Table of contents for Issue 87 in NZ Hunter

The Christmas break is over and I hope you all managed to make the most of it. We were able to squeeze in a couple of epic trips that you’ll see on the new season TV Show episodes very shortly. As I write this we have just gone into the Red Traffic Light setting due to the imminent Omicron outbreak, and who knows just how this is going to affect our hunting for the foreseeable future? The rules around close contacts and self-isolation mean potentially a significant percentage of the population may have to stay at home at any one time. With Omicron’s spread being so explosive, everyone is going to be affected to some extent at some stage. One major concern is what the Department of Conservation decides to…

Summer is one of my favorite times of the year to hunt. Although the stags don’t have their antlers and tahr aren’t in their beautiful winter coats there are plenty of upsides to warmer conditions. Firstly, the daylight hours are longer, which means more time exploring and less time in the sleeping bag (you can always catch up on sleep when you get home!). Secondly, the lack of snow and ice makes travel in the steep stuff a little less daunting. On top of that, you can pack a bit lighter, not needing the full winter kit - although never underestimate the possibility of a storm in the mountains at any time of the year. All these factors mean that you can upscale your adventure and push into the hard-to-reach…

Where I was positioned, a small spur had begun to narrow in front of me, diving down into a small creek. I faced looking down the spur, just at the edge of where the spur started to broaden out. At my back was a very gradual face that a creek meandered along the foot of. This face had a natural transition line of manuka meeting mature native, which followed the creek as it went. At the head of this small catchment was a cluster of scrapes from a Whitetail buck. As I went about finding his sign, I would mark each scrape and rub. This began to draw a picture. I had a game camera photo of him at the cluster zone, but only in the dark. I had sat…

Scamper Torrent Hut has historically been low-use, although the frequency of visits did increase a little after it was profiled in wilderness articles and on our website in the early 2000’s. The hut received 10 visits in both 2019 and 20 and this seems to be about the average at the moment. As far as I know Scamper Torrent was the last of the standard S81 four-bunk designs that the New Zealand Forest Service built during their tenure. This was in 1971 at the incredible total material cost of around $1600. Compare this with the massive amounts that are currently spent on the construction of back-country huts. What is also remarkable, or maybe just obvious, is that despite there not being any complex compliance codes or building standards at the…

Benelli is well known for making the best inertia operated semi auto shotguns in the world, and their very popular Super Black Eagle is the best waterfowl gun available with this type of operating system. They also made a semi auto rifle a few years ago called the Argo, of which the R1 is the latest iteration. The new Lupo (Italian for wolf) is their first foray into the most common bolt action rifle field, which has traditionally been the staple of their sister companies Sako and Tikka. ABOUT THE RIFLE The Lupo is mix of fairly standard designs and new features. The action itself is fairly typical full diameter 3-lug one-piece bolt with a 60 degree lift, and a rigid minimal cut-out cylindrical receiver type with the usual barrel…

Layout blinds have opened up a huge variety of places and opportunities to hunt, where previously it would be have been too difficult or less successful. The beauty of layouts is the ability to get on the “X” when hunting and, as a result of the low profile, to easily blend into the environment. Shooting can be restrictive as you are sitting on your bum and have a smaller arc of gun swing compared to standing but a good blind placement and decoy setup will overcome these restrictions and you will end up with some absolutely insane in-your-face shots. I’ve had geese walk within two feet of me with no clue I was there, and once had a mallard land on my feet. One time a mate stuck his hand…

My guess is that unless you’re steeped in the world of biology or ecology, you’re much the same. To ground us in the discussion, here’s what I’ve learned, starting with a brief backstory of the moa. THERE WERE ESSENTIALLY THREE PHASES OF MOA HISTORY : 1. New Zealand separated from Gondwanaland around 80 million years ago. Following this, moa evolved and became a key part of New Zealand’s ecosystems, where they had few predators. With no unnatural processes or interventions, the system operated within the natural rhythms of life. The moa population was controlled by the availability of food, but they also had to contend with a formidable predator, the world’s largest but now extinct species of eagle, Haast’s eagle. Research has shown that for approximately 6,000 years prior to…

I had told myself that I would not take any young up-and-coming stags as it seemed such a waste, so had set my goal at a minimum of ten points. Previously I had turned down three, six and eight pointers for this very reason. While we were there it would be a shame not to get some extra meat to top up the freezer, so we opted for the lazy way out and locked in the chopper for a pickup. It was the first time I planned our time on the block - a big step as I had always relied on Greg’s experience and followed his lead (big girl pants on!). When hunting this block, it pays to look at the long-range forecast as it can be very unforgiving,…

