The family and I went on our first vacation in 6 years. We rented a condo in Kehei, Hawaii on Maui Isalnd. Not being a sandy beach kinda guy i started looking for a couple adventures to go on. I looked up hunting guides online and found some local goat hunting. I booked my hunt with Maui Hunting Safari. 7am the morning of, Rodney and his wife picked me up at my condo and we were off to the ranch for the day. the drive was about an hour and a half and we talked about past hunts and the hunting community on Maui.
As soon as we turned onto the property road, we started seeing game. A small pog ran across the trail and we saw a few nannies grazing on a nearby ridge. a couple axis deer does were hiding on a ridge further up the trail. I knew it would be an eventful day!
Just inside the first gate into the hunting area the guide spots a billy looking over some rocks. It wasn't a huge one, but the guide said we should wait and see if any other ones would show up. the longer we stared at the hill side the more goats we could see and we spotted a big guy bedded down in the brush. after a 30 minute wait the herd got spooky and took off so we geared up and started our first stalk of the morning. we caught up to the heard and tried to setup on them a few different times, but between the trees, rocks and brush they were always just out of reach. we sneaked up to the edge of an open area and spotted the billy at the other end of it and the guide put out the tripod for me. as the billy stepped into a small shooting lane between two trees, I planted him with one shot!
We got our pictures, quartered him up and packed him back to the truck. after we got to the ranch house we grabbed the side by side and went for a cruise down a smaller trail and it wasnt long before we bumped a couple smaller billy's off the trail. the guide knew there was a small draw in there that holds goats and pigs most days so we snuck into the bush to see if we could get onto a nice managment goat. a slow stalk in and we started hearing the goats making some flock noises and we got to a vantage point to see what was there. the guide pointed out another black billy for me just as the herd started to spook. as the billy tried to leave up the trail he came up an open grassy knoll and i let hi have it. the shot was a little far farward so we moved up abd ended him quick with a kinfe poke to the heart and lungs.
part of the deal with the land owner is the guide has to shoot so many management axis deer does to keep the population low enough. so we went on the search for my managment doe.
we went for a ride down longer trail and saw some more goats and another pig ran across the trail ahead of us. the guide spotted a deer on a ridge off in the distance so we kitted up and started the hunt. we snuck through waist high grass and started closing the distance when a deer busted right in front of us and was gone. we stayed put to see if any others got up from the cover and i looked to my right just as one stood up. the guide said shoot! so i put the cross hairs right on the shoulded and pulled the trigger. the deer didnt even flinch and took off. I felt good about the shot and the guide said he heard the bullet smack it, but i had never seen a doe take off so unphased before on a good shot. it took us a while but we finally found a small spec of blood and we were on the trail. the shot was good and only 20 yards down the trail the doe was piled up in the long grass! it was amazing how well it was camoflauged! we were 3 yards from it before we could see it. We skinned the doe and butchered the meat and then packed up and started the drive back to the ranch house and then onto the highway and back to the condo.
I would book a hunt again in a heartbeat with Maui Hunting Safari. its a great way to spend a day and the scenery is top notch!
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