Thread: Ruahine hunting

HI Guys and Gals
Looking to go down to the Ruahines and hunt is there better places to go then others I assume ??
Trolling through Spot x book and see a heap from one end to the other. Was thinking walk in and along tops areas
Want to stretch the New 7mm rem

Any help will be a help thanks

Deer at all the road ends in the Ruahines mate pick one and get to know It well and before long you will be seeing/getting deer most trips. Tops will be a bit cool at the moment but plenty of slips in ruahines to stretch the legs on your rifle, this time of year they can pop out at any time to catch some sun.

Originally Posted by Beanie

HI Guys and Gals
Looking to go down to the Ruahines and hunt is there better places to go then others I assume ??
Trolling through Spot x book and see a heap from one end to the other. Was thinking walk in and along tops areas
Want to stretch the New 7mm rem

Any help will be a help thanks

Plenty of good spots - but you're going to have to work for it.....

Like what spud said there are deer at every roadend mate. Cant go wrong pick a spot and go hard! Chur

Do what @Been Upto said he's been targeting a couple of road ends and doing well.
It just takes time to get to know an area, they all have plenty of deer it's never been better.

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Tops hunting isn't going to be as productive as it might have been November through February. There may be the odd animal out post-roar, but even the tops vegetation will be well past new growth by now. Deer will tend to be back feeding within the bush. The lure of course feed on the slips will bring a few out May-early June, but most will feed the slips only as they pass through during daylight hours, not as destinations in and of themselves. If you want to stretch out the 7mm then in my opinion you'd be best off find a spot where you can watch multiple clear faces below the bushline from a chosen lookout and try and catch one out. This is where local knowledge comes in, and the benefits of revisiting the same area to find these spots. Google Earth might give you some clues. The Mokai Patea range is your closest entry point for tops hunting I think.
That said, numbers are good these days in the Ruahines. There's always a chance of bumping into the odd one anywhere in your travels and proving me wrong.
Personally I hunt from just the one roadend on the eastern side. A longer drive for you if you want to come over, and you'd better like Leatherwood!

What are the road ends like for leaving cars in there?

Sorry, I see now that my post above could be misinterpreted: I meant to say that in my experience if the deer are out on the slips during the day then often they will provide only a brief window of opportunity for a shot - not that the slips don't still get used overnight, which where I hunt they clearly do. Whatever dietary needs the vegetation on slips and open faces provides at this time of year does not seem to balance out against the dangers the deer seem well aware are present from being out in the open during the day. At night this balance is altered. If I do see deer out in the open for long periods during the day at this time of year, they are usually yearlings.