Table of contents for Issue 80 in NZ Hunter

Hunters huts in Rakiura National Park were built and are maintained by the Rakiura Hunter Camps Charitable Trust and are for accommodating hunters who have booked the surrounding hunting blocks. These huts must be booked and paid for through the Rakiura National Park Visitor Centre. They offer very basic shelter with limited facilities and services. They have a small rainwater tank outside (conserve water) and a long drop toilet. The hut has a small pot belly – we recommend you take dry firewood with you. History of the hut The hut was built in 2001 by Gore Branch NZ Deerstalkers' Association. It was funded by the Gore, Wellington, North Canterbury, West Coast, Waikato and Malvern branches of the NZ Deerstalkers' Association.…

Beginning with the basics like calibre selection, then progressing through the components like stocks, barrels and scopes then assembly, bedding and ultimately some hunting! One of the eternal questions for hunters is what calibre do I choose? And when starting from scratch that’s one of the very first questions you need to ask yourself. To begin with you have to decide what class of rifle you’re after. We break them down in to three general categories, the Bushpig, the Superpig and the long range rifle. THE BUSHPIG The Bushpig is a short barreled rifle for, as the name suggests, primarily bush hunting. We’d typically shorten the barrel to between 16 and 18 inches, often retain the factory barrel, and work up loads to achieve an effective range of up to…

And yes, there is no doubt that bi-pods, barrels and bullets are much more successful, but there is definitely a huge sense of accomplishment when I get right in amongst it in the open country with a bow in my hand. I absolutely love playing the game with some of our finest big game animals in minimal cover. I love the challenge of making a play on an animal that most people wouldn’t dare try and close in on. There are a number of little tricks I use that help me to manoeuvre into position: ELEVATION If the wind allows, I will almost always look to get above the animal I’m stalking. This most definitely puts the bowhunter in better control of the stalk. Take extra care not to skyline…

Instead it’s about what happens when we hunters – as is inevitable – grow older – and eventually – get really old. I’d love to have a dollar for every time I’ve been at a social function and met someone around my age and got yarning to them about my main leisure time activity only to be told “I used to do a lot of hunting but I’m too old now – it’s a young man’s game.” The purpose of this article is to show that those words are simply bull dust and if you’re a young hunter you’ve got much to look forward to in the years ahead. Hunting isn’t just a young person’s pursuit – it’s an activity for all ages. I started shooting small game when I…

There’s two reasons for this. Firstly I’ve just had a week away hunting in the bush and I didn’t get it done when I should have – but more importantly – I think the photos will be much more useful in understanding this disease than written text. Let’s start with a quick table of animal classifications just for reference sake: Bovine = cattle Ovine = sheep Cervine = deer Porcine = pigs Equine = horses Canine = dogs Feline = cats SO WHAT IS TUBERCULOSIS (TB)? Bovine TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium Bovis. It is a zoonotic disease – a zoonotic disease is one that can be transferred from animals to humans. It’s a close relative of the bacterial disease Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. This is TB…

On the last weekend we split the family in two different directions but then we decided to make the most of the final day by organising a hunt together in the Mackenzie Country. At our Saturday evening rendezvous everyone was somewhat weary and the thought of putting decoys out in subzero temperatures, only to find them frozen solid was not enticing to any of us. We opted for a meal out and an early night. It was cold, clear and completely still with a forecast for similar conditions come daybreak the next morning. We headed out around 5am after a quick cuppa and filling up our thermoses. Packing supplies into the trucks confirmed what we already knew – the temperature was registering on the ‘brass monkey’ scale. I was super-stoked…

Monty was as keen as mud and was already in the valley with his old man Garth. I was to meet them a few hours up the valley and then we would continue on to a head basin we had talked about visiting, and where Monty had previously seen some good-sized animals. On arrival at the road end at midnight, I crammed a few hours sleep in, amongst the sandflies trying to eat me alive, before hitting the trail and meeting the boys around 9am. Garth had had some success, shooting a couple of deer so he headed back to the road and would continue home. After the farewells Monty and I headed up the valley in search of an alpine double, even if it was between us. After a…