That’s right . . . tote that around for the whole of your trip, keeping it in your pack. Don’t use it. Carry it for the whole trip, even during the pack-out with venison or trophy. Why would you do that? Crazy talk! What a difference it would make to how much extra energy you’d use up, and how much ground you might have otherwise covered with ease. But, in effect this is what many hunters are already doing with what they carry and use on trips . . . lugging an unnecessary 3kg. I’m suggesting that by reading this series you will have trimmed at least 3kg off your load and be ready to hunt lighter and more efficiently this summer! Hunters need to constantly make decisions about what…

It was a well thought out coat with most things in the right places and by all accounts from the retailers who usually bear the brunt of complaints when a product doesn’t live up to its claims, it has stood the test of the intervening four years of general use and abuse well. Fresh out this year we have an upgrade of the Odyssey and also a new alpine version called the Atlas – and we’ve had the preproduction sample of the latter for review over the Christmas period. WHAT'S DIFFERENT So what’s different from the coat we reviewed previously? First up, its made of a totally new fabric - HYDRAFUSE™ DURAWEAVE VALIANT™ - which Hunters Element state is “incredibly durable, waterproof, quiet, packable, and insanely breathable”. With the all-important…

Talking about hunting stories and how the Fallow bucks will be close to casting there antlers he came up with the genius idea to go for a look after school for a last chance buck. The bell for lunch rang and I said to Blake, bugger it let's go now! He happily agreed so we quickly bailed out of school in separate utes to go home and grab our gear. We soon met back up at my place and he said “bring your rifle, it’s your turn to shoot” so I grabbed my Tikka 243 and we went on our way. Having hunted this spot a few times previously in the year we knew there were a few Fallow around this one particular spot. So our plan was to head…

This is where it really goes from the science of capturing a good image to bringing out the art of the photographer. Subsequently you’ll learn that, like all art, what makes a good photo is highly subjective The bias I primarily view it from is what makes an image work well for the magazine, which is usually dictated by the equipment and settings a submitter uses when they press the shutter – and what state it is in! What I do and don’t like in a photo would take up a whole article itself, and be of absolutely no use to anyone, so let’s move on to discussing editing. EDITING SOFTWARE To edit photos you will need an editing program. A good one, not an app on your phone. Low…

It's certainly one of the more popular landing sites in the ballot, so you will need a little luck on your side to draw it, especially in those key weeks. The landing site is on an obvious flat just down from the last gorge before the head basin, and actually on what was a lake back in the 1950’s and has now since filled in. The river right by camp is easily crossed being just over ankle deep, at least until Westland does what Westland does and dumps a large volume of water in a short time. With the valley being reasonably large and having super steep sides, the river rises and falls rapidly. When I was last in there we had about 140mm of rain which quickly brought the…

Some, however, will ask, why is this so important now, and what can I individually do about it? As game animal populations, and deer numbers in particular, around the country have increased in many places, there is a pressing need for recreational hunters to make an even bigger contribution to management than they have before. This means specifically reducing the number of breeding hinds in our more populous herds to maintain a healthier habitat, a sustainable population and to look after native species. The pay-off for us hunters is not only having a better environment to hunt in but also the promise of higher quality animals for the future. It’s simple environmental science – a healthy environment with plenty of food supports healthy animals that grow into bigger and better…

Photo Gallery The winning photo receives a Hunting & Fishing voucher to the value of $100. Send all your photos to editor@nzhunter.co.nz Note: Photos must be of a suitable size for printing - a minimum file size of 1MB is preferred. We've had a bumper crop of images from readers supporting Hunting & Fishing so this time around we have two pages, and two winners!…

There is no better time to try this dish using venison shanks. Big and meaty, rich and tender, and full of flavour, they smell delicious when cooking! This is a classic Italian dish and can be reheated easily enough, if portion packed. What defines a ragù? A ragù is a hearty, well-seasoned Italian meat sauce and tomato dish that is mainly served with pasta, often with tagliatelle. It’s typically made with a soffritto, a mixture of chopped carrot, celery, and onion. Tomatoes are added and cooked with stock and meat. Of course, there are hundreds of versions with slight tweaks or variations depending on the availability of ingredients or each village’s interpretation. This is truly an authentic Italian meal and not to be confused with Bolognese, which is also a…