Thread: do you shoot hinds???

Yes I do as mainly a filthy meat hunter. It’s always going to depend on the area and season and the animal population as to what the equation is, in low population areas maybe something like: spiker >yearling>stag>mature hind and in high population area yearling>hind>spiker>stag
But we don’t always get to choose from a mob on public land eh.

The equation flips around during the roar or late summer early autumn: stag>spiker>Yearling>hind

I'm glad lots on here don't seem to mind shooting hinds or the first deer they see. If I did that I don't think I'd have 90% of my antlers I have hanging up at home!
When I first started hunting I must admit I would most of the time shoot the first deer I saw. I soon lost interest in that though and started targeting trophy stags. I do still shoot the odd hind if I need some meat and its close to the ute. Stags only in April though.

Given the choice, it's hinds and does and nannies every time, the boys are only an occasional thing dictated by circumstance.

I'm a meat shooter largely but won't turn down a good stag in the right circumstances. Animal condition is important to me as there are only so many smallgoods you can eat..

This hind was the fattest sika I have ever shot, was just bulging at the seams.

Really only shoot stags during the roar, and try to shoot younger deer out of a mob if I've got a choice. Spikers and hinds only cos they're lighter and tastier.
Shot a big hind on Molesworth a few years back where the deer are big-bodied anyway. Two back legs, backsteaks, and one front shoulder back to camp bloody near killed me - thats why I still remember it. Since then I pick on the little guys

I am not really a hunter, I like it when I get the chance but really going after meat.
Will try a roar one of these days....

I seem to come across hinds more often than not. Probably 80 percent of what I shoot are hinds.
In saying that, if I see a stag that I want to shoot I’ll shoot it.

I don’t care about time of year at all. I didn’t always hunt like this though, I used to just shoot whatever and leave hinds alone in Dec-Feb.
This is basically because I’ve gotten better at identifying bush thats been hammered, and have spent enough time in the bush to know how many deer could be too many.

Only ever been a meat hunter. Only ever shot one deer in my life unfortunately - intend to change that. It was a spiker and as it was a paid hunt I did as I was told and got what I paid for. Otherwise I prefer female and young.

Yes definitely !!

Reality is around here a lot of the time one goes hunting and sees nothing !!

When you are lucky enough to see an animal, get in position and shoot it !!

Feed the family I say



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I consider myself a meat hunter primarily. & I hunt pretty much exclusively on DOC land. Almost all my deer to date have been hinds with a couple of spikers in the mix as well. Have been hunting for about 6yrs now, & this year was the first time I’ve decided to go out during the roar. Shot a 7pt red that I roared in to 8m. Not the biggest animal, not the oldest animal. But my first roared stag, so a trophy to me. Now I’ll hold off shooting stags again until I come across something bigger with a nice head. Doesn’t appeal to me to just knock off numerous average/young stags. Unless the freezer starts getting empty- if that happens then I’ll take a deer for meat, full stop. Although with two hunters in the house the freezer is generally pretty healthy these days.

Drop the lead hind then into them. Keep shooting until they are out of range then plan on how to get them out.

Originally Posted by Sowslayer

Drop the lead hind then into them. Keep shooting until they are out of range then plan on how to get them out.

^^ that had me cracking up! Once upon a time I would have done the same

I go against the grain here it would seem, I don’t shoot adult hinds or cows. However I shoot yearling reds which often are female so that kinda counts.. I don’t shoot young stags either. In Southland/Fiordland/Otago there is plenty of opportunity to be picky which is half the problem. I’m certainly not going to sack a hind (or a young stag for that matter) on an expedition type hunt like crossing the main divide or traversing through the wapiti blocks. With patience comes reward, I have some beautiful trophy’s to show for it, however I realise this also creates a problem. Some of our doc country is currently being poisoned due to high animal numbers, and I completely agree for need to control them. Wether or not 1080 is the right way to go about it is a different argument all together. So in hind-sight (��) I should probably be slaying hinds on the spot, removing the back steaks and carrying on but I cannot bring myself to do it, therefore being part of the problem.. it’s a conundrum

Originally Posted by Tahrzan

^^ that had me cracking up! Once upon a time I would have done the same

I go against the grain here it would seem, I don’t shoot adult hinds or cows. However I shoot yearling reds which often are female so that kinda counts.. I don’t shoot young stags either. In Southland/Fiordland/Otago there is plenty of opportunity to be picky which is half the problem. I’m certainly not going to sack a hind (or a young stag for that matter) on an expedition type hunt like crossing the main divide or traversing through the wapiti blocks. With patience comes reward, I have some beautiful trophy’s to show for it, however I realise this also creates a problem. Some of our doc country is currently being poisoned due to high animal numbers, and I completely agree for need to control them. Wether or not 1080 is the right way to go about it is a different argument all together. So in hind-sight (��) I should probably be slaying hinds on the spot, removing the back steaks and carrying on but I cannot bring myself to do it, therefore being part of the problem.. it’s a conundrum

Where is 1080 or any poison being used on DOC land to purposefully control deer numbers? I accept that deer are often enough a by-kill (and just as often now not so much because repellent is used) but you seem to be saying that deer are actually a specific target species for poison? I haven't heard of that??

Originally Posted by Tahr

Where is 1080 or any poison being used on DOC land to purposefully control deer numbers? I accept that deer are often enough a by-kill (and just as often now not so much because repellent is used) but you seem to be saying that deer are actually a specific target species for poison? I haven't heard of that??

Anywhere that repellant is not used. This is generally where TB in livestock is an issue. To the best of my knowledge all the TB poison drops on the West Coast in the last five years have targeted deer

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Anywhere that repellant is not used. This is generally where TB in livestock is an issue. To the best of my knowledge all the TB poison drops on the West Coast in the last five years have targeted deer

On DOC land? News to me. Im not aware of a single instance where deer have been the target species. Can you quote an example?