Welcome to the next chapter in recounting my Molokai Axis Deer Hunt, part of the Hunting Hawai’i series. I appreciate you stopping by! Check out the shop, I keep adding things to the Scratch and Dent section, but there are classics like Frozen Reaction, Reverse Fan Mail, and Retrograde Absolution. Norseman Creative now has a YouTube channel, give it a peak to see mediocre USPSA match footage. Enjoy the article!
After a successful afternoon hunt, it was back to Brian’s place to prepare for an moon-lit night of Axis Deer culling. As Bret and I ate a late lunch, rehydrated ourselves, and re-packed our gear, Brian explained his preferred method for culling Axis Deer. We were going to hang out for a couple hours, then load up in the Can-Am UTV and head up into the mountains through another private parcel of land Brian had access to. The plan was to hunt on our way up Molokai’s mountainside, then drive around in the UTV using a handheld spotlight to look for herds of Axis to cull.
I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about driving around in a UTV at night with a spotlight. Spotlighting and shooting deer is highly illegal in Minnesota, where I grew up. In an effort to assuage my fears that we were going to be running around essentially poaching deer, Brian kept reassuring me that he would never take us to do anything illegal. He explained that hunting Axis Deer at night was legal in Hawai’i, so long as it was done on private property, which we would be doing. I shoved my apprehension aside, and got ready for the night hunt.
Brian and Blaze suggested that we might want to bring our sleeping gear and some warmer clothes, as it was entirely possible that we would end up spending the night in the mountains if the hunting went very well. Bret and I loaded our gear into the UTV, including the extras, and we all headed off for our evening hunt.
Driving the UTV on the back roads behind Kaunakakai, Brian brought us through several fences and gates, and into yet another hunting lease that reminded me of West Texas. Sweeping, grassy fields interrupted by deep draws and the occasional tall, sparsely forested hill. We pushed upwards, following a bumpy ranch road and looking for deer the whole way. Surprisingly, we didn’t see any deer for quite awhile, which Brian assured us was because they went into hiding as soon as they heard the UTV approaching. I did find, however, a box of ammunition that had fallen out of someone’s care, and into ours.
Within a few minutes of that good omen of luck to come, Blaze spotted a pair of Axis does meandering their way across a ridge about 200 yards away. The two deer didn’t seem to take much notice of us, and Blaze rushed me into position with my borrowed rifle. With Blaze urging me to get ready and take a shot at one of the does, I brought the crosshair just over one of the doe’s shoulder, flicked the safety off, and started to bring the crosshairs down where I wanted the .300 WSM to go.
It was at this point where not actually taking the time to try the rifle out at the gravel quarry shooting range bit me in the ass. I was wholly unprepared for the light trigger pull, and sent my shot about two feet over the back of the doe. Unimpressed, but unwilling to let me try again, the doe beat feet over the hill. A little embarrassed, I picked up the rifle and we got back in the UTV to press on. We had a long night ahead of us, and it would be longer still if I couldn’t figure out the rifle I was using.
Onward and upward, Brian piloted the UTV through the ranch, stopping once more at a tall hill. Being the youngest, slimmest, and theoretically fittest, Blaze and Bret hopped out with their rifle and binos and hauled ass up the hill while Brian and I drove around. The theory was that this hill overlooked a spot where Axis Deer frequently transited from the low grasslands back up into the higher forest, and Bret might get a shot at a deer while Brian and I drove the long way around to confuse them.
Brian drove the UTV around the hill on a severely rutted out and bumpy road. At one point we thought we saw wild pigs, which were also fair game for the hunt. They were not pigs, they were a pair of feral dogs. One was just a puppy, and they dashed back into the brush. We sat and waited for them for a moment, and Brian informed me that if we saw them again, we had to be ready to shoot them. Whether that was the agreement with the landowner, a Hawai’i hunting regulation, or both I wasn’t entirely sure. Either way, we didn’t see the dogs again.
We made our way around the hill, and hearing no shots and seeing no deer, we waved to Blaze and Bret to come join us. They were about a quarter mile away up the hill, so I took my rifle and wandered a little ways from our parking spot to see if I could see any deer that Blaze and Bret might have missed. Finding none, I joined them back at the UTV and we headed off again.
Barely five minutes further up the trail, Brian spotted another group of Axis Deer making their way up the mountain. He stopped the UTV, then Bret, Blaze, and I crouch-ran down a ridge to get into position. Once Blaze determined we were in the correct spot, he urged us into position. I clicked down the bipod and settled in behind the rifle to wait for the Axis Deer to show themselves on the next hillside up.
A half dozen small Axis Deer wound their way up the hill in front of us, and Blaze urged Bret and I to start shooting. I learned my lesson earlier in the evening, and made sure to get fully settled in before picking a doe out of the herd. Once I settled my crosshairs behind the deer’s shoulder, I flicked off the safety, took another shallow breath in, paused, and pulled the trigger.
