Deer on the Mid North Coast?

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Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by Perennial student » 18 Jun 2021, 1:33 pm

Hey all, new to the forum and decided to join after reading a few great posts.
I'm new to hunting and am looking to find some deer in the region. Though it doesn't look like there is much on offer when I check out the hunter harvest submissions on the DPI site.
Is Barrington any good for deer or is there state forest closer to Port Macquarie for an aspiring hunter like me?

Thanks in advance!
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by LJC » 21 Jun 2021, 1:48 pm

Just commenting to follow along. The MNC is one of the best spots in the country to me. Keen to see what the brains trust here throws out in observations.
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by disco stu » 23 Jun 2021, 10:34 am

A friend in Port Macquarie has talked about deer in his street, so they're around. I just have no idea about locations and state forests there
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by Oldbloke » 23 Jun 2021, 3:07 pm

Buy maps, do resesrch.
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by CAVEMAN » 23 Jun 2021, 3:51 pm

The old story is a guy tried to farm Deer south of Port, but went broke. They then went wild and grew from there.
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by Oldbloke » 23 Jun 2021, 5:35 pm

CAVEMAN wrote:The old story is a guy tried to farm Deer south of Port, but went broke. They then went wild and grew from there.


Yeh, and then shooters get the blame. LNP never blames their mates.
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by Bill » 23 Jun 2021, 7:04 pm

Go and have a really long drink at the Plough Inn at Buladelah on a Saturday nite, buy a few of the younger workers a beer, talk s**t n things and stuff might happen :drinks:
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by JohnV » 24 Jun 2021, 4:01 pm

There is Deer in the Lake Innes area and some push North through the bush East of Thrumster and behind the Air Port into the Hibbard area . Also some around Lake Cathie .
Also in the heavier bush South of Ellenborough going South to about level with Byabara and West to about Toms creek area .
Other areas , Kippaxs , Elands , Swans Crossing , West and North West of Birdwood , Mt. Seaview . There has been an increase of deer South West of Elands .
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by LJC » 27 Jun 2021, 6:41 pm

JohnV wrote:There is Deer in the Lake Innes area and some push North through the bush East of Thrumster and behind the Air Port into the Hibbard area . Also some around Lake Cathie .
Also in the heavier bush South of Ellenborough going South to about level with Byabara and West to about Toms creek area .
Other areas , Kippaxs , Elands , Swans Crossing , West and North West of Birdwood , Mt. Seaview . There has been an increase of deer South West of Elands .


Sounds like you are pretty well across it mate.
Thanks.
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by JohnV » 03 Jul 2021, 1:04 pm

LJC wrote:
JohnV wrote:There is Deer in the Lake Innes area and some push North through the bush East of Thrumster and behind the Air Port into the Hibbard area . Also some around Lake Cathie .
Also in the heavier bush South of Ellenborough going South to about level with Byabara and West to about Toms creek area .
Other areas , Kippaxs , Elands , Swans Crossing , West and North West of Birdwood , Mt. Seaview . There has been an increase of deer South West of Elands .


Sounds like you are pretty well across it mate.
Thanks.

I have never been a big dedicated deer stalker as I preferred hunting pigs , goats and spotlighting foxes , and in my day there were low numbers of deer anyway but in the last 10 years I have made a study of where they all are and built a data base of maps and data on game distribution in general mainly in NSW . I had a friend that worked for DPI and a friend that works for NPWS and they helped with info not freely available . I try to help newer hunters but it's not easy as game moves around and Government bodies lay poison baits , bush fires , floods and some area's just get shot out or game moves off . That all has a negative effect on prediction . Fallow deer are more predictable as they stay around an area but Red deer can travel widely . Info does not always say which breed of deer is present . My maps indicate some Red deer are around West of Port Macquarie but no specific locations . There is some deer in the Rawdon Creek Nature reserve so if the Caincross Sate Forest near it is on the R licence list it may be worth a look if they have an R licence that is .
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by Bugman » 03 Jul 2021, 1:52 pm

My brother in law lived at Collombatti near Kempsey. I remember one of the other local farmers had been reporting deer sightings a while back. I didn't doubt the report but I never had seen any myself. So I would say that the deer population is definitely growing in NSW.
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by JohnV » 03 Jul 2021, 2:52 pm

Bugman wrote:My brother in law lived at Collombatti near Kempsey. I remember one of the other local farmers had been reporting deer sightings a while back. I didn't doubt the report but I never had seen any myself. So I would say that the deer population is definitely growing in NSW.

There has been some deer between Deep Creek and Yarravel for a long time and they are probably spreading North towards Collombati it's not far away . Also there could be deer in the Nature Reserve and bush to the North so they could come from that direction also but from Deep Creek in the South is more likely . Deer are now spreading more quickly and part of it is the bush fires caused many herds to break up and scatter forming quick new herds with immature bucks being able to round up a few stray does without any opposition . The down side is herd size in the areas affected dropped dramatically but will rebuild in time . Net effect is wider distribution but lower density . In a big established herd the young bucks are expelled to live on the fringes and without mates in most cases . It slows distribution range expansion . In time the old and new herds build and the numbers improve over the whole of the expanded range . Young bucks that get strong enough to challenge the herd leader rarely take over the herd they just weaken the boss to a point they can run off with a few does and other smarter young bucks take advantage of the fight and steal a few does and slink off . The best deer racks are usually around the periphery of an established main herd or range not so much in the middle of it . Because that's where the strongest medium age bucks are at their prime antler growth years . It rule of thumb not cut in stone as deer have legs and they can move around fairly well .
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by adamjp » 06 Mar 2022, 2:10 pm

Spotted 4x female deer in the paddock across the road from the Port Macquarie Golf Club, where the camels are.

Couldn't care less about the cars, but once they saw my body appear over the crest they walked off, alert, but not alarmed.

Obviously private land, and even if I had access, not a safe backdrop due to housing estate behind the trees.
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by JohnV » 19 May 2022, 10:07 pm

adamjp wrote:Spotted 4x female deer in the paddock across the road from the Port Macquarie Golf Club, where the camels are.

Couldn't care less about the cars, but once they saw my body appear over the crest they walked off, alert, but not alarmed.

Obviously private land, and even if I had access, not a safe backdrop due to housing estate behind the trees.

They would be coming up from the Lake Innes area .
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by bigrich » 23 May 2022, 10:07 am

CAVEMAN wrote:The old story is a guy tried to farm Deer south of Port, but went broke. They then went wild and grew from there.


Same story up hear in Queensland with regards to escaping deer and failed deer farms. Referring to other posts , there are deer in housing estates in Waterford, just on the edge of suburbia. totally unafraid of humans are construction going on . There was a doe hit by a car that was killed, some maroi boys picked it up and put in the boot of their car and drove off . Some suburban potato heads are horrified about the prospects of free venison :P
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Re: Deer on the Mid North Coast?

Post by Peterwho » 23 May 2022, 8:31 pm

I don’t think I qualify as mid north coast but there are quite a few deer in and around Macmasters beach. I have seen small groups of 6-8 on our property. A near neighbor on about 30 acres regularly sees a herd of 20 or so. Many of us back onto Bouddi national park. They are destructive bastards. The high rainfall over the last year has kept them off our property but I am starting to see tree damage again. I had always assume they chewed and stripped small trees but recently learnt they do much of the damage by using the trees to rub of the velvet of their antlers. Why they don’t use mature gumtrees I don’t f-king know. Council and/or NP are often rumored to be doing a cull but never seems to eventuate. I believe by combining with my neighbors we have sufficient acreage and can create fresh venison.

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