Thread: Ruahine loop with Tikka 284, and the cashew incident 1

With the stress of Christmas 2023 over and the prospect of good weather after new year I could hear Tikka 284 growling from the gun cabinet again. She wanted a walk, loves the tussock, and I had been reading on this Forum that there were a few deer in the Ruahines. I had taken Tikka down South to the Clarence a few months ago but the aviation security service had removed my ammo for some reason so she didn’t leave the truck at the road end (I thought I was going a bit crazy when I couldn’t find the box, until I found a little sticker on my pack…..). Tikka even heard I saw a few pigs, deer, and a cracker buck Chamois that hung around laughing at me with no rifle. Anyway with a few fresh reloads ready, it was time for a hunt. I packed up late morning from Auckland after an early horse ride in the Hunuas, and did the long drive down to Kashmir road end. A quick stop on the way was made in Napier for some freeze dry food, one square meals for lunch, and a couple of bananas for dinner. By 6pm I was lacing up my new Lowa Camino boots I gave myself for Christmas (will review later but they were excellent). The car park was full but I was committed now. This was new country and I walked hard up the steep climb to the tussock and the Longview Hut turnoff.



I met a couple of hunters who were heading out and they said the hut was full, but I wasn’t planning to stay as the weather was good. Light was fading as I climbed toward the main range while glassing into the creek heads and looking for a flat area to camp on the ridge. Right near dark I spotted two deer at the head of the creek 600yards away, so dropped my pack, marked it on my phone GPS, and despite being exhausted moved fast to a potential shooting position. It got a bit steep and about half way I slipped down a face and hurt my left hand on a rocky knob. A minute later I looked down to see my leg covered in blood and realised my left hand had a decent cut that was dripping, so I flagged the deer and did some bush first aid. By then it was too dark to see so back to set up the bivvy, drink some water and I crawled into my sleeping bag. It was an average night with the wind flapping the bivvy around but in the early morning it calmed down and at 5am I was woken by a deer barking very close. I thought I might finally get a hut/camp deer but as I looked into the moonlight tussock I couldn’t find the deer. Getting dressed I headed out for some glassing as the sun came up over Longview hut below. It feels magical to be in the tussock on a beautiful morning and fly camping often helps the “early bird to get the worm”.




After moving position a few times I caught a glint of red and zeroed in on two deer feeding out onto a steep slip. I ranged them at 600yards. I could see a reasonable spur at half the distance so dropped over the main ridge out of sight and sneaked in through the tussock, spaniard, and leatherwood. Now there were three and then 4 deer in various positions on the steep slip. I lay my small daypack over the vegetation and tried to get a decent rest. The bottom deer was 300 yards (290 TBR) and the top about 340 yards. I couldn’t get closer so I dialed up 4 MOA on the VX3 and wound up to 10x and waited for the bottom deer to stand side on which it duly did and I sent the 162 ELDX into its shoulder and rolled it down the slip. The next one up was a young spiker and that paused not knowing where to go so I adjusted quickly and sent another with a thump. It was hit a bit far back and stumbled forward and then climbed a bank. I managed another shot when it stopped and down the slip it rolled to join the first in the creek. My 3 shot mag was empty so I put a few more in and a yearling was still hanging around the top so I ranged at 340 and cranked a few more clicks. A clean miss moved it along into some scrub where I could just see its head and neck. I waited for about 5 minutes for it to move and lost patience and ended up trying for a neck shot…..another miss but it made the yearling climb back on the slip and stand side on where my last shot dropped it.



Now the hard part and the Ruahines biting back. I thought I could drop down and sidle onto the slip and then find the bigger deer at the bottom in the creek, but I didn’t understand Leatherwood. I was already exhausted from a big day previously and 30mins later I had only got about 100 meters closer and was trapped in leatherwood like a fish in a net. The deer were still way below me, the sun was out and I was sweating hard so I pulled pin and decided to leave the deer.
Back at camp I slugged down some water, had a feed and spread out my fly to dry out my gear then looked at the map. I was planning on a loop via Howlett’s hut but I also liked the look of some tarns over a leading ridge above Iron Gate creek. I also needed water again having used the 3l I carried up so packed up and followed the poled route up the ridge, almost pleased to not be carrying a load of meat…..



