Thread: Hunting Pureora. Suggestions and Warnings please

Hi All,
I'm looking at an early May hunt in Pureora with a couple of mates and my Mutt. (Pheasant dog but does point deer etc plus he's silent when hunting)
I have only hunted in from Waihaha lagoon a few years back. Found sign and spooked 1 or 2. Definitely easy to go in circles down there.

Anyway looking on Google earth and Doc View I see a lot of old cut over areas and clearings further north off SH 32 and SH30.
We ideally would be looking to camp from a car or a walk in of no more than 5-8 km to a camp site and then do 3 hour loop hunts Morning and Evening.
From Doc View it all looks too easy so I'm asking questions.

From experience these open areas can be full of 6 ft high cutty grass, Gorse, Tea Tree etc, or whats shown as a car/light 4wd public access road actually requires private land permission or is impassable unless you have a Quad.
None of us are great hunters only doing 2 trips a year but have done a lot of off track tramping etc so are competent with compass and river crossing etc. (We are just a lot slower than we used to be 20 years ago)

Looking for some suggestions of good access points what won't put us in conflict with locals and allow us to access some decent slips faces or clearings looking for meat animals.
I'm up north of Auckland so have no real local knowledge.
Thanks
Zane

May is the BEST month to hunt that area (prob likewise most areas)
Reason - Roar over and hunter # down and nearly out
Stags let go Hinds and they feed more open and afar - as do the grumpy boys as well - to load up on carbs for Winter
Piropiro Flats is prob you only option in the Waimiha access point.
Full as a State School over Roar
The bike track that is new since I was there takes you over the Maramataha and into my old area of lower Waione and gives access to upper Waione and onto Hauhangaroa Range
Pirpiro - go high and into Country that takes your towards Range as well - but you said about marry-go round in Waihaha - boy you aint seen nothing yet untill you go into that high level platea country
We never had GPS them days and a few nights snuggled up against a Mountain Totara was needed :-(
Excuse spelling of place names - to lazy to look up.
Good luck - be interested to hear a report after - sure miss that Tawa country - but no Tawa up higher were I suggested.

let us know when you set a date if you head to piropiro I like to head in there in May duck season never interested me

Thanks guys.
Will be back in a month or so with the date confirmed

Hey, just wondering how your hunting went in Pureora. Have been down there a couple of times but keen to explore new areas.

Hi Chris,
Have to say that we got luck both ways. ended up getting access to a farm bordering the park on the western side.
Good deer numbers. Mate got a large fat hind on Saturday night just before dusk (they saw about 5). Wind from the NW did not help. Lots of pig sign so went for a spot light walk after dinner. Saw a nice you stag but no pigs. Did not shoot anything.
Next morning it was bucketing down. Waited a little for some more light them started walking. Saw what we thought was a Stag on a grass valley floor bordering DOC. But by the time we got down and closer to confirm he had disappeared. (we were only taking meat animals).
Followed around the DOC bush boundary for a fair way until we got the wind into our face. Saw a mob on a grassy headland out of the bush. was about 600 mtr away. so we ended up getting closer to 300 mtr OK but was concerned about the wind and rain so decided to risk dropping down the little valley and climbing up the grassy hill to the mob. Stopped about 100 mtr short and dropped our packs and loaded up. Managed to get to about 30 meters away from a rubbish stag and a large hind that were grazing at about 9am in the rain. Could not get a prone shot due to long grass and the rising ground between us and the animals. I popped up and took a kneeling shot and was rewarded with with the sound of a good solid hit. Then another 10 smaller hinds raced of across in front of us. My mate tried for another shot but had another miss fire. (his second of the weekend).
Unfortunately we did not recover my large hind. They where only a few meters from the bush edge which dropped steeply down to a river. The 2 of us spent some time following the game trails through the bush but could not find her.
Dropped back down to a small water course, crossed it and climbed back up through the scrub to the farm land and back to the cabin for a late breakfast about 10 am.
Zane

PS I got the impression the local farmers have had a guts full of poachers. This one has a DOC access running up one boundary and has had issues with hunters taking shortcuts across his land and shooting bush on his land. While I doubt he would let any one shoot his land he's fine with hunters walking the boundaries and is an active hunter himself.
Usual story. Even if you are only planning on walking the DOC access I think stopping at the house and introducing yourself first would go a long way if he later sees you on a grassy area. some boundaries are not clear.
And there are deer fenced paddocks with farmed deer near the DOC boundary.
There have been prosecutions and guy's have lost their FAL's in this area so I'm told.
Z

Shame about the hind.

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