Don't post here too often, usually just lurk, but figured you guys might like to see some pics and such from a red deer hunt last weekend here in New Zealand. I also wanted to see if you guys had any recommendations for inexpensive binocs for glassing. If I had the money to get nice ones I would but I'm a broke student so gotta. I don't really have a price range as I'll have to save up for anything. Just trying to find the cheapest pair that work well enough.
Disclaimer: you'll have to excuse my photos. A lot were taken in low light with the iso cranked or from far away with my weak zoom so they're cropped so you can see the animals. I was more worried about the hunt than getting good pictures and the panoramas were hastily slapped together.
I made buddies with a hunting guide here and last week he called me up and asked if I wanted to go help him out on a hunt he was guiding for red stag on the east coast. I jumped at the chance. He was an experienced guide with 10 years here and a bunch of time in BC before that guiding for moose, bighorns, etc so I was eager to tag along and learn.
We only had one evening and the following morning due to the client's work schedule and we were chasing one particular (huge) stag so it was a challenge. The client had taken 3 nice stags with him scoring in the 260-280 range and was dead set on getting the one of the elusive bigger guys that are on the 14k acre station. We got out to the station saturday afternoon and headed straight up into the mountains.
The mountain in the distance was the area we were hunting.
On the way up to the spot we were headed to look for the big red stag we spotted a young red stag a huge fallow buck. Jason guessed he was a 200+ class buck. He had big palms and guard tines. He was about 600 yards away.
He was a big boy but after some hemming and hawing it was decided that we would stick with the plan and look for the red. They had seen the big guy in an open area on the back side of the mountain. We set the client on the edge of the opening and we climbed way up an opposite peak to get a good look of the whole opening.
Our vantage point
It was an amazing view from up there and we glassed the opening for a while and got a look at a whole bunch of deer. There had to be 20 of them in the opening that was about 300x2000 yards. There were some stags out ranging from some young 6s to some medium 8s and 10s. Jason said they were small compared to the one we were after though. It's after the end of the rut but a couple stags were still roaring which was real cool to hear.
One of the stags with some hinds. I think he was an 8
After a bit, Jason sent me to catch up with that fallow buck and get a better look at him. Worked my way around the knob we were on and headed back along the top of the ridge parallel to but way above the route we had come in out to another knob which I worked my way around to avoid skylining and setup to get a good look at the mountain side.
I sat up there and glassed for a good while but just couldn't find him. There were some fallow and red hinds out and as the sun started to set the young 6 point red stag we had seen near the big fallow came out into the opening directly below me to graze.
I took it as a good sign, hoping they had headed the same direction but shortly after he came out I finally got a look at the big fallow buck as he came out of a clump of trees to graze. He was nearly a mile away though and I couldn't get a good look at him through the binocs. With the light failing fast and him so far away I quickly glassed a route out to him and grabbed my pack. I worked back around the knob down to a draw and worked my way up as quick as I could over to the backside of the ridge so I could move quick without spooking. The view was amazing from the ridge as you could see a good stretch of rugged country and the coast but I didn't want to take the time to pull out the camera. I was determined to get to that fallow before dark.
When I figured I had gone far enough down I found a spot with some trees for protection to avoid being spotted as I came over the ridge and by luck crossed right over into the draw I had determined would be the best way to get down to him. The light was fading fast and I worked my way down and up another knob as fast as I dared. As I crawled over the top of the knob, I could see him grazing contentedly...on the other side of the clump of trees. With the low light I just couldn't get a good look at him between the breaks in the trees and with no quick spot to reposition I decided to not risk spooking him and hoofed it back to the meeting spot.
When I got back I found out they had seen over 30 reds including the big boy just as light was failing but couldn't get down to him before the light was gone. When we got back to the cabin, Jason showed me a video they had taken of him on an earlier scouting trip and he was definitely a real big boy. He had guessed him to score well over the 300 mark.
The next morning we got up and were up on the mountain before sunrise. On the way up we jumped a big black boar but he was ignored in the interest of the red. This time we went straight to the clearing and worked our way down the bush on the edge to a point near the bottom where we could see the whole area they had spotted him the night before. As we worked through the scrub we saw a bunch of fallow and reds but nothing big enough to distract us.
