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| Coming to Hawaii and want to get in some hunting? Or are you a Hawaii resident looking to expand your hunting opportunities? Whatever your situation is, this page may be of help. Here will be posted information pertaining to Hawaii hunting. |
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| Useful links on Hunting in Hawaii |
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Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources |
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List of registered guides in Hawaii |
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Nicolai Barca's Hunting and Fishing Hawaii |
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| A personal edition of Hawaii mammal hunting by the author |
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| I have visited many sites that post information on hunting mammals in their state, but most of those were general cases and I didn't get much out of them. In this section, I want to make this a different site and give hunting information from the personal perspective so hopefully viewers can relate better to the material and get more out of it. So here it goes... |
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| Feral Sheep |
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Feral sheep were introduced to Hawaii in the late 1800's and are free-ranging in most of the upland areas on the Big Island of Hawaii. On the Big Island, Feral sheep are probably one of the most hunted mammals on the island followed by feral goats, feral pigs, and Mouflon Sheep. Hunting Feral Sheep is much like hunting most sheep in that they have a pretty good pair of sharp eyes, so good optics are a good investment. Feral Sheep are often creatures of habit that enter grassy open areas in the mornings and late afternoons, but retreat to forested/rockier areas in the midday to bed. Ground stalking is basically the main way feral sheep are hunted in Hawaii, however, because of their sometimes habitual routines; they can sometimes be hunted from ground blinds. Feral Sheep can be found solitary or sometimes in very large herds up to 200 animals! Feral Sheep hunters never know what they're going to experience. In personal experience, hunting feral sheep are relatively easier to hunt than other Hawaii game mammals like the Axis Deer and Mouflon. The popular milestone for a Hawaii Feral Sheep hunter would be attaining a ram with horns of 30 inches or more in circumference. The eating qualities of feral sheep are pretty good if prepared accordingly. Check out the recipes section for more |
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| Mouflon Sheep |
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With it's wide heart-shaped sweeping horns and painted colors, the Mouflon Sheep is quite the trophy! Standing at around 27 inches tall at the shoulders and weighing an average of 125 pounds, makes this the smallest wild sheep in the world; with exception given to some asian sheep. Also, it is believed that mouflon sheep are possibly one of two ancestors of all sheep. Mouflon Sheep originate from the islands in the Mediterranean (Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus), where on its native islands it is considered to be endangered. They were introduced to Hawaii in the 1950's and can be found on the islands of Lanai and Hawaii (Big Island).
Hunting Mouflon Sheep is much like hunting any sheep; a good pair of binoculars are essential. They have extremely keen vision. Mouflon are very quiet animals in that they do not "baaaa" often like the feral sheep of Hawaii. In personal experience, hunting Mouflon Rams right after they get up from bedded has been most successful or getting in front of them and waiting. They tend to feed in grassy areas in morning and afternoons, but retreat to rocky areas in the midday and late afternoons to bed. A "trophy" or good representative animal to a Mouflon Sheep hunter in Hawaii would be any ram that has a horn circumference of 30 inches or better and very wide heart-shape.
A discrepancy that often occurs is the idea that pure-bred mouflon sheep reside wildly on the Big Island. In personal experience, although mouflon sheep were introduced to the Big Island, the chance of finding a pure bred Mouflon is very slim if not nonexistent. This is because the Mouflon have interbred with the Feral Sheep resulting in many "hybrid" sheep. Many Big Island hunters may dispute this claim because they have seen and taken sheep that have all the colors like a Mouflon, however, fluffly feral sheep wool could be found under the presumed Mouflon sheep's coat, showing some feral sheep genes present. The island of Lanai has no Feral Sheep, so therefore have a pure-bred Mouflon population, which definitely look different from the Big Island's population. The eating qualities of this sheep are average. |
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| Axis Deer |
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One of the most challenging game animals to hunt in the islands, the Axis Deer, was introduced to the islands from its native land, India. Standing at around 35-38 inches at the shoulders and brown with white spots, makes this a beauty as pictured. Only male deer (bucks) grow antlers and can grow up to a weight of 250lbs. and larger in some reported cases. Axis Deer can be found on the islands of Lanai, Molokai, and Maui; with larger populations on Molokai.
Hunting Axis Deer is quite the chore with their keen senses and even more so with archery gear. Upon being alerted by danger, Axis Deer usually give out a loud bark which may alert others for hundreds of yards. In personal experience, hunting Axis Deer while bedded has been most successful, however, other popular methods are driving and or waiting for them on travel routes. A "trophy" or a good representative animal to an Axis Deer hunter in Hawaii would be any buck that has a horn length of 30 inches or better, but being they are so hard to get with archery, any buck is quite the accomplishment. A further note I would like to add is Hawaii Axis Deer hunting is in no way comparable to hunting Axis Deer on some game ranch in Texas for example. Hawaii Axis Deer are in no way "high fenced" like those of mainland game ranches and Hawaii rarely has high trees in the field, rendering treestand hunting ineffective. Axis Deer venison is also regarded as the top ten in the world. |
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| Feral Goats |
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Feral goats, like the feral sheep of Hawaii, were introduced to the islands during the times of european explorers. Feral goats may be found of all islands, with lower populations on Lanai due to its eradication years ago. The average billy weighs around 90-100 lbs, however are capable of growing larger certain area. Feral goats often prefer to reside near lava flows on the younger islands (Hawaii, Maui) with grazing vegetation nearby and in canyons and cliffs on the older islands (Oahu, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, etc.).
Hunting Hawaii's feral goats usually require a pretty good pair of legs and balance for traversing over lava and rocky/steep areas. When alerted or spooked, feral goats tend to escape to areas of least human access. Places like very steep cliffs or very harsh lava flows are often their choice of refuge. In personal hunting experience, hunting feral goats during the mornings and afternoons while they graze were most successful. However, if the hunter can keep his preserverence, hunting goats on the cliffs and lava flows can also be successful as well. Although, not as tough to hunt as the Mouflon Sheep or Axis Deer, they make quite the trophy and table fare. |
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| Feral Pigs |
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The feral pigs of Hawaii were introduced to the islands by european and polynesian explorers. Feral Pigs may be found on the islands of Hawaii, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, and Maui. There are generally two breeds of feral pig in the islands with one being a european breed that grows larger in the 200+lbs. Feral Pigs can usually be found in wet forests, however are very capable of living on the high altitudes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii (6000ft-10,000ft). Hawaii's population of pigs are mostly nocturnal feeders, but traverse around during the day.
In personal hunting experience, finding feral pigs are easiest during the twilight hours for the bowhunter and hunter without dogs. Feral pigs are also hunted in the thick forests with dogs which is the most popular method in Hawaii. Feral pigs have a great sense of smell, but lack in their vision, making bowhunting feral pigs about the easiest game animal to harvest. However, when without dogs, the hunter must be cautious around them because Hawaii's feral pigs are infamous for attacking the hunter with its very sharp tusks and powerful body. They may even attack and prey on other mammals when in larger groups. |
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| Kauai's Black-Tail Deer |
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| Information on this animal to come soon. |
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