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

I shot my first stag for 2017 during this last weekend.
A very compact 10 pointer.
Not a monster but really wanted to see if he was fully hard as I have had my eye on another few bigger ones and just wanted to check.
Also created a vacuum now with that group of hinds for a better stag to fill, hopefully.

Heaps of fun getting in to range with hinds all over the place and a howling southerly.



the pre roar recon is starting to pay off.

And was he hard

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Yes totally hard.
To be fair this summer in Canterbury has been very unusual.
Wet, windy, cold, hot ... any three in one day usually.
So I wouldn't want to read too much into this one being fully hard .... but due to all the above reasons I would have to say that it has been an exceptional season for deer feed growth ... and therefore Im picking there will be some very fat stags out there.

Yip, pinged a large 10 pt stag this weekend and velvet was hard as......some really nice stags about. He was in a group of 5 stags and freezer was empty so enough said

8 pointer last night.
Was hard under the velvet.

Poor pic from late last night. He's big, but missing his bey tines I think. Its the third time I've seen him.

@Monk , I drove past your place at midnight on my way home. Bed 2am.

Originally Posted by Tahr

@Monk , I drove past your place at midnight on my way home. Bed 2am.

Nice work mate.Any other time of the day you could of called in for a cuppa.��

Totally agree with deer243 it's annoying when some people run others down, especially young fellas starting out for shooting a hind or velvet stag. The way I look at it is we all went through the early years shooting most animals we seen so why jump on a newbie for doing the same as we did it many years ago. We had our day it's there choice now.
My nephew shot a big Rusa stag in velvet last year which still needed a bit of growing and was criticized on face book for doing so, he has had the head mounted on a board and the velvet cured and is more than happy with the trophy, each to there own.

I fail too see how anyone can justify intentionally shooting a potential trophy stag in soft velvet or a hind with fawn, this day and age for friggen household meat.

But fill your boots I would never say to anyone that they couldn't or shouldn't.
Do what ya want. Ya will anyway.

But it is certainly telling where someone is as a hunter if they choose to do so.

Especially with animal numbers where they are at the moment.













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Originally Posted by R93

I fail too see how anyone can justify intentionally shooting a potential trophy stag in soft velvet or a hind with fawn, this day and age for friggen household meat.

But fill your boots I would never say to anyone that they couldn't or shouldn't.
Do what ya want. Ya will anyway.

But it is certainly telling where someone is as a hunter if they choose to do so.

Especially with animal numbers where they are at the moment.













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Well. i fail to see why anyone has to justify to anyone else what they shoot. Shooting a 12 pointer in soft velvet for some people maybe as good a trophy as it would of been in hard antler. A trophy is in the eyes of the beholder. If a hunter still believes that soft velvet stag he just shot made his day, and hes got his trophy its not for anyone else to say that sucks , ..should of left it for me or someone else to shoot in hard antler
All those spikers people shoot are potential trophy stags also are they not.
The fact is some hunters hunt for the table and dont give a rats arse about antlers and if its a trophy or not. With 1080 , Waro , DOC cullers and other hunters knocking over potential trophy stags it is what it is.
I know what you saying, but many hunters arent trophy hunters, couldnt care less and a velvet stag is prime eating and if food is one of the the prime reason you out there its far better to shoot one in prime nick rather than when its skinny, rank just for the timber on its head.
With the price of meat these days i cant see how anyone can justify that but the fact is no hunter has to justify what they shoot, when they shoot it to anyone do they? Places like Fiordland are totally different, people go their for trophys, not to shoot meat animals and the effort and money spent in producing such trophys shooting young bulls and velvet trophy ones are a no no and thats fair enough.
People that get up tight over someone shooting top velvet stags in DOC blocks have to ask themselves what gives them the right to tell others what they can shoot and what they cant.
To me its each to their own, i do what i like and you can do what you like, its a free country.
For the record i rather not shoot a trophy velvet stag and hope im the lucky one to shoot it later on or at least someone else gets the chance, thats all good but if im short of meat, or just feel like getting some prime venison im happy to take one if thats all thats on offer and thats my choice, not someones elses

I knocked a hind & fawn over this week mostly because 95% of the time the deer beat me in this spot so when I got my chance I took it felt a little bad for 5 minutes but shit happens fawn back straps look good! went out this evening saw 6 porkers 1 cat & 6 deer..all hinds closest was 20 meters took off when I tried to take a photo ..some more came out next gully over.I agree in principle with R93 shouldn't shoot promising stags or hinds this time of year but on another breath if everyone takes the feel good option of shooting young stags,spikers as opposed to a hind that may or may not have a fawn well really that's not good for a trophy hunter far better off shooting hinds especially when numbers are higher a good selection of stags is better than a good selection of hinds.

I will shoot yearling hinds or stags and am happy to shoot hinds from late March thru the early winter months. I just haven't shot a mature hind for years.
I also do not meat hunt areas where I know there is trophy potential.
There are heaps of areas you could shoot a thousand stags and will never harm trophy potential. Especially on the west coast.
But shooting a large body early spring stag with good bez tines and mass or a hind between late October and March for meat is just appalling to me.
Unless you get the fawn as well.😆

I have only shot one mature red stag since 2007. He was wound up and wasn't afraid of me.
I had no where to go. I shot him at 2m with one hand while trying to hide behind a flimsy bungi.









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Im hearing you on the stag front mate shot a stag 2 weeks ago (red) pretty close to where you got that cracker fallow last year...ripper head 12 pt & big wasn't hard seems pretty stupid to me rather shoot a hind
fawn meat its almost vealish & so soft

I have an opinion and aired it.
I am entitled to it.
It won't change anything except maybe wind you up .243😆

I also have not told anyone what or what not to do. So please stop insinuating that I have.

I guess I am fortunate I hunt and associate with hunters of a similar mindset and do not have to suffer idiots unless I read a glossy hunting mag.

A meat hunter may not care about trophies and hinds with fragile young, fair enough. I just see a heap of flaws if said meat hunter knowingly tips them over for meat.







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