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Hi all..a slight sideways slide on this subject, Quad bike hunting /transport to doc land etc.
How much/many places are actually accesses able by quad , how many of you own and use a quad for hunting, is the asset worth requiring (i am getting older)
Living up north we have to travel to hunt so are generally away for a few days min.
We hunt general central north island areas and some farms. cheers T
My experience isn't relevant to your situation as I live in the North Island and 98% of my hunting is bush hunting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrfants
I have no desire to shoot farm animals as there's no "Hunt" in it for me.
I have no issues with people who do and I have done it before and will do it again, but only because I'm tagging along with good mates who want to hunt that way.
Bush hunting starting out for me was about confidence to go further off a marked track and to go further away from access points.
No GPS, InReach or Epirbs back when I started so all navigation was map and compass, sun or stars, so it took a fair while for me to get enough confidence to not fear getting lost and needing to spend nights out walking around in the wrong watershed or following the wrong creek, river back to a campsite or road end.
Still got messed up and walked around in big circles, but over time the fear and panic got less and less.
Each hunt I went slightly further, until eventually I was able to access the country where you're more likely to encounter deer.
Not so many hunts on ridgetops/walking tracks etc and more time sifting through gully/creek heads feed guts etc.
Also got better at identifying more palatable trees and feeding areas so hunting more in the feeding zones than out of it.
Changed my footwear from stiffish soled boots to more flexible softer soles so I could stalk quieter.
Got fitter so I could go further for longer.
Got out hunting more often.
Less afraid of hunting till dark then navigating back under torchlight.
More deer around as time moved on as I started right at the time of a big 1080 drop that napalmed almost every living creature for 2 years solid.
Not realizing that the 5 years of drought between my first and second deer was all tiny learnings at the time. My frustration at lack of success eventually became resilience and patience and determination. It helped calm me down which helped slow me down which helped me start to see more deer which eventually led to more and more success.
Once you know how to do something, there's no pressure as you know if you keep doing the basic fundamentals success will become a by product and then you can relax and enjoy your hunting.
This knowledge helps me maintain concentration longer and save the energy for the good areas and conserve in the less likely areas.
Don't know if any of that rant helps, as I wrote earlier, I'm a slow learner.
Ive done a fair bit of walking and looking around the North Island tops country which is similar to your South Island tops country. Its not hard to find or see deer up here so its hard to know why you re not getting any success down there.
We have 4 times the human population so deer are generally more pressured up here yet success is still common.
Spend more time looking and less time walking once you've reached elevation.
Fitness and hydration are important in big open country.
Stay on the hill till its too dark to shoot, then navigate back to camp/car by torchlight.
There's plenty of other tips that others may share more inline with experience more related to how you hunt.
Good luck.