Success is described in the dictionary as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. While hunting is not solely dictated by the drive to be successful, at the end of the day achieving a hunting goal is an important element of why people hunt. The road to success involves planning, research, organization, booking with a chosen operation, or self-guiding. The hunt itself involves many parts that hunters enjoy hugely, such as the outdoor experience, the flora and fauna, the hunting and non-hunting camaraderie, and the quality and charisma of the location. But that moment when hoped-for hunting success becomes reality makes the drink taste even better at day’s end.

Trophy aspirations vary for each hunter. For many clients who book with Poronui, the hunters are after a representative specimen of the chosen species. Age rings and signs of a life well-lived are often as keenly sought after as huge horns or antlers. Potential great trophies of the future are not taken young.

The months of March and April are peak trophy hunting times at Poronui, when more stags and bucks are shot than any other time of the year, even though the hunting is fantastic from late February to September. Poronui’s gallery and Facebook posts reflect this. The rut is going off, and hunters have booked their hunts accordingly. Red stags are first to rut, followed by the Sika.  The croaking, fighting fallow bucks are overlapping with the sika into May. Rusa stags hide away at this time as their rut is not until July/August.

The main hunting success goal for Poronui hunters is a red stag, and hunters are spoilt for choice and size. There are big stags ranging from even, heavy, drop-tined, non-typical to wide or long. Your guide will initially show you around the estate and point out the antler types of stags living there. At that point, the quest for success begins as you are now hunting.

It is a more complicated quest if you’re seeking specific characteristics rather than a representative stag.  But because of the healthy population, hunters are virtually guaranteed success if they are seeking a strong representative stag.

This same representative versus individual buck criteria applies to the large fallow herd. Good bloodlines ensure there is no shortage of choice amongst the red stags and fallow bucks.

Sika stags can be taken in the free-range or game estate areas, and numbers are plentiful. It’s always a challenging hunt for Sika and you have the best opportunity for success on a property like Poronui.

All hunts are challenging hunts in that success will have to be earned. The estate and free-range hunting areas provide a diversity of habitat for game to live, breed, and hide in. The last three years of COVID-19 restrictions have ensured many stags and bucks have reached their full trophy potential so the years ahead will see many outstanding trophies taken by visiting clients.

Greg Morton

One of New Zealand’s longest hunting/fishing profile journalists. Outdoors writer since 1987. Past positions include New Zealand correspondent for The Hunting Report; The Bird Hunting Report, and The Angling Report, and writing a regular hunting article for New Zealand Outdoor for 30 years. Presently writes a monthly article named Fair Chase for New Zealand Fishing News and a hunting blog for Poronui, while continuing his passion for hunting, fishing, and wildlife photography. Lives in Alexandra, Central Otago.