moving to hawaii

[jeepster]

Hey all. I have a few general questions regarding hunting in Hawaii. This past winter I met a lovely lady, and as time went on, she revealed she had plans to move to the big island, and I explained that I am a commercial fisherman. Two weeks before the start of the fishing season, she hopped on a plane, and I hopped on a boat. Now that the fishing season is over (it was a horrible one at best), I am going to be flying out to kona to be with my girl.

Naturally, my inner redneck is in a heated debate about which guns I should bring, if the bow is going to come too, what outdoor gear, and what toys I am going to take with me. By law you have to register your guns within 48 hours of arrival, so to simplify things, I'm pretty sure I'm just going to get a slug barrel for my benelli nova and bring just one shotgun, with options. Mainly for hog and bird hunting... what do the experts think? My other thought is to bring my side by side 20, just to keep it classy, and pick up a 243 or something when I get there for pig.

I'm going through the hoops to get my vizsla there, and the jeep will shortly be on a ship, its just too grand of an adventure to pass up.

What gear would you bring? Never been there before, but I am familiar with fishing in mexico so I figure the sport fishing techniques and gear would be similar... just wondering if there's any must haves for that kind of environment I'm not thinking of....

I don't even think I own a pair of flip flops, so this is going to be jumping into the deep end feet first blindfolded, but that's what makes it such an adventure.... either that or I've lost my mind!

[CAMPMEAT]

Ah, what law says you have to register your guns ? This is still the 'ol USA over there.

[Buckmark]

Ah, what law says you have to register your guns ? This is still the 'ol USA over there.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0002.htm
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0003.htm

Make sure to change your money over to Hawaiian money also 

[jeffro]

Scuba/ snorkel gear will get more use.
Don't forget the spear gun.
And there's more than pigs there, goats/ sheep(?)inhabit more than one island.

[baker5150]

The wife and I went to Kona for a week in June.  We were waiting to turn onto the highway out of the airport and there were atleast 30 goats standing on the side of the road chomping on the grass.  They are everywhere. 
I wish I had time to bag one. 

[CAMPMEAT]

Ah, what law says you have to register your guns ? This is still the 'ol USA over there.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0002.htm
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0003.htm

Make sure to change your money over to Hawaiian money also 

I got a headache from reading it. What a crock od do-do..

[KFhunter]

just go chicken hunting,  plenty of chickens to hunt .


nevermind,  wrong island 

[KFhunter]

Ah, what law says you have to register your guns ? This is still the 'ol USA over there.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0002.htm
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0003.htm

Make sure to change your money over to Hawaiian money also 

ought to run them laws by the Second Amendment Foundation, see what they say.

[Myrtle Creek Inc.]

There's a lot of axis deer on the islands too. I used to live on Maui and a lot of guys would go to Lanai and get 3 or 4 a day easily. They're much smaller deer, but still a fun hunt. Check that out while you're over there, since it's a pretty short and cheap flight from Kona.

[Ranger91298]

I have lived in Hawaii for the last 3.5 years and there is more hunting here than people know about. If anyone tells you differently it is because they are giving third hand opinions or they have not experienced it for themselves. As others have said, each of the islands offers different species. Here are the species offered on each island:

Kauai: Boar, Feral Goat, Blacktail Deer

Oahu: Boar, Feral Goat

Lanai: Axis Deer, Mouflon Sheep (Pure)

Molokai: Boar, Axis Deer (Not open to just anyone, must be a specific percentage of Hawaiian or accompanied by someone who is to hunt there)

Maui: Feral Goat, Boar, Axis Deer (Mainly private), Black Hawaiian Sheep (Mainly private)

Big Island: Axis Deer, Mouflon Sheep (cross-breed), Feral Sheep, Boar, Feral Goat, Black Hawaiian Sheep

Each island does offer some sort of game bird as well. Everyone talks about how strict Hawaii is with their gun laws and that detours so many from bringing their weapons, but in reality it is not nearly as bad as people make it to be. I brought most of my rifles here with me when I got stationed on Oahu. You must have your weapons registered within 72 hours of being here, not really a big deal. Hawaii is different than the mainland in respects to hunting areas. On the mainland, the entire state is divided into hunting areas, generally most of them have the same hunting seasons for the different weapons. In Hawaii, there is only pockets of hunting areas that you must get familiar with. If you can hunt on private property, you can shoot as many animals you want in a year and with any weapon... of course you probably should use common sense before shooting a rifle near town. I have Oahu & Lanai figured out with their hunting. Lanai hunting is great, but it is a draw process only for the Axis Deer and Mouflon sheep. Instead of spending thousands of dollars to hunt them in Texas, it costs us $10 to hunt them, and then of course the cost of a flight, room, and car rental. A non-resident license is only $90, and there is no tag requirements here. I can give you decent knowledge on hunting the Big Island and Maui, but I have never hunted them but I have been there. Either way, I am here to help you if you need it. Do not expect the locals to help you out much over here as you are what they call a "howlie" or "non-islander". My wife and I had to figure it out on our own and we have done fairly well. As a family, we have shot 20 boar (passed well over a 100), 5 Axis Deer (skipped this season after being drawn), 3 Mouflon Sheep (skipped last season after being drawn, but will be hunting them October 4th & 5th), 7 Feral Goat (passed on hundreds). Whatever you do, do not rush into hiring a guide over here to go on a hunt. A lot of big name celebrities such as Jim Burnswurth, Jim Shockey, and Scott Haugen have all come over here and hunted with a guy named Pat Fisher. Yeah he knows the islands well and has access to land most do not, but you do not need to hunt there to be successful. If you are interested just shoot me a message and I will do what I can to get you set up and answer any questions for you. Heck, we might even get together on a hunt there on the Big Island where in one area you can shoot as many feral goat and feral sheep you want in a day.  Scott