Hawaii Hunting

[aftriathlete]

My antlers and cape are headed to Maui Taxidermy Service. Expecting 9-12 months for the finished product, but they look like they do great work and at least I'm able to get it done semi-locally. The owner has been super responsive so far as well, so I have high expectations for them.

Picked up my meat from the inter-island cargo terminal yesterday and was disappointed to find only 31 lbs were processed from the two deer. Called the butcher to ask about meat loss, and they relayed that the entire hind end and the tenderloins on the big buck were lost to damage from the follow-up shot. I can't argue with them, I didn't skin the deer and assess the situation myself. I'm still disappointed nonetheless, I was hoping for a full freezer but I got less than that. Bob the Butcher has been professional every step of the way, and the meat they sent was packaged very well. The plan all along was to use them this first time out, and then I’ll figure out the freezer and butchering space issues to DIY next time out. I do have a pretty good line on freezer space and butchering space there now that I didn't have when I set this all up, so I shouldn't have a problem taking care of it myself in the future. And I didn't need a reminder, but of course shot placement is everything on meat damage. Looking at it with a headlamp it looked to me like a pretty clean through and through of the top right hind quarter, but I didn't look at it under the cape, so I couldn't see what it did to the bone and meat, which must have been substantial damage.

Starting to plan the next trip back already, looking for early next year, maybe for the state hunt which I applied for but might consider doing Pulama lands as well for a day or two. Have a couple guys looking to link up the next time I go out for goats here locally as well.

 

[aftriathlete]

Got on the goats again last weekend and this weekend. Last weekend they were already in the impossible terrain by the time I got up there, but yesterday we got up there earlier and was right in the thick of them. Shot this old billy from about 150 yards on the trot, right through the left shoulder and exited right behind the right shoulder with a 140 ELDM. Recovering it in this terrain took a while, but we got ‘er done. Cubed the back straps and the three quarters that were recoverable and cooked up some of it in a slow cooker Jamaican curry today. My wife was shocked how good it was, and even my kids ate it. Just a kinda smelly old billy goat, but super fun and challenging hunting, beautiful scenery, and tasted pretty damn good prepared in a crockpot like that.

 

[Holokai]

I hit the Oahu west side mountains for goats yesterday with another Rokslider, Kevlar88, and we were working on first-hand knowledge provided by another Rokslider JLMUELZ. So it was a Rokslide collaborative hunt. Boy, when people say the goat terrain here is extreme, they are NOT kidding. We had a spot on the map to try to be at by sunrise, didn't make it there in time as we were beating some bush at first and that spot was a climb over about a mile from sea level to 1600 feet elevation (we ended up 1.5 miles from the truck and 2100 feet, so it was STEEP). Two young local guys were on their way down by the time we got there with a goat in their pack that they had just taken in that exact spot where the goats were crossing up into the higher, nastier valleys at first light. So we spent the day from about 8 AM til around noon admiring a couple different groups from about 100-150 yards of probably 100 total goats in 3 different valleys/ravines uphill from that point that were just hanging out in absolutely unrecoverable terrain. Eventually found a spot where I had a 110 yard shot on a billy at 50 deg downward angle, and the terrain appeared difficult between it and I but it looked like I could get down to it. Set up seated on a rock, elbows on my knees, took the shot with my Tikka 6.5 CM and the goat dropped where it stood. I then spent the next hour trying to find a way to get down to it, probing down into the ravine and back up again in a couple different spots, but could not get around the cliff halfway between the goat and I that I couldn't see from my shooting vantage due to the terrain and vegetation. We talked about it for a while and entertained going all the way back to the truck to try to see if we could come back up into the valley from the bottom, but that was asking for an additional 3 mile round trip to try to get back into a valley that we don't know was accessible from the bottom either as the view of the terrain down valley from above looked as bad as up where we were. So honestly a fun, beautiful, super challenging hunt that ended with a goat down, but I could not recover it. Still feel terrible for wasting an animal like that, and I know that some may read this and question how impassable the terrain was, but it was dangerous and I wasn't willing to lose my life for 20 lbs of goat meat that is open season for hunting here. But man I do feel terrible about it. Big lessons learned today, including bring twice as much water as you think you need here, and the wounded/unrecoverable animal lesson that will if nothing else make me think about the terrain even harder next time and the prospects of harvesting the animal if I'm gonna take the shot. Super happy with the gear I've added lately, Schnee's Beartooth boots were simply worth their weight in gold especially considering how sharp the rocks are here. Kuiu Tiburon pants, lightweight merino long-sleeve, and the new boonie were perfect as well. Maven RF was awesome and the glass quality is good enough that I never needed to go to my binoculars.

