New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 174 - Spring 2011

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Issue 174 OctOber - December 2011An official publication of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association Incorporated

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is given in good faith and has been derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, neither NZDA nor any person involved in the preparation of this publication accepts any form of liability whatsoever for its contents including opinions, advice or information or any consequences from it use. Articles and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association Inc.

cOver PhOtO ‘I’M SURE I HEARD SOMETHING’ photographed by Paul Lenz, Golden Bay Branch, Athol Hood Memorial Trophy, Hunting & Widlife Cover (Section I), 2011

FeAturesTussock Wanderings – Roger Stokes ................................................................... 8

Outstanding Young Deerstalker of the Year 2011 ............................................... 12

National Antler, Horn and Tusk Competition Results 2011 .................................. 14

Operation ‘Oamaru’ - Dylan Innis ....................................................................... 17

Young Hunter Story – The Big One – James Kellow ............................................ 18

‘take me hunting’ – Kids’ Page – win a free Kilwell prize .................................. 19

A Summary of Political Party Policies ................................................................. 20

Lock, Stock and Barrel – Exterior Ballistics ....................................................... 22

NZDA National Competitions.............................................................................. 23

National Photographic Competitions 2011.......................................................... 24

Otago Red Deer Herd Trophies (Continued) - Heads 7, 8 & 9 .............................. 26

Horny Hind, Sorrowful Stag – Aidan Boswell ...................................................... 28

Young Hunter Profile – Zeke Meikle ................................................................... 31

My First Deer or Two – Taylah Barrett ................................................................ 33

Blast from the Past – Trophy of a Lifetime – J A Anderson ................................. 34

Habitat –Whio/Blue Duck Recovery Programme ................................................ 37

reGuLArsPresident’s Report - Alec McIver ...................................................................... 2

Editorial – This Election is so Important – Tony Orman ...................................... 3

DOC Update - National Hunting Advisor – Ian Cooksley ..................................... 5

HUNTS Report - Bill O’Leary – Round the Branches .......................................... 6

Letters to the Editor ......................................................................................... 7

Places to Hunt – East Coast Hunting ................................................................16

Bush Telegraph - News from around the traps .................................................32

Stalkers’ Table – Grannie Olive’s Recipes........................................................ 36

Swazi Junior Shoots ........................................................................................37

Heritage – The Nitz Brothers’ Red Heads ........................................................ 38

Tip Offs – Poetry? Not Me! – Fran Allcock ...................................................... 40

Book & DVD reviews .......................................................................................42

Poetry – Exposure – Fran Allcock ................................................................... 43

Points of Envy - 2011 AHT Competition Winners ............................................. 44

On Target – National Shooting Results ............................................................ 46

CONTENTS

1NZ Hunting & Wildlife 174 - Spring 2011

The annual conference has been and gone.

There was an excellent turnout; the higher

travel costs, offset by the considerably lower

than normal registration cost. The facilities

and surrounding landscape was well liked by

many of the delegates and executive members.

On that note, I took my daughter Maggie to

her first conference and she was blown away

with the snow fall. The snow caused the

slightly early closing of the conference on

Sunday to enable everyone to meet their travel

arrangements.

It was a very informative conference, but was

rather disappointing by the lack of nominations

for the positions on National Executive. I am

not sure how to take this; are the members

happy with the current executive members, or

just don’t want to rock the boat?

There was some concern raised on the size

of the conference handbook; members need

to remember that it is an account of the

Association’s history for the prior 12-months,

of which a copy is held in the National Library

of New Zealand, Wellington. This is possibly

the only document which compiles the annual

report into one publication.

It was good to see the excellent entries in the

antler, horn and tusk (AHT) and photographic

competitions. I congratulate all the winners.

I hope that those who were not so lucky this

time will try again.

I wish to inform members that this is going to

be my last year as your National President. I

have enjoyed the position in this role and take

it as an honour and privilege to have served

the Association in this capacity.

Game Animal Council (GAC)

At my meeting with the Minister of

Conservation, Hon Kate Wilkinson on the 29th

August 2011, she indicated that it appears

the government is running out of time to get

the GAC through parliament before this year’s

election, however she is hoping to achieve the

first reading. Hon Peter Dunne is also using

his influence in this first reading happening

under his working agreement with the current

government.

Heli-hunting

Also during discussions at the meeting with

Hon Kate Wilkinson, heli-hunting was again

another hot topic. I believe that she is not

moving much on this subject, so I informed

her that NZDA is prepared to take this on as a

political fight through the media channels. We

have been informed that we can’t stop heli-

hunting through the current legal processes.

At some cost NZDA obtained a legal opinion,

as did James Scott, only to be told that our

chances of successfully stopping heli-hunting

via a judicial process, would be low, and would

carry high financial risks to any plaintiffs.

I urge all branches, members and non-

members to visit their local members of

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

PresIDeNt’s rePOrtA l e c M c I v e r - N a t i o n a l P r e s i d e n t N e w Z e a l a n d D e e r s t a l k e r s ’ A s s o c i a t i o n

NZ Hunting & Wildlife 174 - Spring 2011 2

parliament, be it the elected or list MP, and

discuss the heli-hunting and GAC issues.

Even if you live in the North Island, this could

become a problem in your own backyard,

spreading to such animals as the North Island

Sika herds.

I also informed the minister that the

Association was satisfied with the new

‘National Hunter Advisor’ appointment, and

hope that this position will continue.

Christchurch Meeting

After our last executive meeting and my

meetings with the Hon Kate Wilkinson and

Hon Peter Dunne, my partner and I flew

to Christchurch and attended the North

Canterbury Branch meeting.

I was very impressed with their new clubrooms

and would say they would be one of the best

clubrooms that I have visited.

I was requested, and it was my pleasure, to

present certificates to their branch members

who were winners in the national AHT and

photographic competitions.

