Thread: What am I doing wrong???

see.....they were oh so close.....next time....

Kimber...you have made my day bud

Originally Posted by Kimber 7mm-08

Fixed it for you...
Attachment 185903

Maybe they are responsible for the rubbish...

Moving S L O W L Y is key. Even turning your head needs to be deliberate and slow. When you are overtaken by a snail, you are almost moving slow enough not to be noticed by a deer. It takes time to look where your foot will fall, and then look up to scan for deer.... and repeat.... and repeat....


Edit: of course, you can't spook deer that aren't there, so making sure that deer are present is quite important too.

And don't underestimate luck... As they say, the best days' hunting are always yesterday and tomorrow...

If you would like, flick me a message with your contact details and I will help you get started.

A personal invitation not for the mass!

Originally Posted by DCN808T

Now let everyone point out all the deer in that photo!!!

I would walk straight past the cold sour flats in the photo. The only time I would expect to see deer there would be in the last five minutes of light and that would be a dumb spiker just kicked out by mum.
If you post up the location we can advise where we would look. At this time of year the deer will be on higher scrub / grass faces. Deer are quieter and easier to hunt in the evening so if you can get to a good ridge top ( just off the top) glassing spot two hours before dark it is almost impossible to not see deer at present in the scrubby matagouri faces and screes but dont glass the open, glass the scrubby edges of the open and little openings on ridges. Deer dont like stepping out of the bush directly into the open if they can help it. They would rather transition through scrub and move out once they are quite sure its safe and only in the last half hour of light.

@DCN808T if you are Canterbury based and keen to take a walk sometime, I can show you a spot or two and spend some time with some advice thrown in while in the field. Flick me a PM if you like.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Deer are quieter and easier to hunt in the evening so if you can get to a good ridge top ( just off the top) glassing spot two hours before dark it is almost impossible to not see deer at present in the scrubby matagouri faces and screes but dont glass the open, glass the scrubby edges of the open and little openings on ridges. Deer dont like stepping out of the bush directly into the open if they can help it. They would rather transition through scrub and move out once they are quite sure its safe and only in the last half hour of light.

This is great advice, spot-on i reckon.

If your dog isn’t a trained deer dog, and performing an indicating or finding role, leave it at home.

Do you have proper boots with hard soles? Going down slope is about how you balance yourself. My wife has same issue when we go hiking. Because your calf and ankle are weak, even you have muscles back there but those muscles are not fit for job. Try to do halfway jump. good luck

A point made to me years ago by a full time meat hunter " Look where the deer are, not where you think they should be "

Originally Posted by DCN808T

In front of my rifle!
Attachment 185899

If ive managed to attach a photo, youll see where i was lookin

There is a spot in the North Island that is almost an exact match to this view

Just over the river from Roaring Stag hut in the Tararuas.

Somewhere I have a photo tucked away taken on a trip many years ago from the tops of Te Pukeohikarau towards the snow covered mountains, after it was developed there in the bottom left corner is the ear of a deer...I stopped carrying a camera after that.

Hey fellas, gonna jump in here for some advice too. I was making solid progress pre lockdown and knocking the odd deer over (Urewera/Pureora) and am hoping to get back in this w.e after 100+ days lockdown no bush training.

The east coast Kaimai is my bittersweet go to and I plan to give it a good nudge friday, but what the hell should a hunter do if the wind is swirling or direction change is required? I always hunt the wind slow as a snail but the thick bush is the dominating.

Cheers

swirling wind changing direction...let me see???? yip that pretty much describes my typical day..... just do the best you can to keep wind in your favour and move carefully when you cant.

Have you jacked up a hunt with any of the guys offering on this thread?