Hunting Hawaii

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Thanks for sharing those stories! Heres a link to a news snippet about those wallabys if anyones interested
https://www.google.com/amp/khon2.co...-video-the-elusive-kalihi-valley-wallaby/amp/

I grew up on Molokai, and in highschool we used to walk down into Kalaupapa for hunting every year or so.... Basically as long as it took for us to forget how sucky the walk back out was, to this day there are still a ton of deer and pigs down there.

Glad your friend and his son got some hunting in, i always suggest anyone coming to bring atleast a pair of boots...never know when youll get a chance. Those are a nice set of tusks too, larger than any ive collected.


Few more random Lanai photos
Within 20mins of hunting area....can camp at that beach park as well.
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Just got home from another trip to molokai. Didnt get to do as much hunting as i would have liked, and my rifle didnt get to go with me, but on last morning before we flew out i shot this guy with my mother-in-laws .243.
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Made a few hunts with my springfield Xd .45 tac converted to shoot .45 SUPER. Which i actually load closer to .460 Rowland. I only had one decent shot on a small doe and passed, im still wanting to hit something with it.
 
Thanks guys!

We dont usually mess with the "Nuggets" unless the animals huge (cow) or theres a ton (goats), ive never eaten deer yet....I dont usually shoot bucks either, but last few ive shot have been male, next time ill take them home and try them.

The horns measured 27 n change, and 28. Ive only shot one larger than this at just over 30, my FIL shot two in the low 30s this year.
 
The only regular time Mammal hunting is "closed" in every area is during bird season, and only on days when bird hunting is open. So holidays weekends, and sometimes specific days during the week.

Some areas are closed or opened as DOFAW sees fit, and some DO have specific seasons, and within those areas specific rules for taking animals can change. Its best to check with the dofaw for specific rules and regs for an area that isnt one of the ones normally open year round.

Goats tho.....those I can always get :D
 
Thanks Craig!

As a note, sleep shorts and Lantana bushes dont mix......
 
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My legs itch like mad today lol.....last time i say "sure" when my wife kicks me awake and says "wernt you guys going hunting an hour ago?"
 
Wife let me go play with one of my hunting parterns today. The Grendel, and my buddies 7mm collected enough meat for a batch of verde, and some goataronis! These are smaller coastal goats so all 4 of them probably weigh 175lbs.
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Iirc you were going to try for a lil more splosion with a lighter pill with the Grendel, comparatively to the deer you took with it, how did it perform today? And I'm not the biggest goat meat fanboy, but that kinda made me hungry....
 
Yeah those 100s produce noticeably more wounding. Shot one in the head and one in the butt, distinctly more destructive, tho the butt shot didnt exit the chest like the slower 123 would have.

I like goat for specific dishes and i had a hankering for verde. Peps made with goat are really good, as is pastrami.
 
Yeah those 100s produce noticeably more wounding. Shot one in the head and one in the butt, distinctly more destructive, tho the butt shot didnt exit the chest like the slower 123 would have.

I like goat for specific dishes and i had a hankering for verde. Peps made with goat are really good, as is pastrami.
Didn't exit, but did penetrate to the vitals? I still have a good bit of interest for the lil Grendel lol, btips right?
 
Yep made a mess of most of the insides. i didnt find anything but bullet bits up in the chest cavity, but most of that was mush.

And yeah 100grn balistic tips.
 
Yep made a mess of most of the insides. i didnt find anything but bullet bits up in the chest cavity, but most of that was mush.

And yeah 100grn balistic tips.
That kinda trauma is nice to know! Thank you! I don't mind little bits and no exit as long as I have to essentially strain them out of the jelly and they don't make it far ;):)
 
That kinda trauma is nice to know! Thank you! I don't mind little bits and no exit as long as I have to essentially strain them out of the jelly and they don't make it far ;):)
Not usually no lol

If these guys had been broadside im pretty sure the bullets would have blow fist size exit wounds.

Im also about 1 grain low from max. i ran out of bullets before doing any accuracy work with the higher charge weight, so im running the last of my bullets at the lower tier while im waiting on my next order.
 
Not usually no lol

If these guys had been broadside im pretty sure the bullets would have blow fist size exit wounds.

Im also about 1 grain low from max. i ran out of bullets before doing any accuracy work with the higher charge weight, so im running the last of my bullets at the lower tier while im waiting on my next order.
What would you guesstimate your impact velocity at? I understand that they are not BIG creatures, but that bullet still travelled a bit (in pieces or not) to shred up the vitals.
 
'Nother beautiful day on Maunakea. I havent gotten up there to sheep hunt in 3 or 4 years so when the wife said i had a free day i ran off to the mountain.
Got on a couple nice rams just after day break, but they ducked into a ravine or some brush before i could get set up for the 400yd shot they gave me.
Half hour later i drove over a rise and a herd of about 20 animals ran up out of a ravine to my right. Jumped out of the truck and loaded up my as of yet unbloodied .250AI.
The whole herd stoped at a little over 200yds just as i got the rounds into the gun, so instead of trying to set up a kneeling or prone shot, i just leaned against the front of the truck (hood was too hot to rest on). The lone ram was in or behind a bush, so i took a shot one of the darker ewes. She went over without a twitch.
The 115 Berger hit her about 4" right of point of aim, square in the base of the neck. The sound it made actually made me pause, im used to a meaty "WHACK" or no sound, this one made sort of a loud "Plop" sound.
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The rest of the herd ran back into another ravine, then came up a rise at what i later lazered at 300-310, and the ram stopped for a split second as the other sheep blocked his path. Like an idiot id started to unload the gun and the round I launched at him was rushed and free hand. It went just over his back and exploded a rock behind him. That scattered the whole herd, and i quit trying to pick up another shot.

