Lāna‘i Axis Deer Hunting Applications Available Monday

Applications for the 2020 Lānaʻi Axis deer hunting season become available on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife will have application forms available, together with instruction sheets, at all DOFAW Offices statewide. Applicants may also apply online.

A $10 application fee will be assessed each person applying for the hunt. This fee MUST accompany each application for the hunt at the time of filing. Applications received without the required application fee will not be processed and will be returned to the applicant. A tag fee will be assessed at the time of hunter check in. Hawaiʻi residents will be assessed $20 and non-Hawaiʻi residents $125 for each Axis deer tag.

It is imperative that hunter applicants obtain and pay particular attention to the hunt instruction sheet and addendum for additional changes in the application process. Pursuant to Title 13, Chapter 123, “Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting” (13-123-4) the following special conditions and procedures will be in effect for this hunt:

The 2020 Lānaʻi Axis deer season will consist of four hunts:

• Archery Hunt will be held over eight consecutive days, beginning Feb. 22, 2020 and ending on Feb. 29, 2020.
• **Youth Hunt will be conducted for one weekend (Saturday and Sunday), March 7 and 8, 2020.
• Muzzleloader Hunt will be conducted for one weekend (Saturday and Sunday), March 14 and 15, 2020.
• General Rifle Hunt will be held over nine consecutive weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), beginning March 21, 2020 and ending on May 17, 2020.

Hunter assistants will only be allowed to accompany hunters who are senior citizens (age 65 or older) or disabled. Proper documentation is required at time of hunter check in.

The bag limit for the 2020 Lānaʻi Axis deer season will be three Axis deer (two does and one either sex) per hunter for the archery season, three Axis deer (two does and one either sex) per hunter for the youth hunt, and three Axis deer (two does and one either sex) per hunter for the muzzleloader and general rifle hunts.

All hunters will be required to purchase a doe tag and have the option of purchasing an either sex tag and/or another doe tag. Tags are NOT transferable and are valid only for the specific hunt for which it was issued.

There will be no lottery drawing for the Archery 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. Hunters participating in the Archery Hunt will be allowed to apply for, and participate, in either the Muzzleloader Hunt or the General Rifle Hunt. Archery hunters may check in on the Friday preceding the first day of the Archery Hunt between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. or daily during the hunt between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to validate permits and acquire their tags. All tags will be issued during check station hours.

Archery hunters must check-out of the hunting area daily and report their take or their intent to hunt the next day providing their tags remain unfilled.

Axis Deer Hunting Opportunities for Youth Hunters:

• Youth hunters must be 15 yrs of age or younger (HAR 13-123-2) up to the hunt date, possess a valid 2019-20 State of Hawaiʻi hunting license and be accompanied by a non-hunting adult (18 yrs of age or older) who also possesses a valid 2019-20 State of Hawaiʻi hunting license. Youth hunters must submit an application to participate in this hunt.
• Youth hunters will be issued tags at the time of hunter check in. Tags are valid only for the specific hunt applied for.
• A total of 165 youth hunters will be drawn for the weekend. If applications exceed 165, a lottery will be conducted to establish going and standby positions.
• Youth hunters will be limited to carry one type of hunting equipment while in the hunting area. Blaze orange is required for all youths and accompanying adults.
• One adult may accompany one youth for this hunt.
• Youth hunters will be allowed to apply for and participate in the archery hunt and either the muzzleloader hunt or general rifle hunt. Youths must submit a separate application for each hunt.

Participation in the Muzzleloader Hunt may be assigned by lottery if application levels exceed the allotted number of hunters allowed in the hunting area. General Rifle Hunt dates and standby numbers will be assigned by lottery drawing. Interested hunters may apply for either the Muzzleloader Hunt Lottery or the General Rifle Hunt Lottery, but may NOT apply for BOTH.

Applications for all hunts may be submitted in-person or mailed, to the Maui Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office, 685 Haleakala Hwy, Kahului, HI 96732. Lānaʻi residents only are to mail or deliver their applications to the Lānaʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office at 917 Fraser Ave., P.O. Box 630661, Lānaʻi City, HI 96763. Hunters may and are encouraged to apply online for this hunt. To apply online, go to https://hunthawaii.ehawaii.gov. The DEADLINE for submitting applications will be 4 p.m. on Friday Nov. 1, 2019. Interested hunters are encouraged to submit applications well before the application deadline to insure proper processing.

If necessary, a public drawing for the Youth and Muzzleloader Hunts will be held on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020 at 11 a.m. at the J. Cameron Center, MEO Building. Following this drawing, the public drawing for the General Rifle Hunt lottery will be held at noon. The Lānaʻi resident public drawing will be held at 10 a.m. at the same above location. 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 Youth, Muzzleloader and General Rifle participants must check in either on the Friday preceding their assigned hunting date between noon and 8 p.m. or on Saturday between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Forestry and Wildlife Office in Lānaʻi City to acquire their tags. Stand-by hunters must be present at the Lānaʻi 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 for each hunt applied, they will not be eligible to participate for the remainder of the 2020 Lānaʻi Axis Deer Season. Hunting Units 1, 2 and 3 will be open for the Archery Hunt. Hunting Units 1 and 2 will be opened for the Youth, Muzzleloader, and General Rifle Hunts.

Additional details for this season are available at the Division of Forestry and Wildlife Offices at the following telephone numbers:

Oʻahu: 587-0166
Maui: 984-8100
Hawaiʻi: 974-4221 (Hilo)
Molokaʻi: 553-1745
Kauaʻi: 274-3433
Lānaʻi: 565-7916