Innehållsförteckning för Issue 64 från NZ Hunter

The relationships you build with people, the stunning parts of this country that such a small number of people actually get to see, and the emotional rollercoaster you face with every hunt. It’s these feelings that I’m hooked on – and in this adventure – we got to do it all. This trip defines in my mind the true love I have for the sport of hunting. In fact it’s from a little while back but I remember it as if it were yesterday... A brief background note on me: I’m a whingeing Pom who’s hooked on hunting and who loves the mountains. How did that happen, you ask? Twelve years ago I met someone with whom I shot my first rabbit, first hare, first deer, first chamois and first…

Since the rise in the wild venison price last summer, WARO (wild animal recovery operations) have been on the rise. Since they started up again in earnest in late January 2017 the choppers have progressively been making serious inroads into a lot of our premier trophy Red deer herds, to the extent that large tracts of wilderness country are now holding very low deer numbers and in particular stags – as they were in the eighties. The deer population in most of these areas was low anyway, but what was there was a good cross section, age and sex-wise. There were some really nice trophy stags with a bit of age on them starting to appear over the last few years. The machines have had a much greater effect than…

While numerous repetitions help to build accuracy and consistency, what we actually shoot at shouldn’t be overlooked. Dot and spot targets work very well to help you aim and check your sight settings on but lets face it, these do not replicate in any way what we shoot at. Some of what we shoot at might have dots or spots but these are too small and too numerous to be of use. Mostly our game animals are monotone, nondescript in colour and have no particular markings to aim at. On game I use aiming markers working off the front leg, shoulder blades and elbows. The front leg can usually be seen so that is a great starting point. Fine-tuning an aiming spot can be done if more muscular detail can…

Despite some issues with factories developing on opposite sides of the Berlin wall after WWII, they eventually got it all sorted and since the reunification in 1990, Zeiss have continued developing a wide range of optics for the hunter. The Conquest line of rifle scopes and binoculars has been popular in New Zealand for some years, particularly the scopes with the Rapid Z series of ballistic reticles. These were the first reticles with actual numbers alongside the hash marks so you didn’t get confused which bar is for what range. The Conquests had a fairly standard for the time 3x zoom range, with the 3.5-10 and 4.5-14 being the most popular. Soon after though came the larger 5x and 6x zoom range scopes, with some even as high as 8x…

Like all the high quality gear coming out of the States now the SEAK is a short jacket, designed to be worn with waterproof pants. I’ve always hunted in a long jacket and leggings so I’ve been somewhat dubious about this system – however an increasing number of guys are taking this route and none seem to be complaining… The Good Oil After extensive third party testing, FirstLite decided on the 37.5 fabric by Cocona. So named as it’s supposed to keep the wearer at the optimum temperature of 37.5° C and close-skin humidity of 37.5%. This is achieved through a 3-layer construction and the industry-leading breathability rating of 38,000g/m2/day, made possible by a fibre coating that increases surface area by 800%. This also means that the material dries a…

“Why do you duck hunt?”“Why do you goose hunt?”“Why do you spend your weekends away all around the countryside chasing the feathered kind?” Why? Well I’m about to tell you my ‘why’. I think being brought up in a wild environment (albeit by the coast) and in a hunting family, I really had no choice but to love the great outdoors and to end up hunting something. Perhaps my name had something to do with it too! Growing up, I was surrounded by localized big game hunting, small game hunting and upland game bird hunting but the sport that really captured me and started my addiction was waterfowling. From a very young age I was introduced to duck hunting by my dad, brothers and mum of course. My first memory…

So what is gozleme? It is a traditional Turkish flat bread with pastry on the outside and a meat filling inside, so I guess it’s what we would think of as a pie or in Italy they may say a calzone. Originally this was a breakfast item but it’s equally good any time of the day. Of course there will be as many recipes as there are regions but they generally all include a meat filling and/or vegetables, with maybe cheese, herbs and spices. They can be as complex as you want. Of course this is my version of it and I have given you the tastiest and easiest recipe but by no means is it the most authentic. Ingredients FOR THE DOUGH » Makes approx 12 x 15cm (6…

As they wheeled me to the operating room on my way for a new hip, I was joking with the nurses that I was going to live forever…they were starting to rebuild me. However the smirk on my face soon changed to horror as I noticed the surgeon standing in white freezing works gumboots. The only thing missing was a boning knife and a steel slung around his waist. After a rough couple of weeks, I had gained some strength and in a couple of months and against all sense, I was following the dogs around the hills chasing pigs again. Making plans with my hunting mate Martin, we decided that the 31st March would be the start of a week-long trip into the hills, to a place I have…

With a gentle breeze blowing in my face I headed off after the closest buck. I was in Wanganui hunting with a good friend from Switzerland, Martin Spring. As the morning wore on it became apparent I was completely out of sync with everything, a step behind, a step ahead. Animals bedded down instead of feeding, I would look left instead of right. Nothing was going right. This happens but it was starting to wear thin as this was the third day of it. I was beginning to question if I was ever going to shoot a deer. It seemed like I couldn’t buy an ounce of luck. That afternoon I was stalking into the bottom of a dirty gully when I spotted a small buck bedded down 80yards ahead.…

Through the last couple of years of my guiding and personal hunting, I’ve noticed some things that work well and more importantly, the things that don’t. As a guide, I have the privilege of getting to view and test a lot more gear and ideas than I would ever be able to do personally. These are my observations, opinions and advice, and at the end of the day, that’s all they are. Equipment Currently the modern hunter has more gadgets and gear available to him than he knows what to do with. For mountain hunts, there are a few pieces of equipment that are worth investing in as they can be the difference between success and failure and at times, even life and death. Then there are a whole lot…

