Suns Out Guns Out | Spring and Summer Sika Hunting
As Featured in NZ Hunter October/November 2024 Edition
Outside of the roar, my second favorite season is spring. The bush is cooler than summer but not as bone-chillingly cold, and the deer are moving all times of the day, searching for the new feed as it pops up.
The days get longer, so it doesn’t feel as rushed as winter hunting can be with the shorter days and longer nights. I fly camp most of the year on two to three night mostly, solo hunts. Long winter nights sleeping in -7 Degrees in my sleeping bag under a fly don't ring my bells too much anymore! I must be getting old. Most of the Sika stags will have dropped their antlers by mid-October and my focus changes to shooting meat for the summer barbeques and it is also a good chance to reduce a few hinds in your area.
This is also a great time to introduce new hunters into areas and get them their first deer, or take the kids for a night or two and check out some areas that are more kid friendly rather than trudging them into the deep bush. There are a few open areas off the Napier/ Taupo and Desert roads that are well worth a look for a hungry Sika before Christmas.
We usually disappear into the bush with the kids for a at least a week straight after Christmas., and this is great time to disconnect from the outside world and fill the freezer at the same time. The creeks are still cold, but the sun is warm, and the bush looks amazing and is a pleasure to be in with all the growth about. The deer are out in force, putting weight on after a hard winter, and they seem to pop up all over the place.
Open Areas:
We all know that good clearings are a magnet for deer and I, like others, tend to watch over a few of these at daylight and the last few hours of light. Clearings or open areas close to the big bush will be a good starting point and being set up before daylight is a key to catching one before it heads back into the cover on day break. Creek or river side clearings are good in the warm months as there will be more moisture to help the grass grow. Once I have checked a clearing or two out I head bush. I stalk my way around areas I know hold animals at this time of year, focusing on the creeks and creek faces, manuka edges inside and outside the bush, and any scrub areas, especially scrub that has scattered clearings in them. Sika love scrub and manuka country, and you will find they will bed down in these areas or on the edge of them. The growth tends to be in these areas first and in the lower country, while growth in the high country in the Kaimanawa and Kaweka tops can be a little later.
Getting to Know a New Area:
Spring and summer are great times to put in some big days and explore an area you don’t know well, as you have more daylight hours to push hard and cover a heap of country. You also can travel fast and light with a small fly, lighter sleeping bag and ground mat if the weather is forecast allows.
While covering the area you can establish how the lay of the land works. Visit open spots and clearings you have seen on Google Earth, and look to see what sign is on and around them, while making notes on your map system where you see the more frequent deer sign. You might find an area with a heap of rubbings or old wallows that might be worth noting down for next roar. Over the years I have found the knowledge gained from the Spring and Summer hunts to be invaluable, this understanding of the land can be used in the roar/Winter when you are running out of daylight and need to know the quickest route back to camp.
How to Keep Quiet in Summer:
Bush stalking in the late spring and summer months can be hard as the forest can be tinder dry and it can be a challenge keeping quiet under foot. I find ridge tops and westerly faces where they get the afternoon sun to be the worst. Creek beds and faces above the creek that don’t get much sun, can be a much needed bonus over the hot months. Adapting to this challenge can be rewarding, I have never been afraid to take off the boots and stalk in my socks, I have done this for years. Some days I leave camp only in my socks, normally with a light pair of shoes in my bag for later on.
Keeping your footprint size down to just your foot while wearing socks to muffle the noise has been a game changer for me over the years, I also bush stalk in socks for much of the roar. Basically, I’m trying to take away some of the advantages Sika have by lowering the noise output from my feet. Traveling nice and light helps with your stalking, and you will have less weight on your feet if in socks, while you are putting in the hours picking your way over good areas that you have already established as holding good sign. A good pair of grippy mud running shoes accompanied with some waterproof socks can work well too, low profile, light, dry and flexible.
Another good option is sitting looking over a big open face in the bush or the open country, just relaxing and waiting for one to walk out. This is a good way to break up the day as stalking can be tiring on the mind.
