Thread: Spot lighting deer

Originally Posted by Raging Bull

Yes, but not for long if the pricks keep eating the trees.

Keen.

On a side note - I'm heading out to my Sambar block this afternoon. Text me if keen to come.

Spotlight deer regularly. Private land. Pest control purposes and last minute meat gathering usually. More deer get away than get shot, once they've seen lights and a few of their buddies biting the dust, they get pretty wary. Not against it all, but dislike (alot) people who spotlight off roads, and on public land.

NZDA oppose it. It's not hunting.
Private land, farmer wants one for the pot - why not.
Public land - never.

Originally Posted by scottrods

NZDA oppose it. It's not hunting.
Private land, farmer wants one for the pot - why not.
Public land - never.

I hear you cant be a member if you do spotlight deer, is that true?

Originally Posted by R93

I hear you cant be a member if you do spotlight deer, is that true?

They wouldn't have many members if that was the case..........

You can shoot deer during the day?

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

They wouldn't have many members if that was the case..........

I was curious, as I know a few that thrive on it. I know of a trophy stag shot this year in a light, that will no doubt be entered to one of their trophy night thingy things they have.

Originally Posted by scottrods

NZDA oppose it. It's not hunting.
Private land, farmer wants one for the pot - why not.
Public land - never.

How do you spotlight a deer without hunting?

Personally I have no problem with it. Good clean fun if you are safe and know what you are doing. To be honest the incidents I've seen from spotlighting appear to transpire when you mix total fuckn idiots with firearms. These are probably the same kind of people that would shoot you in the bush in day time.

[QUOTE=scottrods;26622]NZDA oppose it. It's not hunting.
Private land, farmer wants one for the pot - why not.
Public land - never.[/
I've had some fantastic hunts with a light and have lasting memories I'll never forget .probably while a nada meeting was in session will a room full of guys winging about helli hunting and 1080 , that's not hunting!

Originally Posted by Timmay

You can shoot deer during the day?

Reminds me, You and I must be over due to run the electric dog over a few clearings? Been a while

Originally Posted by Pop Shot

Keen.

On a side note - I'm heading out to my Sambar block this afternoon. Text me if keen to come.

Went out only to miss one at close range - thoroughly enjoyed the hunting experience. Likewise - I enjoyed the spotlighting experience the other night. If we are being pedantic - yes, using the spotlight is hunting. However, the land I have access to spotlight requires very little skill and doesn't give me the same satisfaction as shooting an animal from the same area in daylight hours.

I'm all for spotlighting on private land - but I don't think I could shoot a stag under the light and genuinely claim it as a trophy.

I'm surprised people say it's not hunting. I've done a reasonable amount of hunting under the magic moon beam and for one reason; a busy lifestyle. I usually meet my mates after we have helped put our young kids to bed and have been released by our wives. I've always found it a great time to hunt, and sometimes have mixed it up with some rabbit spotlighting - carrying a subsonic .22 and the single shot .243. I still walk as far as I do hunting those blocks during the day and we still gut them and carry them out whole. At night it is harder to judge distance and with someone else holding the light you don't always find the deer straight away.

I've hunted the areas that pop shot and raging bull hunt and the deer are just as easy to shoot during the day, I'm sure they'll both agree that there are no shortage of Sambar in the Turakina Valley.

I went spotlighting for Sambar for the first time a couple of months ago and thought it would be really easy to get some venison.
The area we have access on is heavily spotlighted and we saw a few sets of eyes that quickly disappeared. It took five unproductive nights before we had learnt enough and adapted our technique to have some success. We had an early night, got up at 1am, walked around areas that we had seen sign in the daylight, didn't wave the spotlight round trying to see if there were deer 500m away and at 4:45am we shot 2, then went to milking.

Before I tried it I would have said that spotlighting wasn't hunting. But for me it is.

I think the issue seems to be the shooting of 'easy deer' not being considered hunting, not wheather it was night or day.

I remember years ago being pulled over down paringa by the haast cop. he told us to wait for half hour because he was spotlighting the road first.