Thread: Skunked AGAIN

In my very limited experience I see more animals going solo. My hunting mate makes a lot of noise...

Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.

well folks..today was a right balls up from start to finish,after perusing maps over last week I decided to visit local hut on walking track..should be fine its middle of winter...for last 25 years over winter Ive had next hut along track pretty much to my self in winter...should be fine right???? WRONG
11 cars at carpark and sign on board says hut MUST be booked in advance....now I hadnt put in tent or sleeping mat....OK will visit next hut along road a bit further....drove along to acess point some 40kms away..no signage other than yellow AA type sign tearoha trail...and its led up into farmland..DOC controlled land was km or so away....yeah nah not going to wander along that with rifle over shoulder to unknown hut in unknown area and risk hut being full too...so back 40km down road to ph reception...my long suffering very understanding wife was most sympathetic and got in car and brought up my foam mattress and dog...would go to usual area and spend night....bound to be quiet up there in the cold with snow right???? WRONG AGAIN...one vechile parked on roadside..OK I will hunt the other end of area and catch up with him in evening..could see mattress in rear of car so figgured he had same idea as me...parked back down road and set off for shorter more intense hunt with the 3 -4hours of remaining daylight...lots of pig sign but bugger all sign of deer,dog got semi keen a couple of times but nothing strong enough to lead into...we went around in big loop..then looked at remaining light and extended it a bit to visit 2 small clearings and sit on lookout for a bit..nobody home today so quietly started back towards car..got a really weird vibe and dog indicated strongly back into bush where we had walked up half hour earlier,I heard one thump like ewe stamping foot so on high alert we checked it out..nothing,nada,zip...and dog agreed. so we plodded back to car ,got there just on dark...now the weird bits..there was now a third wagon parked on side of road..they had come in after me,parked on my inward bootprints and dissapeared....if they had continued on foot up road,would have past first my wagon then another one...if they had gone into bush from wagon they couldnt have missed my boot marks in clay...I never saw them... got to my wagon,drove up to the first wagon expecting joker to be in residence..nope....drove back down road,sat,ate my lunch for dinner....drove to both vechilles again..nobody home at either so thought bugga this for game of soldiers and came home.
I cant work out the senario that makes any sense for guys coming in after me..UNLESS they are poaching using thermals across river on private land,Im buggered if know where they went,and if they went into doc block over my footprints....stuffed if I know where they went,there is no really logical camping place and it will be colder than a frogs tit up there tonight. and I never crossed there incoming marks on my way out
mystery indeed...not enough daylight to have gone far in any direction either.
pleased I came home...hunting while looking over shoulder and constantly wondering where folks are just doesnt do it for me...the dead possums rotting around the place is bad enough.

People do weird shit for their own reasons

You had a look and got back ok- you're doing better than all of us who sat on a sofa all night

Before opening day 3 years ago I had been scouting a particular area with my buddy for a few months. We found one decent buck, which we saw repeatedly over the months of scouting.
Since the area was fairly open, we decided that it was more a rifle, than bow situation. I had a bow tag, so my buddy would get to take the buck. The rack on this thing was odd; not huge, but the buck was a decent size for what we typically see. It was easily identifiable from a distance.

The hike into the area was not difficult. The elevation change was probably only a hundred feet max, but it took about 2 hours to get in. I noticed the wind typically came from the southwest in the a.m. so we ditched the idea of using the only trail in, which came from south southwest. There was lots of high brush in the way of the direction we needed to hike in, so we came back with pruning shears and loppers, to cut a path in.

Over the time we scouted, we only saw one other hunter, two smaller bucks and a handful of does.

The day before the opener, my buddy crashed at my place, since it was way closer to the area than his. Sunrise was at 6:20. In California, like most of the U.S., it's only legal to shoot 1/2 before sunrise, and 1/2 hour after sunset. It takes about 1.5 hrs to drive to the spot, and 2 hrs to hike in, so I told him we should leave at 1a.m, to give us a safe amount of time to set up, and let any animals return that may have been bumped by hiking in.

Some people are not able to function on less than 8 hours. Not sure why, as you would think that the prospect of shooting your first buck would be enough to keep you awake, or at the least make you eager to do whatever is necessary. Not my buddy. He wanted to leave at 2a.m. I asked if he was sure, and he said we had hiked in so many times that he felt comfortable going later. I reiterated my concern, which had little effect. Since it was his buck, I let it go.

We left at about 2:10, as he had "bathroom issues." If everything went smoothly, we'd get to the parking lot (small city equipment lot) by 3:40, and get to the hunting spot by about 5:40, leaving only 10 minutes to legal shooting light. That was if everything went smoothly.

We got to the lot at about 3:35ish, cuz my buddy sped, and there was no traffic. But, there were 3 other cars in the lot, which forced us to park on the other side of the lot, about 200 feet away. We were concerned about the other trucks, but there were several different directions to go hiking out, so we were still hopeful. My buddy couldn't find the mag for his .308, so we lost about 6 min's going through all the crap, until we found it in one of his extra socks. We left the truck about 3:50, after a few other minor inconveniences sucked little bits of time away. Since we parked farther away, that added about a minute or so. You can see where this is going...

We started getting close (within 15 min's of getting to the spot) and we had to slow down because we were making WAY too much noise. We had been scouting during a part of the year (and in an area) that's gets a little more rain than other areas, making the hike in semi-stealthy at that time due to the green ground cover. San Diego county gets sporadic rain for a few months, things green up nicely, then we typically get no rain for about 9 months. Since it hadn't rained in over a month, the ground cover had dried, turning crunchy. We literally had to move at a pace normally reserved for spot-and-stalk. This was the final nail in the coffin.