The main reason for my visit as your National

President, was the privilege to present David

Hodder with his National Life Membership of

NZDA. David is a most deserving recipient

of this honour in recognition of the years

he served as National President and on the

National Executive. He has been the NZDA

representative on the tahr liaison committees

for many a year. On a personal note, I wish

to thank David for the great support and

guidance he has given to assist me to carry

out the position as your National President.

A further reason, for which I was thrilled to

carry out, was to present to Sonya Hodder a

certificate of appreciation from NZDA for the

support she has given her husband, David over

the many years.

After carrying out my official duties, my

partner Wai and I took off a few days for a

tahr hunt with my host, a long standing and

respected member, Zeff Veronese. We had a

great few days in the mountain around Mount

Aoraki. Wai and I both managed to shoot a bull

tahr thanks to Zeff’s vast experience. Even

though he is 73-years-old, we had trouble

keeping up with him. I would like to thank Zeff

and his good wife Gwen for their hospitality.

Safe hunting Identify your target.

EDITORIAL

The other day I got to thinking about my endeavours over decades that I’ve spent in lobbying politicians, making submissions to select committees and being involved in advocacy organisations like NZ Deerstalkers’ Association, acclimatisation societies and then Fish and Game Councils, plus organisations on trout and sea fishing.

Although my father had strong Labour Party beliefs prior to the disastrous Rogernomic Labour Governments of 1984 to 1990, I’ve been a ‘swinging voter’ with no party allegiances.

Back in 1969 - 41 years ago - I got involved in the ‘Save Manapouri’ campaign, which opposed the proposed raising of Lake Manapouri, in a national park to provide cheap, discounted power to a foreign owned company for an aluminium smelter. Since then, I can look back and count the victories on one hand – Save Manapouri, a big victory in defeating trout farming plans, stopping the National Government selling public lands for a wealthy American to profit out of the hunting and fishing values at Takaro Lodge near Te Anau, defeating channel catfish and grass carp farming plans and one or two others. NZDA were involved in those battles.

The 1972 election defeat of the National Government with Save Manapouri, trout farming and the sale of public lands was a big victory helped by Labour leader Norman Kirk’s personal empathy with the outdoors. But since then, the public ownership and access to the outdoors has undergone threats and has slid downhill. Should we mention poisons like 1080 and brodifacoum spread over decades by successive governments of National and Labour?

The outlook is far from rosy. We are fighting for the public ownership of fish and game as privatisation erodes access rights unless you pay the big bucks that 98 percent of Kiwis cannot afford. The sale of hunting, shooting and trout fishing rights, encroaching pollution that even sees dead trout in rivers, warnings about drinking water in rivers and even causing dog deaths, private power companies vying

to dam rivers for their own profits, a racially divided country as epitomised by the Marine and Coastal Bill.

And we are seeing politicians in government, seemingly deaf to any public comment. Since the 1972 Kirk government the slide has been downward and politicians increasingly arrogant.

It has been a frustrating process under successive governments founded on and dominated by either Labour or National, whose politicians have indulged in arrogance, deceit and deception. In the background has been career bureaucrats adept at ‘double speak’ and manipulating ministers.

The Embryo - It was a chance conversation with a blindingly faithful National Party member that triggered an idea. He told me government was very nervous that the public might learn how to use MMP largely through the party vote. But while the public remained largely unaware of how MMP actually works, the major parties were smug and safe.

He told me the public at large did not fully realise the party vote is totally separate, ie independent of the electorate candidate vote and he hoped the ignorance would remain.

Germination - When you think about the significance of that and the outdoor public sector vote in numbers, there has to be a great potential impact at election time. The number of Kiwis who get into the outdoors, hunting, fishing, shooting and tramping has been put at a million, more or less. Recently I saw a figure of 1.3 million for sea fishing alone.

After those 41 years I mentioned earlier, I get a very strong feeling that National and Labour are simply ‘Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dee’.

But then doesn’t MMP give the public a choice?

A voter can still vote for a National or Labour candidate, but is totally free to cast a vote for another party, such as a

thIs eLectION Is sO ImPOrtANt!B y T o n y O r m a n


Co-founders: Dr G B Orbell MBE, Arthur Hamilton

Patron: Hong Tse

National President: Alec McIver

National Vice President: Tim McCarthy

North Island Members of the National Executive: Steve Corlett, Sandi Curreen South Island Members of the National Executive: Chaz Forsyth, Snow Hewetson

Chief Executive Officer: Dianne Brown

National Treasurer: John Crone

Advisor to the National Executive: Matthew Lark

Honorary Solicitor: Peter Barrett

Auditor: Signal & Associates

LIFe members: R Badland QSM, M St J, J Bamford, D Bruce Banwell, W J I Cowan, M Dunajtschik, A S D Evans MNZM, D Hodder, R McNaughton MNZM, W O’Leary, G Smith, H Tse, I D Wright NZDA recOGNIseD sPONsOrs 2010:Ampro Sales – Tasco, Belmont Ammunition, The Game Butcher, Halcyon Publishing, Kilwell, Hunting & Fishing NZ, Malcolm Perry, NZ Guns & Hunting, NZ Mountain Safety Council, NZ Wines and Spirits, Shooters Word Ltd – Gore, Stoney Creek (NZ) Ltd, Swazi Apparel AFFILIAteD tO: Council of Licensed Firearm Owners (COLFO), NZ Mountain Safety Council (NZMSC), Outdoors New Zealand (ONZ), Sporting Shooters of Australia Association Inc (SSAA), Shooting Sports Pacific Forum (through COLFO), International Hunter Education Association (IHEA)

brANches: Ashburton, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Blue Mountains, Bush, Central King Country, Direct, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Golden Bay, Gore & Districts, Hastings, Hutt Valley, Kapiti, Kaweka, Malvern, Manawatu, Marlborough, Napier, Nelson, North Auckland, North Canterbury, North Otago, Northland, Otago, Palmerston, Porirua, Rakaia, Rotorua, Ruahine, South Auckland, South Canterbury, South Otago, South Waikato, Southern Lakes, Southland, Taihape, Taranaki, Taupo, Te Awamutu, Thames Valley, Tutira, Upper Clutha, Waikato, Waimarino, Wairarapa, Wairoa & Districts, Wellington, West Coast, Western Southland, Whangarei

All rights reserved – opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the

New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association Inc

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS SERIAL NUMBER977 1171 656 006

‘A particular virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or

disapprove of his conduct. Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his conscience.’

