Innehållsförteckning för Issue 63 från NZ Hunter

I shot my first 8 pointer seventeen years ago in the Otupua Block (161 DS) and being the first Sika I’d ever shot, I set the standard pretty high for myself. I have since shot smaller eights but have yet to crack the magic 170 DS mark. I shot my first 8 pointer seventeen years ago in the Otupua Block (161 DS) and being the first Sika I’d ever shot, I set the standard pretty high for myself. I have since shot smaller eights but have yet to crack the magic 170 DS mark. I run my own guided hunting business – not to be mistaken for safari park hunting – it’s all free range hunting; meat hunts or trophy hunts for Fallow and Red deer. So my time over…

It’s an exciting time to hunt, and for good reason. As the days eventually get shorter, those big stags that have been hard to find all year will let their guard down with the onset of the roar, and suddenly they become a hell of a lot easier to find. There’s a bunch of variables with hunting in the roar and there’s no right or wrong way to go about it but here’s a few points to get you thinking and planning. Hopefully they will help new hunters to have some success. 1 Area Different areas hold stags with varying antler potential. This can be for a number of reasons such as genetics, feed, WARO, farm escapees, hunting pressure etc so if you’re after a big rack of antlers, it…

(Whispers) "Do you hear that? He's just over the ridge, finally we've caught up with him! He must've slowed down, eh?" "Yeah! We need to get a little further downwind, I think. We might only get one shot at this fella. Let's scoot over there and have a look." "He sounds big!" "For sure! Today's the day, bro, I can feel it!" If you got even remotely excited about the last four lines, there's a good chance you're obsessing over small details late at night before you go to sleep, or sitting in the meeting that should've been an email, or in the car stuck in traffic, again. Details like: How much food do we need? Is the 270 going to be OK or should I take the 308? Dave…

When asked how big their groups are at varying ranges, the response of many shooters, if taken at face value, would indicate they’re of world class ability. Often much better than world class. This makes me feel really good about my own shooting as I am a much better shot than most who unwittingly claiming to be world beaters Unfortunately I do not have any world records to my name but that is because I have a more realistic view of group sizes than many others do. There are two ways to measure group size: one will make you a more successful hunter, the other will not. The first and most common method is to measure how close your arrows are to each other in the target. While this has…

The other two species are found in the North Island and on Stewart Island and named accordingly. The South Island bird is one of our most friendly, inquisitive and approachable native birds, a regular companion on hunting trips in many southern areas. Robins are a very territorial species and will defend their patch year round, unlike most species which are usually only defensive during the breeding season. A pair of birds will remain in their territory most of the time, venturing out of it only occasionally to drink, feed or bathe. Many moons ago when I was working for the New Zealand Forest Service doing track and hut maintenance in the Marlborough area, my workmates and I often had the company of South Island robins in the Mt Richmond Forest…

A few years ago they purchased Domex - a sleeping bag brand that had been made in New Zealand for many years and had a great reputation with kiwi outdoors people. As has happened to many home brands, Domex was closing down as it had been unable to compete with the advent of cheaper Asian manufacturing. Tightlines are one of our TV Show sponsors and they wanted us to take on the Domex sleeping bag brand, but as with all our Show sponsors we simply said we aren’t prepared to take on products that aren’t suitable for our hunting expeditions. We won’t take sponsorship money for a brand we wouldn’t use ourselves. Initially, the “new” Domex made a range of entry level bags. While some were warm enough, they were…

 The stag responded by throwing back his head and hurling a series of deep roars followed by short grunts after them. Undeterred, he turned his attention to a second group of hinds bedded down amongst the tussock. “Soon the leading spur was reached, and here the real climb began. To say it was steep, was an understatement, that spur fairly stood on end!’’ He cut one hind away from this group but she wasn’t interested either and proceeded to run a circuit that covered several hundred metres of the mountain face. His Lordship kept up the chase for a short time but the rigours of the last two weeks were having an obvious effect. Eventually the stag admitted defeat, taking his frustration out on a wallow. He raked his heavy…

The mountains and valleys of the Southern Alps have become an obsession, but with only a few distant hunting companions keen to join me on my adventures, and limited leave, I'd struggled to successfully plan a trip with anyone. So a few months ago, I decided to do the kiwi thing, have a go and do the whole thing myself. After contacting a few helicopter companies throughout the island, I settled on Haast Heli. They fully endorsed my adventurous attitude, didn't treat me like a time waster and after confirming dates, agreed to a solo drop-off and sent me some maps to pick a drop-off site. About six weeks before my trip I started walking stairs, going up and down until I was just about sick after work. After a…

There’s absolutely nothing new about the concept of cooking with fire. The use of fire is primordial and perhaps even defines us in our history . . . man the hunter . . . man the keeper of fire! Of course nowadays we cannot blow out what thousands of years of genetics and experience has reinforced and we outdoor types are drawn to fire for all manner of reasons. Before we get too far, remember you must get a written fire permit from DOC to light any fire in the open on public conservation land. Since mankind first unearthed the mystery of fire there have been innumerable ingenious devices/ methods that have evolved to quickly and efficiently warm food using a burning flame. These days we’re mostly only refining what…

