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Vince

Hey Guys
Just got back from a 2 week hunt for roaring Red stags in Te Urewera and thought I would do a bit of show and tell, particularly if you are from overseas what a fairly typical, Dumb Kiwi hunters roar is like.
We normally head in for a week in early April because the peak of the roar is generally 7-11th April but because of where Easter fell this year a mate and I decided to walk in early on the 2nd and hunt for the first week by ourselves before the chopper dropped the remaining four team members into a large valley we would leave untouched until they arrived.
Our plan was to target the areas we couldn’t easily reach from that base camp by fly camping and moving every couple of days, to see some new country and hopefully stumble on Mr Big in the process.
For the second week, 3 of the 4 guys coming in hadn’t shot a deer before so the goal was to get them all on the board with an animal. Because they were flying in it would also become a lot more comfortable living, day hunting from a base camp.
View from the climb into our hunting area

Our primary roar hunting tactic involves climbing fast and early then waiting for the thermals to head up before cruising the ridges and spurs roaring so the stags come in from below or from the side where there is usually good visibility. The ridges and spurs also tend to have good indicators like scrapes and rubs.
A well rubbed up tree, time to find a vantage point and roar.

Me checking out a stag wallow (not usually found on spurs or ridges), another good indicator, note typical Kiwi hunting clothing of shorts and leggings.

The first afternoon started out promisingly with a mature stag holding hinds roaring from a gut below and to the side while a promising young 8 pointer almost ran me over on the spur we were climbing while looking for a campsite. The next morning after an unsuccessful attempt at the big fella below we ran into another nice young stag on a knob 500 metres from camp and got a bit of footage which I will attempt to link here.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMPodUwmtOebIIoQiSBD3fCbmV-0izb1nNUuQ5i
A great spot for a break and a bit of kai (food)

Fly camping in any flat spot you can

The next day I managed to roar in 2 stags, one of which was clearly a young one so I put the rifle down and again got some footage which I will try to link here.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOlmFgXmaogASDRvXWTcKJAI60-NdQgfC9Nq4dG
The second sounded mature so it was rifle only but he turned out to be an old boy with heavy beams and only 6 points so I let him walk no photos sorry.
Another stag wallow

The following day was uneventful other than a couple of hinds so it was pack up and move a couple of miles and set up again. When climbing and moving to the new spot we ran into 3 roaring stags on the ridge line 2 of which we successfully roared in, the second was a small 6 which let me tease him for a couple of minutes before departing but the first was a solid 8 pointer (good for the area) so it paid the price, footage hopefully below.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNEysx5wZ5qZsXS26-AFxtMD7pEVRLgBFPoQZDH
The 8 pointer where he fell (Browning 308 Superlite Winchester 180gr Soft point)

The next couple of days were spent chasing another really solid 8 pointer which we eventually roared in to 30 yards and I subsequently missed in a running shot when he got suspicious at close range. 200 yards of tracking with no hair or blood confirmed the bad news, maybe next year!
Living on freeze dry food the NZ bush provides some welcome snacks

After a morning hunt the following day which turned up a satellite 6 pointer to the big fella which we passed up it was time to head to the top of the range ready to head in and catch up with the lads the following day. A brief moment of cell service on the tops let us know they were due early the following morning, which caused a last minute 3 hour descent largely in the dark with head torches, not a memorable experience!
The following day the chopper was delayed due to weather so we had a rest day, setting up camp when the lads arrived and catching up on news from the outside world.
Glamping now, Home sweet home

The age old campfire argument of 7mm vs 30 cal was alive and well that night over a wee dram, between us we had a 7x30 Waters, 2 7mm08’s, a 7.62x39 and 2 308’s and no one was backing down! As it turned out of course they all worked.
First day had a hind and a spiker on the deck with Andy nailing his first deer, roared into 10 yards and dropped on the run, life is good. (7x30 Waters Thompsons Contender spine shot 140 gr Nosler soft point)

Day 2 saw Jack roar in his first stag, a beaten up 11 pointer with broken tines and an antler wound in the flank, his grin says it all. (Tikka 7mm08 140gr Winchester ballistic tip neck shot)

Day 2 saw 2 stags and a hind shot necessitating the formation of “The MeatHaulers Union” The troops mobilized on day 3 to retrieve the 12 legs that had been hung on day 2, a 4 km round trip compounded by the additional deer on day 3
An informal meeting to discuss wages and conditions for “MeatHauling”

Day 3 and another spiker for Andy, learning the gutless method of tenderloin removal (note entry wound, animal quartering away exit was centre chest and bled out in 20 yards with Ruger 7mm08 and 162 ELDM)

Day 4 and another old warrior 8 pointer for Rob with a antler wound in the rear end, great first stag, epic hunt where he chased him down! (Howa 7.62x39 125gr soft point neck shot)

Day 5 saw Carl drop a stag, a tasty wee 6 pointer (Tikka 308 modified stock 125gr soft point)

And the stag of the trip, Brent shot this lovely 13 pointer, an incredible stag for this area (Tikka 7mm08 140gr Winchester ballistic tip shoulder shot)

In summation the difficulties of living with poor nourishment in the woods (every night of the second week)

The awful views from our living room

And a bit of the inevitable toilet humour

Can't wait till next year, hope you enjoy
Cheers
Vince