Hey guys,
I've been lucky enough to be invited along with a mate who's drawn block 1 for this weekend.
Has anyone got advice on how to approach it to give ourselves the best chance of bagging an animal?
Cheers,
Adam
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Hey guys,
I've been lucky enough to be invited along with a mate who's drawn block 1 for this weekend.
Has anyone got advice on how to approach it to give ourselves the best chance of bagging an animal?
Cheers,
Adam
You are likely to find deer around even the slightest bit of elevated ground
Look at the contour gain on your phone map and when approaching the slightest hint at a rise slow down and put eyes everywhere
That and the skinny whippy lil bastards can be a total surprise when you find them in the most random of places
They can be a frustrating predictable unpredictable forgettable yet memorable deer to hunt in pine forests
Either way you won’t regret going
from memory block 1 is right up by the bombing range ? ..... if its been felled out dont ne shy about findin a spot and sitting and watching little black buggers can look like a stump when nestled down until they move. think i got my first deer on block 1 at 10am feeding . get there to the gate while its still dark so you can start your day as early as and stay as long as it takes to get your 3 per party . split up to cover as much of the block as possible
Saw a bunch of stags wandering around 2.30pm in the NE corner a few years back. Also the fringe around the beach has really good cover - need some luck and to be going very slowly with wind right around there. As others say - make a plan to be in a glassing spot before first light and stay to last light. That was felled about 6 or 7 years ago so might be regrowth by now if replanted?
What they said...and NEVER stop concentrating! I use 2 techniques: walk quietly and stop often; sit and watch. Good luck!
Buck
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Yeah that's him
Just realised, I've hunted Block One! Got my first dear there. I wonder how many have shot their first deer in Woodhill Forest?
From memory, get stuck in to it in the early hours. We saw multiple deer on the road before we were even organised. There are rules about shooting on/near roads, so be careful. We found ourselves up against the sand dunes and would spook small mobs of deer as we walked. Eventually, I managed to get a shot on one. 25m shot from standing, animal spooked, that kind of situation. As the morning went on, we saw a lot of deer bedded down in the shade under the trees on the sand dunes. By lunchtime, they had disappeared, so we took it easy, hoping they would reappear in the evening. I went back to the sand dune area and did spook a few, but the whole experience was somewhat ruined by the 4X4 guys doing there thing on the other side of the dunes. Maybe the deer are used to it, but it didn't feel great. Auckland hunting! In the meantime, my more experienced buddy was exploring a swampy area and was convinced he'd see a big buck in there. He was right, even showed me the animal, but couldn't get a clear shot. Thick moss underfoot made stalking easier.
If I was to go back, I'd keep moving, but with a little more experience under my belt, sit quietly in likely spots for a while. In the middle of the day, I'd go through planted areas and pampas if navigable to see what I could flush out. It's not a huge block, so cover ground and you will find animals. It would be a tough choice for me between a short, handy bush gun with a low power scope versus something more suited to longer range shots.
Great spot, you're going to have an awesome day!
Fantastic info, thanks guys.
We'll get there early, leg it to the leeward end (hopefully before shooting light), come about and poke our noses into the wind and go slower than slow.
You taking Blue with youQuote:
Originally Posted by Dorkus
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Blue balls maybe... No dogs allowed
Lol....shit that's a shame....proper type hunting then....sheeshQuote:
Originally Posted by Dorkus
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Trip report???
Hold ya horses... alarm is set for 0330 tomorrow
To write us a story?
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To go hunting
Well, we got on the road before 4am and arrived at the locked gate in time to lace up our boots and have a piss before the gate opened at 6am.
We parked the car on the NE boundary and legged it south to the bottom corner of the block. We cut across the southern boundary and headed for the dunes and more open fringes with the wind in our favour, bumping several mobs of does along the track on the way just after first light.
Within minutes of sitting and glassing the open areas, we'd seen another 3 does, but no bucks. We moved and glassed, moved and glassed and saw lots of small mobs of does, but again no bucks.
By lunchtime, the sightings were slowing down and we still hadn't seen a buck so we opted to head into the pines in the hope of finding the boys. That was a waste of time. We covered a lot of ground and didn't see a single deer over the next 3hrs.
We then made the call to head back to the dunes (despite the roaring of 4WDs, dirt bikes and dunes buggies)... eventually they buggered off and we sat and glassed until the deer started moving around.
By now, we had decided we weren't going to see a buck so the ballot winner made the call that he would take a doe, and duly did so after cresting a small dune and securing a solid shot on a doe at all of 30m. I had a doe permit, so i followed suit within the next couple of little gullies, my shot being sitting unsupported @100m but still good enough to put her on the deck.
We stayed out until last light in the hope of a buck for the guy with the buck only tag, but no such luck.
There's certainly no shortage of deer in the block, but i still don't know where the boys hang out. We did more than 12 hrs "on the hill" and covered a bit more than 21km. We would've seen 20-30 different does and yearlings throughout the day. Legs are a bit jaded today
That sounds almost identical to my experience.
Nice one, thanks for the report
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According to what I have read, the bucks live in a separate area to the does most of the time (apart from the rut), but I don't know if that still applies in an area like Woodhill.
We had block 6 years ago and we had a good long hard day seeing many deer and a large boar. I wounded a good buck which we went back with one of the management team and his dog but still to no avail there was so much sign about we couldn't even track him. It's a great spot alright and you guys had a good day out well done.
I have had similar experiences in block 6
Huge numbers of does, and only spikers seen to represent the lads
But great fun with the camera
Not sure if it's still allowable, but I used to go to my allocated block on a weekday, the week of my hunt, and recce the whole block. That way you knew where the deer were.
I was wondering about that. Good idea. It looks like access is limited - but I'll email them to confirm!
No Recce's allowed..
Is the 4x4 stuff still happening on the other side of the dunes or have the fun police stopped it? I had thought the deer would be used to it, but based on my experience last time, I'm not so sure. They were bloody loud. Maybe it would be a good strategy to get as far away as possible from that noise once it starts up?
Had confirmation from WFMC that it's an operational forest and no recce's.