Thread: What am I doing wrong???

Originally Posted by DCN808T

So would bush stalking be more successful in winter with snow up on them thar hills?

Absolutely positively. 2/3rds to 3/4's way up on a warm face in the creek heads and spurs

So where is the creek that the is the photo from ?

Just a few points I have learnt teaching myself to hunt deer...
1. There is always one dumb deer somewhere who doesn't follow the rules, so always be prepared, anywhere, any time of day.
2. Wind - you are pretty much wasting your time if the wind is wrong, (even more so if you are smoking as you walk or on rest breaks!). Most of my hunting spots I have a loop I usually walk, and the direction I go on any particular day depends on the wind direction. I have even arrived at the carpark to a howling wind and given up within half an hour and headed home. I hear most of my deer before I see them, so too much wind stuffs me up.
3. Timing - once I found some good slips (that even had a mob of deer on them at 3pm in the afternoon - see rule 1) it really brought home the dawn/dusk thing. Absolutely every time I was overlooking those slips first thing or last thing in the day there were deer on them. Not always within shootable range, but at least they were there.
4. Timing part 2 - deer are more active in the morning and evening so this helps with bush stalking. Through the middle of the day they are bedded down, and it gives both of you a hell of a fright when they leap out of bed when they catch your scent after you have stalked past them.
5. Are you hunting or armed tramping - I really enjoy spending time in the bush, and a lot of my hunting trips are walks to see what sign is around and maybe get a deer. These are the trips where I'm moving too fast, not taking many breaks, and on a timetable to get to the next spot. Then there are the trips where I think "It's about time to get a deer in the freezer, or the missus says "What do you do on these hunting trips, sit in the carpark eating chocolate? You haven't shot a deer for ages". That's when I plan the trip to get to the good spots, not try to cover too much ground, and force myself to spend more time sitting, listening and watching - my 8hr loop becomes a half loop so I'm not under time pressure, I have several options for starting and finishing the loops. And while I have a plan on where I'm going to go, I change that plan if needed (wind direction changes, come across fresh sign leading in another direction). These type of trips have a much higher success rate than my day-in-the-bush wander, even though I'm going to the same places.
6. Get off the walking tracks - you will be surprised how much more sign there is once you get of the walking tracks, even 100m from the track.
7. The Lentle and Saxton books are really good.
8. If there is good sign, keep going back to the same area and learn it really well. It's great to get out exploring new areas, but it does reduce your chances of getting an animal.

Originally Posted by DCN808T

Yup. Really. Did you not know that?
Dont know how you got into murdering furry woodland creatures but for me it started recently, and with a recurve bow. So glad to have learnt it in a controlled environment rather than not being able to find the animal after fucking up. So if i can point that obvious lesson out to someone that might not know it, I am quite glad to take your ridicule. Remember, not everyone is as experienced as you are. Ill be sure to tag you in any future trip reports that might come from me picking up other hunter's trash. Wonder how they learnt to hunt...

There is not a hunter anywhere on the planet, who given enough time hunting animals, has not cocked up. Even when you have decades of experience, it can still happen. Accept that as a fact of life, and do your level best to get it right each time. Rule no 1 : Always get closer.

Once you get one make sure you keep going while the freezer is full.

Reason: when you have plenty of deer in the freezer the deer are always plentiful and you have no trouble shooting them infact they will even come to you however let your freezer run out and you will be in the same boat as you are now, they will be like ghosts and almost impossible to get one.

It's called Murphy's law

Originally Posted by DCN808T

Yup. Really. Did you not know that?
Dont know how you got into murdering furry woodland creatures but for me it started recently, and with a recurve bow. So glad to have learnt it in a controlled environment rather than not being able to find the animal after fucking up. So if i can point that obvious lesson out to someone that might not know it, I am quite glad to take your ridicule. Remember, not everyone is as experienced as you are. Ill be sure to tag you in any future trip reports that might come from me picking up other hunter's trash. Wonder how they learnt to hunt...

I tried the recurve thing too...and gave it away after one trip....broke a couple of broadheads and wounded one small wallaby,enough to be fatal,but the not being able to finish it off through vegetation screen was final straw for me....a .22lr would have been more humane.

DCN808T.......Take the offers that have been made to you.

Perhaps some one will suggest a DOC hut you can drive to that has a few red deer handy and high thar numbers that you can see with a spotting scope from the hut or valley floor?.......and then obviously just go and shoot yourself an animal.

Shooting a deer these days is no big deal to an experienced hunter....sometimes?

Ramblings.....Research and commitment to hunting? Perhaps some DOC land has higher concentration of deer than other parts of DOC lands, obviously. So what DOC land has the most amount of deer on it.....

What’s the best tactic when you find a few established deer trails that cross each other in bush ?

well that is like a bit of string question....... if its near clearing/farm edge and in heavy cover..ideal spot to place trail cam and work out when they using them..then find spot to sit back and snipe as they come out into open.
if its in deep bush ..well deer come through there SOMETIME, so you could sit up wind and watch if your a patient type,or find out where deer came from and are going too...somewhere in that loop will be deer,if you play cards right you may shoot one by seeing it before it sees you.
you could mark it on GPS and plan your stalk for day to come through area or a combination of all three.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

well that is like a bit of string question....... if its near clearing/farm edge and in heavy cover..ideal spot to place trail cam and work out when they using them..then find spot to sit back and snipe as they come out into open.
if its in deep bush ..well deer come through there SOMETIME, so you could sit up wind and watch if your a patient type,or find out where deer came from and are going too...somewhere in that loop will be deer,if you play cards right you may shoot one by seeing it before it sees you.
you could mark it on GPS and plan your stalk for day to come through area or a combination of all three.

It’s the second scenario, seems like they are busy trails though.

I pulled up this morning in the dark got all my gear ready and walked 20m from my ute and spooked a deer that crashed off onto the bush. Unfortunately it was too dark for a shot . Would have been the easiest carry out ever

Originally Posted by paremata

What’s the best tactic when you find a few established deer trails that cross each other in bush ?

Install traffic lights.

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

Install traffic lights.

Not bad , not bad at all

I'm hunting a spot right now where there are game trails everywhere however the problem is all the terrain is shoulder to head high with foliage.

The only chance I have is to sit back and watch a 5 metre sqaure area and even then the grass is long.

Very difficult!

Originally Posted by 7mm Rem Mag

I'm hunting a spot right now where there are game trails everywhere however the problem is all the terrain is shoulder to head high with foliage.

The only chance I have is to sit back and watch a 5 metre sqaure area and even then the grass is long.

Very difficult!

It’s similar, just the trees are a bit taller by the sounds of it.

consider flattening some grass down to make that 5mtr area bigger.....maybe???? amazing what looking from vantage spot and trimming off a couple of branches can do to increase visibility...some of us have been known to climb trees with handsaw...

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

consider flattening some grass down to make that 5mtr area bigger.....maybe???? amazing what looking from vantage spot and trimming off a couple of branches can do to increase visibility...some of us have been known to climb trees with handsaw...

Good suggestion MD however there seems to be no vantage points.

Im not keen on crawling on my hands and knees following the trails as the place is crawling with pigs