop. when you start to stumble.stop,have a break,wee cooker to heat up water for a cuppa or even 2 minute noodles will see a hell of an improvement in your concentration levels...and many a curios deer has come in to see what the smell or noise is all about. mate shot a whitetail peering down at his old school coleman rocket like cooker purring away like a cat but louder.

Nothing beats a genuine bush stalked deer and can lead to some awesome close encounters . Ridges in the bush can often provide easy stalking as it’s a natural pathway. You’ll probably not find a lot of sign in these spots apart from footprints as they will usually just be using as an access route to feed/ water or back to bedding areas. It can be a good way to beat the wind/thermals and gives opportunities to look down into the gullies giving you more visible area to view.
Punga trees are your friend they usually offer good open hunting underneath which is usually makes for nice quiet stalking.
Unfortunately bush hunting can be a lot of bashing until you figure an area out and where the good parts are to go back to.

90% of the deer that I have shot or seen have been in places that were within five minutes walk of places where I have seen or shot other deer. After hunting an area for a while you start to realise where to expect them and your first awareness of them is sometimes before their first awareness of you. I have left more than a few footprints in the bush to get to this stage in my hunting career and I don’t rate myself as particularly capable yet either, but I have better luck then I did at the start.

Driving and walking to hunting spots and putting in the time and coming home empty handed when you’re starting out can get demoralising, and sometimes you wonder what the point is. If you keep at it though, you get one or two and then it gets addictive.

To help answer your question, the best way to find likely places is to use a combination of aerial and topo. You still have to visit in person to verify but the more you do that the better you get at reading the aerial photos. Sometimes it helps to look again at the aerials after a trip and compare them to the knowledge you have acquired. It’s still only half the battle, the area may not necessarily hold deer.
Areas that are browsed out and tracked up are usually a good bet. Proof of animal presence and easy to move quietly. Also good for observing what gets eaten. The only way to know where these areas are is through boots on the ground.

Good on you putting up your map.
The easy angle country you went on faces south so could be more lush and good for hunting in summer and autumn when the rest is too dry for plant growth.
As said, you need county you can move fairly quietly through and have a good view, even if there aren't top numbers of animals there.
I disagree and say deer do generally prefer easier sloped country if they can get it with feed. Pigs even more so cos they need soft earth to root in.
So, look on your map for north facing slopes at this time of year; complicated rough gullies are better habitat than smooth featureless areas, more shelter, more opportunity to follow the sun and avoid the wind as it changes. You will need to hunt the area a bit to get a feel for what sort of terrain there's sign, good feed and stalkable ground in. Older guys can get very good at picking spots from the map if they know the general area.
Another strategy for the Ruahines is to look for easily travelled stream beds with slips, specially in November-December.

I hunted a popular valley for first time some years back...mate n I standing in wide open riverbed..I looked at north slope,saw area of lighter green broadleaf amoung the beech n said...Im off up there to get a deer...and get a deer I surely did.... warm,out of wind,in sunlight with feed.....

Move slowly and look more.

Especially if you are in an area with heavy sign

Novices often think 'hunting' means going to look for deer. Sometimes the best way is to wait for them to come to you, as you get to pick the ambush point.

Anyone who has called deer in should know this. I once made the mistake of calling in a Sika but then looked down quickly ( other stalker texted to say he heard my call), by the time I looked up, a big boy stag was looking at me on the edge of the treeline.

The minute I moved the rifle, he bolted.

Never again!!!

im a fan of hammering away at the same area...... if you see sign the deer have been there and will be back , if its relatively fresh but not steaming fresh then your just there at the wrong time if its months old then your there at the wrong time of the year..... deer are cretures of habit they eat shit drink and sleep .....and for a short time root , but they are random creatures of habit so you need to be flexible put the gps in the pocket (its there to take you out later or to mark spots) and focus on the surroundings... ....follow game trails and fly camp where the deer are (or have been recently).its all about being in the right place at the right time. i took another forum member for a hunt in pureora a few years back , we were supposed to be there at day break but he bought an inreach and wanted to swing by matamata to pick it up which meant a later start and we got to the carpark and had our packs on about 11am by the time we got to our campsite and set up it would have been about 1ish went for an afternoon nosey were supposed to check a clearing i know the deer like but the mate said he wanted to look at another spot (another i had identified as a regular feeding spot) so we changed tack. he got his first pureora red on that clearing at 3pm ..... what im saying is if we had stuck to the plan we may have not seen any deer ......or we may have. just keep smashing the same area at different times and widen the net
i always used to study aerial photos mark likely spots then change the overlay to topo looking for sheltered saddles creek heads (and grassy bits in the middle of dense bush for spring) i notice now some of the clearings shown on aerials are all but gone but contours dont change

Some really awesome information in the replies here - much appreciated all!