The doe dropped to the hillside, and the rest of the deer scattered. I cycled the bolt to chamber another round, and started scanning for another deer to shoot. Out of the brush, a bigger deer walked out. I checked for antlers and, not seeing any, briefly wondered why this one was bigger, before settling in and taking another shot. After I shot that deer, the hill was clear. Bret was unable to take a shot, apparently we were both aiming at the same first deer, but I pulled the trigger faster and he didn’t find any more.
At this point, the light was fading quickly, so we had to hurry to find the Axis Deer. We had flashlights and such, but looking around the brush is always easier in the sunlight. The first deer was easy to find, she was right on the ridge and visible, but the second deer took a little looking around to find. When we found it, I discovered the reason the second Axis Deer looked different than the others was that it was a large Stag who had dropped his antlers not more than 24 hours before. As part of a cull hunt, we weren’t really chasing Stags, especially not big ones. I was there for meat, and I saw a big deer with a lot of meat and took a shot. Brian understood this logic and didn’t mind too much. After we dragged them up to the road, we took a few photos, then we all set about cleaning the deer together. With meat harvested, we pushed forward into the forest.
By now the Sun had set and darkness had fully enveloped Molokai. Brian pushed the UTV up into the forest, and the scenery changed from reminding me of West Texas to reminding me of Colorado. When we hit the trees, the air became noticeably colder. This temperature change was great for me and my Minnesotan blood.
As we crossed into the forest, Brian told us we didn’t intend to hunt until we crossed over to the other side of the mountain. As we flew through the trees in the UTV, Blaze flashed his hand held spotlight all over the trees, splashing bright, white LED light around the forest.
After bouncing around the trails in the dark for what felt like an hour, Brian stopped the UTV for us to have a quick snack, and informed us we were back to hunting. In the dense forest, however, his Christensen Arms .300WSM was nearly useless. As a replacement, Brian pulled out his AR-15 in .300 Blackout and made sure we were familiar with the manual of arms. Satisfied we knew how to use the new rifle, we saddled back up in the UTV and pressed on.
Just a bit further down the trail, Blaze spotted another pair of Axis Deer standing in the forest. I hopped out, took aim, and squeezed off a flurry of shots. At least one of the rounds connected, and we dragged a little spike buck back to the trail. Blaze set about the buck and processed the meat with his signature speed, and we were back on the way North again.
It was now Bret’s turn to shoot again, which meant I got to spend some time playing with a new Night Vision Camera my wife had bought me for my birthday. In the forest and on the UTV, the camera wasn’t super useful, but I did get to take a few test pictures. A few minutes of driving later, and Blaze spotted another deer off in the woods. Bret hopped out of the UTV and took a pair of shots, bringing down another deer for Blaze to process.
At this point, we were only about halfway through our night. Brian hoped to bring us all the way to the North Shore of Molokai, overlooking the infamous Kalaupapa Peninsula, home of Molokai’s Leper Colony. We intended to hunt the whole night, then head back to Brian’s house to sleep for a few hours before heading back out for another hunt.
Mother Nature had other plans for us. From this point, all the way to the Kalaupapa Overlook, we didn’t see any more Axis Deer, despite Blaze’s best efforts to shine them with his spotlight. While at the overlook, we could see the lights of the Leper Colony down below, and a cruise ship offshore. From what I understand, the only people who live in Kalaupapa now are a handful of surviving lepers, and a few government employees and researchers. The four of us were resting at the UTV’s tailgate, making bologna sandwiches and deciding on a game plan for the rest of the night when another party of hunters exited the forest across an open field from us.
Blaze flashed his light at them, and they acknowledged with a return flash. Brian decided we couldn’t safely keep hunting that area with other hunters around, so we packed up and headed back up the mountain. By now it was well past 10:00pm, and the rigors of the day were wearing on us. We hadn’t seen as many deer as we hoped, so we figured the best thing to do was start heading back towards Brian’s house. If we saw deer to cull on the way, we would stop and shoot them, but if we happened to end up at Brian’s house to take a nap, that was fine too.
We drove for two more hours and saw no more deer. When we finally broke through the forest and back to the sloped grassland of South Molokai, we were all exhausted. A few minutes later, Blaze spotted a herd of Axis Deer milling about on a hillside. Brian stopped the UTV, and Bret got out with his rifle, a Ruger American in 6.5mm Creedmoor. I used the UTV to steady myself, and used my wife-supplied Night Vision Camera to spot the deer on the hill for Bret.
I won’t say how many times Bret shot, but he did eventually connect on a small Stag, a spike, and I got a couple pictures of him and Blaze looking for it on the hill with the Night Vision Camera. As Bret and Blaze processed his deer, Brian asked me if we were satisfied with the results of the night. I told him that we were. We had shot six Axis Deer already that day, and I hadn’t ever shot that many deer in a season, let alone a single day. Blaze and Bret piled back into the UTV and we hauled ass back to Brian’s house to clean and bag the meat, take showers, and, most importantly, sleep.
It was past 2:00am when we finally settled in to sleep on the couch, and I was dead asleep before my head hit the pillow.
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