After moving the truck to a spot where I thought it would be easier to get back to, i headed out to pick up the first ewe i shot. As i wandered around in circles for a half hour (yeah i was always one ravine or ridge the wrong way, and end up walking back up to where i shot from to look for the white belly) a second ewe back tracked down a ravine in front of me and offered a quartering away shot at about 70yds. The bullet entered behind the ribs and exited the center of the chest right at the throat. Again same "plop" sound.
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The damage from the 115 bergers was significant as one would expect, the neck shot entrance being nearly as large as the exit i attribute to the bullet exploding the spine basically on impact. the bullet that went thru the quartering away ewe penetrated about 2ft of animal and blew a fist size exit wound out of her chest.
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The rest of the day was about 6hrs of pleasant driving, i may have seen a couple pigs, but i wasnt that interested in trying to shoot them, so didnt check. I also saw tons of game birds, little annoyances must have bird season marked off on their calendars cause they werent here a couple weeks ago when we went out on the last day. Anyway it was a fun day, and a beautiful drive....
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Great post and sure does bring back some memories. I used to fly into Hilo (from Oahu) every three months, drive the saddle road as far as the turn off to Mauna Loa and then head up the mountain to the observatory near the top, around 12,000 feet elevation. I used to see a lot of sheep on the way up but if I slowed down they were gone. I lived in Hawaii for many years and in a perfect life I'd spend three months a year there, probably early January through early April ... I'm working on it. :D

My brother completed his post doc in Hawaii in the late '80s at the Astrophysics Department on Woodlawn Drive in Manoa Valley. He used to go up to the observatory on Mauna Kea fairly regularly to collect data on some distant galaxy ... interesting but ultimately useless. I was living with him at that time but never got to go with him. My visits to Mauna Loa were during '05 to '11. We had a test site in Volcanoes National Park about 1/2 mile from the road and downwind of the Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater (assuming typical trades) that I used to visit on the same day that I drove up to Mauna Loa. It was a long day with about 250 miles of driving, lots of sun and plenty of VOG. I would always start the day with breakfast at Ken's HOP ... good times. :D I don't remember ever seeing any animals in Volcanoes National Park other than a few birds, maybe a Nene or two.
 
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'Nother beautiful day on Maunakea. I havent gotten up there to sheep hunt in 3 or 4 years so when the wife said i had a free day i ran off to the mountain.
Got on a couple nice rams just after day break, but they ducked into a ravine or some brush before i could get set up for the 400yd shot they gave me.
Half hour later i drove over a rise and a herd of about 20 animals ran up out of a ravine to my right. Jumped out of the truck and loaded up my as of yet unbloodied .250AI.
The whole herd stoped at a little over 200yds just as i got the rounds into the gun, so instead of trying to set up a kneeling or prone shot, i just leaned against the front of the truck (hood was too hot to rest on). The lone ram was in or behind a bush, so i took a shot one of the darker ewes. She went over without a twitch.
The 115 Berger hit her about 4" right of point of aim, square in the base of the neck. The sound it made actually made me pause, im used to a meaty "WHACK" or no sound, this one made sort of a loud "Plop" sound.
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The rest of the herd ran back into another ravine, then came up a rise at what i later lazered at 300-310, and the ram stopped for a split second as the other sheep blocked his path. Like an idiot id started to unload the gun and the round I launched at him was rushed and free hand. It went just over his back and exploded a rock behind him. That scattered the whole herd, and i quit trying to pick up another shot.

After moving the truck to a spot where I thought it would be easier to get back to, i headed out to pick up the first ewe i shot. As i wandered around in circles for a half hour (yeah i was always one ravine or ridge the wrong way, and end up walking back up to where i shot from to look for the white belly) a second ewe back tracked down a ravine in front of me and offered a quartering away shot at about 70yds. The bullet entered behind the ribs and exited the center of the chest right at the throat. Again same "plop" sound.
View attachment 777411



The damage from the 115 bergers was significant as one would expect, the neck shot entrance being nearly as large as the exit i attribute to the bullet exploding the spine basically on impact. the bullet that went thru the quartering away ewe penetrated about 2ft of animal and blew a fist size exit wound out of her chest.
View attachment 777412


The rest of the day was about 6hrs of pleasant driving, i may have seen a couple pigs, but i wasnt that interested in trying to shoot them, so didnt check. I also saw tons of game birds, little annoyances must have bird season marked off on their calendars cause they werent here a couple weeks ago when we went out on the last day. Anyway it was a fun day, and a beautiful drive....
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Loved the pictures! I can tell you're displeased with the plop instead of thwack sound, so I'll do you a favor and let my daughter use that thing for her deer pursuits over the next few years, just send it and the brass and whatever bullets you won't use anymore to Wyoming and I'll try to make sure it doesn't just collect dust.......I'm really helping you out here twofold cuz then you'll have more room for something you'll enjoy much more..... honestly though, thanks for sharing more tales and photos!
 
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