ROY SLOAN  This article is a generalisation on animal management across New Zealand AND a timely reminder that we need, as hunters, to ask ourselves some tough questions Do we want a future in NZ for our game? I guess the answer is ‘yes’. Then what do we need to do? Because I suspect if we continue on the same path we are heading down, times are going to get tough. As hunters, deep down we know what is right and what is wrong. An overpopulated herd of animals – any kind of animals – isn’t healthy. It’s not healthy for the forest and not healthy for the animals. Game animals have been a valuable source of protein since humans housed themselves in caves so we know these critters are…

I'll also admit that pre-hunting, my version of the hunter stereotype was a strong, lean man with a big beard who thrived on roughing it in the bush for days on end. So I embarked on a quest to balance the scale by seeking inspiration from several ‘salt of the earth’ legends in Aotearoa's hunting sorority. It took me down fascinating historical rabbit holes and I was fortunate to chat with some incredible women. The women's hunting community in New Zealand is growing rapidly. Perhaps it's the adventure, the therapy of the bush, the lack of competitive factor that comes with many other sports, or just the chance to get your hands dirty. Whatever the attraction, hunting also remains a place of ‘same-ness’ and is particularly precious in a time…

Each component has a critical part to play in the firing of the cartridge, and as a hand loader, you have the opportunity to customise these components to maximise the performance of the ammunition you produce. THE PRIMER This is a small explosive cap that’s pressed with an interference fit into the case head. It’s struck by the firing pin, which provides ignition for the gunpowder (propellant) in the case. Primers come in two sizes: small and large. The majority of hunting calibres use large, with some exceptions. Both sizes come in standard and magnum options for larger case capacity calibres, the difference being that the magnum primer burns 15-30% hotter, providing a more consistent and uniform ignition of the powder charge. You’ll also see ‘premium’ or ‘match’ primers and…

On any fine weekend you’ll find trucks and trailers at any number of the places where you’re able to drop a boat in. Pre the helicopter hunting era the jet boat was a key tool, often in combination with horses and fixed wing aircraft. To this day, you can see the remnants of old meat safes and deer traps in some places, and even the long rusted remains of a few tractors that were used to get venison back to the road end. One can only imagine the logistics and sheer hard work involved, not to mention the skill required to navigate these rivers in old glass boats or tractors up the riverbeds. You don’t have to look too far in old books to read about the legendary yarns –…

Well that’s what western media would have you believe from their far removed, ideology driven seat in a London cafe… Here’s my story, a girl who grew up on the land in Africa, was raised with the locals and best of friends with their kids, someone whose life was completely overturned by corrupt government officials using ‘race’ as vindication, someone forced to leave home and country with nothing but a suitcase and cherished childhood memories.. Three years on from slurping cold steins of beer while listening to traditional brass bands and continually cheering ‘prost’, we were again headed on an overseas adventure, but this time our destination was somewhere that is forever in my heart – Africa. After meeting Willie at Oktoberfest in Germany and finding out he was a…

After what was an election campaign that seemed to always have an inevitable result, it was still a surprise to see Labour win a majority in their own right. It is the first time that has been done since MMP began back in 1996, however there are sure to be some tough times ahead. With the impacts of COVID-19 making for a pretty miserable economic outlook there will be some big challenges for the Government to contend with. At the time of writing the Prime Minister had just announced Kiri Allan as the new Minister of Conservation. The Game Animal Council looks forward to working constructively with Minister Allan on issues of interest to hunters; particularly around game animal management leading to better quality herds and healthier habitats, ensuring continued…

