Home Forums Gear Free Classifieds Red Stag hunting in Maine

Gerald McCort from South Clairsville Ohio scored on this nice 14 pointer from 85 yards. He shoulder shot this stag and dropped him in his tracks.



Gerald's hunting buddy Dennis Lawrence is going after a female today. He saw several yesterday but none within range.

Dennis works for SSK and beleive me these guys know their pistols and know what they can do. They fired numerous rounds at the range and these guys can shoot!

Check out their site:
http://www.sskindustries.com/ssk.htm

Free hand they were hitting dead center at 50 yards............At 100 yards they could put their lead in a 3 inch ring. They had at least 10 different Contenders with them. Tom and I were very impressed to say the least. They admitted to being competition shooters and they were not just bragging..............Gerald told me that he was going to take a shoulder shot because he does not like to chase wounded deer and that's what he did. Dennis and Gerald frequently practice at 200 yards!!!

Dennis took his 200 lb. female from a ground brush blind on day two. He made a 70 yard shot with his 10" TC Condender

40-44 Wildcat w/ 180 grain XTP

Cartridge made by SSK Ind.

http://www.sskindustries.com/ssk.htm

Dennis's hunting buddy Gerald McCort shot his stag with a 375 JDJ

220 grain Hornady Flat Point

14" SSK Contender Full length Rib w/ SSk Muzzlebrake

Here is a sample of this years harvest and comments on the NAHC forum:
http://forums.huntingclub.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/145009006/m/9571055662

Frank Volnick from Poughkeepsie New York and his 13 point stag. Frank has hunted with us for three years in a row.

He vows to return next year as well.

Tom and Patty Taber also from Poughkeepsie New York and Toms 15 point stag. Last year their friend NAHC member Mike Wedlick hunted with us, after seeing his stag and hearing about his hunt they decided to venture to Maine.

I asked Tom and Patty if they knew Frank Volnick who lives in Poughkeepsie, they did not know him but will look him up when they get home.

You gotta get people to smile in your pictures. 3/4 of the people look depressed.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /><img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />I will try to take better pictures. I will take responsibility as I took most of these pics. The client usually wants pictures from his camera first and then my guide wants pics for his web site, so by the time I take any pics they have smiled one to many times <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Hindsite Red Deer Hunt Preserve is a relativey new preserve in Newport Maine. We had our first hunt in February 2002. Since then we have had hunters from Maine to California hunt Red Stags in our 100 acre preserve. Our preserve is heavily wooded and a real challenge. We have both male and female reds in the preserve. When the rut takes place it is a sight to witness and hear, They roar like lions and display extreemly agressive behavior . The rut is called the "Roar" for obvious reasons and takes place in September and October.The peak of the rut is from mid September to mid October.

Our main objective is to provide a top quility red stag hunting experience. We raise some of the biggest stags in Maine and chose a piece of heavy cover for the preserve. We started our deer farm in 1997 with genetics from around the world. If you visit our web site you will see many trophy stags taken from our preserve. We also offer mangement stags and female meat hunts.

For lodging we network with camp owners on Sebastacook Lake which is near the preserve. There are also two local motels in Newport . We provide two nights lodging with our Trophy hunts.



Join us in Maine for a great time pursuing the aggressive Red Stag.

This past weekend we had winners of the HHH Red Deer Auctions gather for a combined hunt.NAHC Life Member Bill Parker aka "Vello" who won the management stag hunt and Life Member Ralph Jackson aka TwoTales joined together for a weekend of red deer hunting. Two Tales won the female meat hunt and brought his friend Wanda Redfield to hunt a second female.

This was the second female auction that Ralph has won.His second time at our preserve.

Bill bought the hunt for his nephew Paul who joined him for a weekend of fun Newport.


Here is Paul with his 9 point management stag that his uncle Bill so generously bought for him.



Here is both Paul and his proud uncle Bill.


Here is Two Tales friend Wanda and her female red deer.This was Wanda's first hunt and she is now hooked and looking forward to her next adventure.


Here is Ralph and Wanda with Wanda's deer. Ralph shot his deer late on Saturday while I was off to the butcher with Paul's stag and was unable to get his picture. He took some pics and will email me one when he gets home. I will then post the picture.




Thank you to both party's for bidding on the auctions and helping out a great organazation.

Hunters Helping Hunters
http://www.hhh-usa.org/

I had a great time with this NAHC group and hope to see them again someday.

We allow walk ins when it works with our schedule. The best way to secure a spot would be to book within the next month. We are booking fast this year as our reputation for providing a very rewarding red stag hunt is catching up with us.

We allow up to four paying hunters in your hunting party.

Here is some info that might help you plan a hunt with us:

Many of our red stags weigh over 400 lbs field dressed. You can use rifle, black powder, or * bow. I suggest a 30-06 caliber or better . New this year, you can use a crossbow.