Beautiful. Hard as any hunt or hike I've ever been on in my life. Fun. My goat is down there, hard to make out in that second pic.

Late reply (I almost never check this forum) but good call on not forcing yourself to recover the goat.

The rock here isn’t as solid as the mainland so you can’t trust it to hold in areas where there aren’t established trails. Firsthand experience/more data helps so might be worth it to keep testing out your footing on different surfaces next time you’re up there so you can more easily identify what’s feasible terrain. We used to do a lot of off trail hiking when we were younger and there’s no way I’d do some of those trails now with a hunting pack loaded with gear/meat.

Might be a good idea to invest in a PLB as cell phone coverage can be sketchy in the mountains/valleys here.

Congrats on the Axis buck! That’s some good shooting especially given the time of day and using a borrowed rifle

 

[aftriathlete]

Late reply (I almost never check this forum) but good call on not forcing yourself to recover the goat.

The rock here isn’t as solid as the mainland so you can’t trust it to hold in areas where there aren’t established trails. Firsthand experience/more data helps so might be worth it to keep testing out your footing on different surfaces next time you’re up there so you can more easily identify what’s feasible terrain. We used to do a lot of off trail hiking when we were younger and there’s no way I’d do some of those trails now with a hunting pack loaded with gear/meat.

Might be a good idea to invest in a PLB as cell phone coverage can be sketchy in the mountains/valleys here.

Congrats on the Axis buck! That’s some good shooting especially given the time of day and using a borrowed rifle

I've also found that despite how sharp the rock is here, it's still super slick when damp/wet, which it pretty much is all the time up there just from morning dew and all the grass that keeps everything close to the ground damp all day. Cell phone coverage is non-existent up there when you get about 500 yards from the parking area, so I've thought it might be time to invest in a Garmin InReach or something like that.

As with all things, the hike down is harder than the hike up -- legs are already tired from a pretty damn tough hike up, and add 15-20 lbs of extra weight to your pack because you got a goat, and now you're headed back down that damn steep terrain. I used a borrowed set of trekking poles this time out, and they were a lifesaver.

 

[aftriathlete]

Went for a hike with my wife today in one of the public hunting units. So we hunted while we hiked. My wife actually heard some grunts from down in a ravine off of the ridge trail we were on, so I worked my way down there to find tons of fresh pig sign. There was no easy or graceful way to get down there, it was a controlled slide down the steep slick hillside, so I know they would have heard me coming. Could clearly see where they went further down ravine from me into thicker brush. Looks like there is a stream/water another 200 yards down where that ravine bottoms. But there were wallows and rooted up ground everywhere and smelled like a barnyard. So I marked the spot to check it out again next time. Too bad I couldn’t get a shot from the ridge, but where all the fresh sign was was just over a lip that obscured them from the top.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I hit the Oahu west side mountains for goats yesterday with another Rokslider, Kevlar88, and we were working on first-hand knowledge provided by another Rokslider JLMUELZ. So it was a Rokslide collaborative hunt. Boy, when people say the goat terrain here is extreme, they are NOT kidding. We had a spot on the map to try to be at by sunrise, didn't make it there in time as we were beating some bush at first and that spot was a climb over about a mile from sea level to 1600 feet elevation (we ended up 1.5 miles from the truck and 2100 feet, so it was STEEP). Two young local guys were on their way down by the time we got there with a goat in their pack that they had just taken in that exact spot where the goats were crossing up into the higher, nastier valleys at first light. So we spent the day from about 8 AM til around noon admiring a couple different groups from about 100-150 yards of probably 100 total goats in 3 different valleys/ravines uphill from that point that were just hanging out in absolutely unrecoverable terrain. Eventually found a spot where I had a 110 yard shot on a billy at 50 deg downward angle, and the terrain appeared difficult between it and I but it looked like I could get down to it. Set up seated on a rock, elbows on my knees, took the shot with my Tikka 6.5 CM and the goat dropped where it stood. I then spent the next hour trying to find a way to get down to it, probing down into the ravine and back up again in a couple different spots, but could not get around the cliff halfway between the goat and I that I couldn't see from my shooting vantage due to the terrain and vegetation. We talked about it for a while and entertained going all the way back to the truck to try to see if we could come back up into the valley from the bottom, but that was asking for an additional 3 mile round trip to try to get back into a valley that we don't know was accessible from the bottom either as the view of the terrain down valley from above looked as bad as up where we were. So honestly a fun, beautiful, super challenging hunt that ended with a goat down, but I could not recover it. Still feel terrible for wasting an animal like that, and I know that some may read this and question how impassable the terrain was, but it was dangerous and I wasn't willing to lose my life for 20 lbs of goat meat that is open season for hunting here. But man I do feel terrible about it. Big lessons learned today, including bring twice as much water as you think you need here, and the wounded/unrecoverable animal lesson that will if nothing else make me think about the terrain even harder next time and the prospects of harvesting the animal if I'm gonna take the shot. Super happy with the gear I've added lately, Schnee's Beartooth boots were simply worth their weight in gold especially considering how sharp the rocks are here. Kuiu Tiburon pants, lightweight merino long-sleeve, and the new boonie were perfect as well. Maven RF was awesome and the glass quality is good enough that I never needed to go to my binoculars.