Things began change after the Department of Conservation took over in the mid 1980’s. Chronic underfunding and increasingly prohibitive building standards and compliance codes, led to a gradual and pervasive decline in the condition of many of the more remote, less-used, basic facilities. A lack of information about routes and conditions of low-use huts at DoC information sites led to a vicious spiral of ever decreasing use. By the late 90’s many of the more remote structures in Westland were being visited 3-5 times yearly. DoC’s approach at that point became removal rather than repair. A few mad and masochistic individuals still used these places and derived great pleasure from them. Recognising and understanding the problem, they began adopting the odd hut or track, and started working on them. In…

That thrashing has continued both on the job and in the weekends since then, over the last six years. It has done A LOT of work, often with heavy loads It has been hammered in the bush and on the tops and has spent most of its work life wet. This wee pack has not missed a beat and to be frank, I am nothing but impressed with the build quality as there is no indication yet that any part of it might be feeling the strain. In my review I noted that I thought there was a gap for a similar pack with a slightly bigger capacity. Enter the Huntaway pack. HUNTAWAY PACK The Huntaway is a 45 + 10 litre pack, designed as a generous day pack or…

We had been looking forward to this hunt for over a week, ever since my mate Hayden had received a phone call from a concerned farmer wanting a reasonably large number of geese moved off his land ASAP. At the time, the south was experiencing some awesome weather with one of the driest years on record compared to most of the North Island where some regions received over 200% more rain than average. This made for some nice warm conditions but with things being so settled, the normally reliable winds were non-existent. Hayden had explained to the farmer that to harvest the most geese, we needed a good windy day. Luckily for us the farmer was a duck hunter himself and understood our position, but he still wanted them gone…

The forecast was for clearing weather and we were due to fly into a new roar block the next morning for a look around, with the ever-present hope of coming across something decent. Rossy, Pete and I had been making the annual pilgrimage down there for the last two years, taking home a couple of tidy heads and a few stories of bigger ones that gave us the slip. Fruitful or not, we always love getting down that way. The pub is always the first stop when we pull into Haast. You’re guaranteed an honest spread, which you tuck into as you sit under the roof trusses adorned with antlers plucked from all parts of South Westland. Some of the bigger heads have made it onto the walls with the…

No high country musterer worth his salt would leave the hut in the morning without his hill stick, and any time I’m venturing out I am the same – unless it’s a day’s bush stalking in tight vegetation. Then a pole/stick is too much of a hindrance. Manuka has always been the go-to for hill sticks, but power for weight there are better options. My favourite for years was a good piece of Fiordland sapling beech, cut green from a piece of wind or snow blown timber (remember of course you are not allowed to cut live standing native vegetation…) allowed to dry and season for about a year, which then produced a very strong but lightweight hill stick. And then came the walking pole revolution that started with trampers…

Bergara is a US owned and managed company with an assembly plant in the USA and a manufacturing facility in Spain. They invested heavily in state-of-the-art CNC barrel machinery and hired legendary barrel maker Ed Shilen to consult and help set up their barrel making process. What ensued was a computerized, repeatable system of milling, drilling, honing and rifling that has resulted in quality barrels that have been in good demand around the gun manufacturing industry. We reviewed Bergara single shot rifles back in 2011. Since then they have designed and manufactured a bolt action rifle of their own, which they now use in a range of rifles from their top of the range full Custom Series, through their mid-priced Premium Series to their entry level Performance Series. The B-14…

Reviewing the management of wild animals on public conservation land and the issuing of wild animal recovery permits(WARO). In 2014 the Department of Conservation embarked on a non-notified process for issuing new WARO permits. The existing permits expired on 30th November 2014. DoC decided that it would consult only existing permit holders and processors and not consult the Game Animal Council or any recreational hunting groups or individuals. The Game Animal Council (and others) expressed concern and dissatisfaction at that approach by DoC. The GAC advocated a review of how WARO was managed to ensure it was sustainable into the future and that commercial, recreational and conservation interests were adequately addressed. DoC agreed: “The Department will now initiate a wider conversation with WARO operators, processors, the guided hunting sector, the…

Given that pigs can be hunted all year round and the meat from the entire animal can be used, anytime is a good time for a wild pork burger recipe, but BBQ time is the best of all. It’s easy to make extra patties and freeze them for a later date or you could use some of the mince to make meatballs with spaghetti and tomato sauce. Ingredients FOR THE PORK PATTIES » 1 kg minced pork shoulder (makes approx 10 large patties or more for sliders) » If the pork is lean, mince some pork fat or bacon with the shoulder meat. » 3 Tb chipotle or hickory sauce » 3 Tb tomato relish » 1/2 onion, finely diced » 1 small courgette, grated » ½ large carrot, grated…