A couple weeks ago, I wrapped up the story of my Axis Deer hunt on Molokai. It was an incredible experience, and I would love to go back and do it again. I did learn a few things, and when I go back, I will take these lessons learned to make it an even better trip. If you would like to support the blog, the best, most direct way is to visit the shop and pick up a book, sticker, or other piece of merch. Otherwise, a comment on the article, a share, or a subscribe is much appreciated. Enjoy!
The first thing I learned, almost immediately after getting to Terminal Three of the Honolulu Airport, was that I overpacked and packed inefficiently. I packed all sorts of gear, my skinning knife, a backup knife, clothes, backup clothes, a soft-sided Yeti cooler, two cooler bags, meat bags, and more all stuffed into my trusted ruck sack and the soft-sided Yeti. It was my effort to maximize the amount of stuff I brought while staying below Mokulele Airline’s weight limit of fifteen pounds for carry on bags and fifty pounds for checked luggage. Brian had also told us to avoid hard-sided coolers because the cargo bay of the Cessna 208EX Grand Caravan we flew from Oahu to Molokai, hence the soft-sided cooler and cooler bags.
All this equipment ended up being just a bit too much. I ended up wearing the same pants and the same lightweight hoody the entire trip, while just changing underwear, socks, and t-shirt every day. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I would have left behind much of the extra clothing I brought, left all the backup equipment at home, and kept it to the bare necessities. In a worst-case scenario, I could have always bought another set of pants or shorts on Molokai while I was there. Something I would bring along next time is a pair of flip-flops or other lightweight, packable shoes so I don’t have to wear my boots everywhere. For some reason, I thought the best way to save space was to forgo bringing the lightest, flattest footwear known to man.
At first, Bret and I had planned to bring our own hunting rifles, but through my talks with Brian of Kailea Outdoors and my own anxiety about flying in such a gun unfriendly place as Hawai’i, I talked us out of bringing our own rifles. Brian was more than happy to let us borrow one of his rifles, and while his rifle, a Christensen Arms in .300WSM, was quite nice, there is something to be said about familiarity. The biggest reason we decided not to bring our own rifles was that leaving them behind freed up a checked bag for each of us on our return trip. The point of the hunt was to harvest a bunch of meat, and Mokulele Airline’s website stated we only had two guaranteed checked bags.
Next time, I will bring my own rifle, and I will be sure to practice with my rifle before the hunt. I only brought one hunting rifle to Hawai’i, my trusty Ruger M77 in .30-06, and there are extremely limited opportunities to shoot it. The local public range, the Koko Head Shooting Complex run by Honolulu County, is only open during certain hours on certain days, and is the only easily accessible rifle range suitable for zeroing and practice with hunting rifles.
I believe a lot of the misses by Bret and I can be explained by a lack of familiarity with our rifles, and a fundamental difference in how we perceived the reticles compared to Brian and Blaze. Either that, or the rifles were truly not mechanically accurate enough or not zeroed at all beforehand. Another way around this would have been to hit Brian’s at hoc shooting range to check our zeroes before we went out to hunt. I had wanted to stop at the range, but ended up skipping it for reasons I can’t really quantify or justify at the moment.
It wasn’t as if Bret and I were taking crazy long or difficult shots at the Axis Deer. I think our furthest attempted shots were around 400 yards, and I have confidence that had we brought our own rifles and practiced with them beforehand, we would have shot more deer with less ammo expenditure.
I have been shooting as much as my wallet and free time can support, but almost exclusively USPSA and practical pistol shooting, with a little practical rifle thrown in there. Shooting pistol does not translate to shooting long-range rifle, and I would have done well to take a trip or two to the rifle range to work out the kinks.
This was one of the most physically demanding hunts I have been on, and I will have to make sure that I am in even better shape for the next one. Hiking up and down mountains, sitting out in the hot sun, carrying deer, and even riding in the UTV over rough terrain takes it out of a guy, and if you wanted to try this type of hunt, you really have to make sure you are physically ready for it before you get there.
Finally, the biggest thing I learned was that Axis Deer hunting is a hell of a lot of fun, and I cannot recommend it enough. I have every intention of heading back to Molokai to chase deer, goats, and pigs again soon. It was an incredible experience, one that would be impossible to duplicate anywhere else. Next time, I’ll bring my own rifle and fewer pants.
Thanks for reading! I hope you learned something, and I appreciate your support for the blog. Be looking at the shop, as a new product will be dropping next week…