Beautiful. Hard as any hunt or hike I've ever been on in my life. Fun. My goat is down there, hard to make out in that second pic.

Were you just trigger happy and wanting to kill something? or do you normally shoot at things without being sure you can recover them?

 

[aftriathlete]

Were you just trigger happy and wanting to kill something? or do you normally shoot at things without being sure you can recover them?

Didn't see this til now. Putting aside your hostile attitude, you'll see on closer read of what I wrote that I said there was impassable terrain between me and the goat that I could not see from where I was. So no, I was not "just trigger happy and wanting to kill something," nor do I "normally shoot at things without being sure I can recover them."

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Didn't see this til now. Putting aside your hostile attitude, you'll see on closer read of what I wrote that I said there was impassable terrain between me and the goat that I could not see from where I was. So no, I was not "just trigger happy and wanting to kill something," nor do I "normally shoot at things without being sure I can recover them."

well you do now. Sucks to be an animal that got smoked by an irresponsible hunter.

 

[aftriathlete]

well you do now. Sucks to be an animal that got smoked by an irresponsible hunter.

Sucks to be a keyboard warrior too.

I hope to one day be a hunter that doesn't make mistakes like you apparently are.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Sucks to be a keyboard warrior too.

I hope to one day be a hunter that doesn't make mistakes like you apparently are.

Im not a keyboard warrior at all. If youre comfortable with your behavior while hunting then thats all that really matters.

 

[aftriathlete]

Im not a keyboard warrior at all. If youre comfortable with your behavior while hunting then thats all that really matters.

Well sir, this should be a self-introspection moment for you. Because even this reply is ticking all the keyboard warrior boxes. Reconsider how you talk to people on this forum. Maybe beyond this forum, because you either approach people in an inappropriately uncivil manner just on the internet because you don't get away with that in real life, or you engage people that way on the internet because you do talk to people that way in real life.

Don't approach an internet hunting thread from a position of virtue signaling hostility and name calling. Don't imply passive-aggressive judgments that aren't substantiated. Don't ignore all the statements I made contrary to your judgments for the sake of your position. And don't assume you know enough about a person to judge them from a mistake they made while hunting, especially one like taking a shot they ultimately wind up regretting that literally every hunter has made in their growth as a hunter.

You can admit you're wrong man. Or you can go pound sand, because the dozen or so people on this forum that I have hunted with would go to bat that I am anything but an irresponsible hunter or trigger happy, or that I was "comfortable" with killing an animal I wasn't able to recover.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Well sir, this should be a self-introspection moment for you. Because even this reply is ticking all the keyboard warrior boxes. Reconsider how you talk to people on this forum. Maybe beyond this forum, because you either approach people in an inappropriately uncivil manner just on the internet because you don't get away with that in real life, or you engage people that way on the internet because you do talk to people that way in real life.

Don't approach an internet hunting thread from a position of virtue signaling hostility and name calling. Don't imply passive-aggressive judgments that aren't substantiated. Don't ignore all the statements I made contrary to your judgments for the sake of your position. And don't assume you know enough about a person to judge them from a mistake they made while hunting, especially one like taking a shot they ultimately wind up regretting that literally every hunter has made in their growth as a hunter.

You can admit you're wrong man. Or you can go pound sand, because the dozen or so people on this forum that I have hunted with would go to bat that I am anything but an irresponsible hunter or trigger happy, or that I was "comfortable" with killing an animal I wasn't able to recover.

