Thread: Ruahine deer control

Yip. If the weather is half decent this coming weekend, the hills will be seething with trampers undertaking 4 day missions.

It would certainly improve Roar hunting if hind numbers were culled back, the stags don't exactly need to fight over hinds with the shear numbers of them. Part of the problem, particularly in the Southern Ruahines is that a lot of hunters no longer want to or know how to bush hunt- there's only so much you can shoot by sitting watching over a slip face. Also there are high deer numbers on the private land bordering the Park, with landowners not wanting to control them so there's always an "easy" deer for them to knock over when they want.

Originally Posted by Riflewalker

Also there are high deer numbers on the private land bordering the Park, with landowners not wanting to control them so there's always an "easy" deer for them to knock over when they want.

A mate of mine has been taking advantage of this fact for years. If you want easy deer, hunt the DoC side of the bush edge. He will often head off to pick up an easy deer from a road end and be back home after only a few hours.

Didn't need to be told twice to go shoot some more Ruahine deer. Fruits of a quick overnight mission.

I was on the NZDA cull, a very well organised and successful event run in partnership with DOC and local Iwi. One off permits were issued by DOC allowing hunters to be landed in some difficult to reach areas like the Saw Tooth Ridge area which does not see many hunters. It was hinds only, no stags to be taken.

Check out this very young 10-pointer I photographed, showing plenty of potential for the Ruahine which is known for poor head quality.

Originally Posted by earplay

Didn't need to be told twice to go shoot some more Ruahine deer. Fruits of a quick overnight mission.
Attachment 272673
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Deadmans on Saturday?

Yeah. The limestone country in the north western Ruahines certainly produces some good sized animals and ensures calcium is not a limiting factor for antler growth. Bottoms of the slips was always brilliant hunting, even when deer were 'scarce' in the 80's. I had the North Eastern Ruahines as my possum block a bit of 79 and the winter of 1980. Would bump or spook deer only once every two or three days. My how times have changed.

Shoot to waste and own it. My last proper trip in there last roar we got our Norwegian friend a NZ Red Stag and then smacked every hind we saw after that. Rec hunters will never do enough but we can contribute. Will be interesting to see what management options they come up with as it needs to happen. Organised rec hunter hunts although a great idea will never be near enough either - it’s still just rec hunting.

Originally Posted by stagstalker

Shoot to waste and own it. My last proper trip in there last roar we got our Norwegian friend a NZ Red Stag and then smacked every hind we saw after that. Rec hunters will never do enough but we can contribute. Will be interesting to see what management options they come up with as it needs to happen. Organised rec hunter hunts although a great idea will never be near enough either - it’s still just rec hunting.

If there was enough of the organised rec hunts they certainly would make a dent. 80 hinds for one isn't too bad. Sure it doesn't quite compare to some of the professional culling ventures but considering it doesn't cost the tax payer anything I think there is merit.
If there were another few more of them organised over a 12 month period with more people participating, reaching outside of the nzda etc. I think you would find over 12 months it would start being comparable to hundreds of hours of professional culling.

Combine that with the initiative of financially incentivising waro, which DoC is going to try undertake, and you will find the numbers will decline.
It wasn't that long ago in the scheme of things that throughout alot of the Ruahines the deer numbers were not that high. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Originally Posted by TLB

If there was enough of the organised rec hunts they certainly would make a dent. 80 hinds for one isn't too bad. Sure it doesn't quite compare to some of the professional culling ventures but considering it doesn't cost the tax payer anything I think there is merit.
If there were another few more of them organised over a 12 month period with more people participating, reaching outside of the nzda etc. I think you would find over 12 months it would start being comparable to hundreds of hours of professional culling.

Combine that with the initiative of financially incentivising waro, which DoC is going to try undertake, and you will find the numbers will decline.
It wasn't that long ago in the scheme of things that throughout alot of the Ruahines the deer numbers were not that high. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Whilst definitely a good thing and we should take every opportunity we can to be doing our part, waro or the likes is ultimately the thing that will have the meaningful impact.

The last time I talked with the doc manager they were only paying for hinds over 40kg, I tried to point out that it should be paid out on any hind not just the weight the factory wants

Yeah problem is if the factory doesn't want them then they can't really get paid for them as it would be a matter of leaving it on the hill and saying that they indeed shot x amount that were under 40kg. If the number was too many it would just be cheaper for DoC to pay for search and destroy. Also leaves the door open for inflated numbers etc. This method is simple for everyone.

At least the deer getting shot will be getting utilised and the operators will know generally what is going to be over 40kg when it's on the hoof.

If it gets a few hundred extra hinds removed, instead of predominantly just stags, at minimal cost to the tax payer then it is a win.

It needs to be driven from a management lense and funded as such. A step we haven't yet taken. One day.

You still get paid for the under 40kg deer from the factory just not the doc top up.

Originally Posted by Fat ninja

You still get paid for the under 40kg deer from the factory just not the doc top up.

Oh true, I thought there were some places that didn't take animals under a certain weight! Well certainly odd that DoC don't top them up then.