Aldo Leopald

New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association Inc, formed July 1937

EDITORIAL

minor party as are the Green Party, NZ First, UnitedFuture, Kiwi, Act and others.

Not Wasted - So is a vote for a minor party wasted? Definitely not! The proof is in the Helen Clark Labour Government when the Green Party deeply influenced policies. Now the Maori Party has exerted a strong influence on the John Key-led, National-based government.

What if we had a minor party in tune with the 1.3 million Kiwis who fish, hunt and shoot, in coalition with the government after November 26?

Therein lays a possible solution. Persuade as many outdoors minded Kiwis to vote on their party vote, for a viable minor party in tune with the outdoors.

If enough care to think and do it, it would give ‘Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb’ a loud wakeup call - plus an outdoor voice and ear in government.

What if minor parties, in coalition with either Labour or National, had good outdoor recreation, fishing and hunting policies?

Therein lays the possibility and the opportunity.

Action Plan - I believe the outdoor sector should grasp this opportunity.

Time is running out. With each three-year term, the slide is further downward.

The MMP system could be made to work for the outdoor lobby by utilising the influence of minor parties in coalition with government.

To repeat, part of the MMP ‘problem’ is the public has not fully understood the two-vote system and the freedom it gives the voter. A significant number do not understand the party vote is 100 percent independent of the candidate vote. So a voter can vote for any party and for any candidate.

The significant vote is the party vote.

If enough people understood the importance of the party vote, and that it has no relevance to the candidate vote, and if they voted for a party that had sound outdoor recreation policies, then significant power and influence would be given in parliament through the minor parties.

To get MPs in the House, a party has to beat the 5 percent threshold. Alternatively it has to win a seat or seats. The mix of the two determines the number of MPs.

I see two parties not in parliament but significant to outdoor recreation, New Zealand First (Winston Peters) and Kiwi Party (ex-MP

Larry Baldock). Winston Peters is a keen sea fisherman and shooter. Larry Baldock has gone to battle against 1080 poison drops and advocated good game and sea fisheries management. Peter Dunne UnitedFuture leader is a current MP and has spoken up for the outdoor public.

If any one or two parties win a seat, then that’s a bonus, eg Peter Dunne in Ohariu, Winston Peters wherever he chooses?

Hypothetical - Imagine a hypothetical scenario after November 2011 of National 47, Labour 40, Maori 5, Greens 5 - and NZ First, UnitedFuture and Kiwi with 25 seats between them.

Obviously then those 3-minor parties (NZ First, UnitedFuture and Kiwi) could have a large measure of control and influence.

Don’t complain about the degree of influence of the Greens (with Labour) or the Maori and Act with (National). Why not make MMP work positively for the outdoor recreation public in election 2011?

Remember that party vote is the crucial one.

It’s important to educate voters on the importance and independence of the party vote, eg NZDA branch newsletters, letters to editor, etc.

Urge electors to vote with their party vote for either UnitedFuture, Kiwi or NZ First. But tell them the candidate vote is the individual’s choice.

Lobby the minor parties for good outdoor recreation policies.

This course of action has not tried to influence the voter’s choice of candidate which might very well be the Labour, National or Green, or whichever candidate. That is the attribute. Individuals can still vote for their party candidate. All one would be doing is urging voters to deeply think about the significance of the party vote.

That means that even Labour and National committed voters could still vote their way for the candidate, but also vote for a minor party.

Yes it’s venturesome, ‘but nothing ventured, nothing gained’.

And from my decades of advocacy experience, apart from 1972, we’ve gained little and have overall lost a lot of ground under a succession of Labour and National regimes.

In fact, we’re on a slippery slope downwards.

It’s a time on November 26, for bold, positive strategic action by the million ‘outdoorsy’ Kiwis.


how DOC is prioritising its work, what people can expect and the opportunities they have to get involved. For some, this will be a continuation of talks that began over 2 years ago. The information gained from these earlier discussions will be used and reflected in the consultations that are about to begin. CMS consultations won’t talk about how much it costs to do this work, how it will be done, when it will be done and who will do it—these are discussions for later.

Conservation Management Strategies and the Conservation Act - CMSs exist because of the Conservation Act 1987. This act creates a hierarchy of documents that guide how to manage New Zealand’s natural and physical resources. The act itself sits at the top of the hierarchy; general policy sits beneath this; and next come CMSs, conservation management plans and national park plans.

Putting general policies into practice - One purpose of a CMS is to put general policies into practice for the places and resources DOC administers on behalf of New Zealanders. This includes the Conservation General Policy 2005, which has a big part to play in shaping a CMS. This policy requires the CMS to do many things, including to:

• Identify how to integrate management of places to achieve national conservation outcomes;

• Clarify priorities for management of conservation resources;

• Guide decision-making (eg concessions);

• Coordinate planning between conservation management strategies and plans;

• Identify outcomes at places.

More information - For more information, email [email protected] or visit the DOC websitewww.doc.govt.nz/cms

their CMSs in different ways. Now DOC has a consistent approach for both the style and content of CMSs, and this new approach will be used across all of its conservancies.

Nationally consistent information - DOC is bringing to CMS discussions some nationally consistent information about natural heritage, visitor assets and historic heritage, along with DOC’s priorities for managing them. This information will be put on maps, to show where the most important national conservation priorities are. One of the aims of the CMS discussions is to increase people’s understanding of how places of regional and local importance fit within this national context. More detail about these national systems is available from information sheets that describe DOC’s Natural Heritage Management System and its Destination Management Framework.

