Hunting Axis Deer in Hawaii

[chuckinduck]

Hello Friends,
I know this isn't really the right place, but I've found this site to be helpful in the past so I am giving it a shot again I am currently planning my "huntingmoon" with my fiance, and we've decided on a trip to Hawaii. After doing a little research, I looked into the possibility of incorporating a hunt into the trip. It seems some of the islands have axis deer on them, along with goats and boar, but I'd only be interested in a deer hunt. have any of you ever went to hawaii hunting, if so can some reccommend a guide/outfitter, I've talked with a few guides, but one of them was a "can hunt". I found a few websites, but none really gave a reference list of past clients. I've only found one that appears to be a first rate outfit, "under wild skis" and "larry czonka" have done shows with them, any help would be grateful. Thanks

[KEN C]

I hunted goats on Maui with a guide by the name of Bob Carries about 10 years ago. He had access to like 40,000 acres so it was by no means a canned hunt. You will be amazed at the wildlife on Maui. Upland birds, Boar, Goats. It was an awesome experience. Bob was a 3 rd generation european settler on the island and was a very knowledgeable guide. I do not know if he still guides on Maui.

[chuckinduck]

Thanks Ken,
Everything I've found seems to suggest goats and boar are the primary targets on Maui. If I may rack your brain, did you find it worthwhile? Did you see Axis deer? How long did you hunt? Money is my primary concern, plus my fiance doesn't want to spend a week hunting, nor do I, so time is a issue too. In an ideal situation, I'd prefer a 1 to 2 day hunt so we can save not only money, but afford us to see and do other things while on the trip. If it helps, I'd be rifle hunting just for the sheer convenience factor. Oh yah, and she wants to hunt too, which isn't a factor other then it may take longer with two hunters, as she has hunted and killed bucks in the past with her muzzleloader

[john warren]

oh my,,,, hunting and hula girls,,,, can life get better?

[KEN C]

Chuckinduck
I hunted one day and we targeted goats. I saw over 400 animals in one day "incredible"! I video tapped all day and have footage of herds of 100 goats traversing down to the lower elevations to graze. I shot a goat with a trophy rack by 11 am. Bad ending to that story as the goat went off a shear cliff with 400 ft drop. Needless to say the guide told me no way we had time to hike down and retreive and that it also would be in a bunch of pcs "bummer". We hunted the remainder of the day but no trophy class goats after that. We ended up out in the lava fields for the end of the day hoping to catch a nice one on its way back up to the higher elevations (8000 ft). I ended up having many close encounters as it was like hunting rabbits in brush. I had one mom and billy within 6 ft of me at one point. Worthwhile absolutley! Getting out of the truck at 8000 ft to watch the sun rise over the pacific and the natural beauty of the island was enough for me. The goats and birds were all bonus. I only saw evidence of wild boar but we did not target them. My guide at the time held the world record for boar with 13 1/4" tusks killed with a knife. He showed footage of how they hunt boars with dogs and then go in for the kill with a knife "crazy". I did not see any axis deer, but it was my understanding that they are in the lower elevations and we were above 6000 ft all day. Oh by the way when we got out of the truck it was in the upper 30's,, yeah on Maui! It di get warm in the mid day, but nothing excessive. If you have 2 days my guess is that you will better your chances of scoring on a animal. After reading this earlier I checked on the Net for the guide I used and he was not listed. He may have stoped guiding due to his age. That terrain is killer and I know he had talked about doing bird watching tours. I was amazed at the terrain, shear cliffs and drastict elevation changes. I had to ask myself if I was truly on a island in the pacific. I would do it again if I went back...

[chuckinduck]

Thanks Ken!!! Its information like this that has me pumped to give this a go. I spoke with a real nice guide lastnight, before he jumped on his plane off of Molokai to go back to the big island from a day of goat hunting, and he said that I'd be at the tail end of he Axis deer season because they typically start to lose there racks by the end of september. I was honest and told him, it was more about the experience, then actually shooting a world record deer. He told me that it be worthwhile, and I'd still have a good chance at connecting on a buck in the mid to high 20's (they only score mainbeams on axis deer, a trophy is considered anything over 32" he said") but not in the quality or quantity, that I'd see earlier in the season. His honesty with me told me he was most likely a good hunter, and this is the same guide who took shane jones and larry czonka on there hunts. Oh by the way, he also said what you said, that the Axis deer prefer the lower elevations. From what I read most mature bucks will be in the 175lb + range, so I'd assume my 30-06 would be a preferred choice. Thanks again Ken. Any other stories or experience would be fun to hear. As I am sure there are plenty of eligible men on this site who would benefit from such great ideas.

[Due51]

May I suggest you bag the hunting idea, take your fiance to the beach and take a couple surfing lessons together.

I know you think that's crazy (especially on an outdoor forum). But, you're in Hawaii ON YOUR HONEYMOON. Sure, your fiance may have said, "yeah, go ahead.....hunt on our honeymoon. I don't mind." No deadlier phrase has ever flowed from the lips of a woman. Mark my words, for the rest of your married life, "Hunting" and "Honeymoon" will forever be linked in the same sentence when she talks about how you spent your first week of married life together.

