Hunting trip - New Zealand.

F

ftnz

Inactive
Hello all. Been reading the forum for a bit, and thought I would post a few photos of my most recent hunting trip over here in New Zealand. These were taken in one of our public forests (Tararuas). We hiked 5 hours to get to the hut where we stayed, and hunted for the next couple of days.


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One of my mates heads he got

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First of all ftnz, welcome to TFL! :) I think there's other folks from New Zealand on here as well. Second of all, I'm jealous! :D That is some drop dead gorgeous country (and one nice buck)! What kind of deer do you have down there? What other game do you folks hunt in New Zealand?
 
Cheers Capt Charlie. The most common deer that we have are Reds, Fallow and Sika. But we also have Sambar, Rusa, Wapiti (Elk I think you call it) and Whitetail, in smaller populations in select areas of the country. The one in the photo is a red. Probably the next most popular game is pigs, but I don't have dogs so don't really hunt them.
 
One of these days I'm going to get back down to New Zealand for a visit and hunting's definately going to be on the agenda! :D

Goats of several kinds too if I remember correctly - and the waterfowl (ducks and geese) are thicker than lice on a lazy porch hound if I remember correctly. :cool:
 
yorec - yes lots of feral goats, I shoot these for target practice really, not meat. Lots of winged game too, not into it myself.

Glock 31 - gun laws in New Zealand are more restricted than the US. To own a pistol for example, you have to be a member of a club, and can only use it at the range (assuming you qualify). Magazines for semis can't be larger than 7 rounds, unless you have a special licence, which is difficult to obtain and has lots of conditions too. I have just accepted that I won't get to use these types of firearms, and focus on my hunting rifles.

I think that our hunting laws/conditions are more relaxed though. For our main deer species, we can hunt when we want, where we want (on public land anyway), and can take as many as we like (obviously only take what you can carry though). All you need is a permit, which anyone can get for free.

One thing I can't get my head around though is 'stand' hunting. I don't know of anyone who does this over here.
 
On stand hunting: Picture flat to very gently rolling terrain. Cover it thickly with thorny brush, but for occasional small open areas and man-made lanes. The brush is generally higher than your head. Some areas, add in lots of dry leaves, sticks, and rolling rocks.

For a walking hunter, skill at snap shots on running deer can be successful. You have about ten feet of "deer-time".

Elsewhere, think of near-jungle conditions, again in nearly-flat terrain.

You can sit and wait on the ground, or you can seek elevation for vision down into the brush or undergrowth.

Stand hunting is a variation on a cougar's ambush.

Great country in the pictures. Nice buck!

Art
 
Great lookin' stag! How much did he weigh? I read somewhere that red stags of eastern Europe weigh more than same species in New Zealand. Something to do with colder climate. Just curious.

Ever hear of a cross between red stag and elk?
Jack
 
Very beautiful country. And nice buck. Who from the U.S.A. wants to get together with me for a New Zealand hunting trip? But if I kill 200 feral goats and 1,000 rabbits in a weekend, I don't think I can afford the shipping of all that meat back. :(
 
Jack I'm not sure how much he weighed, felt like a ton carrying him out for 5 hours though! And that was shared weight between us too(along with another 6 pointer). Yes I am aware of eastern european reds, I understand that Bulgaria is the place to go for the top trophys. Down in our southeren wilderness (fiordland), the reds do cross with our wapiti (elk), and infact I am not sure if there are many pure breeds at all now.

First Freedom, lots of goats and rabbits to hunt, wouldn't bother with the meat though! Why not go for Deer?
 
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