NZ Hunter

New Zealand’s premier hunting and outdoor magazine. For everything hunting - adventures, tips, how-tos, and reviews of the latest products. A great read with something for everyone.

NZ Hunter Magazine Ltd

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR • The bloody weather! Ok, enough about that – but it has been one of the topics that has been having a huge effect on everybody from the drowned East Coast to the sunburnt south and west!

Q&A

MILES UNDER THE BELT • As soon as March comes around every hunter, including me, is counting down the days until they can head into the mountains to chase Red stags

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS • A mature stag will have rubbed off all the velvet with younger stags still to follow.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN • His roars were getting louder, so we knew he must be close. We'd been stalking towards the noise for over an hour now and it was starting to get nervy. Our movements had to be timed with his roars or when the southerly gusted through the canopy, and we were constantly scanning the thick bush around us.

TO MASON BAY WITH GOOD MATES • After much planning and anticipation, the trip was on. I had been hunting on Stewart Island back in the 80's but that was at one of the Rakiura Māori land blocks on the east coast

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT • I consider myself a lucky person as I was raised in a family that loved hunting small game, with lots of duck shooting and rabbit hunting memories that turned towards bigger game once I got a bit older

A JOURNEY INTO THE NIGHT • It's an old and well used cliché that us hunter gatherers like to break out occasionally — “it's not all about catchnig fish or shooting an animal” – especially when trying to explain what we do and why we do it to someone who has formed a different opinion on hunting and fishing to our own

LEARNING TO LET GO • The first stag trip of the year is always a highlight. I'm always full of excitement, and usually have a few summer kilos to work off too!

FIREARMS SAFETY THINGS A HUNTER MUST KNOW PART ONE • A Coroner who analysed the cause of a hunting incident made the recommendation that “even the most experienced hunter would benefit from a refresher course on firearms safety”

BACKCOUNTRY ETIQUETTE • Times have changed from when I first started hunting. There are way more people out in the hills doing what we all love

EFFICIENCY IS SILENCE • It would be fair to say that bowhunting is difficult at the best of times

SAKO FINLAND DRIVEN HUNT • Quick recap: It's October 2022, I'm in Finland, at the invitation of Sako to celebrate the launch of the Sako 100. We've been treated lavishly, shot on their range, and toured the historic factory. Now it's our last full day, our chance to experience classic Finnish hunting – a drive

WAPITI MAHI DEER MANAGEMENT • How life has changed for the Wapiti Foundation, and for me. In the last article I spoke about volunteers – now here I am, writing this as a paid employee of the Wapiti Foundation

A NEW DAWN FOR THE HUNTING COMMUNITY? • Is the hunting community in New Zealand awakening to new dawn? Game animal management is starting to become the in thing, but there is a key issue, in that research hasn't been on our radar and it needs to be!

ARBOR RIFT & SHELTER HOLLOW TAHR BALLOT BLOCKS • The Landsborough is unique among West Coast rivers, running parallel to the main divide for more than 60km

DICKIE SPUR HUT • Dickie Spur hut is located on a tussock bench at 1090m at the northern end of Dickie Ridge high above the Tuke River in central Westland

GAME ANIMALS OF NEW ZEALAND RED DEER

TWO OLD GOATS • I felt as if we had been climbing for an eternity. Beyond exhaustion, I was completely on auto pilot. Lagging behind my brother I kept...