A few fallow hinds grazing with a couple of the station herefords. There was a couple different colors in the herd, most notably the big white one. There's a red hind in there too.
We got setup in some brush at the edge of the clearing and there were deer all around. There was a decent 10 and a couple 8s and 6s including one particularly amorous one that apparently didn't get the memo that the rut was over and was still chasing hinds. After a little while the big guy roared up in the tiger country behind the clearing. It was way to tight in there to go in after him so we decided to pull out and leave him for another day instead of risking bumping him.
We decided to go take a look and see if we could find at the big fallow buck and headed back to the top of the ridge to get a look.
We weren't expecting much since it was the middle of the day and didn't have any luck so we worked our way back up to the knob where I had first spotted him the night before.
We found a wallow on the way up
Again nothing was out but the odd hind so we decided to split up with Jason taking the client along the ridge while I went to the bottom to glass from a different angle, hoping to catch him bedded down in one of the clumps of trees.
You can just barely see them up on the knob I had glassed from the night before.
![url]](http://[url="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting078.jpg"]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting078.jpg[/url])
We worked our way all the way down the ridge but couldn't get a look at him. There was a red hind and her yearling and a group of 5 fallow hinds but the big guy had taken refuge in one of the dense areas of bush for the day. We had to call it a day and get the client back.
Though we didn't end up taking one of them but in retrospect we only had one real day and we got 2 big animals located. If we had more time we could have nailed them and maybe if we had put more pressure on them we could have gotten one in that time but decided it better to leave them undisturbed to go after next time. Plans are already in the works to get back out.
I thought I'd be bummed if we didn't take something but it was a blast. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery was amazing. I got an open invitation to go any time he went out and I'll definitely be out any chance I get. I want to get out on one of the sambar hunts and some of the other animals he guides for on different properties. I need to get myself a pair of good binoculars now and a better zoom lense.
A couple miscellaneous pics from the weekend
A stag with some hinds
![url]](http://[url="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting033.jpg"]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting033.jpg[/url])
Another stag
![url]](http://[url="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting030.jpg"]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting030.jpg[/url])
Another one
![url]](http://[url="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting040.jpg"]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting040.jpg[/url])
A couple paradise ducks
![url]](http://[url="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting081.jpg"]http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p162/Ccarls/hunting/hunting081.jpg[/url])
Disclaimer: you'll have to excuse my photos. A lot were taken in low light with the iso cranked or from far away with my weak zoom so they're cropped so you can see the animals. I was more worried about the hunt than getting good pictures and the panoramas were hastily slapped together.
I made buddies with a hunting guide here and last week he called me up and asked if I wanted to go help him out on a hunt he was guiding for red stag on the east coast. I jumped at the chance. He was an experienced guide with 10 years here and a bunch of time in BC before that guiding for moose, bighorns, etc so I was eager to tag along and learn.
We only had one evening and the following morning due to the client's work schedule and we were chasing one particular (huge) stag so it was a challenge. The client had taken 3 nice stags with him scoring in the 260-280 range and was dead set on getting the one of the elusive bigger guys that are on the 14k acre station. We got out to the station saturday afternoon and headed straight up into the mountains.
The mountain in the distance was the area we were hunting.
On the way up to the spot we were headed to look for the big red stag we spotted a young red stag a huge fallow buck. Jason guessed he was a 200+ class buck. He had big palms and guard tines. He was about 600 yards away.
He was a big boy but after some hemming and hawing it was decided that we would stick with the plan and look for the red. They had seen the big guy in an open area on the back side of the mountain. We set the client on the edge of the opening and we climbed way up an opposite peak to get a good look of the whole opening.
Our vantage point
It was an amazing view from up there and we glassed the opening for a while and got a look at a whole bunch of deer. There had to be 20 of them in the opening that was about 300x2000 yards. There were some stags out ranging from some young 6s to some medium 8s and 10s. Jason said they were small compared to the one we were after though. It's after the end of the rut but a couple stags were still roaring which was real cool to hear.