If anybody needs to reconsider their actions its you. Admit I'm wrong??? about what??? You made a bad shot on something you couldn't recover. That was less than intelligent and responsible of you and you took a life for nothing. Should we be proud of you??? you seem to be able to justify it to yourself so like I said, as long as you're good with it, then thats what matters.

 

[aftriathlete]

If anybody needs to reconsider their actions its you. Admit I'm wrong??? about what??? You made a bad shot on something you couldn't recover. That was less than intelligent and responsible of you and you took a life for nothing. Should we be proud of you??? you seem to be able to justify it to yourself so like I said, as long as you're good with it, then thats what matters.

You’re exhausting bro.

 

[aftriathlete]

Never justified it, never said or implied anybody should be proud or OK with it, including me, really absolutely nothing of what you’re saying. Even explained how tortured I was about it and the lesson I learned from it. So pass your irresponsible hunter judgment on every hunter that has made a bad shot on an animal that they couldn’t recover, whether they wounded it and have no idea what happened to it or they killed it on the spot.

 

[Tahoe1305]

Those mountains out there are tough man. And so are goats. It happens. And it sucks. We live and learn.

 

[Eric11Z]

I hit the Oahu west side mountains for goats yesterday with another Rokslider, Kevlar88, and we were working on first-hand knowledge provided by another Rokslider JLMUELZ. So it was a Rokslide collaborative hunt. Boy, when people say the goat terrain here is extreme, they are NOT kidding. We had a spot on the map to try to be at by sunrise, didn't make it there in time as we were beating some bush at first and that spot was a climb over about a mile from sea level to 1600 feet elevation (we ended up 1.5 miles from the truck and 2100 feet, so it was STEEP). Two young local guys were on their way down by the time we got there with a goat in their pack that they had just taken in that exact spot where the goats were crossing up into the higher, nastier valleys at first light. So we spent the day from about 8 AM til around noon admiring a couple different groups from about 100-150 yards of probably 100 total goats in 3 different valleys/ravines uphill from that point that were just hanging out in absolutely unrecoverable terrain. Eventually found a spot where I had a 110 yard shot on a billy at 50 deg downward angle, and the terrain appeared difficult between it and I but it looked like I could get down to it. Set up seated on a rock, elbows on my knees, took the shot with my Tikka 6.5 CM and the goat dropped where it stood. I then spent the next hour trying to find a way to get down to it, probing down into the ravine and back up again in a couple different spots, but could not get around the cliff halfway between the goat and I that I couldn't see from my shooting vantage due to the terrain and vegetation. We talked about it for a while and entertained going all the way back to the truck to try to see if we could come back up into the valley from the bottom, but that was asking for an additional 3 mile round trip to try to get back into a valley that we don't know was accessible from the bottom either as the view of the terrain down valley from above looked as bad as up where we were. So honestly a fun, beautiful, super challenging hunt that ended with a goat down, but I could not recover it. Still feel terrible for wasting an animal like that, and I know that some may read this and question how impassable the terrain was, but it was dangerous and I wasn't willing to lose my life for 20 lbs of goat meat that is open season for hunting here. But man I do feel terrible about it. Big lessons learned today, including bring twice as much water as you think you need here, and the wounded/unrecoverable animal lesson that will if nothing else make me think about the terrain even harder next time and the prospects of harvesting the animal if I'm gonna take the shot. Super happy with the gear I've added lately, Schnee's Beartooth boots were simply worth their weight in gold especially considering how sharp the rocks are here. Kuiu Tiburon pants, lightweight merino long-sleeve, and the new boonie were perfect as well. Maven RF was awesome and the glass quality is good enough that I never needed to go to my binoculars.

Beautiful. Hard as any hunt or hike I've ever been on in my life. Fun. My goat is down there, hard to make out in that second pic.

New to Oahu and looking at chasing some goats up in the mountains. Curious on where you got starting on finding locations to access public hunting land. I've been looking through regs and doing map recon, but am having a difficult time just locating access points. Thanks

 

[Holokai]

New to Oahu and looking at chasing some goats up in the mountains. Curious on where you got starting on finding locations to access public hunting land. I've been looking through regs and doing map recon, but am having a difficult time just locating access points. Thanks

Hunt Oʻahu

All hunting on Oʻahu and through the State of Hawaiʻi is guided by the Rules Regulating Game Bird Hunting, Field Trials, and Commercial Shooting Preserves under Chapter 13-122 and the Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting… Read More »

dlnr.hawaii.gov

Unit C by Makaha on the map at the bottom of the page. There’s some old videos on YouTube of a guy heading to the access point. I believe he was bow hunting so same place, different months. Be wary of the rock here, it’s not solid, and tends to be crumbly/slippery unless well worn. We hiked a lot when we were younger and toned down a lot because the risk wasn’t worth the reward as we got older. I know a bunch of people who have taken some bad falls, and I know of a few people who have died while hiking with way less weight, than hunters carry in their packs. The rock is crumbly due to its composition.