Now I don't know you or your wife. She may be the most understanding, thoughtful, beautiful women on the face of the planet. But first and foremost, she is a woman. Her honeymoon is something she's dreamt about since she was playing with her Barbies at the age of 8. You can hunt for the rest of your life but you can only take her on her honeymoon ONCE.

Besides, if you've never tried surfing before (which I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you haven't) you should. There's no other rush you can get from nature like the one you get from standing ontop of the water and having it propel you forward. Trust me on this! You'll have fun, she'll love you for thinking of the idea, and she'll always smile when recalling the memories surfing on her honeymoon.

[KEN C]

I was in Maui for 10 days. I also tried the surfing thing and then on day 3 I am in the room watching the news! Surfer killed by tiger shark 3 miles from the beach I was on. I never went back into the water. One other thing all that pretty sand was shipped in there. 50 ft out from shore its jagged lava. I agree on the honeymoon thing issue. may not be the best thing to do "hunting"

[chuckinduck]

Hahaha, who are you and what have ou done with your husband. Actually my fiance loves hunting, and the idea of hunting on our honeymoon. In response to surfing, I haven't ever surfed a day in my life, but I pretty much grew up with a slalom ski(waterskiing) on my feet. I've done it all on water from slalom skiing competitively, to going off 6ft ski jumps at 34mph, and even barefoot skiing. You are right, the thrill of standing on water is fun, but I've pretty much maxed out the boundaries in the watersports field. On the other hand, I've never hunted animals outside of michigan, and would love the chance to do so, your honeymoon should be about trying new and exciting things that you can't do in michigan, and just because hunting happens to be my passion, why should I prevent myself from doing something I love while on the honeymoon? I'm not trying to turn a 10 day honeymoon into a hunting trip, but more so a one or two day activity.

[Due51]

Well, if your wife is into it, then by all means, take her hunting. It will be a great experience and a memory you will both share forever.

But try the surfing. I'm tellin ya, if you've slalomed and jumped and snowboarded, etc etc etc, surfing makes them all seem boring. It's by far, the most addicting outdoor activity I participate in. I grew up in Orange County and my dad, sister, and aunt still live out there. When I'm visiting them I'm up at 5:30 every morning to hit the beach for a couple hours in the water.

Give it a try...............................but stay away from the sharks:yikes::lol:

[chuckinduck]

Surfing? Sharks? Never a good combination, and I have a little phoebia of those mammals. thats alright, to my knowledge there are no natural predators on land in Hawaii. I'll take your word for it though. Thanks for all your help

[Zulu]

I've been to Hawaii many times, including for my honeymoon last September, and the Big Island has great axis deer hunts, as well as turkey, etc. I believe "The Parker Ranch" is the place to go, but there are others too. Maui is awesome and beautiful, but the Big Island is amazing - it's the adventure island, for sure. If you hit the Big Island, make sure you guys check out the lava flow in the Volcano Park (try to go at night - it's amazing). I met a photographer
who lives in Volcano named Dave Jordan that takes pictures of the lava all the time - his website is www.lavajunkie.com (http://www.lavajunkie.com/). His pics are crazy. USGS will give you daily updates of the eruption at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/main.html If you are careful, you can find break outs while walking across the delta to the ocean entry, and if you are brave enough you can get close enough to poke it with a long broom stick (before it starts melting your eyebrows!) Just remember to respect Pele'. It's a truly surreal place. I have some great restaurant references too, depending on where you are staying, and a great charter boat Captain that I have been using for years - the deep sea fishing in Kona is unbelievable! PM me if you are interested. Have fun. It's my favorite place on earth.

[yooperkenny]

May I suggest you bag the hunting idea...you're in Hawaii ON YOUR HONEYMOON. .... Mark my words, for the rest of your married life, "Hunting" and "Honeymoon" will forever be linked in the same sentence when she talks about how you spent your first week of married life together.... Her honeymoon is something she's dreamt about since she was playing with her Barbies at the age of 8. You can hunt for the rest of your life but you can only take her on her honeymoon ONCE.

ChuckinDuck - Some pretty good advice from Due, but as you've pointed out it depends on the gal and it sounds like some limited hunting is a good fit for the two of you.

I'm a little further along on the romance spectrum, as my honey and I will be spending our 25th Wedding Anniversary in Hawaii this summer. Never been west of the Grand Canyon so it will be an adventure. I also did some research on hunting in Hawaii but thought the better of it and will focus on other activities. My wife is very supportive of my deer hunting obsession as our whole family loves venison, but I'm not going to push it.

We did have a blast fishing in Canada on our honeymoon, so maybe we'll try some fishing in Hawaii. Or snorkeling, hiking, mountain biking, paddling, surfing - I'm sure the time is going to fly. We've heard that Kauai offers a more remote non-touristy outdoors experience so we'll probably spent most of our time there but also see Pearl Harbor, a volcano or 2, etc. Enjoy!