One of the stags with some hinds. I think he was an 8
After a bit, Jason sent me to catch up with that fallow buck and get a better look at him. Worked my way around the knob we were on and headed back along the top of the ridge parallel to but way above the route we had come in out to another knob which I worked my way around to avoid skylining and setup to get a good look at the mountain side.
I sat up there and glassed for a good while but just couldn't find him. There were some fallow and red hinds out and as the sun started to set the young 6 point red stag we had seen near the big fallow came out into the opening directly below me to graze.
I took it as a good sign, hoping they had headed the same direction but shortly after he came out I finally got a look at the big fallow buck as he came out of a clump of trees to graze. He was nearly a mile away though and I couldn't get a good look at him through the binocs. With the light failing fast and him so far away I quickly glassed a route out to him and grabbed my pack. I worked back around the knob down to a draw and worked my way up as quick as I could over to the backside of the ridge so I could move quick without spooking. The view was amazing from the ridge as you could see a good stretch of rugged country and the coast but I didn't want to take the time to pull out the camera. I was determined to get to that fallow before dark.
When I figured I had gone far enough down I found a spot with some trees for protection to avoid being spotted as I came over the ridge and by luck crossed right over into the draw I had determined would be the best way to get down to him. The light was fading fast and I worked my way down and up another knob as fast as I dared. As I crawled over the top of the knob, I could see him grazing contentedly...on the other side of the clump of trees. With the low light I just couldn't get a good look at him between the breaks in the trees and with no quick spot to reposition I decided to not risk spooking him and hoofed it back to the meeting spot.
When I got back I found out they had seen over 30 reds including the big boy just as light was failing but couldn't get down to him before the light was gone. When we got back to the cabin, Jason showed me a video they had taken of him on an earlier scouting trip and he was definitely a real big boy. He had guessed him to score well over the 300 mark.
The next morning we got up and were up on the mountain before sunrise. On the way up we jumped a big black boar but he was ignored in the interest of the red. This time we went straight to the clearing and worked our way down the bush on the edge to a point near the bottom where we could see the whole area they had spotted him the night before. As we worked through the scrub we saw a bunch of fallow and reds but nothing big enough to distract us.
A few fallow hinds grazing with a couple of the station herefords. There was a couple different colors in the herd, most notably the big white one. There's a red hind in there too.
We got setup in some brush at the edge of the clearing and there were deer all around. There was a decent 10 and a couple 8s and 6s including one particularly amorous one that apparently didn't get the memo that the rut was over and was still chasing hinds. After a little while the big guy roared up in the tiger country behind the clearing. It was way to tight in there to go in after him so we decided to pull out and leave him for another day instead of risking bumping him.
We decided to go take a look and see if we could find at the big fallow buck and headed back to the top of the ridge to get a look.
We weren't expecting much since it was the middle of the day and didn't have any luck so we worked our way back up to the knob where I had first spotted him the night before.
We found a wallow on the way up
Again nothing was out but the odd hind so we decided to split up with Jason taking the client along the ridge while I went to the bottom to glass from a different angle, hoping to catch him bedded down in one of the clumps of trees.
You can just barely see them up on the knob I had glassed from the night before.
We worked our way all the way down the ridge but couldn't get a look at him. There was a red hind and her yearling and a group of 5 fallow hinds but the big guy had taken refuge in one of the dense areas of bush for the day. We had to call it a day and get the client back.
Though we didn't end up taking one of them but in retrospect we only had one real day and we got 2 big animals located. If we had more time we could have nailed them and maybe if we had put more pressure on them we could have gotten one in that time but decided it better to leave them undisturbed to go after next time. Plans are already in the works to get back out.
I thought I'd be bummed if we didn't take something but it was a blast. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery was amazing. I got an open invitation to go any time he went out and I'll definitely be out any chance I get. I want to get out on one of the sambar hunts and some of the other animals he guides for on different properties. I need to get myself a pair of good binoculars now and a better zoom lense.
A couple miscellaneous pics from the weekend
A stag with some hinds
Another stag
Another one
A couple paradise ducks
