Thread: How's the recon going for the roar?

hind cycling, possibly getting up to feed at that time of day.

Recon good for the 2017 roar.
Just spent 4 days on the Westcoast checking out the stags while they are still feeding up big time.
Saw 10+ multi pointers and 3 or 4 of them were pretty bloody good.
This one was watched at 240m for ages and was eating like his life depended on it.
Now just have to hope he can be found again once hard and in the roar.

Originally Posted by akaroa1

Attachment 60641

Recon good for the 2017 roar.
Just spent 4 days on the Westcoast checking out the stags while they are still feeding up big time.
Saw 10+ multi pointers and 3 or 4 of them were pretty bloody good.
This one was watched at 240m for ages and was eating like his life depended on it.
Now just have to hope he can be found again once hard and in the roar.

That's awesome. Great photo.


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Originally Posted by akaroa1

Attachment 60641

Recon good for the 2017 roar.
Just spent 4 days on the Westcoast checking out the stags while they are still feeding up big time.
Saw 10+ multi pointers and 3 or 4 of them were pretty bloody good.
This one was watched at 240m for ages and was eating like his life depended on it.
Now just have to hope he can be found again once hard and in the roar.

Hey akaroa1 thanks for revving this thread
Hope they stick around for you good luck and keep us all posted

Great photo Akaroa1.

Just seeing the return of this thread gets me excited

Originally Posted by Pointer

Great photo Akaroa1.

Just seeing the return of this thread gets me excited

We will check out my new handy spot when we get a chance after all this festive silliness

I seen a good animal last week.
Around 35 long and looked to be wide. Had 14 even but undeveloped points.

He has so many catchments with in a short jaunt for him I wouldn't know where to start in the roar if he manages to last that long. Some Bozo will shoot him in a spotlight knowing my luck. Nice to see him all the same but I doubt I will again.

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Always keen. Got a spot in the 'kumaras thats due for inspection around April too, just needs a a whirly bird to get in there. The other musketeer is keen, you?

R93 do you find the stags in your spot move far from their summer range? I hunt a spot that is completely devoid of mature stags throughout the year, but come the roar it's chocka. How does it work down your way?

Originally Posted by Pointer

Always keen. Got a spot in the 'kumaras thats due for inspection around April too, just needs a a whirly bird to get in there. The other musketeer is keen, you?

R93 do you find the stags in your spot move far from their summer range? I hunt a spot that is completely devoid of mature stags throughout the year, but come the roar it's chocka. How does it work down your way?

Yeah could be. Let me know the dets

Originally Posted by Pointer

Always keen. Got a spot in the 'kumaras thats due for inspection around April too, just needs a a whirly bird to get in there. The other musketeer is keen, you?

R93 do you find the stags in your spot move far from their summer range? I hunt a spot that is completely devoid of mature stags throughout the year, but come the roar it's chocka. How does it work down your way?

I have only run into stags in the rut that I have seen in the late summer that do not have to travel far for their needs.
Otherwise it seems a lottery.

Major river valleys etc they can move anywhere and seem to travel a fair distance.
I seen one a few years ago from the machine in the Haast river valley. He was definitely a shooter.
Looked for him on foot before, during and after the roar.
Never seen him until around the same time the following year out of the machine again. 😆

I try to not do any recon until mid to late March.
Never had any real luck doing it any earlier.
I have even seen stags that you would think be dominant get moved off by smaller stags early in the Rut.

I rather search areas I know have good genetics and read the sign as best I can.





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I went for an overnighter last week to a new spot , steep rocky dry ugly face didn't see anything on our side first evening then in the morning 4 spikers 4 guts away somehow they gave us the slip think 1 got upset at a rock tumbling down the hill so we carried on round a big dogleg in the valley it opend up wasn't quite as ugly & spotted a few mobs around 30 deer mostly all hinds odd fawn with them few smaller stags crossing over a saddle it was supposed to get to 27 degree's so we figered best pic 1 a yearling hind drew the short straw , 7 gunshots latter we managed to fell the poor beast it was a bit further away than we thought after the smoke had cleared I looked across the valley to see a big stag he looked pretty well formed nice big beams , tops looked pretty good two heading way up a tussock face got me thinking mite have to chopper in in the roar guess if the hinds are there he will be 2.

Great photo, looks like a nice eater also.
I cannot wait to see my typical spindly spiker walk in again acting like a 14.


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They will be there somewhere as there are very high hind numbers in the area.
I have been going there for a few weeks a year for 10 years now and refrained from shooting a single female deer.
Also never shot a really decent stag myself there ( put some others onto them ) in all that time, but have shot a few spikers and culled out some very munted red stags as mercy killings to improve the genetics.
So one day maybe I will pick up something special there.

With that approach I'm sure you will good luck

Some work to do here!


That's better girl!!