Nationally consistent approach - DOC will be developing a nationally consistent approach to managing issues that we face in many places. Examples include issues relating to the management of vehicles, wilderness areas, heli-hunting and private accommodation.

Nationally consistent process - DOC has developed a template to guide the style and content of CMSs. It is also using a more consistent approach in how it engages with conservation boards, communities and tangata whenua.

Process for developing a CMS - Lots of people get involved in developing CMSs—the general public, tangata whenua, DOC, conservation boards, the Minister of Conservation and the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA). The NZCA approves CMSs. DOC will be engaging in varying ways with the public prior to the formal statutory process beginning. Who is involved in the formal part of the process and timelines for this are outlined below.

Beginning the consultation - ‘Second generation’ CMSs mark the beginning of what will be long-term consultations about

DOc uPDAte

NATIONAL HUNTING ADVISOR

Ian Cooksley is the Department of Conservations (DOC’s) national hunting advisor. This role is focussed on encouraging and improving the hunting experience.

Contact Ian on 04 472 5821 or [email protected]

NZDA Conference:

It was a real privilege to attend the opening night of the Association’s recent annual conference at Tuatapere. On the surface were the impressive trophies for the year, the photo competition entries and the very entertaining Davey Hughes presentation but underpinning all of these was the real enthusiasm, passion and camaraderie displayed by the members present. It reminded me of annual branch dinners I had attended in the late 1960s in the Southern Wairarapa.

Conservation Management Strategies:

DOC is at present working through the process of renewing Conservation Management Strategies (CMS) throughout the country. This is an important opportunity for anyone who has an interest in what happens on department administered lands to have their say and I encourage hunters and other backcountry users to get involved.

The following briefly sets out the CMS process and for further information you can either contact staff at your nearest DOC office or go on the DOC website www.doc.govt.nz/cms

Introduction - The new CMSs will focus on outcomes for places that are special to communities and tangata whenua. Consultations will identify what these places will look like over the next 10 years. They will reflect outcomes to achieve national conservation goals as well as local ones.

Managing places - In essence, CMSs are about how the Department of Conservation (DOC) manages places—in particular, how DOC integrates its various functions at specific places. They are a key conservation management tool, acting as a conduit through which DOC implements legal, policy and strategic goals. CMSs are also recognised under the Resource Management Act 1991—their content is considered when plans are developed under that act, such as by local government agencies.

In the past, conservancies have developed


Round the branches

My aim is to get to every branch over a two-year cycle, and where possible, to time my visit to coincide with HUNTS course events that provide an opportunity to see instructors in action.

I caught up with a good number of instructors at conference and firmed up a travel plan that in August took in a fair piece of the North Island. I saw instructors on ranges, in the lecture room and in the bush. I have been able to sign off several on the HUNTS standards and have been able to discuss funding and training issues. Two new branches want to deliver HUNTS, and meetings with branch representatives were held to map out a plan for each. The invitations were also taken up to visit two new range sites and several existing ones and where appropriate, provide advice on design and operations.

The trip also included a visit to our sponsor Stoney Creek and Nichola MacLean, their marketing manager who is our principle contact.

The next several months look to be equally busy in the South Island. I have to be honest and say that I am happier driving down South.

The roads are more familiar, straighter and less congested and the snow should be gone…please.

The Safety Management System

This document was introduced in draft form at conference and emailed to all branch coordinators in August with a request for feedback.

The purpose of the document is to provide clear guide lines as to how HUNTS courses and related activities are conducted, so that all participants are kept as safe as possible along with our instructors, and the Association itself. It is probable, that branches running open days for the public and hunting trips for branch members, will find this document has relevance. Copies can be obtained from National Office.

The document is to be reviewed by the end of this year taking into account the feedback received. Thereafter it will be reviewed annually.

The HUNTS qualification

NZDA recently advised Mountain Safety Council that assessment and management of

the hunting specific standards and the HUNTS qualification would now be conducted by NZDA.

To enable this, NZDA has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Whitireia New Zealand, which is the tertiary institution through which the HUNTS qualification has been delivered.

This move was taken only after serious deliberation; a meeting between MSC representatives and NZDA provided the opportunity for NZDA to explain in detail that the action had been taken to preserve the qualification and protect the interests of HUNTS instructors. At that meeting, it was also signalled that NZDA would be evaluating the appropriateness of the current instructor training pathway.

It must be emphasised that this action does not imply any withdrawal of support for MSC as a council or for its work in promoting safety in the outdoors.

All in all, a very busy few months.

All the best to all instructors. Keep up the good work and I look forward to catching up with you.

HUNTS REPORT

rOuND the brANchesB i l l O ’ L e a r y , N a t i o n a l C o o r d i n a t o r , H U N T S

Bill O’LearyNational Coordinator,

HUNTS

Keth Theobald, HUNTS instructor with Alec McIver, National President and Bill

O’Leary, HUNTS National Coordinator catch up during a HUNTS course

Bay of Plenty Branch HUNTS instructor, Keith Theobald,

demonstrating firearm care

Keith Theobald, Bay of Plenty Branch HUNTS instructor confirming some map

details with two course participants


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear Editor

In the 1970s the NZ Big Game Hunters’ Association was a forthright body opposed to commercial exploitation of deer. Its code of ethics was opposed to the sale of venison by individual hunters. It was an organisation for a true amateur deerstalker. Its membership was about 1,000 at the time I was on the national executive.

With the passing of its president G T ‘Jock’ Hutton it carried on for a few years and then went into recess. Unfortunately papers such as the constitution of NZBGHA are gathering dust somewhere. Today there has been some revival of interest in NZBGHA in the light of threats such as 1080 poison, the government orchestrated ERMA review, the recent biased Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report calling for more 1080 poison, access problems, the Game Council’s bias to commercial exploiters of deer, plus others. The proposed NZ Game Animal Council will be the first recreational sport to be controlled by a government minister. The need for strong advocacy to protect recreational hunters and their chosen recreation has never been more vital than now.

