Red stag hunt suggestions and information

[Elite]

Hey everyone,

I am looking at booking a red stag hunt. Looks like New Zealand has the majority of the stag hunts? It also seems like they are mostly estate hunts. Which I am guessing are high fence hunts? I am wondering if there are any free range hunts with a decent success rate available? Also looking for suggestions on which companies to look into


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[Mojave Kid]

I have been looking at the Red Stag hunts offered in Argentina. Seems like they are on horse and then a long foot stalk. Would like to get a few days of a dove hunting combo, if the distance between hunting environments isn't too great.

 

[ozyclint]

yes most of the red stag 'hunts' in NZ are estate hunts. They hide the feed bucket before you get there.

with research you will find guides that offer free range hunts. don't expect a 47 point 'gold medal' stag though.

 

[Elite]

yes most of the red stag 'hunts' in NZ are estate hunts. They hide the feed bucket before you get there.

with research you will find guides that offer free range hunts. don't expect a 47 point 'gold medal' stag though.

Some of those stags don’t even look real in my opinion….


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[Mojave]

Lots of options. What are you looking for? Big head, experience? Huge stags in Quebec and Texas on fenced outfits. Free range and fenced hunts in Europe, NZ,Australia, Argentina. Big stags are expensive but more expensive in NZ than anywhere else.

 

[Mojave]

Quebec: These will be some of the biggest red stags in the world rivalling anyplace in NZ.

Roxton Falls Appalachian Wilderness

Roxton Falls hunting domain located in Quebec, Canada. We have the biggest game, elk and red stag at the Roxton Falls Appalachian Wilderness Estate.

appalachianwilderness.ca

Discover the ultimate Red Stag hunting experience with Venator New Zealand and USA

Unleash your inner adventurer with Venator's unforgettable global hunting expeditions. Pursue prized trophies in New Zealand and USA, creating lasting memories in iconic landscapes.

www.venator.co

I used to live in Germany, these are people that I personally know. I have only hunted with the first one.

https://www.capra-adventures.com/ Swiss company offering hunts all over Europe

https://www.jagdreise.de German booking agent offering hunts all over Europe

https://www.premium-jagdreisen.de German booking agent, there is more information on the German version of this page, look in the bottom right hand corner.

http://www.jagdreisen-drengk.de/ Smaller German agent.

https://www.jagtrejser.dk/ Danish agent, used to be the biggest agent in the world.

There are hundreds of other companies that do hunts in Europe. You could book through an American agent like Safari Outfitters, or Cabelas Worldwide hunts and still end up with using the same agent. The difference is that you will be paying a 10-80% American tax by doing so.

Spain
https://corju.com/ Direct prices, the same as Americans pay. Red stags in Spain are smaller.

USA

If you are limited on time, it would be 1000% easier to hunt in the USA or Canada. And you could bring the meat home, and have more control over the entire hunt.

http://hunthdmr.com/

Star S Ranch

World class Texas safari and exotics hunting. Star S Ranch is home to some of the largest herds of African wildlife outside of Africa.

www.star-s-ranch.com

777 Ranch – Texas Hunting Ranch – Exotic African and Local American Game Hunting

777ranch.com

Home - The Patio Ranch

thepatioranch.com

Home - Lonesome Bull Ranch

Welcome to the Lonesome Bull Ranch, we offer guided Whitetail Deer Hunts, Exotic Hunts, Turkey Hunting, and Dove Hunting in the South Texas Brush Country.

lonesomebullranch.com

Plus another 30-40 places that have red deer.

Cost, well what do you want?

Could do a cheap hunt in Texas for $5000-7500 and shoot a good representative stag. If you fly to Europe for a cheap 3500 Euro red deer hunt in Poland you'll have $3000 in the rest of the trip, flights, shipping the stag and so on.

There are $50,000 stags in New Zealand if you want that. My cousin shot one that is $30,000.

If you want an experience, Europe is the answer. Best trophies outside of the NZ genetics in Argentina, NZ and Quebec.

If you want an easy experience with no language issues then hunt in the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

You could go to Poland, and shoot a 7-10 kg stag and a 2.5 kg fallow deer and a 20 cm tusked wildboar for $7000-10,000 maybe cheaper plus air fare.

Sometimes you can get a 10kg stag for $6000-8000. That is a good looking stag for Europe.

There will be some similar priced deals in Argentina, but they will generally include blackbuck antelope.

New Zealand is fully prison butt rape pricing by comparison.

 

[buzzy]

Interesting info on NZ. I am looking at an outfitter there that offers a silver level stag for 4600US which sounds pretty reasonable to me. It’s a 3 night 4 day trip with all food, animal prep and drop off at taxidermist, and rifle usage which are custom LR rifles. They are suggesting a 5-7 day tour as well that they will help set up and all you do is rent a car and reserve the hotels so you can see the local sights.

 

[aftriathlete]

Interesting info on NZ. I am looking at an outfitter there that offers a silver level stag for 4600US which sounds pretty reasonable to me. It’s a 3 night 4 day trip with all food, animal prep and drop off at taxidermist, and rifle usage which are custom LR rifles. They are suggesting a 5-7 day tour as well that they will help set up and all you do is rent a car and reserve the hotels so you can see the local sights.