* ( Bow hunters pay $100 per day extra)

Three day hunt with Two Nights Lodging
Trophy Hunt 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 old stags with 11to 16 points ( 225 to 265 SCI ) $3,000.00..............Female add-on = $500

Three day hunt with Three Nights Lodging
Trophy Hunts for stags scoring over 265
265 to 295..........$6,500
295 to 325..........$8,500


One Day Hunt No Lodging
Management stags sell for $1,600.00 ( 8 to 10 points .............$100 per day extra if hunt go's beyond one day.Three day maximum.


One Day Hunt No Lodging
Female meat hunts sell for $800.00.............$100 per day extra if hunt go's beyond one day. Three day maximum.


With our Trophy Hunts we include two nights lodging either at a lakeside camp or local motel depending on availability.

We do not supply lodging with management or meat hunts , however I can make the reservations at the camp for you. It will cost you $60 per night for lodging. Let me know as soon as you can and I will reserve as many nights as you want.

The hunt is for up to three days. We remove the stag from the woods and
field-dress and ice the cavity. If you decide to use the local butcher we
will deliver the animal for him to skin and process. He gets $.85 cents a lb. to cut ,vacuum seal and freeze. There is a 2 to 5 day
waiting period for the meat to be cut and frozen.
*****Express Service "Next Day"...........cut wrapped and "Blast Frozen".............$1.00 per lb*******

We also can pick up the meat , pack it in your coolers and deliver it to a
Fed-Ex drop off located 35 miles from our butcher. We charge $75 for this
service. You will need to open an account with Fed-Ex so that we can ship
the meat and your account will be billed.
Here is a link to Fed Ex Rate Finder.
Http://fedex.com/ratefinder/home?cc=US&language=en

Our Fed Ex zip code is 04401 Bangor Maine
,


I charge $25 to cape the skull and freeze the cape for transport.



If you have any questions feel free to ask.

