Kauai DIY Hogs and Goats Hunt

[krolelov]

I'm heading to Kauai shortly. Would love to hear some general advice on where to hunt hogs and goats with a rifle. I've found that Na Pali coast is good but it's archery only. Comparing to Big Island and Maui, Kauai seems to be more restrictive having only Sat and open for hunting. Many units can only be hunted with a permit. Can the permit be obtained online or is this only in person deal?
Any tips are much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

One thing I know is that to get a Hawaii hunting license you need a copy of a hunters safety card. When we were planning on going there a while back, I had no proof of hunters safety since I took it when I was like 13 so I had to do an online hunters safety course. If you have to do that, make sure you select a state that dosent require an in person field test to get the card, I chose texas. Hawaii dosent care where it’s from as long as you have it.

 

[doc holiday13]

you'll need a hunters safety card. You can buy your license OTC and the .gov center in Lihue. 3060 Hardy St, Lihue, HI 96766 . I'd recommend this because they have maps and are very easy to deal with

Lots of pigs and goats up in Waimea Canyon Area, but consult with forestry and game at the .gov center for areas you can hunt. If you hunt Waimea area, i hope you have good cardio. Its about 1K ft down to the bottom of the canyon. You won't have to hike far to find pigs though. IYou could hunt up along the Na'pali coastline but you'll need to get a permit to get back there because its the Kalalau trail. Not much pig activity there but lots of goats. Kalalau permits are MONTHS out and if you get one, I hope you have good cardio and are sure footed because its a constant up down up down.

Hunt Kauaʻi

All hunting on Kauaʻi 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 under… Read More »

dlnr.hawaii.gov

 

[krolelov]

Thank you guys for the responses. I took care of the license a while ago. I sent a copy of my hunter safety card to Hawaii DLNR and got an exemption number. Now I can just buy a license online.
Yeah, Kalaulau trail needs permit to Haena State park. The permits are issued 30 days in advance and get sold out within minutes. Only shuttle permits last a little longer. So not really an option. I wonder if one can just walk along the beach from Haena Beach to the trailhead bypassing the state park checkpoints...
Waimea Canyon area sounds promising. For Unit B "Pig hunting is restricted to goat or deer hunters possessing valid rifle or muzzleloader goat or deer permit/tags on their assigned hunting date month before the open season" per regulations. Not sure if getting a permit is feasible at the moment. We are flying out in two days. But I will go and try to find pigs in the Canyon even without a weapon either way. I cannot sit on the beach many days straight. .

Now I am considering hiring a guide to hunt pigs with dogs and a knife. I wonder if anyone had previous experience doing that.

 

[doc holiday13]

Lots a great hikes in Kauai and lots to learn about the island if you're actually interested in the culture. Salt Pond Beach has the best sunsets IMO, snorkling in Poipu, Fish Taco's just about anywhere, fresh fruit from the Waimea plantation, amazing hiking just about everywhere thats in the mountains, lilikoi Beer at the Kauai Brewing Co., Coffee plantation tour, and several arboretums.

I'd call the forest service to see what hunting you can do while you're there.

 

[krolelov]

Thanks for the pointers. We are planning to do a few hikes for sure. Lilikoi Beer sounds great. I will need to give it a try. We visited the botanical garden West of Poipu in out last trip to Kauai. It was very pretty.

 

[chriso]

Going to revive this only because I'm heading to Kauai on 9/3. Did you hunt? How was it? I've got permits for archery and units e,h,g,f, and k. Have a cousin in Lihue that's working on trying to set me up but was planning to DIY.

 

[krolelov]

I did not hunt at all. It was a last minute trip. I did not have a chance to get the permits. Most of them needed to be requested well in advance. Very good that you have yours.
I wanted to at least try knife and dogs hog hunt. I talked to Sonny from Hook You Up Outfitters. He sounded like nice and assured me that his service is of a very high success rate. The price was well over my budget, so I did not hire him.
I took Kalalau trail and Waipoo trail and spotted only a few game birds. These two trails are probably the most visited ones on the island. That could be a reason I did not see much. But after Big Island and Maui it seemed weird not to see any. I really liked terrain on the SW portion of the island. It's drier and more glassable. And the area felt less touristy. I saw many game birds there.
Good luck and let me know how you did.