I've gotten into hunting later than most and am certainly guilty of just wanting to see a new place every time (so much cool country out there!) instead of learning a spot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by deer243

I have shot a few deer now bush stalking and the success i have comes down to two major things .
1 Find country thats in your favour and not the animals . I always look for mature native , bit more open and easy to travel thur , less noise and better vision ahead.

2. Find sign in those places, no sign give it a miss. If theres sign the animals are there, go back and go back!
Hard yards are now required, hunt that whole area and after a number of trips you soon work out where the deer are and will bump into them.

You cant beat experience and that only comes with hours on the hill ....its just a fact so dont expect quick success, if you do its just luck, not skill.

Hunting the easy country, the more open contours is a good start when starting out but in the end you wasting your time in many cases.
Deer love the steep crap, and many cases in areas that are popular that easy country is where every man and his dog hunts.

Secret is to start early, first light, when in most cases the winds coming down the hill, its in your favour.
Then gain height, and be prepared to get high up in that steep crap. heads of creeks are great, leading ridges that go onto high terraces are good too.

When the ground heats up and the sun gets up the winds tend to go up. So if you already up high you can slidle and when you hunting back down the winds in your favour.

Stags will be based up high, 3 quarters up the hill at least or higher, often in rugged shit spots .
Ive shot heaps of stags outside the roar bush stalking and many have been up very high , and sweat and tears are required if you want success.

Could go on and on from what ive learnt but one thing is for sure, hunting easy flat country you going to get crap results generally.

My first 2 points will help you lots, and follow the sign.
Good game tracks that are well used heading up into the bluffs thats where you head. you find the deer in bands of good feed 3 quarters on the way up etc and hunt that height.
Steep stuff follow the game tracks, its the easy way to travel and thats where the animals travel, shot untold deer just by doing just that.

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Maaaan I've been looking at it all wrong haha. I assumed the deer would want to be lazy (like us) and find easier less steep spots to live/travel in. makes sense that those areas would then get more pressure.

@Barry the hunter - I really do need to learn the feed off by heart too aye, good shout man.

I've had some success over the last year but I couldn't honestly say it was down to more than getting a bit lucky and just spending time in there (vs having a solid plan / tons of experience).

Will switch up my approach & hopefully start picking better areas.

Thanks again!

Takes a awhile - I tried to see if there was a map of Ruahines showing vegetation types but could not find one - one easy way to see quickly a good feed area is nearly all of those species I mentioned are short i.e none grow higher than 3-4 meters whereas a stand of beech trees is 20meters plus - many such as Mahoe fushia will be in groves likely showing signs of heavy browsing underneath given no of deer in Ruahines - but I have shot deer and goats standing on hind legs to get at it - you will get ya eye in - get a good book of NZ natives or look up online - just a last tip if you find spring grass and there's fresh sign dont go tramping all over it - get of as soon as you see sign and go back towards evening - mind you with the no of deer around buggers will be hungry and could break all the rules simply to get a feed - not surprised now to see deer out mid day for quick scoff up (fallow normally do )

I have maps which I mark with date and time every time I see or shoot a deer or goat. I just keep it on paper but as the data has built up I manually filter it (i.e all records during winter) and transpose to an online map.
I could put the whole thing in Arc GIS but the original copies have sentimental value now.
Anyway I recommend keeping and maintaining your own data so that as it builds it will show you trends that can inform your approach at the start of your hunt.

I would have got up to that 900 line, either just below or above that shelf depending on bush and sidled along there following my nose with the signs and not the topo,a mistake made to much I believe is bush hunters follow topo to much as opposed to the sign in front of them.ill use topo t get to a spot I want to check out then away I go,and only really look at it again if I want to head to another area.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yesmate

I would have got up to that 900 line, either just below or above that shelf depending on bush and sidled along there following my nose with the signs and not the topo,a mistake made to much I believe is bush hunters follow topo to much as opposed to the sign in front of them.ill use topo t get to a spot I want to check out then away I go,and only really look at it again if I want to head to another area.

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Same, would of started at that First creek heading up to the 900 mark then along to the next creek and follow what sign is about

Watch little creek river mouths flowing out of thick bush,creeks say 2 to 6 mtr wide with spring grass around amongst tussock grass.Like a super market for deer every year.Walk up these creeks a 100mtrs or so.You should start seeing sign at this time of the year,look around the sand pit areas,easy to see fresh sign.Same time as you start mowing your lawns in spring.Maybe in a few weeks or so.
Creeks are like a corridoor for deer,easeir to walk out inbetween thick bush.They think like us,easyist way is best for access to food.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by deer243

Same, would of started at that First creek heading up to the 900 mark then along to the next creek and follow what sign is about

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Yeah same, absent of being on the ground and seeing what the sign and feed was doing I'd be sidling somewhere around the 900m mark. Be some nice scrubby sheltered guts through there I'm picking.

A low line like that at first light in the spring/early summer could produce a deer, but better odds up higher.