Thread: Where are all the deer

Try this

https://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonf...2308094687.htm

https://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonf...2306082275.htm

Originally Posted by Shootm

Try this

https://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonf...2308094687.htm

https://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonf...2306082275.htm

Thanks, that looks like a good one to read too


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Originally Posted by HOO

Thanks, that looks like a good one to read too


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Sorry wasn’t meant to link the Alpine one, should of been stalking the seasons round

@HOO all the answers to your questions are in those books!
Take Tahr up on his offer he takes more than his fair share and I expect that you will learn more from him on a hunt than you would learn in a year of by yourself.

A post trip report is always appreciated by the guys and girls on here

Originally Posted by Sideshow

@HOO all the answers to your questions are in those books!
Take Tahr up on his offer he takes more than his fair share and I expect that you will learn more from him on a hunt than you would learn in a year of by yourself.

A post trip report is always appreciated by the guys and girls on here

Thanks, 300wsm has kindly offered to loan me a book and I’ve already PMed Tahr who has already offered me a few pointers as he knows the area I hunt quite well by the sound of it.
All very much appreciated and I’ll be sure to post my progress next time I get out and about


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Does behaviour change much between different species ie. red, fallow,sika etc


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stalking the seasons round answers that perfectly...each species habits for that month are covered...trick is to read month before and month after...you get the idea of what the animals SHOULD be doing and hunt accordingly.

Originally Posted by HOO

Thanks, 300wsm has kindly offered to loan me a book and I’ve already PMed Tahr who has already offered me a few pointers as he knows the area I hunt quite well by the sound of it.
All very much appreciated and I’ll be sure to post my progress next time I get out and about


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If you can do the HUNTS course at the NZDA. https://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/hunts

highly recommended

Yeah I did look at that but unfortunately it was too much of a time commitment for me.

It looks like a great course


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I used to read all the books with no success then 30min into a hunt with an experienced hunter a lot of it made sense
Not long after that I started to have deer fall at my feet, well almost

Originally Posted by sako75

I used to read all the books with no success then 30min into a hunt with an experienced hunter a lot of it made sense
Not long after that I started to have deer fall at my feet, well almost

HOO dont go hunting with this guy......He needs to change his socks

Nothing can beat time on the hill, but if you are looking in the wrong places it's frustrating. I found those books to be a good guide, once you start looking in the right places things make sense.

One thing you can do is keep a diary as a memory jogger for when planning to go back into an area of the time of the year and where not to waste your time
Photos of deer you have shot are always good

If you're hunting an area that definitely holds animals, but you're new to hunting, it can be frustrating, but once you figure out what you're doing you will look back and think to yourself "why did I used to make this so complicated?"

Question for you @HOO.

When you find fresh sign, do you keep moving on foot, or do you back off with the wind, to rest up and glass the area? Time spent glassing prospective areas is time very well spent. Our terrain is massively advantageous in this regard, cos the hunter can stay within a reasonable range, with the wind in his favour, and have a very wide field of view. I also think I know where you are in the Aorangis, and if that's the case then this strategy might work for you.

There are several occasions I can think of when I was getting very frustrated. I could see fresh as sign and smell the animals, but I couldn't get onto them. Picking a good spot to park off and observe has paid dividends time and again, particularly in the late afternoon just before the animals leave their bedding spots and starting moving around. They are never far away from feed. I love the feeling you get when after a long slog and an hour of staring at the same patch of ground, out of nowhere a deer appears in your binos, and its all on.

Hours spent on foot recording your routes on a GPS, cross referencing this with Google Earth and 1:25k topo maps, and taking lots of photos and notes of landmarks, will help you build a mental picture of an area very quickly. There is no substitute for knowing the ground. The Memory Maps are great to have on a phone, as reconnaissance is all part of the hunt. Noting the breaks in slope and the bush line in relation to new slips and old clearings, and places with an uninterrupted line of sight, this is all important stuff to get on top of. You will quickly be able to identify slopes, knobs and scarps facing into the prevailing wind, which look at warm, sunny north facing deer country. That's where you want to be with your binos, in good cover, scanning the faces and slips.