Thread: Woodhill Block 1 advice

Just realised, I've hunted Block One! Got my first dear there. I wonder how many have shot their first deer in Woodhill Forest?

From memory, get stuck in to it in the early hours. We saw multiple deer on the road before we were even organised. There are rules about shooting on/near roads, so be careful. We found ourselves up against the sand dunes and would spook small mobs of deer as we walked. Eventually, I managed to get a shot on one. 25m shot from standing, animal spooked, that kind of situation. As the morning went on, we saw a lot of deer bedded down in the shade under the trees on the sand dunes. By lunchtime, they had disappeared, so we took it easy, hoping they would reappear in the evening. I went back to the sand dune area and did spook a few, but the whole experience was somewhat ruined by the 4X4 guys doing there thing on the other side of the dunes. Maybe the deer are used to it, but it didn't feel great. Auckland hunting! In the meantime, my more experienced buddy was exploring a swampy area and was convinced he'd see a big buck in there. He was right, even showed me the animal, but couldn't get a clear shot. Thick moss underfoot made stalking easier.

If I was to go back, I'd keep moving, but with a little more experience under my belt, sit quietly in likely spots for a while. In the middle of the day, I'd go through planted areas and pampas if navigable to see what I could flush out. It's not a huge block, so cover ground and you will find animals. It would be a tough choice for me between a short, handy bush gun with a low power scope versus something more suited to longer range shots.

Great spot, you're going to have an awesome day!