Through your magazine I would like to contact any former NZBGHA members and/or anyone who has a copy of the old constitution.

I do not see a revived NZBGHA in whatever form it may be, to be in opposition to present kindred outdoor sporting groups. Fragmentation would be counter productive to the big game hunting sector. The aim is to be a forthright advocate as NZBGHA was in the 1970s.

At the moment I am trying to contact NZBGHA members and would be grateful if they could contact me as below. I have had discussions with a few I know and we have called ourselves Sporting Hunters’ Outdoor Trust (SHOT) in the meantime.

Laurie Collins Convenor Sporting Hunters’ Outdoor Trust 15 Greenfield St, Hector 7822, West Coast.

NZBGHA of 1970sEditor

November 26 is election day and through your columns as leader of the Kiwi Party, I would like to remind hunters that under MMP the party vote is so important, particularly in the light of recent Labour and National’s pro-poison, anti wild animal policies and actions.

Hunters and outdoor minded New Zealanders should use their party vote to give the two main parties a strong message and to vote for a party that wants New Zealanders’ rights to the outdoors and hunting and fishing safeguarded.

The Kiwi Party:-

Opposes aerial application of 1080 poison and wants deer, wild pigs, tahr and chamois classified in law as game animals and not pests.

Access should be not further restricted, but expanded through fair agreements with DOC and landowners. We want to protect every Kiwi’s right to access the great outdoors.

The Department of Conservation, should be

renamed the ‘Department of Conservation and Recreation’ to give emphasis to its dual and equal responsibilities under the Act.

The Kiwi Party has sound sea fishing policies where we want recreational rights given priority over commercial. After all a healthy fishery benefits both commercial, and recreational. A poorly managed fishery benefits no one. Both Labour and National fishery ministers have failed in their duty under the Act.

It is fundamental that Kiwi families have the right to provide food for their tables through hunting and fishing for generations to come.

Kiwi recognizes that enjoying our great outdoors is an important part of what it means to be a New Zealander.

And on election day, don’t miss your chance to tell National and Labour you’ve had enough of their pro-1080, anti-deer policies. Use your party vote with thought. Vote for a minor party and tick Kiwi.

Larry Baldock Tauranga

COLFO comments

Like most, the council is disappointed by the outcome from the consultation with the Law and Order Select Committee on the Arms (Military Style Semi-automatic Firearms and Import Controls) Amendment Bill (2011). While the members of parliament engaged well, most of our members feel as though they were not heard and legislation is being passed that will damage the interest in responsible firearms ownership in the future.

Equally as disappointing, is the small number of individuals who have come out blaming others, when they were not to be heard when calls for support were made. I am concerned that this fractious nature causes external bodies to support stricter controls. If we cannot work together for the betterment of our sports and interests then what chance do we have of promoting them as areas to teach children to be responsible and law abiding citizens.

As I observed in my last report there was little opposition to the bill in parliament, we should ensure that we are recognised for the good we do in communities and for the country, the only way to do this is to promote ourselves.

We responded to an editorial in the Auckland Herald dated 31st August 2011. In the article there was a comment in support of full registration, the comment misquoted Sir Thomas Thorp, which we corrected saying – ‘We are surprised that former High Court Judge Sir Thomas Thorp is still being misrepresented in articles that call for firearms registration as the solution for firearms control. In his findings he said, ‘unless a compliance rate of not less than 90% can be achieved, the benefits derived from registration would be significantly reduced.’’

His point is important, as recent research in Australia by the International Coalition for Women in Shooting

and Hunting (WiSH) has been published on the effectiveness of registration. Their research shows compliance is 30% to 63%, and that the error rate in the system is around 80%. Eight in every ten records are wrong in some way. It also said the cost to Australia for their registration system is estimated to be between $27 and $100 million.

Another recently completed survey of 28 countries and 14 sub-territories showed that only six of those countries have full registration. Of those, Australian and Canadian members of parliament have questioned the cost effectiveness of their systems and both acknowledge the inaccuracy of their registers.

The council will be raising awareness to members of parliament, directly and through member associations leading up to the election and into the next term of government to ensure we are heard in any future arms amendment bills. We will also continue to work with police to ensure police policy acts on changes in a practical and consistent manner.

Other important research has been published lately by the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva based organisation supporting disarmament. This study looked at 28 countries and 14 sub-territories and found that only six of these countries have full registration. The majority had a form of limited registration similar to New Zealand.

I ask you all to approach your member of parliament to remind them you are a responsible member of your community, that complies with the law, and that a firearms license reflects a greater level of civic trust and freedom that more citizens should attempt to earn.

If you can be of any assistance with information or support please contact me on [email protected]

Michael Dowling, Chair COLFO


tussOck WANDerINGs B y R o g e r S t o k e s , T a u p o B r a n c h

STORY

It was a great feeling as we climbed back into the Back Country Helicopters’ Hughes 500D again and lifted off towards the snowgrass tops towering above us to the north, particularly as we’d only been out of the bush two hours – just enough to repack our swags with lighter loads and fresh tucker and fuel.

I’d just flown out of the Southern Alps on the same helicopter after ten days Red stag hunting with Simon, Ross and Garth; living out of the packs on our backs. This was our annual two week southern lakes roar hunt and we’d had adventures aplenty already but that story has been told by someone else. Having already slept in four different camps, and being the first week of April, the roar was in full swing. We’d already seen several dozen deer, plus about nine chamois - most of who hadn’t noticed our passing.

We were now winding down our trip with a three day cameo hunt into the head of some very rough creeks. To the best of the knowledge of the local DOC ranger, runholder and the chopper operator, (who had never put anyone into this open tops area before), foot hunters rarely ever went into this area. The

roar block permits hadn’t even been taken up, so we had been

offered them. Could be a good punt we

figured, to catch out a complacent old stag or buck who wasn’t used to having to look over his shoulder for foot hunters?

