VIRGINIAN (WHITETAIL) DEER

Hunting Virginian (Whitetail) Deer in New Zealand.

Two liberations of Whitetail Deer were made in New Zealand, one on Stewart Island and the other near Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown.

They are a beautiful and very secretative deer and trophies are hard to obtain.

Dave McDonald  has hunted the Wakitipu region professionally for many years and has an intimate knowledge of the Whitetail and their habits.


Stags come into hard antler in early March and cast again in late August / September. They inhabit the beech forest and alpine scrub of Mount Aspiring National Park. The best time to hunt Whitetail is in March / April although the serious hunter with no time constraints will be successful in the winter months.

Pre scouting before the season begins is part of the secret to success and one of the reasons why the Dave record for Whitetail stags is unsurpassed. Trophies are of a high standard and heads of 8 to 10 points are not uncommon.