My cell phone number is 207-356-3582.........home 207-368-4957

http://outdoors.mainetoday.com/hunting/061112deer.html

By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Staff Writer

Sunday, November 12, 2006


Wayne Garnett's Skinner Bog is on more than 500 acres, part of which is fenced for hunts. Garnett's park contains woods, ponds and a spring. In some parts, it's difficult to see more than 20 feet ahead. "There is one (stag) in here hunters call 'The Ghost,' " Garnett, seen here with some of the elk he raises, says.DIXMONT - A kneeling stag lifting his head to roar with disregard, two red deer locking antlers, or bison running full out are some of the prehistoric-like sights that lure sportsmen to Colorado, North Dakota or even New Zealand to hunt these species.
But why not just go to Newport? These exotic species are not native to Maine, but at some of Maine's nine big game hunting parks, sportsmen still can stalk them within fenced-in areas of 50 acres or more.
Hunting preserves have opponents in Maine, but seven years after the first bill allowed for them here, the fact remains: Hundreds of hunters come here each year for the exotic hunts offered at Maine's fenced-in hunting parks.
While the premise of "canned hunts" is sure to get some sportsmen's blood boiling, as many as 11 hunting preserves were licensed in Maine when the law that governs "commercial large game shooting areas" was hammered out here in 1999.
Since then, just two have gone out of business, according to the Department of Agriculture, which governs them. Five of the remaining nine are members of the Maine Deer and Elk Farmers Association.
Two preserves -- Hindsite Red Deer Hunt Preserve and Skinner Bog Deer Farm & Hunt Park -- are doing particularly well, and Shelley Doak, director of the division of animal health and industry at the Department of Agriculture, said all the parks are here to stay
"I think they have established a clientele. They've worked really hard to establish a clientele. I think they are realizing success from it," Doak said.
For some, the hunting parks have a lot of appeal. They have no hunting season (they can and do operate year-round). They require no hunting license, and they allow Sunday hunting.
Many parks boast of having a high success rate, a high safety record, and the chance for fathers and sons to bond as youths are taught to hunt in a safe environment.
The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife licenses hunting preserves for birds, such as quail and pheasant. These bird hunting preserves also allow for year-round hunting, seven days a week with no license required.
The difference, of course, is what the other hunt parks offer.
The owners of two Maine hunting preserves interviewed by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram say there is a market for exotic, big-game hunts here, because hunt parks offer species that Maine's wilderness does not, in, ironically, an environment that is of Maine.
SEEING RED
Driving down the center of Mark Luce's organized, manicured deer farm, Hindsite Red Deer Hunt Preserve, the appeal of his herds of red deer is undeniable.
Several stags look to the sky and holler, sounding like lions, while others prance about with agile grace -- despite their enormous, multi-pointed racks.
Around a corner and down another road, Luce drives to the back entrance of the preserve, where, literally, a herd of red deer roam and exist on their own, with fawns and females wandering.
Luce does not have an exact count on the size of the herd. Some have bred and existed there for years, in order to provide the feel of a true wilderness.
Luce's pride in his trophy-size stags, with their 20-plus pointed racks, is obvious.
"These animals have a wicked nose on them. We drive them with three people, just like you're allowed in the Maine woods, because they're hunkering down," Luce said. "We have a wary group of females (in the park). They add so much to it."
Luce walks around the circumference of his preserve to different stands of wood. While some stands barely offer a view, a clear cut on a hill opens one up.
There, a herd of half a dozen or more deer look back, then take off running downhill into a thicket.
The terrain is of Luce's making, and not necessarily typical of all big-game hunting preserves in Maine.
Just 20 minutes down the road from Luce's preserve, Wayne Garnett runs Skinner Bog Deer Farm & Hunt Park in Dixmont. This preserve also offers red deer hunts in a 100-acre park, but with a different style.
Skinner Bog is far down a dirt road, situated on 500 acres in a more rural area. The park is surrounded on all sides by woods. Cut stands and old growth run up next to two ponds and a spring.
In some parts of the park, it's difficult to see more than 20 feet ahead.
"There is one (stag) in here hunters call 'The Ghost,' " Garnett said, walking around his park.
This thick cover provides for the unique experience hunters seek in Maine -- and the paradox: They come to bag a red deer, but they want it to be difficult to do so.
BUILD IT, THEY'LL COME
Garnett said he started with just 50 acres six years ago, to meet state requirements. He had one customer that year.
The next year he fenced in 100 acres.
Today, he said he has as many as 30 or 40 hunting parties visit Skinner Bog each year.
The sportsmen who pay thousands of dollars at game parks for a difficult hunt demand it, he said.
Now it takes his customers a full day or two to bag a deer.
That kind of a hunt, according to one father-and-son team, is unparalleled in New England.
"For us, we're just making memories," said Peter Kasper of St. Albans, Vt.
Bagging a red deer is exciting, and expected at a game park, but the challenge is what makes it a thrill, Kasper said.
"We're not going to go out West to hunt," Kasper said. "But it's fun to see different animals. We're not used to seeing elks and red deer. We're hunting for a specific class: the 2 1/2-year-old red deer. But, when we see other animals, it's good practice, it's good for a young hunter. It makes you think."
Kasper hunted in Skinner Bog one sunny fall day, walking the entire area from 8:30 a.m. to
5:50 p.m. before he saw three red deer.
Then he had to use his binoculars to make sure he took the particular age class of deer he had paid for ahead of time.
"The red deer are the best-eating deer. But, we can't afford the trophy end," Kasper said.
Luce's customers also said they travel great distances, but they only will do so for a realistic hunt.
Kim and Jonathan Finck came from Washington, Miss., twice because as big-game hunters for decades, they enjoy high-quality venison, and they look for challenging hunts.
Jonathan Finck said Hindsite looked challenging from the Web site, and proved to be in 2003, so much so, the Fincks returned in 2005.
"Some of the game preserves and game ranches have a bad reputation, although, I've never had a bad experience at one. But, we don't want to go out an shoot a cow in a pasture," Finck said. "What I found to be so challenging at Mark's was the terrain was so rough and the forest so dense, you're swimming through it. Of course, the red deer know the place like the back of their hand, and they are constantly moving. It takes some real skill to be able to get up on them."
The Fincks could have gone to a red deer hunting park anywhere in the country, but they chose Newport because they wanted to visit Maine.
"On both our trips, we extended our stay. The first time, we took four days in Bar Harbor and hiked in Acadia. On the second trip, we took three days in Portland. We'll come back, more than once," Finck said.
GAME TO TRY
To be sure, hunt preserves are not for everyone. But with at least a few hundred sportsmen paying thousands of dollars to visit the nine here, they clearly are coveted by enough hunters to create a market in Maine.
Garnett and Luce say the competition between the nine here is a good thing.
"How many hunters are there in the United States? How many of these parks are there? There is more than enough to go around," Garnett said.
Both are proud of their unique big-game business, and determined to grow them.
Luce prides himself on his word-of-mouth approach. He doesn't advertise, other than through work he does with hunting organizations, like the North American Hunting Club.
Garnett believes hunters are no different than himself, and he offers them what they want. Hunters who come to Skinner Bog want to stay and hunt in an area surrounded by woodlands, seemingly far from civilization, Garnett said.
His deer park holding hidden stag is like a mirage in Maine. It looks like woodlands typical of the Pine Tree State -- until the mammoth elk steps out.
"If you could just convince people that, the way the world is becoming, every year there is more land posted, more development," Garnett said. "I've had people who have hunted all over. I've run into people from everywhere. Eventually, this is going to work."
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or
dfleming@pressherald.com

Mark Luce
314 Stetson Rd.
Newport, Maine 04953
Phone: 207-368-4957
Cell: 207-356-3582


hindsite97@midmaine.com

Trophy Red Stag and Quality Meat Hunts on Private Land in Maine

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> [color:"red"] Happy Holidays From The Woods of Hindsite [/color] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

George Sluzinski and Gary Smith from Virginia and Maryland scored on two nice stags on 1/12/07. We had just a dusting of snow for this hunt and now we have over a foot of fresh powder. With George is Registered Maine Guide Jason Farris. Both George and Gary were impressed with how elusive these stags are. Gary's stag , a big 12 pointer had been in the preserve for four years. This stag had been seen but never gave anyone the opportunity until he came upon Gary's blind.


<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Wayne B. from MA harvested this good eating management stag on 1/19/07.



Wayne works for Smith and Wesson Firearms.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/s...p;content=11001