Red Stag Hunting

[Emmons]

I got out for five days of Stag hunting this past week.  This trip was more about scouting and learning the area, but I was hoping to let an arrow go.  This was my first trip to this ranch.  This area is around 25k acres.  Which is made up of a 5k acre farm on the eastern border with 20k of eucalyptus and pine plantation to the west.  I hiked in around 5 miles and set up camp on the edges of the farm lands.  There was small patch of native forest scattered about.  I learned this is a tuff area to hunt.  The Roar (rut) is over so the Stags are not moving much now.  They were spending all but the first 45 minute of daylight in the forest lands.  Hunting the forest lands is almost impossible, as they are thick with a really good layer of leafs and dry sticks on the ground.  Making it impossible to move quietly.  It rain for four day strait, so hunting water holes was not effective either.  I did see 4 cows and two bulls. one 3x3 and a 3x4, either of which were very big, but either would have filled my freezer.  I was able to get within 40 yards of the 3x4 before the wind shifted (read as I miss read the wind) and blow the stalk.  But seeing the bull siloetted in a field on a foggy morning, made the five night of sleeping in a soggy tent worth it.  I hope you enjoy the photos.

This was my first camp, I desided to move close to a water source after the first day.
 

Here is my second camp tucked in the trees a little best to get out of the wind and rain.
 

Me moving camp
 

This photo was taken after I blow the stalk.  Imagine a nice bull standing between the two trees.  I got out of the tent a little late and desided to find a high spot in the field to glass from.  I walk out of the woods and this bull was only 100 yards from my tent feed in the field.  I check the wind when I first seen him, but I was in a little bit of a hole along the tree line.  My wind checker showed a cross wind which was perfect for this stalk, but as I moved out of the hole the wind was blowing from me directly to the stag.
 

Here are some pics showing why it is so difficult to hunt the eucalyptus plantations.  Your only option is to still hunt the roads.
 

 

 

 

[Emmons]

Couple more pics!!
 

Stag trail entering some native bush.
 

Found some beds
 

This thing were all over, a few of them jointed me in the tent.
 

[insttech1]

Wow nice pics James!

Thanks for posting those.
The eucalyptus sure looks pretty tight to get an arrow through, and like you, be quiet while getting around.

Are you going again?

Take Care,
Marc

[Whip]

What an incredible place!  Do those stags use the trails like a whitetail would?  I sure can see what you mean about it being tough to still hunt through that stuff.  Thanks for taking us along on your trip!

[longstick]

wow..wish I were there insted of here

[JC]

Thanks for sharing the pics James, I really enjoy seeing the different country. That shot of the eucalyptus rows reminds me of our southern pine plantations...looks like hog country   :D

[AnointedArcher]

Great Pictures!

[Jerry Jeffer]

That eucalyptus is as dense as a NJ ceder thicket. Nice pics.

[Emmons]

Thanks everyone!!

I will be going back around the end of May.  Our stag season here is March 1 to August 31.  Give me plenty of time to hunt, but the Rut only run thru April.  In the mountain the Rut is the only time you have a really good chance of locating the stags.  The other option in the mountains in the south, is to wait until june or july, when the snow come and pushes the stags in to the low lands.  During this time you see very large groups of stags.  

Where I took these photos the stag are there year round, I think here I need to hunt them more like I would a whitetail.  When I go back I am going to put up some treestands.  

To the far east of the area there are pine plantations also, in them you can still hunt.  But I need to locate their primary travel routes.  In the eucalyptus I found trails, but hunting them is tuff and much like hunting the roads.  You just have to be lucky enough to catch them crossing, giving you about 30 second to get a shot off.  

Also scattered in the eucalyptus is patches of native forest much like the photo of my first camp site.  I think if I find one of these with some good trails, it would be worth sitting there for the day.  But you would have to arrive much before daylight.  

I have a couple of trips in the works to hunt Boar.  Then I will head back to this area, while I wait for the snow to fall heavy in the mountains.

[9 Mile Archer]

great story thanks for sharing!  

[Alex.B]

great pictures, man!!!  

[Bard1]

ya can't kill them from the couch.  Way to go out there and do your best!

[Strutter]

The native bush looks a lot like river cane.  You ever try and make arrows from it?  Thanks for the pics.

Rob

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Great pics and story. Thanks for sharing