Thread: Hello, and any tips to gain bush confidence?

Hey friends, been reading for a while and thought I'd sign up to be part of the discussion.

I have been shooting a bow for about 10 months now and have been on 3 unsuccessful hunts. Seen a bunch of sign, seen zero animals (probably too loud, or follow the wind like a sail). All good though, no rush, just happy to be outdoors.

I know I might catch some shit for this because there must be endless amounts of bushmen here but I need tips on gaining confidence for heading off track and into deep bush.

I go by myself and am learning by myself which makes me a bit more cautious about not fucking up and getting stuck or hurt or cold.

Any tips? serious answers would be welcome but some good old fashioned hazing is sweet too.

Thanks

You don't actually need to get far off the tracks to improve your chances of seeing animals.

To gain confidence, start off in an area where you can't get lost, e.g surrounded by a walking track, roads, or rivers.

Agree with the above. I see you're in Taranaki, start with goats if you haven't already. I like to know where I am all the time, so regularly get my map out out. Electronic GPS charts (or phone app) are a great confidence booster, but be prepared to get yourself out of shit if the electronics fail. A really simple strategy would be to travel say south of a track that runs more or less east to west, do you hunting thing and then you know if you head north you will hit the track at some point. I often use tracks as a starting point to get deeper in to the bush in good time, then start hunting. Did this on a trip to the CNI recently and there was heaps of deer, pig and goat sign within 200m of the track. Buy a PLB for added reassurance.

Originally Posted by cally woo

Hey friends, been reading for a while and thought I'd sign up to be part of the discussion.

I have been shooting a bow for about 10 months now and have been on 3 unsuccessful hunts. Seen a bunch of sign, seen zero animals (probably too loud, or follow the wind like a sail). All good though, no rush, just happy to be outdoors.

I know I might catch some shit for this because there must be endless amounts of bushmen here but I need tips on gaining confidence for heading off track and into deep bush.

I go by myself and am learning by myself which makes me a bit more cautious about not fucking up and getting stuck or hurt or cold.

Any tips? serious answers would be welcome but some good old fashioned hazing is sweet too.

Thanks

Go somewhere you have been previously, tell people where you are going.

Find a good spot with plenty of deer sign, easy to draw and shoot from within your comfortable range, sit and wait for at least 15 mins better still 30-45 mins.

Better still find a local person who may be willing to show you some stuff in return for help, hard work starts when you actually have a deer on the ground.

Welcome to the forum @cally woo

We can't promise we won't give you shit but if your keen to learn you have come to the right place to get a heap of good advice.

Building bush confidence is something that takes time and the only way to learn is to get out there and just do it taking bigger steps each time you head out.

Number one priority is to learn how to read a map, and what all the contour lines mean, is the bush flat and easy going or steep and full of bluffs, where are the rivers, streams and ridges as these are often the easiest things to follow and are your key points of navigation. You can buy maps or download and print them from the NZTopomap site.

Get a compass and learn how to use it. Heaps of tutorials online but again the key is to get out and use it and put into practice.

You can download the nztopo50 app which is basically a GPS on your phone. Great app that will tell you exactly where you are but you still need to know how to read a map to use it.

Get a PLB, just having one I think will boost your confidence and could save you life if the worst does happen.

Best of luck to you and good on you for getting out there and giving it a go.

what he said

Dont fight the bush, move where the deer move, climb high in the dark to a main ridge and then move down until you strike deer tracking and sign then start hunting into the wind. Move along at the level the deer are occupying - 2/3 - 3/4 way up creeping over each little ridge to look into the next creek / gully.

One thing that is easy to forget is that the bush, and all the animals/birds etc in it run on bush time, not people time. All too often we head off for a hunt running on people time, glancing at your watch or whatever. I've seen a stag (the side on arse of, that through quality binos at 300m I could have sworn was a brown ash bank) remain motionless for 25 minutes. It then moved a meter and stayed motionless again for 10 minutes. What a person can consider a long time sitting still, or glassing is often just a small period of time for an animal.