The U-shaped valleys carved by ancient glaciers tower over me, covered by dense podocarp forests that climb up the imposing granite bluffs reaching to the sky. This is where the keas soar above the windswept tussock and snowcapped peaks. The echoes of the helicopter disappear once it’s over the saddle. I stand next to the deep lake waters that look the same colour as the cup of tea in my hand, stained with tannins from the lush foliage constantly delivered by the rivers and countless waterfalls that appear only when rain falls The local weka appears to greet me and I see plentiful trout lazily swimming by as I battle hungry sandflies. Suddenly the silence is broken by the reason I have come to this place…it almost doesn’t seem real……

I figured the best thing to sort that out would be a solid summer hunting mission. With the freezer pretty stocked up on venison and stags still being in soft velvet, I decided a South Island alpine hunt would be the ticket. I gave my mate Liam a call to see if he was keen on a hunt and he required very little convincing. He had been holidaying with family in the Marlborough Sounds and was also well overdue to get back in the hills. After some discussion around target species, weather forecasts and logistics, we decided to head to the mighty West Coast in search of chamois bucks. I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to chamois hunting as I grew up and undertook my hunting apprenticeship…

Two weeks later Dan popped into work for a chat and I mentioned I wouldn’t be focusing on the Sika roar next year; I was looking into Stewart Island. Straight away he was in. Sweet, two people confirmed, nine months to go and four more people needed. I got a good slot for Kellys in early Feb 2020 so I grabbed it, then the prep began. Ian from Aurora Charters based in Oban was recommended to me and I found him very easy to deal with and wouldn’t hesitate to use him again. Through Ian we booked a BBQ, a gas bottle, salt ice (after a donation to the local school) and a 4.1m Frewza tinny with fuel. Ian also organized a 15hp Yamaha auxiliary from Steve Gooding Marine to…

This is a brief story of Dad’s hunting life. He has been an avid deerstalker since he was sixteen years old, building an early and intimate relationship with the wild Kaweka ranges of inland Hawkes Bay. While reminiscing about these early hunting experiences, a knowing smile spreads across his weather-beaten face as he tells stories of overzealous adventure, amateur mistakes and superhuman deer carries. All fundamental factors that contributed to the development of a good Kiwi bush education. His stories start with how he couldn’t afford a proper day pack to take on his hunts, so instead he strategized on how to repurpose a second-hand potato sack – complete with homemade shoulder straps made from baling twine. The pack was so successful it held its place on his back for…

There is no doubt that we often seem to be a bit ‘time poor’ these days and longer trips can be beyond what we can do too regularly. The answer to this, as well as day hunting, is more local overnighters. An overnight trip can put you inside good hunting country, beyond the range of the day hunt and it will give you two hunts at peak time. Back in the day when I was at school I used to work on a Friday evening and then roar off after work and in to the hills, often arriving at camp at a time when there was almost no point going to sleep before a morning hunt. Not much sleep for two days would follow and then by Sunday I was…

The Tuke is the main tributary of the Mikonui River and is in fact the bigger of the two streams. There are three major gorges with resident waterfalls that bar any kind of river access and all routes in into the upper basin where the hut is require tops crossings. Top Tuke is located just above the scrubline at 1000m, a rugged and beautiful spot with big mountains encircling it. Names like Beaumont, The Tusk and Sawtooth Ridge aptly describe these features. Aside from introduced critters the upper valley is populated by endemic whio, kea, weka, miro miro, pipit, and rock wren. Whio can nearly always be encountered in the river's deep clear pools and rapids. The endangered rock wren is our only true alpine bird and one of its…

I have to say I was supremely impressed with Ridgelines offering to this market. The Micro Lite Zip Top is a very comfortable garment. The cut is nice and loose allowing a bit of circulation, the zip is deep enough to let a good bit of heat out, and the fabric is in no way restrictive. It’s highly stretchy but has maintained its shape and construction really well, no sagging or pilling is at all noticeable as yet. It is quite a long cut too, so you don’t have to worry about the ‘ol builder’s crack getting burnt if you’re wearing it on the job! It’s a very soft fabric, almost silken, it’s the first thing you notice when you touch it. I was a little hesitant at first, the…