Wallows

Hey everyone,

I hope you're doing well.


Just got back from a trip into the Kaimais and spent some time in an area that was really swampy, with mud and puddles everywhere. It got me thinking—how do you tell the difference between a swampy spot and a proper wallow? Could it be that deer might still use these muddy areas as wallows, even though they seem more like swamp? Has anyone come across deer using areas like this before, or should I be looking for something more specific?Attachment 258582

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Originally Posted by TakaRat

Hey everyone,

I hope you're doing well.


Just got back from a trip into the Kaimais and spent some time in an area that was really swampy, with mud and puddles everywhere. It got me thinking—how do you tell the difference between a swampy spot and a proper wallow? Could it be that deer might still use these muddy areas as wallows, even though they seem more like swamp? Has anyone come across deer using areas like this before, or should I be looking for something more specific?Attachment 258582

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I know this photo might not be the best example of what I mean, but it's the only photo I took on the trip. I'll also mention I've come across proper wallows proper wallows in the past in non swampy areas

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it's quite small, looks more like a pig wallow than a deer's wallow.
Don't know the Kaimais, are there any pigs there?

yes could be an old pig wallow - certainly nothing says fresh sign - a lot of hunters get hung up on sign they see - I get tired of hunters I take out pointing out piles of deer shit to me whopp dee doo seen it - sign i.e prints -deer shit- wallows - simply mean you are in the right area - its what the deer are doing there and at what time is more important - are they feeding in that area - try to work out when they are there - and then hunt it at the right time

that's just a small puddle,dont even look twice at that kind of thing

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

yes could be an old pig wallow - certainly nothing says fresh sign - a lot of hunters get hung up on sign they see - I get tired of hunters I take out pointing out piles of deer shit to me whopp dee doo seen it - sign i.e prints -deer shit- wallows - simply mean you are in the right area - its what the deer are doing there and at what time is more important - are they feeding in that area - try to work out when they are there - and then hunt it at the right time

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You can work out a lot about deer through shit though. It's all to do with the taste.

well perhaps you could do us a deer turd taste study and publish the results on here - be interested to see - can you tell what they have been feeding on with any real accuracy ??

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

well perhaps you could do us a deer turd taste study and publish the results on here - be interested to see - can you tell what they have been feeding on with any real accuracy ??

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Nah I'm not in to science that much Barry. I worked out years ago that this deer shooting lark is quite simple. I just wander around aimlessly (often only a couple of steps away from being completely lost) in the bush, and when I see a deer, shoot it.

ha love the reply my hunting these days I know where they will be and its not a matter of if- its simply a matter of when - buts its all mainly private so captive pop in many ways - these guys plugging away in the Kaimais have it hard - don't imagine that's an easy spot to get a deer

Was working in the bush years ago with a would be hard man pig hunter. He picked up a bit of pig shit and took a bite out of it and declared that it had been eating fern roots going by the taste. Seeing as we were standing in a thousand hectares or so of fern, i could have told him the same thing. Without having pig shit stuck between my teeth.

If a wallow is freshish Ive found there will be prints and if you look at the surrounding vegitation there can be mud weirdly placed on it from where the deer has had a shake.

I really enjoy hunting the Kaimais, once you crack it can be some of the more exciting hunting to do.
If a wallow has been stirred up and has wet mud on the surrounding leaves, your in an animals area and it has been there recently. I wouldn't put much value in the wallow you've photographed.

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Usually I hunt the game trails, slowly and quietly. Its a game of probability, the more tracks you stalk the more chance you have of encounters.

I was told by a deer farmer once that hinds and yearlings use wallows almost more than stags, need to look at the hoof prints to work out what and who is using them.

A huge give away is the trees nearby. Pigs wallow then rub off the mud,hopefully ticks n lice are stuck in the mud and end up no longer on pig. Deer will also brush past trees on way out ,away from wallow.i often find mud hundred yards away on ferns where it's brushed off as they walk away foot prints are dead giveaway as to which species using it.and if no prints...well bugger all around lately. Pigs will often have multiple wallows close together.deer have one big one.

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Originally Posted by Billbob

I was told by a deer farmer once that hinds and yearlings use wallows almost more than stags, need to look at the hoof prints to work out what and who is using them.

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Yeah like a family bath,the whole family go through in turn.deer on farms are shits for wrecking troughs,often see elaborate wooden barriers on troughs to keep them out. Any water leak and wooohooo playtime.they can make a big mess in very short time.

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

ha love the reply my hunting these days I know where they will be and its not a matter of if- its simply a matter of when - buts its all mainly private so captive pop in many ways - these guys plugging away in the Kaimais have it hard - don't imagine that's an easy spot to get a deer

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The kaimais is a really easy place to spook deer and stumble into them without even knowing they are there. I've often spooked a big group of them at less than a couple of meters away and never seen one. I've had a multi-minute barking match with the matriarch hind from a few meters and not been able to shoot her - too close to resolve her in the sight picture of the scope as I was looking at individual hairs!!! Bit hard to work out where to sight up on the animal like that - what I should have done was sighted down the barrel and not through the scope.

The issue with the kaimais is there are areas of the bush that are sooooo tight that the animals have every advantage over the hunter and the numbers of humans going through there mean the animals are fully trained up. Also, there are a few absolute plonkers going through there that really have no business hunting on public land - by that I mean hunting directly on the main tracks, bombing up by the car parks on the way out, ripping through good hunting areas on quads and motorbikes, making dumb bivvy's and huts out of basically rubbish etc etc. I'm a little over the place just with the other gunners in there, had a mag dump rip right over my head once in a thick bush area and I know where they were shooting from as the cases were still there when I got to the area! Pissed me off, stuffed my hunt and I was on a half decent stag (for the kaimais anyway).

Edit - as far as the wallows and the poo - if it isn't steaming and warm for poo or for a wallow there isn't muddy water dripping off the trees it's not a good sign that there are deer 'right there'. Deer very rarely hold in one area of the kaimais for a considerable period of time. What they will do, is move from elevated bowls that don't hold cold air at night and are sheltered from the wind and have secure and comfortable bedding down areas. Then in the morning they will start chasing the sun through good feed areas which are very seasonal and they will favour areas with less humans and what they need in terms of water etc etc. Best plan I've found in the Kaimais is follow the sign until you find animals then work out where and how they are moving with the seasons and prevailing winds, then you have an idea where to start from with the wind you have on the day.

good on ya NO 3 thats great stuff - I always hesitate to give advice for Kaimais unless real general as its not an area I have hunted and its a real hard area to hunt - now ask me about Waioeka and Te Urewera now that area I know

Here's a couple from today when I was up there
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