A little gem of NZ....in my eyes

Hi guys,
Just wondering (because I have never heard of them being mentioned here) if anyone hunts what I myself consider something that would be a little gem of NZ. The whitetail.

Does anyone on here hunt them? if so what are they like, got any good ones, how do you rate them as trophies/game?

I've spoken to more than one Knowledgeable bloke who has said that if I want to hunt one of the hardest animals in the world chase a NZ whitetail. It's something definately on my list of hunting achievements I want before I die, but I wouldnt have a clue how to go about getting there/hunting one.

also post pics if you have any whitetail I'd love to see them!

Jack

Hey Jack. The whitetail is only found on Stewart Island which is the third largest island in New Zealand and located at south of the bottom end of the South Island. I have not hunted them because they may as well be on outer Mongolia for all the difference in distance there would be.

Nope they up the dart river too not to far from qtown

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Yeh I've read a bit about them being on stewart island as well as a small section of the south island somewhere, but cant remember what it was called.
Ever chased the wapiti Rushy? I'd love to do that, was close to chucking in for the ballot for next year but decided on something else instead.

I'd love all these trophies but it'd mean so much getting them in Aus and NZ, for some reason it means more to me than chasing them in the US and wherever else they are

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Originally Posted by Rushy

Hey Jack. The whitetail is only found on Stewart Island which is the third largest island in New Zealand and located at south of the bottom end of the South Island. I have not hunted them because they may as well be on outer Mongolia for all the difference in distance there would be.

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Sorry to have to correct you there Rushy. It is the 4th largest Island. The West Island is by far the largest :ORLY:

Would love to have a Whitetail one day. High on the bucket list

My 1st Deer was a Stewart Island Whitetail, no mean feat since i live in Hamilton!
My advice is be really slow, move little and look lots (in know this applies for most stalking but even more so with Whitetail) Their hearing is amazing!
I spent the 1st 2 days on ridges in crownfern which is horrible stuff to hunt in because its so noisey, then the third day i found a small creek intertwined with supple jack and i stalked up there, was crossing over a fork in the stream about 11:30 and a Doe walked past, POP! and i had my 1st deer.
This was on the north east coast and i hear the hunting is different on the west.
Hope this helps
RAttachment 5487

There are NO whitetail in the Wakatipu!!
;)
Seriously tho, they are hammered way too hard for the population that is there.
The island would be your best bet for sucess and all around great trip.

Yep. I love chasing them. BT is right, the mainland herd is in a bad way at the moment on public land, and they need a rest. SI has plenty and it is an awesome place to visit.

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Originally Posted by R93

the mainland herd is in a bad way

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Whitetail in north island?