A great trick an old hand taught me is to take along a paperback cowboy book to read. Just light uncomplicated reading, light weight in the day bag and sufficient to get me to sit the fuck down and stay somewhere for 30-60 minutes to slow down into the groove of bush time.

id recomend all the compass advice. Learn a few basic edable plants, and water extraction/filteration methods.
( young plyable supple jack will provide drinkable water etc). Learn what the best wood for making a fire in wet conditions.
Pratice all of it.
I think the biggest fear of being in the bush is its a foriegn element to a lot of ppl these days. Make it not so. Getting a few skills that will allow you to survive in the bush is a huge confidence boost. Bush skills and hunting skills go hand in hand but are two differnt things.
You can go and pratice bush skills without taking a rifle but its pretty hard to go hunting without bush skills.
Dont run before you can walk, where one man may not survie in the bush anther may flourish. Its knowledge. Everything you need to survie nature has provided you. Nature is totally impartial, she cares not wether you flourish or wither. You decide that.

I have a GPS which really helps with confidence and not so worried about getting lost or stuck .
Have also downloaded avenza maps app to my phone which turned it into a backup gps .
I think @MB is on to it though. I do much the same in using a river or track as a starting point and head off in a perpendicular direction and when done turn 180 and back in the direction of river/track and the chances of getting lost are significantly reduced. River being the best I think as you can usually either see it if at altitude to give you a sense of direction or hear it as you approach and getting wet feet is a good indication you're back to where you started. I have actually walked over some dodgy (barely) tracks without realizing it , still in hunting mode , which can be a little disconcerting when you realize your mistake but you can't miss a river

@cally woo. Good on you mate for putting yourself in the firing line. I was very lucky 50 years ago. Someone took their time to teach me to read a map properly and use a compass. Those two skills together with a good GPS will increase your confidence immeasurably. You may already have those skills, but if not find someone to physically teach you. That and everything above.

Posted this before so thought you might find it helpful.

If it's bush your hunting, then if your sweating your going to fast. Into the wind and hunt where the sign is.
Don't look for the whole animal look for something that's not right i.e. Ear flick, back, foot and shape. Then identify.
If you can go out with someone who has more experience then so much the better as they can show you the finer points that you would miss by reading about it so like the above posts keep at it get out there.
Stick to one spot in until you have figured it out try to not head say Kaimais then another forest for the next hunt. But also once you find sign stay with that spot.
If you have a smart phone download MapToaster. It will help you a load with your navigation and you won’t be so worried about getting lost. Spend some money on a plb. Also get a battery bank for the phone. MapToaster still works on airplane mode so saves your battery. You can also mark all sign and places of interest on each map and save them for each stalk. This way you can then form a good picture of what you have done after each stalk. So that next time you can more effectively target that area in say same time but in a year.
As a side note it took me three years to shoot my first one in the Kiamais but once I got my first then it all seemed to click and I was averaging 1 for every 2.5 days. That was back in the early 90's when deer numbers where a lot lower than they are today.
Good luck.

Take note of where you have come from. Look behind you.
I have bugger all confidence in the bush. Find it easy to lose my sense of direction. I have been solo hunting a block of bush for a few years now n still havent sussed all of it out. I do know if i walk in a straight line ill hit a fence and farm land.

By doing this block all the time im a bit more comfortable which does boost your confidence.

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By all means have maps and instruments, both conventional and electronic.

But to become a better hunter and navigate using your inbuilt capabilities (that have served humankind since the dawn of time). The most basic of which are observation and memory. Look at the terrain, note in your head distinctive features (a peculiar tree, a wee slip etc) whenever you come to a juncture like where the spur you are climbing joins a ridge. Note which side of the trees have moss on them etc etc. Turn over a crown fern leaf or make some other non permanent mark.

All these things can be practised even walking in a park. If you can get a habit going it might not completely prevent you from getting "bushed" (and tgat happens to everyone from time to time) but it'll enormously increase your confidence and you'll bd a better hunter too!

Thanks guys, a lot of important information here that I will need to read over a bunch of times. Got a compass, PLB, and offline topo maps. Heading to Pureora - piropiro campsite this weekend so will put some of this into practice. I think using the tracks as main highways, and streams and gullies as side roads will be my best option while I learn all the bush skills mentioned. Hope there's a couple deer around and that I go the correct direction to find em

Thanks again.

Cally