Thread: Basic deer hunting info

Originally Posted by kiwigreen

South Island have better quality reds. In the North Island you can shoot 6-8pt scrubbers all day long, our bush is very dense and most stags you'll encounter very close if you're bush hunting, walk far away from any car park and camp at least 3 hours walk and base yourself from there and you shouldn't run into too many hunters. In my experience high numbers= more likely to see younger animals. You could do 2 roars trips, one for reds down south(late march-mid april depending on area) and another for Sika in the central North Island(mid April into May). Don't get your hopes up on getting a good stag though, 1000's of us try every year and it's not very often you get a real nice stag unless you know someone with a private block that doesn't get hunted too often. Cheers.

Agreed!
As a fellow Canadian transplant and bow hunter, welcome! Stoked to have you around! I’m from Alberta also
SI alps are comparable to the east slopes back home. Not quite the Rogers pass or kootenays but still big wild country! Take it seriously. Great stalking country for sure!

The north island places I have been (kaimanawas, Kawekas, kaimais) are very dense bush....although there are areas in the kaweka ranges that are a bit more open... shooting lanes for arrows can be incredibly tricky. Heaps of deer around but be prepared to have them walk by at 40 yards and never get a glimpse of them! I’ve found success sitting on slips (read mudslides) and creeping in close by using the edges for cover... I use satellite views on google maps to identify slips.... perhaps some lads on here might know of some more open terrain on the North island?
Also, practice longer shots. The traditional whitetail at 15 yards out of a tree stand isn’t to be found here. Prepare yourself to shoot out to 60yards on the slips. My rule is practice at double what you hunt. After regularly shooting at 120, I find 60 is a slam dunk. Any further than that though and an animal can just step out of the way or might get maimed.
Southern kaimanawas apparently have some good areas (desert road anyone care to comment?) for more open glassing/spot and stalk hunting like we do a lot back home for mule deer..... haven’t checked it out for myself yet, I’m hoping to get there later this year.

So my humble thoughts, if you live in Auckland, definitely go see the South Island if you can, it’s well worth it even if you don’t get many opportunities on animals.
You should have plenty of opportunities on the north island, just that it can be a bit frustrating in dense bush as you watch the groceries walk away with supplejack and fern fronds covering their vitals... hence I bought a rifle last week
How long are you here for? Business or tourism?
Good luck and happy hunting mate!


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