The sun was out, the views were amazing in every direction and a nice tarn allowed me to fill my water bottles so I lay in the tussock and had a quick snooze. There are plenty of hours in these long summer days. A group of young trampers came past and then another group which was good to see. I got out the map again and after cooking a decent feed I decided to head toward Howlett’s - a reasonably tough route in the hot sun.

Continued

On the way before the low saddle I passed a family group heading the opposite direction, and near the hut I passed a fit looking couple also coming the other way who were on a big 6 day mission and they said the ridge past Howlett’s was clean and easy. Making the hut in the afternoon I surprised another couple who had looped over from Tarn Biv and hadn’t expected company. They had some interesting stories about rafting and kayaking various rivers I had hunted over the years and at 6pm I headed off for a hunt. That’s when the chashew nut incident happened….I pulled the suppressor out from my pack where I carry it sometimes and it wouldn’t screw on the rifle. I tried a couple of times and then had a look inside it and could see a crescent shape blocking the tube – I poked it with a stick and out came a cashew nut which could have been a disaster if I had got the suppressor on without knowing and fired a shot. I had a packet of nuts in the same pocket and a few had escaped and one had decided to hide in the DPT. I headed up the main ridge past the hut and it was easy going as described. It wasn’t long before I spotted 4 deer on a big slip on the other side of the Tukituki river under Rosvalls peak, but they were over 1km away and better hunted up from Daphne Hut (but apparently there is a gorge blocking access).


Despite moving and glassing some good country I only saw on more deer - a big stag that was again inaccessible without a big day in tiger country into the very head of Howlett Creek. I was back on dark for a good sleep as I needed to be back in Auckland the next day. Howlett’s hut is pretty interesting with some good history covered in the huts bookshelf and also the excellent NZ book “Shelter from the Storm” that everyone should have a read. It’s a Heretaunga tramping club hut and I sorted the $10 payment via the internet.



My final day was a big walk, up in the moonlight and dropping down to Daphne hut which is also a pretty unusual design. I spooked a couple of deer half way down but they didn’t wait around for me to get a round in the chamber and to be honest I was head down and walking hard.



After a good drink in the stream and quick look inside the hut I was soon grunting back up a ridge towards Longview hut before a final decent to Kasmir road where two good young hunting lads from Dannevirke gave me a lift back to my car and saved a few km of road walking in the heat. Tikka 284 was happy to get some use and there is lots of scope in the Ruahines for more exploring. I’m keen to get to Toka Biv or maybe Shutes Hut for some fishing next time I’m in the area. Hopefully my leatherwood nightmares had gone by the time your reading this……..

Good on you for having a good bomb up in there, so many deer in that area!

Well done and thanks for an enjoyable read.
I have some Lowa Camino boots too which are very comfortable. Only complaint is I found the soles wear rapidly from pack carrying. Mine have not had that much use and already need resoling.

Awesome report mate, great bit of country loaded with deer.

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Greta write up. Like the others have said, no one will miss those deer, good on you for knocking some over.
We had a similar experience a bit further south last summer. Knocked two over and spent two hours getting to within 100m of them and that was as far as we could get!
I’ve done the same loop as you before, wonderful country, I must go back!

Fantastic. The very best of what this forum offers.

Great country. I used to hang out up on that Ngamoko range when i was younger

Done a few trips in that area a fair while back, great country to be in, good you knocked a few deer over they obviously need thinning out.

great writeup..neat photos,sounds like a big effort.

awesome write up! Loved it. Great commitment and miles.

Thanks for the effort, both on the hill and on the keyboard, and for taking us along with you. Cheers.... and earned

Originally Posted by craigc

Greta write up. Like the others have said, no one will miss those deer, good on you for knocking some over.
We had a similar experience a bit further south last summer. Knocked two over and spent two hours getting to within 100m of them and that was as far as we could get!
I’ve done the same loop as you before, wonderful country, I must go back!

The rod and rifle story with you at Toka Biv looked a good spot for another day

I took this photo when stuck in the leatherwood over my head, rifle sling catching on everything and feeling wreaked……

Yeah it’s amazing how energy sapping moving through Leather Wood is. It always seems to be so slippery and travelling even short distances can take for ever.
Yeah that area further north of where you were is great too, the more remote it gets the more deer you see. We were seeing them out in the open in the middle of the day, they weren’t in the best condition either. I think it needs a good bomb up. :-)

Mean. That isca hard, hard slog without the current heat wave. Well done.