This trip took place five roars ago and was notable as the first roar hunt I had carried a rangefinder on. Up until then I considered rangefinders to be another expensive weight to carry, and best suited to technology enthusiasts, magazine columnists and people who couldn’t stalk game. However the Bushnell Legend I had now acquired hadn’t required a top up to the mortgage, was pocket-sized, and supposedly could range out to fantasy shooting distances of about 800 yards.

The day before flying down south I did a session at the NZDA Taupo’s 200m range. I also down-loaded a free ballistics programme (‘Point Blank’ – I’d found it through Google). This had all the commercially available bullets on its database and I printed out the ballistics chart to 450 yards for my 7x57 Winchester Featherweight which pops out 140gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets at a mild 2750fps. (Almost an embarrassing performance, but I figured the main thing was to make sure I hit them with the shot, rather than deafen me with muzzle blast).

We dropped Ross and Garth off first in the

bottom of a long open creek. The creek was about 15 kilometres long but the rough bottom half was very much unhuntable. The helicopter rose easier with just Simon and I aboard as we flew about five streams south. The steepness of the rocky front country was pretty daunting and we did a hurried swap of preferred camp ridges while in the air. Things looked much bigger than they’d appeared on the map.

Soon the silence of the mountains returned as Simon and I prospected for a tent site. Fortunately we were in luck, as an ideal site presented itself just thirty metres from where the helicopter had deposited us. Even better, water was standing in a little alpine tarn – the only one for about another thousand vertical feet!

We allocated ourselves a valley each; but unfortunately no animals presented for our evening glassing session. This was certainly disappointing, though maybe not surprising, considering the chopper activity. The ridge however held a well pounded track along the crest and it wasn’t hard to identify the square chamois prints on it.

Next morning we didn’t have to go far to glass, but a moderate ‘nor-wester’

The head basin. The buck was taken just after this picture, below the bluffs on the left.

‘… when we thought we heard the sound of a helicopter – it was, as the Hughes loomed up out of the greyness and the still-swirling snow’


made things a little unpleasant. None-the-less we were even more disappointed to get back to the tent for breakfast with neither of us having spotted any game where we were in the mid-valley. We did agree however that the vegetation looked much better towards the head-basins, and that was where we picked the animals should be.

Things suddenly picked up with Simon looking up from breakfast to spot two curious chamois standing on the skyline 60 metres away trying to work out what on earth we were! However they decided discretion was the best course of action based on Simon’s leap to action stations, and they darted over the ridge. Simon and I were most surprised not to spot them again once we’d made it to their spot. Turns out they’d stayed on the ridge-top but undulations in it had kept us from seeing them when we glanced that way, and it was only their footprints which remained to document the story of their escape. A nanny and yearling we figured from the prints – so that made us feel better.

I headed down into the north valley. I found the spaniard grass a real pain as I tried to remain high and sidle, but eventually I headed down to the valley floor as I encountered a series of guts which I knew would consume much of my day to traverse.

The valley floor was just wonderful with introduced grasses everywhere on gently sloping terraces. A pleasure just being there – not to mention all the footprints in the shingle; mainly chamois! The 15x image-stabilised Canon’s were working overtime now as I just knew the critters were here and it would be only a matter of time before the action started.

The sign got heavier and heavier as the feed got really good in the fertile avalanche scree areas, both deer and chamois – including stag sign as well. Obviously our gamble to come here was not just a wild goose chase.

I was sidling under some bluffs that just screamed ‘chamois’ when the shrill whistle came, and when it was repeated I identified it

as originating from the tussock face on the other side of the valley.

I pointed the binoculars in the direction of the sound, and found myself looking straight at a chunky chamois who was making his way very purposefully up the mountainside opposite. He sported a nice set of hooks which got my interest up!

The rangefinder got its first real-life action as I measured the increasing gap between us first at 260 yards, then 280…310…335…he paused at the top of a shingle scree and stared at me caught on my short tussock face, while I forlornly looked around for the necessary rifle rest to shoot up and across the valley. The only option to be seen was a rock barely 15 inches high. I lay down beside it and found I couldn’t get my shoulder under it, and had to rest the butt on my bicep. Well, at least it’s not an ultra-magnum I thought to myself! I couldn’t really get my eye down over my shoulder either, so my neck was protesting. The rifle was supported on the rock only by the magazine floorplate, but despite all this, the sight picture in the Swarovski AV scope was pretty stable. By now the buck was on his way again up the bluff above him. When he reached the top of the bluff he stopped and stood like a statue on the crest. Just as well I had a 9x scope - as I couldn’t see him against the face behind with my naked eye.

386 yards the rangefinder said. I swallowed deeply, and counted the 17 clicks up on the scope turret as my little chart stuck to the side of the range-finder indicated. The shot rang out and the echoes rolled around the bluffs for what seemed like 5-seconds.

My neck didn’t feel good after the contortions, but the bicep was fine. The chamois however was not in such good shape and tried to climb the hill behind, but couldn’t manage more than a couple of steps up and just stood there. I decided to try a second shot, but then couldn’t find him in the scope, so I concluded he’d

fallen over.

I was most pleased with myself, and was now somewhat of a believer in the predictability of the laws of aerodynamics!

It was certainly a solid climb up to him and as is often the case, it was a bit hard to work out just where he’d been standing as it all looked a bit different from his side. By lasering back to the little rock where I’d shot from, I was able to find the right rock-pile. As I approached it I saw a falcon sitting on the rocks. It flew away on my approach and I wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that hopefully the buck was lying nearby in the snow grass.

I muttered a couple of ‘you beauties’ when I saw the size of the buck - a very solid body and big radius hooks I estimated somewhere between 9 to 10 inches. I was happy to take him home!

It was so steep it was impossible to get self-timer photos, so I rolled (mostly) and dragged him (a bit) all the way to the bottom of the hill, and out to a rock so I could get some good backdrop pictures of the head-basin. He hadn’t been easy to drag and when I opened him up he was covered in fat. I took his hind legs and back steaks, along with his lush cape.

