Quest for 30

[weekender21]

When I moved to Hawaii 5 years ago I quickly learned that the gold standard for a giant free range Axis buck was the same bench mark most mule deer hunters strive for; 30 inches. With Axis deer in Hawaii the measurement refers to length of the main beam, not width. I've had very few chances at bucks in the 30+ category to spite our 365 day hunting season.

I snuck away to a neighbor island for a quick 24 hour hunt on Friday. By noon on Saturday I was driving back to the house wearing flip flops and a t-shirt trying to beat the mid summer heat when I noticed a mature buck in the open and feeding heavily. The moon was full and up the entire night and this buck was barely paying attention to his surroundings between bites of his mid-day snack. Given the location of the buck I knew he must be rutting hard to expose himself to obvious danger.

I drove past the buck and although he noticed my truck, he didn't seem too alarmed as he stiff legged it into nearby cover. I moved out of site, parked the truck, and hopped out. Within 10 minutes I had closed the distance to within 50 yards of where I had seen him last. Almost immediately I heard him raking brush with his antlers and soon after spotted him. He took a path that put him less than 30 yards from me.

Sometimes it's better to get lucky! First time flip flop stalk, I've been doing it wrong!

His longest beam measures 29", my biggest buck to date! The quest for 30" continues.

 

[Mennoniteman]

When I moved to Hawaii 5 years ago I quickly learned that the gold standard for a giant free range Axis buck was the same bench mark most mule deer hunters strive for; 30 inches. With Axis deer in Hawaii the measurement refers to length of the main beam, not width. I've had very few chances at bucks in the 30+ category to spite our 365 day hunting season.

I snuck away to a neighbor island for a quick 24 hour hunt on Friday. By noon on Saturday I was driving back to the house wearing flip flops and a t-shirt trying to beat the mid summer heat when I noticed a mature buck in the open and feeding heavily. The moon was full and up the entire night and this buck was barely paying attention to his surroundings between bites of his mid-day snack. Given the location of the buck I knew he must be rutting hard to expose himself to obvious danger.

I drove past the buck and although he noticed my truck, he didn't seem too alarmed as he stiff legged it into nearby cover. I moved out of site, parked the truck, and hopped out. Within 10 minutes I had closed the distance to within 50 yards of where I had seen him last. Almost immediately I heard him raking brush with his antlers and soon after spotted him. He took a path that put him less than 30 yards from me.

Sometimes it's better to get lucky! First time flip flop stalk, I've been doing it wrong!

His longest beam measures 29", my biggest buck to date! The quest for 30" View attachment 7981 continues.

Way to go! I can't imagine what it would be like without a season though, seems it would make it harder to focus on hunting a specific animal at a specific time? Keep posting stories about Hawaii hunting!

 

[weekender21]

We do have a few seasons for specific state hunts but most of the big game hunting in Hawaii is year round. I've found it to be quite convenient. I'm gone a lot with work and would miss entire seasons if they existed. There are definitely times that I focus on a specific species, basically make my own season. The majority of my deer hunting is done May-August when you most likely to catch bucks in the rut although that's possible all year. November-March I'm usually chasing pigs. Without natural predation, the big game animals require liberal hunting and depredation hunts at times to keep their numbers in check.

 

[suburbhunter]

Good Job!!!