Thread: Post rut stags

Is it possible to find post rut stags while hunting tahr during rut? Or would you have better chance hunting the roar and running into prerut tahr?

Well that's interesting question...but they don't pack bags and jump on plane to Fiji for the winter,so they are still around somewhere feeding up big time before the winter.stags are easiest to find when love sick and horny...but sometimes you can get lucky during winter too.i was fortunate enough to find one at each end of last winter by bush stalking as usual.

Depends where you are. I'd probably lean more towards finding post rut stags while hunting tahr as often find them up above the bush line in May, feeding up before the snow hits.

But really if you are hunting an area with both, there's always a chance of either at any stage of the year. I've shot tahr in the bush and stags up high in little guts of tussock. Hard to say. Just gotta be in to win

I’d say both options are good but if I had to choose I’d probably go for a May hunt looking for tahr and post roar stags.

I’m assuming you don’t have a proven spot in mind, and you’d like to avoid the crowds during the stag roar.

That's a question I've been asked often by visiting European hunters.

Answer. No in one location

But pretty realistic to go on a pre rut Tahr hunt after a Red Tag roar hunt.
Same time different location

In all the serious overlap Tahr hunts I've done I only saw one stag I was dead keen to go after 500m below us
But no one was game to join me and loose all that altitude and it was serious tiger country where lone hunting was not a good idea

As a first time poster you are likely going to be a first time hunter in NZ
So the chances of success are already slim and would be further compromised by trying to do everything with limited time available

Trying to do both at one time in one location is a very tall order unless guided on private land.

I've done a trophy bull tahr , trophy Chamois buck within 1 hour of each other
But they like to live in the exact same places

Yes it’d be first time for us couple guys really wanting to go after tahr and couple after stag we’d probaly try go separate ways I figured they may be like bull elk and go hole up in nastiest shit possible away from everything

Originally Posted by HOOKEM89

Yes it’d be first time for us couple guys really wanting to go after tahr and couple after stag we’d probaly try go separate ways I figured they may be like bull elk and go hole up in nastiest shit possible away from everything

Both the things you are trying to do are extremely difficult for first time hunters in NZ

There's a Sticky Post with visiting hunter information you need to find and read

Success comes down to planning, experience and luck.
It could take multiple visits over years to gain enough experience to be successful.

NZ can be a very challenging place for visiting hunters.

Set modest, realistic goals and with a bit of luck you might exceed them.

Set lofty, multiple goals and you will certainly be disappointed

I’ve taken a few friends from the USA hunting and had good success, but tahr is always my recommendation. It’s not like the US where alpine species (like mountian goat and sheep) are difficult to get. There are plenty of tahr around and jump in a chopper and get dropped off somewhere in the southern alpes and go for it.

You have any recommendations for chopper services we probably aren’t going come till next may

West Coast- James Scott, Heliservices
East coast- Scott Rodger Helirural Methven
- Malcolm Prouting Mesopotamia Station
- Mackenzie Helicopters at Tekapo

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

West Coast- James Scott, Heliservices
East coast- Scott Rodger Helirural Methven
- Malcolm Prouting Mesopotamia Station
- Mackenzie Helicopters at Tekapo

+1 I’ve dealt with all of these operators and you can’t go wrong.

Might not be so easy to do on the same hunt but there are a few places where good tahr country is only an hour or two up the road from good deer country. Depending on your time frame you could hunt both without travelling too far.

That’s what I was kinda figuring we plan on coming for 10 day min hopefully 2wks