The day was getting well on by now and my trip down the creek was a fast one. I then had a 500 metre climb to camp and was not looking forward to doing that as darkness

10-point stag on the tops

Camp at 1,707 metres

‘It was so steep it was impossible to get self-timer photos, so I rolled and dragged him all the way to the bottom, and out to a rock so I could get some good backdrop pictures of the head basin’

Nice looking chamois


Last evening snow. Kea in photo

CHARTERS • BLUFF

Scenic Trips • Fishing • Hunting • Diving • Tramping

Hunt Stewart Island

Contact: Bob & Chris HawklessPh: (03) 212 7254 - Fax: (03) 212 8321 - Mob: 0274 335 801

Email: [email protected]: www.manacharters.com

47ft Morgan Hull charter vessel, 650hp V8 Fiat engine, cruises at 12-13 knots.

Bob Hawkless: ex commercial fisherman for 25 years plus 20 years hunting experience on Stewart Island.

Hire equipment: 12ft Stabi Crafts, 12ft dinghys, outboard motors, camping equipment,

gas bottles & dive bottles.

Happy hunters - Garth Johnson, Roger Stokes and Simon Gibson

descended. I stashed his legs and went as hard as I could while it was still light enough to see, but darkness overtook me about half way up. It is very dark out in the Southern Alps on a moonless night!

I was pleased to locate camp by torch on the other side of the range and find Simon there. He’d had an equally big day, getting onto a few deer and shooting a nice 11-point stag way out on the tops. This missed a bay tine – he’d thought up to when he counted them on the ground that it was a 12. We had lots of adventures to talk about!

The next day we returned to my head basin, but before we could get any further than I’d made the day before we were driven under a cliff-face by rain which turned to sleet, then snow. We had a cold and damp trip back to camp, where we retired to the tent to avoid

the snowflakes. The next morning we were covered with about half a foot of snow. The snow continued falling at a much faster rate and soon even the tussock was getting hard to see. Our helicopter pick-up was scheduled for 10 am, but we couldn’t contemplate packing the tent, contenting ourselves with shaking it regularly from the inside to ensure it didn’t collapse.

Simon was almost despairing when he just had to get out for a ‘walk’. I understand the exercise was cold and unsatisfyingly rushed. However it was useful as he was able to dig out our cups (he walked on my buried spoon and broke it) and come back to bed with the necessaries for a brew. This was just approaching the boil when we thought we heard the sound of a helicopter – it was, as

the Hughes loomed up out of the greyness and the still-swirling snow. Knowing we wouldn’t be easy to see I stood waving my orange thermarest. It was a bit of a panic dressing, collapsing the tent, and packing while trying to find things under the snow, but we were a couple of most grateful lads to know we were going home as scheduled after 13 great days on the hill.

Ross and Garth had done well too, seeing several groups of deer and had venison also.

This little trip was an eye-opener for me as I probably wouldn’t have attempted the distant buck without the rangefinder, and you can be sure the rangefinder has been invited on all roar trips since!


OutstANDING YOuNG DeerstALker OF the YeAr 2011McConochie Award - Lee Kelly - Thames Valley BranchB y M a u r e e n C o l e m a n , T h a m e s V a l l e y B r a n c h P r e s i d e n t

ARTICLE

Lee Kelly, Thames Valley Branch with the Newton McConochie Award for Outstanding

Young Deerstalker of the Year 2011

Lee Kelly, now 17 years-old has been a fully active and much respected member of the Thames Valley Branch since he first joined the club towards the end of his primary schooling seven years ago. Lee is now in his final year at school and we have seen an exemplary rise in his standing in the club. The wonderful attributes that he possesses are a real credit to him and makes him an excellent role model to other members and a true ambassador for the club and our sport.

Lee is from a non hunting family but he has always shown an absolutely genuine willingness to learn and contribute in every aspect of the club. This has seen him achieving major and very well deserved milestones towards what will undoubtedly be a very rewarding recreational hunting future.

This last year has been a real credit to Lee and the excellent results he has attained have been purely through hard work, dedication, commitment, honesty and also a desire to share what he has learnt with the new members he has introduced to the sport.

Lee is a HUNTS course participant and the enthusiasm on the course and the results that he attained were a clear indication to us all that this young man was destined to be a leader and a mentor within the foreseeable future. It has been extremely humbling for me as president of the club to see youngsters such as Lee stepping up to the mark, making wise decisions based on sound judgement and being there to help all members regardless of age or past experiences. This ability to work, communicate and problem solve with peers from all walks of life is a rare quality in someone so young; yet Lee has regularly displayed these outstanding qualities.

Some specifics that Lee has undertaken during the past year:

Lee is a valued and fully interactive member of our branch committee and is serving his fourth term, totally indicative of the commitment this young man has. His attendance record at meetings is a real tribute to him and his very supportive family. Despite living 50 kilometres from the club he has always ensured that making it to a meeting was a priority – for a young person, this is a very creditable effort.

Very noticeable has been Lee’s attendance at nearly all our club trips. His development over this time as a hunter and a very responsible young man has been great to witness. Besides being a very active participant, he willingly offers to organise at least 2-3 trips per year, (we average 7- 8 club trips per year). Lee is never afraid to make phone calls, arrange quotes, work out the budgets, finalise accommodation or travel plans and assist with the food

lists/purchasing etc. A ‘normal’ club trip for us, could easily see between 20-30 people from young children right through to senior members all being fully involved in all aspects of a trip. Trips can range from going to remote campsites through to the likes of Sika Lodge in the Kaimanawas, fishing trips, social outings and anything else in between.

Hunting results for Lee this year have been rewarding, showing that with commitment and dedication the just rewards will be

forthcoming. This is represented by having taken approximately

twenty-five pigs over 100 pound (mostly

boars) and some coming in just short of the 200 pound mark, nine deer of which four were stags and a multitude

of goats along the way. The modesty


with which he shares the highlights of the trips is yet another credit to him. In every case, Lee has always ensured that the animals are taken in accordance with the ethics and criteria of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association and he is very humble and modest in receiving accolades for his efforts.

