Lana‘i Axis Deer Hunting Applications Available

Axis deer, file photo courtesy The Nature Conservancy and DLNR.

By Maui Now Staff

Application forms for the 2013 Lana‘i Axis deer hunting season are now available at all Division of Forestry and Wildlife offices statewide.

The 2013 Lana‘i Axis deer season will consist of three hunts:

• The Archery Only Hunt will be held over eight consecutive days, from February 16 to 23, 2013.
• The Muzzleloading Hunt will be conducted for two consecutive weekends on March 2 to 3, and March 9 to 10, 2013.
• The General Rifle Hunt will be held over nine consecutive weekends beginning March 16, and ending on May 12, 2013.

The bag limit for the 2013 Lana‘i Axis deer season is two Axis deer (one doe and one either sex) per hunter for the archery season; and two Axis deer (one doe and one either sex) per hunter for the muzzleloader and general rifle hunts.

Archery Only Hunt Info: There will be no lottery drawing of permits for the Archery Only Hunt and no limit on the number of archers who will be allowed to participate. However, interested archers must apply for this hunt by submitting an application for a permit. Hunters participating in the Archery Only Hunt will be allowed to apply for, and participate, in either the Muzzleloader Hunt or the General Rifle Hunt lotteries. Archery hunters may check in on the Friday preceding the first day of the Archery Only Hunt between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 8 p.m. or daily during the hunt between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to validate permits and acquire their tags. All tags will be issued at the time of hunter check in. Archery hunters must check-out of the hunting area daily and report their take or their intent to hunt the next day providing their tag remains unfilled.

Muzzleloading & General Rifle Hunt Info: Participation in the Muzzleloading Hunt and General Rifle Hunt will be assigned by lottery drawing. Interested hunters may apply for either the Muzzleloading Hunt Lottery or the General Rifle Hunt Lottery, but may NOT apply for BOTH.

The public drawing to assign hunting dates and stand-by numbers for the Muzzleloading Hunt lottery will be held on Friday, Jan. 4, 2013 at 11 a.m. at the State Building in Wailuku, Maui. A simultaneous drawing will be held at the Lanai Division of Forestry and Wildlife office for Lana‘i residents. Following these drawing at both locations, the public drawing for the General Rifle Hunt lottery will be held at noon. Hunters who have been assigned a stand-by number will be allowed to replace no-show hunters that do not check in on their assigned hunting date.

All eligible Muzzleloader and General Rifle participants must check in either on the Friday preceding their assigned hunting date between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. or on Saturday or Sunday between 7 and 11 a.m. at the Forestry and Wildlife office in Lana‘i City to acquire their tags. The tags will authorize the participant to take two (2) Axis deer ((one (1) doe and one (1) either sex)). All tags will be issued at the time of hunter check in. Stand-by hunters must be present at the Lana‘i City, Division of Forestry and Wildlife office at 6 p.m. on the Friday prior to their assigned hunting date to be eligible to replace no-show hunters. Once each hunter fills their bag limit, they will not be eligible to participate for the remainder of the 2013 Lana‘i Axis deer season. Both Hunting Units 1 and 2 will be open to Archery, Muzzleloading, and General Rifle Hunts.

How to apply:  Hunter applicants must obtain and pay particular attention to the hunt instruction sheet and addendum for additional changes in the application process. Due to a Dec. 31, 2007 appellate court ruling, application and tag fees for the 2013 Lana‘i Axis deer season have been waived.

Applications for all hunts may be submitted in-person or mailed to the Maui Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office, 54 S. High St., Rm. 101, Wailuku, HI 96793. Lana‘i residents only are to mail or deliver their applications to the Lana‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife office at 917 Fraser Ave., P.O. Box 630661, Lana‘i City, HI 96763.

The deadline for submitting applications will be 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Interested hunters are encouraged to submit applications well before the application deadline to ensure proper processing.

Additional details for the season are available at the Division of Forestry and Wildlife Offices at the following telephone numbers: O‘ahu, 587-0166; Maui, 984-8100; Hawai‘i, 974-4221; Moloka‘i, 553-1745; Kaua‘i, 274-3433; and Lana‘i, 565-7916.