Thread: Hunting at this time of year on public land

We have been going out a lot lately into some public land in the north island. We have been very close every time and had them come up to our tent in the middle of the night. We have been taking our 4yo son out and he’s been really good. We always have his safety in mind and keep him kitted out in a safety vest, orange hat etc. this weekend we were so close to bagging one that I want to go back again within the next couple of weeks for a few nights but as the roar heats up is it a good idea? Or should we wait until the spring now? Iv never been out during the roar.
I’m not sure if we just had a batch of bad eggs or if it’s common but on Friday night we had a truck load of young guys flying around spotlighting down every track and making a hell of a racket in their truck. Safe to say we didn’t hear any deer for about 6 hours after that after listening to them for hours. I was quiet worried having our son with us and made sure to light up camp so they didn’t shoot towards us or come flying down our track into us. Is this kind of thing common with the roar and something we need to look out for?