Thread: bush stalking for dummies

So after reading these pearls of wisdom I figured I’d trying my hand at this bush stalking malarkey. Have mainly shot open country so far so this is a new challenge. I have found a few spots in the Canterbury foothills that while highly used by hunters and other folks alike seem to hold decent deer numbers. Pressure has likely made most of them nocturnal. In the wasp free window before summer I have been tracking them up/down into the valleys through heavy beech, Manuka, bush layer and pepperwood and finding heaps of fresh sign and occasionally get a good whiff. Moving through the bush quietly is near impossible no matter how much I channel my inner ninja and visibility is 10m at most - often 5 or less. Even the dog when I take her sets off rockslides in the shingle. I have found a few spots that the deer seem to be using regularly but given the lack of a decent vantage point and being unable to stalk in quietly I am looking for cunning tricks to try and surprise the blighters. Have considered lugging in an axe and cutting a shooting spot on an opposite slope facing a small slip face or even look into a tree stand arrangement. Might also look into a game cam to try and sus out their patterns as there is cell reception there and I could check from the comfort of home. Any other tips other that ‘try somewhere more sensible ya silly bugger’

wallow in a wet seep covered in tracks. typical bush shot - can you pick out the dog giving me her ‘what’s taking you so long look’ she’s about 4 m away.

keep going back......and go into better feed areas...that photo has zero eatables in it, stalk up ridge untill you hit height with sign on it...then sidle at that height...the deer will often be feeding in narrow band altitude wise...10-50mtrs wide...once you find that height its uncanny sidling through gully after gully all having heavy sign in them...the windfall around now is good for the deer,not so good for quiet travel...but the deer make noise too.

Yep, as MD said keep hammering it in the manner described.

One other tip is to try find the edges of the habitat types, quite often deer trails and areas of heavy movement are between those edges. Plus travelling the edges can be easier than getting right into the thick shit. Edges also hold different feed species a lot of the time, as a defined edge usually results in more light getting in under the canopy = more feed. Thats not always a hard and fast rule but i’ve shot a fair few deer just by hunting in and out of those edges eg a good one for sika can be red beech vs mountain beech, or red beech vs manuka.

Originally Posted by hebe

Yep, as MD said keep hammering it in the manner described.

One other tip is to try find the edges of the habitat types, quite often deer trails and areas of heavy movement are between those edges. Plus travelling the edges can be easier than getting right into the thick shit. Edges also hold different feed species a lot of the time, as a defined edge usually results in more light getting in under the canopy = more feed. Thats not always a hard and fast rule but i’ve shot a fair few deer just by hunting in and out of those edges eg a good one for sika can be red beech vs mountain beech, or red beech vs manuka.

Thats good advice. Otherwise keep going back and hunt the whole area, get a good picture of the country and where the most sign is and if theres better stalking bush in the area.
Most people know i do alot of bush stalking, and get lucky now and again.
What ive learnt is try find and hunt a number of different spots. Yes, ive found plenty of spots that have deer in them, but if the bush is super thick and not easy i just dont waste my time
and hunt better spots more suited for bush stalking.
What time are you heading into the bush? I always head in very first light, nearly always. Start to climb, as the wind is normally coming down then after awhile when you have height and the times ticking
along the wind will shift and start to rise which will be in your favor.
If the signs stags, they be up high, and may require hard yards to get as high as possible. Found many a stag outside the roar up very high while the rest of the deer are lower down.
In the end of theres sign theres animals and they are there, just keep going back and maybe hunting in from a different dirction if no joy

Ive tried them....only issue is mine are mono,so I can hear sounds for sure....but cant pick direction AT ALL....maybe just maybe in conjunction with dog,they may work for me...darn it, will have to give another try now....

Spent six hours on the hill today.my young bitch got me to within TEN metres of a "something" it was brown,looked like hair,possibly top of shoulder and back of yearling.didnt matter how I contorted I couldn't see enough for positive identification,the patch of deer I could see was about 30cm long and half that deep .then it moved off in hurry along with older hind and young stag.got glimpses but not enough to get shot away now I'd was done. That's happened twice to me now. I'm pissed I didn't get deer but happy with decision NOT to shoot at what I could see. Absolutely stoked with my wee black bitch,she stayed calm enough .happy times ahead. Be SAFE out there folks.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Spent six hours on the hill today.my young bitch got me to within TEN metres of a "something" it was brown,looked like hair,possibly top of shoulder and back of yearling.didnt matter how I contorted I couldn't see enough for positive identification,the patch of deer I could see was about 30cm long and half that deep .then it moved off in hurry along with older hind and young stag.got glimpses but not enough to get shot away now I'd was done. That's happened twice to me now. I'm pissed I didn't get deer but happy with decision NOT to shoot at what I could see. Absolutely stoked with my wee black bitch,she stayed calm enough .happy times ahead. Be SAFE out there folks.

Good on ya mate. Rule number four in action.