As a career tramper and transalpinist, I used to run a trekking business and have been hiking around the New Zealand hills since I was 15. As I am now about to hit 60, that is quite a few years, so leaving behind the tramping ethos doesn’t come easily. However my conversion to hunting, which began about four years ago (although I did hunt a little as a young fella) has now put me firmly in the hunting camp. Every so often though, I still have a yearning to just get out and walk the hills, the valleys and passes, camp at will, and carry on. With this in mind, I chose what looked to be a nice little weekend tramp up one of the big Canterbury valleys that I…

One of the most common methods used is the humble trap and these come in many shapes, sizes and designs. My own business specialises in predator control and I do more trapping than anything else. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a fussy bugger, and never more so than when I am trapping. In the last five years we have seen a huge surge in predator control awareness and every second newspaper or social media article seems to be about a new pest control project. I applaud this and the effort that people from all walks of life are putting in. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues around how some people are trapping and the flow-on effect of this is that we are catching fewer…

There is always so much more to learn from other outdoorspeople so let me introduce you to Ian Barnes, a NZ guru in backcountry woodsmanship. Ian grew up following his dad on hunting trips into the heavy Urewera bush. His adult life has been spent adventuring in many of the globe’s special wilderness places. Ian has a passion for climbing and kayaking, which led to professional qualifications with the NZ Outdoor Instructors Association and a career as a teacher and instructor. You hunt a lot Ian…what does a typical hunt look like for you nowadays? Yes, I’ve retained a keen interest in hunting and like most NZ hunters take pride in being self-sufficient in meat and fish and I really value this incredible resource. My hunting strategy is based on…

Based in Dasing, Bavaria, they pride themselves on the ‘multi-pitch’ setup, where the inner tent is attached to the fly sheet making it faster to pitch and take down and keeps the inner dry in bad weather. Tightlines have recently introduced these tents to our market and sent the Kiruna 2 person out to test. Sam and I took it along on a New Year’s tour of the South Island, hunting mainly the Wanganui and Mt Cook areas. Also available from Tightlines are eight other Expert and Advanced series tents. Expert tents are for regular trampers/ alpine adventurers; Advanced tents are for those who only camp a few times a year and are okay with carrying a little extra weight - all come with a 2 year warranty. The first…

They are full of drama, more drama than a house full of teenage girls in fact – and I certainly know about that. They ooze personality; maybe instead of being named Dama dama they should be Drama drama. Sometimes these little guys get a bad rap as so many of them live in open country on the backs of farms and can offer themselves as easy targets. Not all of them though. Take the Blues, the Fallow that live there are better educated than Stephen Hawking; if moas had half their survival skills, they would be featuring in the Edmonds Cookbook. I have had more fun with these arrogant little bucks than just about all the other deer species combined, especially in the bush during the rut. If you can…

 In light drizzle, I was picked up by Chris and Daniel, my hunting companions for the trip. We made our way down to Helisika in Taupo where we were greeted with rows and rows of 4WDs so we knew we were in the right place. After a quick check-in and weighing process, we stepped in to our chopper and were away, making the short flight to our home for the next week. Beginner’s luck was most definitely on my side for this one. Initial reports didn’t sound overly promising. The two guys leaving the block hadn’t had much joy, although they were nice enough to point us in the direction of a few roars they had heard. Daniel and I decided that we’d make the hour or so walk to…

1 Recovery Hooks and Points You could be the person who needs to get out of a sticky situation or the one who recovers someone else’s 4x4 so it pays to be prepared. A recovery hook or point must be fixed to the chassis rail at the front or rear chassis of the vehicle. Or if you have a removable tongue towbar, you can fit it to a recovery hitch. Purchase rated recovery points that have been specifically designed and tested to ensure they don’t interfere with the complex mounting systems of today’s vehicles. Make sure not only the points are rated, high-tensile bolts are a must. 2 Recovery Strap (Snatch Strap) Snatch straps are quick and easy to use, lightweight, affordable and compact enough to store in your vehicle.…

It is a 4-bunk NZFS design with an open fire and is located at 460m on Douglas Saddle, between the Mikonui River and Doctors Creek in the Hokitika Valley For those who like to worry about low-probability events, the hut sits bang on the Great Alpine Fault. Explorer is a relatively easy three hour walk up from the Mikonui road end when river levels are normal, making it a great little overnighter with deep-bush ambience. Access up Doctors Creek from the Hokitika Gorge can be gained in a day by a fit, experienced party, but it is longer and rougher going. There is good hunting in the head of the Mikonui and down in Doctors Creek. Permolat has reopened two old NZFS tops tracks from the hut up onto the…

Remote charging devices are practically a must these days, particularly on expedition trips when it’s two weeks between wall sockets! So when Tightlines presented Powertraveller’s latest offering we leapt at it. Powertraveller is a British firm who manufacture a huge range of portable charging options, the Extreme is their premiere outdoor market solar charger and power bank combination. Phones, digital cameras, GPS, Sat phones, headlamps - all kinds of things can be charged without the need of batteries these days.. You can use the 289g solar charger on its own - but, the power of the sun requires exactly that, the sun. In places like Fiordland that can be far from guaranteed and also means it has to be out and charging when you want to be doing something. Therefore,…

I even threw in a “This is better than sitting at home” for good measure. A while later I rolled out my old favourite "This is why they call it hunting, not shooting." But there was no sunrise, just a lighter shade of grey gloom as daylight allowed us to see how heavy the rain was, as well as see all the Mallards that were landing in every paddock but the one we were set up in! Sitting at home was starting to look quite appealing compared to enduring such frustrations in a layout blind in the pouring rain. Even good wet weather gear cannot defy the laws of gravity; the rain on your face and hands will end up down your back and sleeves when you’re lying on your…