DIY Hawaii axis deer hunt

[OG-danimal]

Any advise out there for someone who wants to do a self guided DIY axis deer hunt in Hawaii on public land? Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Kevin Dill]

I've hunted axis deer there 3 times, but each time was on private land. I truly don't know of any public land with decent deer hunting. Molokai is basically overpopulated with them but has essentially no public land opportunities....except possibly for the Molokai Forest Reserve. Access there is very limited and the terrain/cover is said to be horrifically difficult. I don't know if it can be hunted as public land, but maybe worth inquiring.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Lanai does a yearly public axis hunt. 100% draw for archery. Near 100% for rifle.

I PM’d you my number to chat if you like. You can hunt private on lanai too for reasonably cheap year around.

hunting out here is awesome. Highly recommend it.

 

[Oyeah914]

I’m currently living on Oahu and I’m trying to figure out how to do a DIY hunt for axis also, I believe I missed out on the lottery for Lanai but I know molokai and maui have them too.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Year around archery on lanai for $100. No draw required and tons of deer in the archery areas. Rifle and shotgun too but a bit more pricey. Catch the public hunt next year (applications in November), best $10 ever spent. Public mouflon application should be out anytime for a Fall hunt.

https://lanai96763.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/2020-Hunting-Fees.pdf

 

[Oyeah914]

Oh this is awesome news, I wouldn’t mind paying $100 do you know if that would be per person or that’s all depends on the landowner?

 

[Tahoe1305]

It’s not a private hunt in that sense. Half the island is private owned and you can hunt certain areas of it for each method of take. If you look at that link and explore a bit you can see the maps layout for the island. The price is per person. PM me if you like and I’ll send you my cell and can provide more assistance.

 

[martinwj12]

It’s not a private hunt in that sense. Half the island is private owned and you can hunt certain areas of it for each method of take. If you look at that link and explore a bit you can see the maps layout for the island. The price is per person. PM me if you like and I’ll send you my cell and can provide more assistance.

Are you able to hunt the private outside the draw for Mouflon and Axis on Lanai? Thanks for your expertise!

 

[Tahoe1305]

Are you able to hunt the private outside the draw for Mouflon and Axis on Lanai? Thanks for your expertise!

Yes year around barring covid restrictions.

 

[Oyeah914]

Yes year around barring covid restrictions.

I would love to get a hunt in once the inter island restrictions are up. How can I find info on going without a lottery tag?

 

[Tahoe1305]

Link a few messages up still active and has pricing and contact info. May have to call a few times. I believe the lady’s name is Karen who schedules.


Just realized number not on there. Working on finding it.

Here you go. Permits. 808-565-3102.

 

[Oyeah914]

Link a few messages up still active and has pricing and contact info. May have to call a few times. I believe the lady’s name is Karen who schedules.


Just realized number not on there. Working on finding it.

Here you go. Permits. 808-565-3102.

 

[Oyeah914]

Awesome I will definitely reach out. Hopefully these new restrictions don’t go past October

 

[pattimusprime22]

I drew the state Axis hunt in 2019 on Lanai. I don't remember the hunting license cost, but each tag was $125 and I was allowed up to 3 doe tags. Essentially half of the island is open for those with who drew a tag. Each tag holder gets a specific weekend (Sat,Sun) to hunt.

I arrived a few days early to scout and have never seen so many deer in my life. Things change drastically by Saturday morning though. Once all those Jeeps full of hunters start driving around, it's almost as if the island swallows them up. I managed to connect on one Saturday morning and had another opportunity, but didn't get set up in time before it vanished into a drainage.

It is worth noting that there are a LOT of hunters per weekend and while there I heard some horror stories about people having bullets hitting near them. On the Sunday morning my dad and I setup in a spot where we had seen ~50 deer while scouting and once first light came up realized there were 3 groups of other hunters within 100 yards of us and we immediately headed back to the jeep to find a less crowded area.

If you do hunt there I highly recommend having your deer processed at Bob the Butcher. He'll have everything hard frozen and in 50lb coolers ready for your flight out.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Concur with that during the public hunts there are a lot of hunters. Typically further away from Jeep trails you walk the less their are.

The private areas are massive and only your party is allowed to hunt it so you won’t have competition in their. They cost more money than public hunts though but last year around and not based on lottery.

Also concur on the massive amount of deer out there. It’s pretty cool to watch hundreds of animals a day on the move. Finding that trophy and or getting a shot within the legal hunting boundary another story!

Another note.

My buddy who has hunted with me a handful of times on lanai (public and private) has since gone two or three times to Molokai. He said he much prefers Molokai. It does cost about 2-3 times as much and everything was guided but he said the opportunities on bigger deer where better and it was an all in kinda hunt that simplified transportation and housing issues some may run into on lanai. FWIW.

 

[KHNC]

Hawaii governor is a huge douche! He is single handedly destroying the economy over there. I hope he gets voted out but i bet he doesnt. From the posts i see, most of the mainlanders agree with him on keeping out tourists. I guess they are businessowners losing their livelihood. Im not even sure i want to rebook my trip for next year after all the crap this year.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Hawaii politics are interesting. There is a tear between tourism being their main economy but most of the locals would prefer to keep to themselves and protect their own resources (on the outer islands that’s wild game).

Can’t say I blame them but agree it’s not necessarily good for business. Most outsiders aren’t typically welcomed with open arms. Myself included even after living there for three years.

 

[Astephan1284]

Stumbled across this forum while trying to research the DIY hunts in Hawaii. I just moved to Oahu from Colorado so I’m trying to shift gears from back country big game hunting to small island game. I’m struggling to find anything information on the DIY public land hunts out here but I’m struggling to find any good info on it. It seems like most of the info I come across is for guided private land hunts. Anyone have a good place for me to start gathering my information?

thanks in advance.

 

[pattimusprime22]

Stumbled across this forum while trying to research the DIY hunts in Hawaii. I just moved to Oahu from Colorado so I’m trying to shift gears from back country big game hunting to small island game. I’m struggling to find anything information on the DIY public land hunts out here but I’m struggling to find any good info on it. It seems like most of the info I come across is for guided private land hunts. Anyone have a good place for me to start gathering my information?

thanks in advance.

You can apply for hunts here:

Go Hunt, Hawaii

Hawaii's official hunting resource. Please join us in responsible, sustainable, and safe use of our public lands.

gohunthawaii.ehawaii.gov

 

[Tahoe1305]

Stumbled across this forum while trying to research the DIY hunts in Hawaii. I just moved to Oahu from Colorado so I’m trying to shift gears from back country big game hunting to small island game. I’m struggling to find anything information on the DIY public land hunts out here but I’m struggling to find any good info on it. It seems like most of the info I come across is for guided private land hunts. Anyone have a good place for me to start gathering my information?

thanks in advance.

Shot you a PM. Just left the island after a few years felt like a had a decent handle on it and lanai. Happy to pass info.