by Geech » 16 Oct 2019, 6:42 pm
There’s an online booking system where you book in for a period of time - I think the max is 7 days per booking, and you can have two bookings outstanding at any given time.
Different forests have different rules. Some will be weekend only, some will be bow hunting only, and some will have periods they can’t be hunted because there’s things like logging going on. You have to carry maps and a GPS at all times, and they show what areas you can and cannot hunt in.
Each forest has a maximum number of hunters allowed at any given time (generally from 4-50 in the ones I tend to hunt). There’s no such thing as a group booking. If I wanted to hunt with friends, we each have to make our own booking - and anyone else could do the same - as long as it doesn’t exceed the max for that forest. When you check the availability for the forest the system tells you the number of remaining hunters allowed in the forest on any given day. The only exception to “group” bookings may be if you’re trying to book in with a minor, but I’ve never done it so not entirely sure.
As a hunter you need to be aware there may be other people (both hunters and non-hunters) using the forest, and practice safety and common sense. You do also have to wear an item of blaze orange on your upper body while hunting. I imagine most non-hunters using a forest don’t even know there could be hunters there. I’ve personally only ever seen non-hunters a couple of times, and it’s always been driving around though.
Overall I find it a pretty good system, and am happy to have access to some good country to hunt.