Thread: Where Deer show up.

This is not a thread about how to find deer.

This is one about where they show up when you don't expect them to.

Deer to me, are a paradox. On the one hand they can be very hard to find, on the other they can be standing in your garden, scarfing down your fruit and veges, when you look out your window in the morning.

I worked on a small dysfunctional deer and sheep farm for about 18 months, long ago.

One day I got the quad stuck in the middle of a paddock with a herd of deer. After trying to get out, I conceded defeat and walked off to get the Hilux to tow the damn thing out.

I came back and to my surprise and mighty pissedoffness (there, I made up a new word), The bastard deer had been at my bike and yanked every possible thing off it into the mud. Gloves, fence tester, pliers, bits and bobs scattered in a kind of messed up halo around it.

They were all backed off, standing down the other end of the paddock with a smug "It wasn't me your honour " look about them.

They are curious, and sometimes, smart.

I've seen videos on you tube of deer tangled in christmas lights (thinking they were auditioning for santa's sleigh maybe?), heard stories of deer jumping out in the middle of the road and munting cars and themselves in Fiordland.

Been told of deer eating shrubbery between houses in the Catlins (No doubt being aware of the physics of over penetration: "You cant shoot me mofo, you'll have to pay for your neighbours window" )

So if you've come home one evening to find they've drunk all your beer, and passed out in your favourite chair while watching re-runs of Bambi, (Or something more plausible), add a comment below

Had one on the lawn of the school, had found a hole in the fence (full height deer fence) and the playground made a good spot for a feed. Couldnt find its way back out and had to be herded out.

Had the whitetail in the backyard regularly, wondered why the 5 finger kept shrinking.

My record is 17 deer driving round the roads for an hour over 2 nights, no spotlight just the headlights with them on the roadside

Just had one come up to the back step calling out. Made up its bottle gave it a feed and it wondered off back in to the paddock

Back in the days of WINZ tossing money around willy-nilly a mate of mine worked for a city church group and was in charge of teaching teenagers life skills. He thought up the great idea of taking a group to the bush in search of these life skills, so off to Pureora Forest a van load of urban know-nothings went...while driving through the forest a deer jumped out in front of them and my mate slammed the hired van into it, he jumped out and got the damn thing in a headlock, all the group piled out and watched, my mate was yelling for someone to get a knife from his pack, eventually someone got it for him and he killed the animal...those kids were in awe at what he had done and so somewhere in the city are people who have an entirely different idea as to how deer are harvested in NZ and have probably gone on to tell their children of Ken, The Bible Bashing Bushman of Pureora.

Originally Posted by DavidGunn

Back in the days of WINZ tossing money around willy-nilly a mate of mine worked for a city church group and was in charge of teaching teenagers life skills. He thought up the great idea of taking a group to the bush in search of these life skills, so off to Pureora Forest a van load of urban know-nothings went...while driving through the forest a deer jumped out in front of them and my mate slammed the hired van into it, he jumped out and got the damn thing in a headlock, all the group piled out and watched, my mate was yelling for someone to get a knife from his pack, eventually someone got it for him and he killed the animal...those kids were in awe at what he had done and so somewhere in the city are people who have an entirely different idea as to how deer are harvested in NZ and have probably gone on to tell their children of Ken, The Bible Bashing Bushman of Pureora.

I have a friend who malletted a yearling with an Estwing hammer (Caught it between a fenceline and his UTV)

Then took it back down the hill, Found one of those shiny helium balloons that you use for special occasions, tied it to a hoof,........... and presented it to a co worker for her birthday.

He's still alive, so it can't have gone too badly.

a good thread to share the story of my first ever deer... was a dusty new years day many years ago, we were staying in a small holiday town quite close to the start of a great walk in the south island. me and a mate decided to go for a walk, just to get out of the house (a walk, not a hunt). another mate offered for us to take his .270, and we agreed, not really sure why. it was maybe 3pm and baking hot. so we drove to the packed carpark and started walking down toward the start of the track on the tarseal roadway. people everywhere. my mate went back to the car for something so i was just milling around, happened to glance across the river and saw 2 velvet stags! set up for a shot, but realised my mate had the ammo, so sprinted back to get him, then back to the spot. the deer were gone. so we started walking around to cross and walk towards them (id never hunted deer at that point so our plan was just to go over to where they had been and hope for the best), but then they came back out! first shot, a clean miss. second shot nailed him. a very unexpected outcome. got some disappointed comments from tourists who had been watching them at the time as we walked around to find him. i then retrospectively paid for the ease of that first deer with about 10 more hunts before getting my second.

One of my dairy farmers told me the other day that he had a stag running down the road, jumping the fence into the front paddock with 4 bulls in. They came looking wtf is happening and scared him off over the fence into the horse paddock. The stupid thing went absolutely nuts so over the fence the stag goes again and into the garden this time. The sleepy dogs wakes up on the porch and starts barking so the stags carries on over the fence down the road again. Not many deer around that area so god knows where he came from...

The night and time of the first chch earthquake saw a fallow (private property) its a large property and so are its neighbors none of them have ever seen a fallow before or since.
Nobody knows where it came from or where it went.

About two weeks ago my brother was down from town with his wife and we were talking about how he wouldn't mind some venison. Nek minute, 2 Hinds and a Spiker walk down the road we live on, between my shearing shed and farm yard, over our farm bridge and set up grazing 300 yards from my front door.
Needless to say, I sent him home with some venison.

deer in particular young stags are really hard case to spread fertilizer in amoungst.....particularly if its dusty stuff like super and the day is getting on so it hangs in the air....the little snotbags wait till you on full run then sprint across in front of you.....then stand egging each other on to do it as you come back on next run.
it used to freak me out...now its game on..foot flat 45kmph down the paddock...little shits still give it heaps,one day one of them will slip over and I will have to explain to cocky....

Sitting watching TV a couple months back now, red hind walked across the lawn 10m from the house, I thought someone was taking the piss, I opened the door and stood on the deck, watched it just casually walk away not a care in the world.

This past July in England, staying at my sister's place, her garden backs onto cropping fields. Got up at sparrows to go to the Silverstone F1, very first of the light. Standing in the kitchen looking out the window, there's something moving in the corner of the garden. Little bit more light, well bugger me there's a roe deer in the greenhouse. That's not good I thought.

It wasn't. The wee deer had polished off all the vegetable plants, various flowers... I shooed it out and the cockerpoo chased it round the field for a couple of laps. Sister was farkin' furious with hubby for leaving the door open (again). Since then, the deer have eaten the entire new hedge they planted, several posh shrubs and been into the greenhouse (again).

I used to be scolded by my sister for wanting to shoot everything, but there's a standing invite to go shoot the damn deer now.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

The night and time of the first chch earthquake saw a fallow (private property) its a large property and so are its neighbors none of them have ever seen a fallow before or since.
Nobody knows where it came from or where it went.

Makes me wonder if it was so unsettled by the quake that it travelled a long distance to find a safe spot.

Animals and quakes.....another thread maybe.

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

Makes me wonder if it was so unsettled by the quake that it travelled a long distance to find a safe spot.

Animals and quakes.....another thread maybe.

Exactly why I mentioned it,even private releases of Fallow are fairly well known in the Nelson region and there are none even remotely close that I or anyone I know know of.

Originally Posted by bigbear

Just had one come up to the back step calling out. Made up its bottle gave it a feed and it wondered off back in to the paddock

The cheeky thing came back tonight on dark wanting another bottle