New Zealand Safaris
Sika Deer Hunting
A cunning trophy to hunt
Typical antlers have 8 points, and this species has a long rutting season that extends from mid-April until June.
Most Recent Trophies
A Vocal, Cunning Deer
Sika have a red-orange coloured coat with spots and a white rump, and weigh between 150 and 240 lb. A cunning deer, similar to a whitetail, they inhabit native manuka and timber for most of the day, venturing out in the evenings and to late morning. Sika stags are a highly vocal species, with over ten individual sounds ranging from soft whistles to loud screams.
Trophy antler formation is generally a typical 4×4 with 30+ inch main beams, which is how our New Zealand hunting guides judge them — these deer are very exciting to hunt. We use tree stands, blinds, calling and stalking, with shot ranges from 40 to 150 yards; bow hunting is possible.
Hunting Sika Deer
New Zealand deer hunts can easily be combined with sambar and rusa deer hunting in the North Island, or with any of the country’s major deer species in the South Island via a convenient one-hour commercial flight.
Accommodations include comfortable New Zealand hunting lodges or remote hunting cabins, depending on the private property and hunting location.
The sika stag rut closely resembles that of red stag, fallow buck, and elk, occurring from late March through April. However, sika stags are hunted from February through July, providing an extended hunting season.
Hunters can choose between pursuing wild, free-ranging sika stags on expansive private wilderness properties — where the focus is on harvesting mature, old-age-class trophies — or hunting larger-antlered estate sika stags on carefully managed private properties.
