Thread: How often are you successful?

I have been hunting the kaimais for 16 years now . At the beginning my success rate was 1 animal out of 10hunts. It started to get get down to 1 in 5 hunts. 1 particular good year I had 1 in 3. Now I am back to 1 in 5 ( hunting with a bow as well)

Guess that’s why it’s still called hunting.
If it was easy, then you would be going out for a shoot.
Picking going for a shoot would not be as enjoyable as going for a hunt..


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I see animals nearly every trip out, I don't always take one tho. I'm finding that I will tend to sit and watch them more and more.

Seems everyones circumstances are different. I see deer or pigs every time I go out for a hunt because I hunt 95% of the time on private land. Not everyones that fortunate, I know only to well. I choose not to shoot an animal more often than not, mainly because theres only so much meat you can eat or give way. After a life time of hunting, Id much rather see the grandson or a mate shoot something,and watch the kick they get out of it. Thats success right there

Another couple months the deer will start moving around again, river flats slips etc etc. Took me for ever to get my first deer numbers were low and choppers were buzzing ever where.
Now in places deer are numbers are out of control, only if i was twenty years younger

If you want to be more successful then change the way you measure success

If you haven't already, start a hunting diary. Log time, place, weather conditions, sign seen, deer seen, moon phase. The more info the better. After a few years you will start to see patterns develop as to where you see sign, in what conditions, and at what times of the day/year. If you are seeing fresh sign the deer won't be far away so persist.

Depends on your definition of success. Nearly every trip I learn something new about the area, animal behaviour, plants, or even myself. Don't feel any stress or pressure, just enjoy the outdoors...that's my philosophy anyway.

If recreational hunting it's not ncessarily about getting an animal or two, thats a bonus for sure.If you learn or see something new, push your limits a bit more or just experience a great day out observing nature then you're having a successful day.
If you're doing pest control/culling then it's purely a numbers game, if you can also achieve previosly noted points then it's a great day.IMHO.

success is very difficult to judge. As mentioned by others the number of animals seen varies immensely on where you are looking. We had a private block up until recently. Every time we went out we would see literally dozens of animals - pig/deer but only ever take one. the rest of the time we would just watch and learn. The best day I ever had out hunting was on this block. We had shot our one deer on the first day and the second day we were just wandering around with the rifle on the odd chance an easy pig wandered out just to mix it up in the freezer a bit. Watched a fallow slowly feeding in the sun and then from behind a bush a youngun comes bounding across on those spindly legs and starts suckling from mum and playing around her feet. We watched this completely enthralled for a good 10 mins. That is one of the most memorable 'hunts' i have had.
We have now lost that block due to it being sold and are back to public land. I know from experience that now we will rarely see anything except goats and even if we do the chances of a shot are slim as they are jumpy as hell. But wont stop us enjoying just being out there...
And if anyone knows of private land I could hunt with the family somewhere in the top of the south by all means let me know...lol

Successful at shooting an animal? Not too often.

But the hunt itself and the anticipation of something being around the next bend in the river or over the next hill is part of the enjoyment for me.

I like the challenge of the search as much as getting an animal.

I’m not 100% on the math for how to define success but for me so far my score is 0 sightings and 0 misses.
On the bright side that’s got to be much better than many sightings and all misses (or worse woundings).
My spend hourly rate probably good too as mostly been 2 to 4 hour walks so not expensive multi day 4wd or heli trips.
Gained plenty of smiles from effort put in, views gained, fitness tested, etc so I reckon I’m winning so far, even with zero meat in freezer. One day that’d change.

slow down.....and when you think you on hot sign slow down some more...if you think you going slow enough....your not..slow down some more.
@Flyblown is spot on.....for shits n giggles I pegged all my kills in my usual hunting spot from last 30 years of hunting it....interesting to look at it...not a huge area and even now I still find weird wee topographical bits and wee feed guts I havent seen before.
back in 80s if I spooked a deer every 3rd trip I thought we were doing well.
wind direction is VERY important...
slow down.

Originally Posted by akaroa1

Hunt less and look more

Most young guys do far to much hunting and not enough looking.
Watch the wind
Look at where its cold and warm and where you would be if you were a deer

When you do see an animal just stop and watch it for a change, you will learn a lot more from a live deer than a dead one.

Yip! When we were young and fit and lacking in knowledge km travelled equalled hunting...or so we thought. Now, old and broken and wise we have a saying that if we have gone further than 600m from our camp, and not tipped something over we have stuffed up. Lots more looking, observing surroundings and less walking.
Come the magic months (Dec/Jan) its multiple deer every trip.
Oh, did I say we have been hunting the same place for more than 30 years

Never such a thing as an unsuccessful hunt! There's no substitute for time spent on the hill, hunting th kaimais as a beginner is a hell of a challenge! The harder it is the better it is when you do finally get one though.

My advice on stalking speed is go fast, cover the ground and learn your areas intimately first before slowing down. No point going slow if you're inexperienced and don't know you're area, you'll learn the fastest by covering as much ground as possible. Most deer I've shot in the bush I haven't been stalking super slow.

An hours drive will get you into better country, slogging the kaimais is tedious and frustrating a beginner.

All the best!
Cheers.