 

[Holokai]

I've also found that despite how sharp the rock is here, it's still super slick when damp/wet, which it pretty much is all the time up there just from morning dew and all the grass that keeps everything close to the ground damp all day. Cell phone coverage is non-existent up there when you get about 500 yards from the parking area, so I've thought it might be time to invest in a Garmin InReach or something like that.

As with all things, the hike down is harder than the hike up -- legs are already tired from a pretty damn tough hike up, and add 15-20 lbs of extra weight to your pack because you got a goat, and now you're headed back down that damn steep terrain. I used a borrowed set of trekking poles this time out, and they were a lifesaver.

Glad you made the right decision and didn’t push too far trying to recover the goat. The mountains here are no joke and sometimes it’s impossible to get a visual of the entire route to recovery due to the terrain without spooking the animals. I appreciate your honesty regarding the guilt from not being able to recover the goat.

You’re still helping the overall ecosystem, though, since goats are introduced and decimate the native flora and fauna. It’s also nowhere near as bad as the culling hunts where they shoots as many as they can from helicopters.

 

[Eric11Z]

Hunt Oʻahu

All hunting on Oʻahu and through the State of Hawaiʻi is guided by the Rules Regulating Game Bird Hunting, Field Trials, and Commercial Shooting Preserves under Chapter 13-122 and the Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting… Read More »

dlnr.hawaii.gov

Unit C by Makaha on the map at the bottom of the page. There’s some old videos on YouTube of a guy heading to the access point. I believe he was bow hunting so same place, different months. Be wary of the rock here, it’s not solid, and tends to be crumbly/slippery unless well worn. We hiked a lot when we were younger and toned down a lot because the risk wasn’t worth the reward as we got older. I know a bunch of people who have taken some bad falls, and I know of a few people who have died while hiking with way less weight, than hunters carry in their packs. The rock is crumbly due to its composition.

Great info! Thanks for replying!

 

[aftriathlete]

New to Oahu and looking at chasing some goats up in the mountains. Curious on where you got starting on finding locations to access public hunting land. I've been looking through regs and doing map recon, but am having a difficult time just locating access points. Thanks

I'll shoot you a PM.

Hunt Oʻahu

All hunting on Oʻahu and through the State of Hawaiʻi is guided by the Rules Regulating Game Bird Hunting, Field Trials, and Commercial Shooting Preserves under Chapter 13-122 and the Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting… Read More »

dlnr.hawaii.gov

Unit C by Makaha on the map at the bottom of the page. There’s some old videos on YouTube of a guy heading to the access point. I believe he was bow hunting so same place, different months. Be wary of the rock here, it’s not solid, and tends to be crumbly/slippery unless well worn. We hiked a lot when we were younger and toned down a lot because the risk wasn’t worth the reward as we got older. I know a bunch of people who have taken some bad falls, and I know of a few people who have died while hiking with way less weight, than hunters carry in their packs. The rock is crumbly due to its composition.

Agreed, I bruised my tailbone pretty good last weekend coming down the ridge after stepping on some rock that turned out to just be rock on top of loose dirt. Not a week goes by here that there aren't rescues of injured/lost/dead hikers in the mountains here, it's kinda wild how often it happens. But bad combo of lots of tourists and legitimately dangerous terrain everywhere.

Glad you made the right decision and didn’t push too far trying to recover the goat. The mountains here are no joke and sometimes it’s impossible to get a visual of the entire route to recovery due to the terrain without spooking the animals. I appreciate your honesty regarding the guilt from not being able to recover the goat.

You’re still helping the overall ecosystem, though, since goats are introduced and decimate the native flora and fauna. It’s also nowhere near as bad as the culling hunts where they shoots as many as they can from helicopters.

Yeah man, you've been here so you know. The dude in the thread above had some choice words for me about it that were generally uncalled for. I hate to lose an animal like that, but I'm glad it happened with a nuisance animal and not a trophy animal. Even still, I took a lot of risk in attempting to get to that goat that day, to a degree that I was a little upset with myself after when I got home to my wife and small kids.

But anyways, beautiful, hard, fun hunting out here.