That’s for a high fence hunt or public lands?

 

[Bluegrassvw]

Don’t forget about Mongolia

 

[Mojave]

Don’t forget about Mongolia

There are elk (maral) in Kazakstan and Mongolia, but not red stags.

There are red stags in Ukraine if you are really adventurous.

 

[buzzy]

That’s for a high fence hunt or public lands?

It’s an estate hunt. They offer fly in back country free range hunts for stags but the size is a lot smaller. I believe Argentina offers free range hunts for larger size animals up to about 340”. And many of the estate hunts are on thousands of acres so you never see a fence.

 

[Mojave]

I have this personal theory that it really depends on a couple factors.

1. You can shoot a free range stag in a lot of places. If you can manage what that looks like on the wall. It will not be the same. Go to www.accuratereloading.com and look in the South America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand forums. You will see what stags are being shot everywhere.

2. I do not see the difference in shooting a red deer in New Zealand in a high fence and shooting one in Texas in a high fence. For some reason a lot of people give NZ a pass on the high fence, but not Texas. There are huge places in Texas like the Ox and others that are over 10,000 acres. The Lucky 7 ranch has big NZ type deer. If the size of deer is your only concern, think Texas or Quebec like I said earlier. If you want a Shaquel O'Neil type stag, you will only find that under some kind of fence situation. Be it in Europe, New Zealand, Argentina, or North America.

3. Having hunted a little globally, I will say that the experience of a international destination brings something interesting to a hunt. To me the experience of seeing the Southern Cross when I wake up for breakfast, or listening to the exotic sounds of European birds is incredible. There are people that travel is not a thing they enjoy. I totally get that. There are also people that must have Dr. Pepper, and those people shouldn't travel. There won't be Dr. Pepper in a lot of places in the world.

 

[MuleyFever]

I have been looking at Argentina but I am honestly a little nervous about booking something international.

 

[Mojave]

I have been looking at Argentina but I am honestly a little nervous about booking something international.

I spent 14 years of my life living internationally. Travel doesn't bother me, and it is what is my normal.

I used to be stationed with other people that hated every minute they spent overseas.

 

[MuleyFever]

I spent 14 years of my life living internationally. Travel doesn't bother me, and it is what is my normal.

I used to be stationed with other people that hated every minute they spent overseas.

Its not the travel, Its the money transfer and laws that may or not work in my favor should I get ripped off.

 

[Mojave]

Its not the travel, Its the money transfer and laws that may or not work in my favor should I get ripped off.

Valid concerns, I have had bad hunts in Africa and Europe.

You just end up eating crow.

In the USA you have recourse.

 

[Margoot]

A few tips for red deer hunting.

The peak of the red roar (rut) in New Zealand is the 1st week in April. They can start roaring the last week of March through to the 2nd week in April but the peak is the first week of April.
This would be at the beginning of October.
Prior to the roar the stags are feeding and should be in bachelor groups. The younger stags will hand out with the hinds but usually they don’t see any action.
Once the roar kicks in the stags will round up as many as possible and hold them so he can mate with them all. Not uncommon to see a dominant stag hold upwards of 30 hinds. Makes it hard to stalk as there are lots of eyes. The stag isn’t particularly alert but the hinds are. They have excellent eyesight, can see you from over 800 yards.

If a stag has hinds he will guard them jealously and run off any other stags. This can make it hard to get close to because they are so mobile, running here, there and everywhere. Stags typically do not eat much during the roar. Before and after can be quite productive as the stags are feeding hard out.

To roar a stag into bow range.
Roaring at a stag can bring them into bow range however the dominant stags are less likely to come in when they are holding hinds.
To lure them away you will need to get in close and really annoy them. One tactic with two people is to find a stag and send the shooter ahead. The shooter needs to find a place to ambush the stag. The theory is the second person will roar at the stag and hopefully the stag will come to investigate. They will (not usually) come running right up to the roarer but instead walk in looking for the “stag”. Reds do not fight a lot and size up their opponent by the volume of their roar and physical size. If the shooter is 20-30yards ahead of the roarer then the stag may offer a side-on shot when they come in “looking” for the stag.
One of the problems when they come into a roar is they are front on, not the best of shot angles.

You are more than likely to attract a young stag with a roar as they are without hinds and look to steal a hind off a dominant stag.

Another method is to locate a red with hinds and stalk in on the group. A stag will often “do the rounds” and hopefully walk past your location. Just watch out for those hinds.

As for rattling stags this is not a method used in New Zealand for reds. What you can do is use a branch (or cast antler) and rub or it on some bushes, trees as if the stag is either rubbing his antlers or thrashing a bush. This is common behaviour in the roar.

The big thing is shot placement. From what I have seen on whitetail hunting DVD’s is you can shoot a whitetail anywhere and it will die. Reds are tougher than that. Shoot them 1/3rd of the way up and in-line (not behind) with the front leg and you will have a much happier hunt.