Thread: Piropiro flats

Thanks, heck of a lot sooner than I thought, need to make a plan soon.

Originally Posted by Liquidasset

Cycling the timer trail this weekend as support for my wife who’s running it. Starting early so I can hunt the afternoon, any tips on what elevation the deer in the area hang out over winter? I know they don’t move around much, should have camp set up by lunch so will have time to cruise into the bush somewhere but thought someone might feel kind enough to share a bit of intel 👌

750m to 950m North facing

62,000 hectares earmarked for aerial drop...wow. How long will that even take? I imagine this will be weeks and weeks of operations. Anyone have word on whether deer repellent will be used for any of the area (I don't hold out much hope)?

Liquidasset, hunting in winter is often very productive in Pureoras, I seem run into deer in the middle of the day and there's far less hunting pressure. We have had a mega run of frosts since the shortest day. People often say reds are less fussed about the cold than sika, but I reckon they still generally stay out of guts and creeks where it will be super cold. North facing is your best best, walk down a slope until you find some fresh sign and sidle from there. Good luck!

Originally Posted by Bow Out

62,000 hectares earmarked for aerial drop...wow. How long will that even take? I imagine this will be weeks and weeks of operations. Anyone have word on whether deer repellent will be used for any of the area (I don't hold out much hope)?

Liquidasset, hunting in winter is often very productive in Pureoras, I seem run into deer in the middle of the day and there's far less hunting pressure. We have had a mega run of frosts since the shortest day. People often say reds are less fussed about the cold than sika, but I reckon they still generally stay out of guts and creeks where it will be super cold. North facing is your best best, walk down a slope until you find some fresh sign and sidle from there. Good luck!

Cheers bud, with the 1080 drops I would say there will be even less pressure in there too. Looking forward to checking out some new ground….. just got to get through the 40km pedal to make it there hahahaha

Originally Posted by Liquidasset

I’ve had a look on to computer, hard to see clearly but I will report back on Sunday night 👌

Roger. Thanks Liquid! Keen to get myself in there before the green rain too

Originally Posted by Supertweed

Roger. Thanks Liquid! Keen to get myself in there before the green rain too

Just got home, fair to say there’s a decent population of the buggers in there. A lot of sign around the timber trail south of the Piropiro campsite, even had fairly fresh scat on the suspension bridges hahaha.

There are some nice clearings around the area mentioned but there was no sign around them, another hunter in the campground said to stay away from creeks and low elevation due to the run of frosts. So hit the trail this morning up to 700m and dropped into some fairly open bush and had fresh sign almost immediately. About 20mins in I came across a pile of poo so fresh it was literally steaming! As I bent down to check it out a stag barked and bolted about 40m around the slope from me. Honestly I need to work on this as I seem to be making a habit of not being ready when I find fresh sign. Obviously it would’ve been a great idea to scan my surroundings before checking out this lads steamer but this is what learning is about hahahahaha will be back for sure!
Great campground up at Piropiro, easy access even in a 2wd car. Quite a few animals taken yesterday in the camp which was awesome to see 👌

Awesome man, thanks for posting your update. Haha you can't get fresher sign than that!

I usually cover plenty of ground when I hunt, but if I come across fresh sign, I slow right down. Like, one step...scan and look around...listen...another step, and so on. This time of year animals are moving about during the day so often they give themselves away as they wander along searching the forest floor for goodies. I was in there on Friday, saw a young stag in really good condition and a couple of pigs. I was hunting with a bow and it was one of those days where I just couldn't seem to get a clear shot before they spooked!

Originally Posted by Liquidasset

Just got home, fair to say there’s a decent population of the buggers in there. A lot of sign around the timber trail south of the Piropiro campsite, even had fairly fresh scat on the suspension bridges hahaha.

There are some nice clearings around the area mentioned but there was no sign around them, another hunter in the campground said to stay away from creeks and low elevation due to the run of frosts. So hit the trail this morning up to 700m and dropped into some fairly open bush and had fresh sign almost immediately. About 20mins in I came across a pile of poo so fresh it was literally steaming! As I bent down to check it out a stag barked and bolted about 40m around the slope from me. Honestly I need to work on this as I seem to be making a habit of not being ready when I find fresh sign. Obviously it would’ve been a great idea to scan my surroundings before checking out this lads steamer but this is what learning is about hahahahaha will be back for sure!
Great campground up at Piropiro, easy access even in a 2wd car. Quite a few animals taken yesterday in the camp which was awesome to see ��

Awesome! Good to know the numbers in there are still good despite all the foot/wheel traffic. Hahaha it would be hilarious coming across a red skin doing it's business on a bridge Which trail did you take up to 700m?

I read in another forum thread that the 1080 was being postponed to some time in August due to budget constraints, so I need to make an effort to get down that ways.

Yeah the poo on the bridges was hilarious, would be cool to see one using it 🤣

I used the road that goes up to the Keremetangi track, easy 4x4 access if you have one I however did not so only got to the first peak then darted into the bush. There were other hunters further along as I heard their quad go screaming up the road at one point. Now weighing up wether I need a dog or a quad hahaha