Planning is the key, if you know some good clearings you could head to for a look at first light for an hour or so and then stalk some moist creeks and surrounding faces till midday. After that you could park up and watch over some open face’s during the middle part of the day before heading down another stream system to another clearing for the last two hours. It is what you make of it, I am normally time deficient so I like to plan ahead and make the most of my time in the bush before heading back to reality. Plan your trip before you go, plan your day the night before and adjust it to the wind while you hunt.
Cast Antlers:
While hunting the open country and creeks in Spring I tend to pick up cast antlers. I also love photography, so I am always looking for cool mushrooms etc to take photos of, so I’ve gained a sharp eye over the years for seeing things most people walk past, with cast antlers being one of them.
I check the edges of clearings and grid search them looking for casts. Another good place to look is where deer jump up and down banks and small drop offs, as they tend to fall off around these areas too. Cast antlers of all species are a great find and a big cast antler off a Sika stag tells you he has been in the area for a while and a good place to search for him in the Winter, as he will most likely be around the same area if he survives the roar.
Game Cameras for Spring /Summer/Autumn:
Now is the perfect time to get a few game cameras set up in your areas. You can gather as much information as possible about the number of animals that reside in the area and the health and trophy potential by placing cameras on trails and creeks to keep track while you are back at work.
I find this information vital and over a number of years I have been able to build a pattern of when deer move in certain areas and what time they frequent clearings or open areas and certain faces where I hunt. Checking cameras, replacing batteries and SD cards as I travel in my circuits is enjoyable and you can get some very nice photos and video to share with your mates while keeping a record of seasonal movements of the Sika.
If you see a Stag with good head potential in December/January there is a big chance he will be in the same rough area come end of February/early March and he will be at his fattest. Cameras help you identify where the good stags are and you can target that area further once they are identified.
My favourite camera is the UOVision Select 30, it has a long battery life, great photos, not too expensive and best of all a 2 year warranty.
Taking Photos:
As some of you know from my previous NZ Hunter articles and those that follow Sika Hunters New Zealand on social media, that I love carrying a camera and document all of my hunting trips. My Uncle Bob Ramsay (87yrs) told me when I started hunting in the mid 90’s that he wished he was able to carry a camera when he was younger but they were not as readily available back then and they did not have the money anyway. He told me to do whatever you can to take a camera and I have done exactly that ever since, by carrying whatever camera I could afford including the green instamatics from the BP station back in the 90’s. He would lend me his spare camera when he taught me how to hunt and we would try and sneak in as close as possible to animals to get a better shot if we didn’t need the meat.
We learnt more about the animals from watching them for long periods. It also gives me a record of the hunt and I can look back on previous years photos in that spot from during the same time period and the photos remind me exactly where I saw things of interest, this might help me make a plan for the trip.
Looking After Your Venison:
In the summer months it can be hard to stop the venison going bad on extended trips but here are a few pointers to try out.
- I carry a Stoney Creek meat safe with me on multi night trips as they are light weight and are made very well with space for a few deer hung up.
- In my day bag I have a bag that my sleeping bag goes in to air out at home and it is made of a fine mesh and has a pull string at the top. I cut two holes in the bottom corners of it for the deer legs and I slip it over a deer’s hind quarters down to its chest while hung up for when I butcher it later in the day/next morning.
- Take the meat off the bone as soon as you can, this will help it cool fast and preserve the meat longer.
- Cut all the bloody meat away as soon as you can and the areas around the shot area.
- Consider the movements of the sun when you hang a deer, where you leave it in the morning might be in the baking hot sun in the afternoon.
- Creeks are a good place for airflow and there will be somewhere out of the sun in a cool place to store it.
- Placing you meat in a few plastic bags once it is fully cooled down then putting it submerged in the creek, out of the sun, is a good way to keep the temp down and will most likely be the coldest place for meat in the summer.
- If you are worried about your meat if might be best to head home and get it in the freezer so you do justice to the animal it came from.
Good luck with your spring and summer hunts and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.