This site is for new hunters who have their NSW R Licence and want to hunt in NSW State Forests.
There has been a huge increase in 1st time hunters recently, most do not have access to private property and instead look to hunt in NSW State Forests.
The problem for a new hunter is locating spots to hunt. You probably live in Sydney and can only get out a few times a year.
Like me, you will probably pick a spot on Google Earth, pack the car and drive for hours to reach the state forest. Disappointment will soon follow as you don’t see any animals or even animal signs.
Joining a hunting forum is also not the answer – they will not help you with hunting spots. You might not even be told which state forests are productive.
Join my webinar on how to identify productive hunting spots in NSW State Forest
My Story
A few years ago my best friend asked me to get my firearms licence so we could go hunting. Between the 2 of us, we had no hunting experience, didn’t know any spots and didn’t have any friends who would help us with hunting spots.
Find your own spots!
Joining hunting forums was also no use – you will get the same universal answer – find your own spots! People may help out with generic catch phrases such as “the animals are everywhere” or “stick to the gully’s and you find them”. But where is everywhere and which gully’s? No one would help me out. I was on my own. You will simply be told “Put the miles in”
The problem is time
The problem with putting the miles in is time, which will always bring expenses. At the time I lived in Wollongong, with no nearby state forests. I had to drive 3+ hours to get to state forests. You probably had the same problem I did – I could only get enough time to go hunting a few times. If I only go hunting 2-3 times a year and spend that time stomping through the bush in random locations – ill never gain any experience let alone find productive spots.
Putting in the time with no idea on what to look for or what terrain holds game will lead to frustration and labelling NSW State Forests as “crap hunting”.
In my 1st year – I went hunting three times. Over to Tumut in the Bago State Forest then over to Oberon to Gurnang State Forest and finally to Yerriyong State Forest. All trips yielded disappointment. No animals – not even a feral dropping to be seen. I simply studied google earth and picked some clearings I thought would be good and “put the miles in”.
I was so naive
I remember when I was taking my R licence test and asking the instructor which forests are good hunting. The instructor simply said “down south”. So I rattled off a few state forests “Bondi?”,”Glenbog?”,”East Boyd?”,”Coolangubra?”. He simply shrugged and said he can’t remember. At the time I believed him (who can’t remember the name of their favourite state forest? Yep – very naïve).
My naivety came to an end when I moved to Eden. When I moved to Eden, it turned out an acquaintance was also a keen hunter. I started asking him the usual questions:
Q: Which forest has deer?
A: They all do – they are everywhere. (not true as we all know)
Q: Which forest do you hunt?
A: I don’t hunt state forests and dont know any spots.
He would not even show me pictures of the deer on his game camera’s!
I would eventually find all the acquaintances hunting spots on my own – much to his displeasure! In fact – i have busted the acquaintance on a bunch of lies. As he later confessed – “there is no truths when it comes to deer hunting”. He guards his hunting spots with zeal.
Bringing it all together
So how do you find those productive spots without spending a year walking around when you have limited time?
You need to know what productive ground looks like – both on google earth and on the ground. You need to confirm the area is productive by looking for tracks and droppings.
You need the knowledge on how to identify productive grounds – don’t make the same mistakes I did. I only overcame my mistakes by spending days upon days walking through the bush and eventually got lucky.
How did I bring it all together?
I moved from Wollongong to Eden. Eden is surrounded by state forest. I started blindly walking through forests. Twice a week at least I would go out “hunting”. I found nothing – no prints or droppings (so much for deer being everywhere!). After almost 2 months – I got lucky.
I did the usual thing – look on google earth for a clearing and go check it out. The fact is, most clearings are NOT productive. In this clearing, for the 1st time – I seen deer. Not just A deer – lots of them. At least 30 fallow deer and 7 red deer. After all this time I was finally rewarded. Not only did I see the deer, I got to see the prints they left behind and also what their droppings looked like.
Over time, I came to realise what productive ground looks like from Google Earth and on the ground. I can now with confidence, look at Google Earth maps and pick a spot that will be productive. I can now share that knowledge so you don’t make the same mistakes.
I have now been living in Eden for 12 months and consider myself to be an experienced hunter. Most people might scoff at that notion. But lets face it – just because you have been hunting for “10 years” but only go out twice a year doesnt make you any more experienced than me. Im out at least twice a week – sometime quick morning trips before work, sometimes all day trips to cover new ground. Going out twice a week equals real experience.
Want to learn what to look and what to avoid? Join my webinar for $49 where I’ll share how to find productive ground, tips on hunting and I’ll even throw in my favourite hunting spot.
Join my webinar on how to identify productive hunting spots in NSW State Forest