Help for Sika Roar

I am after some general information please, after shooting my one and only sika 48 years ago I am going to have a crack this roar, again it’s one of those things I have talked about for years but until the last few years was always a dirty old pig hunter
I am thinking either Clement’s road and up and over Te Iringa somewhere, or walking through Poronui and fly camping up the Oamaru or side creeks somewhere, I know it’s going to be busy but am I on the right track as far as areas go?
I am taking my nephew on his first deer hunt, certainly don’t have any expectations but keen to give it a go.
Any information of advice greatly appreciated

areas- yep, Down Oamaru in the roar last time i was there in the Kaipo in 2018 ish- it was soooooooooooo busy, hunters all over, tons on the tracks, when we walked in and out. Probably best off going to upper kaipo over Te Iringa like you siad.

I the five yrs that I hunted Clements on a regular basis found the most animals close to the road, but hey deer are where you find them.

The further you get away from the road the less people you come across. We walked in from Clement’s for about 6-7 hours last year and didn’t see another person for 5 days until our walk out.

My sons mate went off Clements road last week end for a day hunt running his Wire haired GSP and nailed a nice 8pt jap with the first outing with his 7/08. Happy chappy. They saw 3 large red stags on Taupo road last night at 8pm as heading down to go into Kawekas.

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Originally Posted by ANTSMAN

areas- yep, Down Oamaru in the roar last time i was there in the Kaipo in 2018 ish- it was soooooooooooo busy, hunters all over, tons on the tracks, when we walked in and out. Probably best off going to upper kaipo over Te Iringa like you siad.

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was with in earshot of oamaru hut in 2023 counted 10 gunshots between walking in and getting to the hill i wanted to hunt, then counted another 4 shots after dark, walked out next morning bumped into guys walking out and they said oamaru hut was full full and 6 tents outside so pick your spot wisley but a crap ton of bush to hunt where people walk past or dont even get to so do some leg work for a hour or 2 then go from there

Like everyone has said Oamaru hut will be chaos, but a bit more leg work past there and you'll find some great hunting, Jap creek, or up the Otorehinaiti river, over towards the Mangapapa even.

I would check with helisika to see if they are flying anyone into Jap creek, and check the kaweka booking calendar for bookings into Otore biv, will give you an idea of others in the area or not so you can make an informed decision.

Good luck!

Oamaru is packed to overflowing with hunters at this time of year. BBQ out the front, beers, bleary eyed hunters in the middle of the day. Not a pleasant place to stop. Probably a bit like Clements, unless you are putting in serious distance - think about day hunting radius (plus another couple of hours) from the hut - I wouldn't be comfortable hunting there from a safety perspective.

Fly camping and travelling light will be your best option,hunt till dark then camp where you stop,straight into the hunting next morning,good gear is a must at that time of the year in Taupo area,she gets bloody cold.

Thanks for all the great advice, I have been pouring over maps and thinking about this, up the track towards Te Iringa then jumping onto a ridge,one heading towards Poronui, east I think and fly camping , but also if that’s not working just keep moving and camping where I stop as suggested.

There’s a nice spot on the track over to the cascade hut I think it’s called,base of the last big climb over to the hut with nice stream and flat area to camp at,plenty of hunting there.