Thread: Hunt help

Sounds like I need to get up high and glass. Time to hit new spots then. The joys of living in Auckland means everywhere is far away.

but far far away will probably take you less driving time than a trip across town...... a trip down to clements road to chase the wiley sika will be good for the soul...you might not manage to shoot one or even see one but at least those huas let you know when youve been busted at close range which means you learn quickly what does n doesnt work,transpherable to all deer stalking...this is hard time of year for deer come spring time things become much esier.

I have been in clements 2 weekends in the last month. No luck yet but hopefully soon

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

but far far away will probably take you less driving time than a trip across town...... .

yea bought the missus a new car last week from henderson took us 3 hours to get from henderson to takanini and then only an hour and a half to get home just out of ngatea...... i can get to pureora or clements from here on the hauraki plains quicker

If you know there are deer in an area, just keep going back Johnny boy. Sooner or later you'll get one. But having said that, you might be travelling too fast, not sidleling enough basins, not planning your approach properly, not concealing yourself enough, not being quiet enough (I never have luck with hunting buddies).
But one thing is certain, a deer on DOC land in my books is worth 10 on private land.

Wow that a great outpouring of encouragement and advice !
I don't think anyone has recommended to stay at home yet have they ? This is a very hard time of year to get deer. They are virtually hibernating in sheltered sunny gully heads and faces. Not many will come out in the open. They won't move much and leave sign.

So don't do too many trips over the winter. Plan some for November onwards. Meanwhile build up your marksmanship and fitness. If you go to Clements rd set aside a couple of hours to stop at the taupo range and check and recheck zero, practice specially standing and snap shots.


Get some work done around the house,fix your hunting gear,spend time with friends or family for the next 3 or 4 months.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

Wow that a great outpouring of encouragement and advice !
I don't think anyone has recommended to stay at home yet have they ? This is a very hard time of year to get deer. They are virtually hibernating in sheltered sunny gully heads and faces. Not many will come out in the open. They won't move much and leave sign.

So don't do too many trips over the winter. Plan some for November onwards. Meanwhile build up your marksmanship and fitness. If you go to Clements rd set aside a couple of hours to stop at the taupo range and check and recheck zero, practice specially standing and snap shots.


Get some work done around the house,fix your hunting gear,spend time with friends or family for the next 3 or 4 months.

Winter hunting can be frustrating at times but is pretty awesome when you do happen on some fresh sign, shes usually all on with the deer mobbed up like that.

Plus it's less crowded and no blowflies. Haha

or wasps

@Bagheera my marksmanship is pretty good esp since I started reloading as am shooting alot of lead at paper. Rushed re sighting in the other night and still managed a 0.75MOA which is mint as I know what I shoot at I should be getting haha. Fitness is what I am working on which will have me sussed. Yeah Adam that is the plan hunting with exp guys that I can learn off. Probably exposing myself too much and not checking the right places

I didn't mean to say DONT go hunting - getting out in the Bush is the whole point of it ! But dont be disappointed if you dont see much. @Nick-D is right deer will be concentrated and a lot of perfectly good spots will have none in residence so you need to be alert to the first fresh sign on the edge of a yarding up area.

0.75 moa is very good but you also need to have that centered exactly where you want and practice at longer and specially shorter ranges like 10 and 20m. Also for hunting, marksmanship is 6moa while standing on a wobbly concrete block or sitting on a wet hillside using a flexi turpentine bush for a some support. A couple of years ago I decided I was losing too many hard to find deer due to missed shots and went to work on it.

Originally Posted by superdiver

@Bagheera Yeah Adam that is the plan hunting with exp guys that I can learn off. Probably exposing myself too much and not checking the right places

No point in going with me then. Deer just pop out infront of me for no apparent reason. I'm sure deer are getting a lower IQ as I'm getting older :p

Hey @superdriver, I've had similar experiences Bush hunting. Hunted Kaimanawas exclusively for my first year, and although I saw quite a few and put in a lot of hours, I didn't get that elusive sika! F$&kers.......these days I look for deer where I'd like to be.... Sunny, warm and food. Then when you come across that sign and the "spidey" senses start tingling, go slower than slow. If they get the jump on you, a decent whistle can stop them in their tracks and I've pegged a number of deer in the Bush this way. But man it sounds like you're soooooo close! Good luck and take care.