No doubt if you have an interest in the hunting scene in New Zealand you will, like me, follow a wide variety of media on the subject. Over the past few years I have noticed that there are consistently better “trophy” type animals being harvested. Now this could be because of the influx of ways to communicate your hunting success, I mean if you didn’t put it on Facebook, did you even shoot a bull? Its now far easier to keep track of who is shooting what and where because of the photos that get published, it is easy to judge the quality rather than the old mate at the pub telling you that Bruc ..read more

If there is one piece of kit that ends up on even the shortest of gear lists, a rain jacket should be it. Being just a small rock in the middle of the ocean, New Zealand’s weather can change very quickly, especially while hunting in alpine terrain. Hunters should carry waterproof gear on every trip, combined with a hat and gloves and a torch they are covered for a significant percentage of things that might go wrong on the hunting trip. The NZ Mountain Safety Council explains why waterproof gear is essential on any hunting trip. Image @ First Lite Modern rain jackets these days weigh aroun ..read more

We’ve all heard the rhetoric “having a firearm is a privilege not a right” and personally I don’t entirely disagree with that statement. By now we are also no doubt well versed in the unintended consequences of the law changes this hapless government seems to keep ramming down our throats. Due to recent legislative changes what is now quite true is the fact that we as firearms license holders are held to a much higher standard than the general public, in fact holders now have less rights and privileges than the rest of the population. For example, the general public has a right to doctor/pati ..read more

With good planning and the lightweight gear available these days you can really cover a lot of ground, even on just an overnighter. But, even with all that fancy gear and an honest attempt at good planning, you can find yourself having bitten off more than you can chew and in the midst of what feels like a death march. There’s a valley I’d had my eye’s on for quite a while now, and after the usual pouring over a topo map, google earth, and even consulting my trusty Moirs Guidebook, it appeared that a solid overnight trip should have it covered. So, on a Friday evening I did the usual last-mi ..read more

South Westland has a long history of deer hunting accessed by jet boat, and these days it’s still somewhat of a mecca for jet boaters and hunters alike. On any fine weekend you’ll no doubt find trucks and trailers at any of a number of the places 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 i ..read more

Co-written by PointsSouth & David Jacobs taxidermy.co.nz First, A Little Background Both male and female chamois have horns and both can be considered trophies, but it can be notoriously hard to tell the difference sometimes. If a buck is to reach that magical 10-inch mark it will need to be very close to it after three years of age, otherwise it will never get there within its lifespan. This is because the hook of the horn is the greatest determinate of the horn size, and all things being equal it is genetics that determine the hook on bucks. Therefore, it's important to recognise what i ..read more

When the stag antlers have dropped, and the tahr capes bleaching in the sun, the focus often shifts to re-stocking the freezer in preparation for those long summer evening BBQ’s – part of our DNA makeup here in New Zealand Spring has many positives, with the days getting longer and pleasant temperatures. It’s the ideal time to fill the freezer and easy enough to keep that meat in good condition before it’s frozen. It’s also an ideal time to take the kids out on an adventure and show them where their food comes from, also there’s enough daylight left after work hours to get away for an evening ..read more

We all would have heard someone say that “you’ll learn more from just sitting back and watching”, which is true for just about any hunting, but with bull tahr it’s especially relevant as their behaviour changes significantly through the different stages of the rut. Understanding what you are seeing can help you work out where those really old bulls might be, or at least save you from wasting a heap of time in looking at one immature bull after another. Shaun Monk looking down the Zora Particularly as a result of our tahr ballot most people seem to focus on the first few periods, which is u ..read more

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It’s not that long ago that about as tech as I got pre hunt was having a quick look at a forecast and a topo map before heading out into the hills. These day’s you can spend a bunch of time “E-Scouting” on various apps and websites to try and plan a feasible route as well as get much more detailed forecasts even whilst in the field via an Inreach for example. Guidebooks such as Moirs are still a fantastic resource and provide good route descriptions for both the obvious and the more obscure places.  Moirs over the years has for me provided the inspiration for many a trip into new country ..read more