Hunting in the Victorian High Country
The spiritual home of Australian sambar hunting
The Victorian High Country, the great arc of mountains from Mansfield through the Upper Murray, is where Australian sambar hunting was born and it remains the standard by which all deer country is judged. Steep timbered faces, fern gullies, snowgrass tops and cleared river valleys hold the densest sambar population in the nation.
Sambar were released near Melbourne in the 1860s and found their perfect home in these mountains. Today the herd supports Australia's most dedicated hunting culture: hound teams working the ridges under strict rules, stalkers glassing the faces at dawn, and multi-generation families who measure their seasons in wallows found and stags heard.
Private valley-floor properties are gold in this region. The farms along the Howqua, King, Ovens, Kiewa and Mitta Mitta valleys sit on the nightly commute between mountain cover and river-flat feed. Staying on the property means glassing deer in the home paddock at first light while public land hunters are still driving. Remember that Victoria requires a Game Licence for deer everywhere, including private land.
Terrain
Big vertical country: alpine ash and peppermint forest, fern gullies, high plains and cleared river valleys from 300 m to 1,800 m. Snow on the tops in winter, and four seasons in a day at any time of year.
Seasons & timing
Sambar may be hunted year round in Victoria with a Game Licence. Winter concentrates deer at lower elevation, which is prime time for valley properties. Hound hunting has its own regulated season and team rules where practised.
Licences & access
A Victorian Game Licence endorsed for deer is required to hunt deer anywhere in Victoria, on top of your firearms licence and the landholder permission your booking provides. Foxes and other pest animals need no game licence on private land.
Nearest centres
Mansfield · Bright · Myrtleford · Corryong · Omeo
Victorian High Country hunting: common questions
Do I need a Victorian Game Licence to hunt sambar on private property?
Yes. Deer are game animals in Victoria wherever they are hunted, so a current Game Licence with deer endorsement is required on private land as well as public, along with your firearms licence and the landholder's permission. Foxes and rabbits require no game licence.
Why book a valley property instead of hunting public land?
Pressure. Public High Country gullies see constant traffic, and the deer respond by going nocturnal. Valley farms sit on unpressured feed lines where sambar still move in daylight, and you start hunting from the back door instead of a trailhead at 4 am.
How fit do I need to be for High Country hunting?
On valley and boundary country properties, moderate fitness is plenty, because much of the hunting is glassing and short stalks. Chasing sambar into the big faces beyond the boundary is where serious fitness starts to earn its keep.
When is the best time of year for the Victorian High Country?
May through September is the classic window. Cold weather pulls sambar down onto valley feed, morning frost makes for superb glassing, and stag movement around wallows peaks through late autumn and winter.
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Hunting properties in the Victorian High Country
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