Hunters Comments

Harakeke Thanks to Dave & Geoff for the expert advise. This is a hard block. Had a chat with two dear old ladies on horses in the block and there were 20 motocross riders all afternoon but none had a good head.
I doubt if you’ll ever find a motocross rider with a good head. Don’t remember you taking out a licence for one anyway.

Moutoa Great place to see the rear end of Sambar disappearing into the flax.

Moutoa I had a great time hunting the Moutoa block but I feel that for a person to have a good chance at a stag you need the whole weekend. I found that Dean Bailey was very co-operative and helpful. Thanks for the help of Foundation members also and the venison is delicious.
Every person that draws a ballot block would like to shoot a trophy stag. That wouldn't be good management. If all the best stags were taken it would leave only the scrubbers to breed. Inferior stags and some hinds must be taken as well.

Private I shot my very first deer and on my birthday and it was a 6 point stag. Thanks to the Sambar Foundation for making this possible.
Wow what a birthday present. A six point Sambar. Bet that hasn’t happened to many hunters. The stuff that dreams are made of.

Private On Friday evening I was phoned and invited to hunt Sambar at 6.30 on the Sunday morning. Arrived on time to meet Rongo and Allan at reserve. We hunted for about an hour and I spotted a stag. The first Sambar I have seen. I got to 150m and shot him. Man was I over the moon and very lucky. Thanks to Rongo for inviting me and thanks to Sambar Foundation. DS 194 4/8
First Sambar and a trophy to boot. Some guys have all the luck.

Private Few deer around but not on my block on the day. Block seemed a bit overgrazed by stock this year so perhaps not so attractive to the animals. Also appears to be far more pressure on all surrounding properties esp on opening weekend when I hunted.
Sambar are very mobile. Find the best tucker and you’ll find your Sambar.

Private With all the new pine plantations would the Foundation be able to establish contact with the various farmers to obtain hunting on their property and to make more viable join some of the farms together to form a reasonable hunting block. More chance for the hunters.
At this stage we feel that most landowners are managing the herd very well. It’s up to them how many Sambar they can tolerate an their property. However if any approach the Foundation we will be happy the help them.

Private Rangitikei river bank area. Two other hunters were after Sambar deer in the area. One had shot a stag on opening morning and was still hunting on Sunday. It seems there is rampant non compliance with what is being done to organise the hunting for all. Don’t give up. Attitudes will change. Keep this up.
Attitudes have changed dramatically. Ten years ago it was said kiwi hunters would not pay for managed hunting. Last year over 900 entered the ballot and 281 took out licences. Don't that say something.

Round Bush There are more deer than the 3-4 supposedly living in Round Bush. A very interesting and challenging block to hunt. Hope to go back with a camera later in the year. There is a big stag living in there!
I hope you do go back with a camera as there is no better way of learning Sambar habits. I consider photography to be the ultimate challenge. You can shoot the same stag time after time with a camera.

Santoft Mature stag seen during research. This turned out to be the only animal seen in 44 hours on block. Thanks to Foundation and Ernslaw One for the access within their forest. My hunt was undisturbed and both of us enjoyed the time. Game, set and match to the Sambar.
Don't make much differences who makes the first move. The Sambar are playing on their home ground.

Santoft If only for the wind I might have had my first Sambar. As it was only saw the bum of a rapidly retreating deer. Great time thanks for the chance. Also thanks to the forest owners for allowing gate access.
Yes, without the consent and cooperation of landowners and managers a lot of hunters would never get the opportunity to hunt Sambar.

Santoft Excellent day & 1/2 in block. Lots of sign in young trees. Sighted several animals but did not shoot. Only male was a spiker. For such a large breed they seem to be very cagey, silent & hard to hunt. Despite long trek from North of Auckland the weekend was well worth the effort.
They don’t come easy - but thats what makes us keep on going back.

Santoft A good weekend break. Doesn’t it always happen - put your rifle in the vehicle to have lunch & the deer then decide to run across the road in front of you!
If you’ve hunted awhile and haven't seen anything try stopping for a call of nature, difficult to shoot with trousers around your ankles - Hear that story rather often.

Tangimoana When researching the block all I saw was human sign. 5 weeks later no people but still no deer. Are they invisible, hover above the ground and don’t crap?
They do land sometimes, read the next two comments from the same block.

Tangimoana Had been told by people who had hunted this block before that it was the worst with no deer. However while researching it I saw plenty of sign and 3 deer. Hunting weekend found as much sign but also plenty of vehicles. Deer seemed to be lying low. Disappointed to find fresh vehicle tracks when coming in on daylight. Someone was obviously there over night.

Tangimoana Very enjoyable hunt great weather. Saw one hind on road on drive in. 5 min into hunt stag no antlers. Couple of great photos. Next morning saw another hind and a 6 point stag. Stuffed him up but had a great time.
Better luck next time. Obviously doing most things right.

Tangimoana Hunting hard as cattle had been in block. When I did find deer I hesitated thinking it was a steer. This block could have 3 hunters as do the Woodhill Fallow blocks. Thanks for a great weekend hunting. I appreciate the sometimes thankless work the SDMF puts in.
We consider one rifle per block for safety reasons. Do the Woodhill Fallow Group produce a News Letter or Annual report? If so we would love to see one.

Tangimoana Maps are getting hard to read. Thanks for a great weekend
We are trying to improve these. Hopefully this will happen this season.

Waitarere Should have forgotten red/sika/fellow hunting tactics completely/ Very surprised by the large amount of sign in places. Was amazed by the lack of noise made by a “spooked” deer - Very crafty. Suggest that in problem areas hunters be allowed to take two deer. Went home early Sunday with fogged scope.
We would like to see more hunters take one deer in this block. Despite the number of deer success rate is very low. I cannot imagine anyone shooting two even if it were allowed.

Waitarere Not impressed with block, not impressed with weather. Thanks for the chance to hunt these elusive trophy animals. The foundation is doing a tremendous job keep it up.
Have heard that the worst day hunting is better than the best day at work.

Waitarere Does research include sleepless nights thinking about it. Once again I am humbled to realise that man is not the most intelligent animal on earth. How about a combination lock self help video. The title could be - The key to your success or Combo locks, Friend or Foe or Gate Keepers revenge. I ran into some military type guys camping in the middle of the block. I don't know who got the bigger shock.
How much easier could you make a combination lock? At least this year some clown didn’t accidentally change the combination on you. As for the military type guys. They were told that the hunters had loaded rifles. Maybe they had a death wish.