Although the sun was still hidden behind the eastern slopes, it was causing the sky to go from ink black to a beautiful indigo when we heard the first shot.
My heart sank, as I had a pretty good guess what waited for us. We heard a second shot, and my buddy picked up the pace. We got to the spot a few minutes later.

Across the meadow, where the tree line started again, we saw a hunter and his son standing over a buck. My buddy's buck. We went over, and talked to them for a while as the father snapped a grip-n-grin, and then proceeded to show his son how to gut my buddy's buck. Turn's out they got to their spot only 20 minutes before we did. They had been to this area several times before, only spotting smaller bucks. The were super nice people. I gave the kid a fist bump, congratulating him on his first take.

As we walked away, I turned for one last glance over the shoulder, and noticed that my buddy's buck's guts reflected a cool hue of amber from the changing sky, as the sun just started peeking over the ridgeline.

BTW, this is NOT the buddy who's coming with me to NZ. The buddy coming with me gets up earlier than I do.

Was that a "wake up call" for your buddy?

Old story early bird gets the worm.. particularly with you guys in US and when it's go time on a season opening

I would have thought it was an eye opener for him. I went hunting with him a year later, and we still left much later than we should have. If the sky is changing, and you're still hiking in...you're too late. At least here anyways.

One year the tuna were biting pretty well about 35 miles offshore. I normally don't like to fish on the weekends, as it can be a party scene at the bait docks. I told same buddy he could go, but we'd have to leave at 2:30a.m. to launch, get bait, and still make it out to the grounds before sunrise.
He declined, saying it was "too early." Literally, WTF?

In regards to your second comment, this other area I've been trying to nail down I was scouting for almost a year before the next opening season, mostly cuz I'd never been there. It's a challenging area, with a steep steep climb required to get anywhere valuable. Never saw many hunters when I scouted. Opening day, I got there at 2 in the morning, and there was already a line of trucks parked out front. I started hiking, but turned around after I saw MANY headlamps almost at the top in my area. I couldn't believe that many of them were using bright white headlamps, and not a red light. If I could see them hundreds of feet below, you can bet the deer saw them. If I do that again, I'll camp up top overnight.

You guys don't have a rush for opening day?

Every day is opening day here. No closed season. The rut can be busy but that's about it generally.

@mickeyDuck
I wonder if you are hunting in the wrong place.
Maybe do some hunts into areas of the block you haven't been before.I think Deer concentrate in smaller areas during Winter.


I have a particular spot in Pureora that seems to hold a few Deer in the Winter.

We don't have a deer season as such. The authorities consider them a pest. There are some managed herds but mostly you can hunt all year round. Stags, hinds and fawns ( If your conscience allows)

got VERY VERY close today...within 5 meters..but in tall tussocks and matagouri,you cant shoot what you cant see...did manage to tip over a few wallabies and had a good walk in great company. did see deer,but again outside block boundaries

Originally Posted by Chur Bay

Every day is opening day here. No closed season. The rut can be busy but that's about it generally.

WHAT?!? So I'm guessing that not a high percentage of the population hunts? We literally have (in some zones) thousands of ppl applying for tags where only less than a hundred are given. I'm sure that since we have a lower animal density that's part of the equation, but you don't have any restrictions for public? Even in the eastern states where there's many many whitetail, they have limited seasons and tags.

Originally Posted by SanDiegoHntr

WHAT?!? So I'm guessing that not a high percentage of the population hunts? We literally have (in some zones) thousands of ppl applying for tags where only less than a hundred are given. I'm sure that since we have a lower animal density that's part of the equation, but you don't have any restrictions for public? Even in the eastern states where there's many many whitetail, they have limited seasons and tags.

No restrictions on numbers even on public since deer, goats and pigs are classified as invasive pests. However if you shoot all the big bucks/stags only the runts will get to breed.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

got VERY VERY close today...within 5 meters..but in tall tussocks and matagouri,you cant shoot what you cant see...did manage to tip over a few wallabies and had a good walk in great company. did see deer,but again outside block boundaries

Yes great walk today @Micky Duck.

Couple of pics

Morning sun dappled through the trees. ( Not a bushfire )



The ones in the safe zone (on private farmland)

Originally Posted by SanDiegoHntr

WHAT?!? So I'm guessing that not a high percentage of the population hunts? We literally have (in some zones) thousands of ppl applying for tags where only less than a hundred are given. I'm sure that since we have a lower animal density that's part of the equation, but you don't have any restrictions for public? Even in the eastern states where there's many many whitetail, they have limited seasons and tags.

No season
Ballot system on Wapiti which is same as Elk (I thinlk)
Mostly public land
No tags
There is a duck season and some gamebird seasons

Public land is a huge percentage of the total country area compared to US
Wild sheep, goats, red deer, sika, pigs, go for it

Plenty of hard country that will need to be treated with respect

No bears, no poisonous animals to speak of (a spider that lives on beaches and has killed 1 person ever IIRC)

Fuck all people

The bush here would be best described to a Statesider as a coldwater jungle but it varies a hell of a lot, open toips and mountain goats (tahr and chamois) down south with ice down to tussock ciuntry and bush below that
Wallabies too (small kangaroos)
North Island less open generally, more bush stalking
Have a nosey around the DOC (Govt department which administers public land) site it will give you an idea of scenery and animals each region if you're interested
Go online, get your hunting license to go on public land and you can run a suppressor without asking the govt first

https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets...s-brochure.pdf

That blaze Orange in the bush sure looks awesome mate.i had stopped 30 seconds earlier trying to figure out the single orange spot in front of me,then it did that.