A basic guide to deer hunting in Australia

By Nicholas Rositano

Obtaining access to properties is one of the hardest things we as hunters face and it is one of the most important. Many farmers are reluctant to let anybody on to their land due to insurance reasons or if they’ve had bad experiences in the past. There are other reasons too, of course. If we are fortunate enough to score a property, it is usually after a lot of hard work and perseverance. One thing to always be mindful of is to treat every hunt on the property as a privilege not a right.

Red deer stag caught on a trail camera. Notice it is missing the left side of his antler, which could be due to an injury while in velvet.

The wild deer in Australia vary between regions. One thing I can encourage all hunters to do is spend time on the block and work out areas where the most traffic is, such as game trails that lead from thick scrub to paddocks of feed. Make sure to keep track of these areas by waypoints, either with a GPS or apps that feature offline maps if you find yourself out of telephone coverage. Make a habit to check fences, as this is a good indicator that deer are crossing back and forth; this is generally their ‘highway’ to get where they want to go. Like humans, deer can become routine if not disturbed.

There are a few items which I cannot recommend enough to other fellow hunters, including trail cameras. They are excellent investments and when put out in high traffic areas, you will tend to gain a bit of an insight to the habits of the deer on a property, which can make your hunt more successful.

Binoculars are one of the most important items to carry religiously while chasing deer. They give exceptional detail, especially at longer distances which our eyes cannot see. I think of binoculars as an investment, so I urge anybody, budget permitting, to spend the maximum they possibly can while sacrificing in other areas that are not as important. My go-to binoculars are a pair of Swarovski 10×42, which I have owned for the past five years. European glass is exceptional in lowlight conditions, especially at dawn and dusk.

Depending on which deer species you plan to hunt, I would recommend a .243 Win or larger while hunting fallow deer, and a .270 Win and above when hunting reds. Projectiles play a crucial role and must be taken into consideration to provide an ethical kill.

The rut would have to be without a doubt the most exciting time of the year for any trophy deer hunter. Hearing the mighty roar from a red stag gives instant shivers down the spine, and the beautiful sound of a fallow deer croaking is music to the ears! However, many of us know the stressors which surround us sometimes, from aerial culling to heavy hunting pressure, making it difficult to land a once-in-a-lifetime trophy stag. Heavy hunting pressure can change deer’s habits, even turning them into nocturnal grazers, which has happened on a particular property I hunt on. The deer became elusive at dawn and dusk due to enormous amounts of hunting pressure.

Water and feed are massive contributors as to where deer will be. During the past couple of years, I have been fortunate to hunt a couple different properties where I found the deer rutted on one year but not the other. Stags will move through certain properties; you may find them on a particular property post rut but not during the rut. However, properties with low hunting pressure will increase the chances of the stags turning up during the rut. If hinds and does inhabit a particular property in the lead up to the rut, you can be confident something else will show up!

There are a few different cycles for deer. Red deer and fallow deer follow roughly the same calendar as follows (please note this is a general guide; there could be exceptions).

Fallow deer breeding season

Fallow deer will rut normally early April; this will usually last between two to three weeks (note that timing could vary in different areas, lasting maybe one to two weeks earlier or later).

July/August – Bucks separate from does to form bachelor mobs.

September/October – Bucks cast antlers.

November/December – Bucks begin growing antlers in velvet.

December – Fawns are generally born.

February – Antler growth is normally complete, rubbing and scraping begin.

Red deer breeding season

The red deer rut, or mating season, will normally begin sometime from late March through early to mid-April (note that timing could vary in different areas, lasting maybe one to two weeks earlier or later). This is the period when the red deer roar to show their dominance among other stags and to take their harem.

The gestation period for red deer is about 233 days (eight to nine months); hinds typically give birth to a single calf, though sometimes two. This generally happens between late November early December.

July/August – Stags separate from hinds to form bachelor mobs.

September/October – Stags cast their antlers and growth begins almost immediately.

Late January/February – Stag antler growth is complete, rubbing or stripping of velvet prior to the rutting period.

Stags will then identify their home range by a series of rubs and scrapes.

Deer can be eaten all year; however, there are times of the year when they will carry a high degree of fat and are the best eating, in my opinion. This is generally from October through to February (pre rut) when they are in their best condition. During the rut, fallow bucks become ‘ranky’; this is due to high levels of testosterone/hormones and the bucks urinating on themselves. During this time, red deer, especially stags, aren’t as malodorous as fallow deer and, in my opinion, taste better. Both fallow deer and red deer lose their condition during the rut, substantially.

Hopefully, armed with the right deer hunting basics, you’ll have a successful season that will see you fill your fridge, enjoying free-range venison in one of many ways, from schnitzels through to small goods such as salami or jerky and even be lucky enough to put a trophy on the wall!

Red stag print in comparisons to size US11 boot. If you look closely, you’ll notice the dew claw at the back of the hoof.