On most of these forays into the hills, Lee has taken along new members and up-and-coming fellow hunters and has always been totally willing to be responsible for them and their wellbeing which again are fine traits for someone of his age.

Another area where Lee has excelled and his hard work and commitment under what at times have been extremely trying circumstances has been an absolute credit to him and a wonderful asset to our club has been event preparation. Our club has hosted five major events this year – a regional championship sporting clays shoot, the NZ Bowhunter National Championships, two world championship sporting clays qualifier events and in early February this year, the first ever World Sporting Clays Championships held in the Southern Hemisphere. The level of work involved in getting these events to the starting line was immense, and Lee was a real driving force and an incredible worker in all facets of the planning and implementation of each of these events. His endless hours of hard work, assistance with planning, coordination and being there to go the extra mile at any stage, have been a key factor in the club’s many successes throughout the year. There has never been a grumble or a shy away from the task at hand and he has learned so much in the process that he will continue to be a highly valued clay target field setter in the years to come.

These events all had significant stress levels due to the nature of their results and

outcomes and it was commonplace for Lee and his fellow workers to be put in pressure situations with repairs to traps or making snap decisions in the heat of the moment and never at any stage did he falter or hesitate to made a decision or shy away from making a call based on sound judgement, best practice or with

shooters’ safety always being paramount. The respect he earned from his peers and the competitors alike was extremely worthy and was indicative of the respect that he gave to those around him.

In addition to these major events where Lee’s commitment was outstanding, there have been regular working bees throughout the year to keep our grounds (22 acres) in top condition, with these events on the horizon. Lee has always been there on a chainsaw, with a spray pack on, putting up fences, cutting tracks, mowing lawns, using a weedeater, helping to paint the clubrooms, lay concrete, unloading and restacking a container of clay targets, or just as comfortably, helping out in the kitchen with meals or doing dishes at corporate events. This young man’s ability to make a difference is outstanding. It was common place to get a phone call from Lee to see what jobs I wanted done up at the range as he had a few hours to spare between milkings on a weekend. Initiative has also always been a strong attribute of Lee’s and this too has been a real credit to him and the fantastic support from his family and the excellent work ethic that he possesses.

As a precursor to our official HUNTS course that Lee attended the year previously, we hold an annual ‘kids survival camp’ which Lee has attended on a regular basis and this much looked forward to event helped form and shape the excellent hunter that he is becoming. In more recent years, Lee has taken on a mentoring role for the ‘little ones’ who do the survival camp

and his willing assistance and patience with the kids is great to see, yet he is not afraid to make a call should it be required. Progressing on from this Lee did not hesitate to sign up for the HUNTS course and he attained a sound base in all aspects which has seen him progress at a rapid pace ever since.

In true style, during this last year, Lee has again been a very keen attendee at the HUNTS training evenings to assist in any way and to provide ongoing support for both the presenters and the participants alike. It was really helpful having an attendee from the previous year in attendance and for the participants to see what can be achieved and at times it was also great to see Lee helping some of them work through areas that they were having some difficulty with. This was again done quietly and respectfully but if he was ever unsure himself, he always sought help rather than blunder on.

Lee is a fully active member on the range at club events and he has put his name down to do his NZDA and NZCTA range officer courses when we undertake this process later in the year. Once again, Lee is willing to learn and contribute to all facets of the clubs activities giving me every confidence that with his attention to detail and his willing acceptance of discipline, he will make a very commendable range officer.

This young man has given a huge amount to Thames Valley Branch and the sport in general already and the way in which he so generously yet quietly and humbly shares his time and knowledge is the key to his outstanding successes to date.

Lee and a successful tahr hunt

Lee with a nice 8-point Sika stag


MCGOWAN SHIELD - BEST FALLOW (11 ENTRIES)

Name Branch DS DS Equiv

Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Gary Fissenden

Marlborough 236⅜ 359.69 Moa Flat Gold

2nd: Timothy McCarthy

South Canterbury

234 356.07 McKenzie Country

Silver

3rd: Shane Kingan

North Otago 229⅞ 349.80 North Otago

Silver

Steve Gillan South Otago 222 West Otago Bronze

Bruce Gunn Manawatu 221 Wairarapa Bronze

MEL LARRITT TROPHY - BEST RED (7 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Hayden Breakwell

Ashburton 331 Rakia River Silver

2nd: Peter Fairbairn

South Canterbury

322⅜ South Canterbury

3rd: Gerald Kapoor

Thames Valley

313¼ Erua

SEDDON SHIELD - BEST RUSA (4 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Murray Lang

Eastern Bay of Plenty

167¾ 309.01 Galatea

2nd: Alister Bradley

Manawatu 141⅛ 259.96 Whakatane River

3rd: Tim Flower Waikato 126¼ 232.56 Galatea

HENDERSON TROPHY - BEST SAMBAR (1 ENTRY)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Roger Winslade

Auckland 190⅛ 289.31 Foxton

CLIFF MARSHALL MEMORIAL TROPHY - BEST SIKA (5 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Daniel McBeth

Te Awamutu 187¾ 328.56 Te Wake Tops

Bronze

2nd: John Voorend

Waikato 181½ 317.62 Oamaru Valley

3rd: Issac Te Kahika

Tutira 179⅞ 346.28 Kaweka

NAtIONAL ANtLer, hOrN AND tusk cOmPetItION resuLts 2011

MANAWATU BRANCH TROPHY - BEST WHITETAIL (3 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Grant Tipling

Taranaki 142⅛ 310.89 Wakatipu Bronze

2nd: Zeke Meikle (Junior)

North Otago 116¾ 255.39 Stewart Island

3rd: Hamish Pearse

South Canterbury

98¼ 214.92 Glenorchy

KEITH SEVERINSON TROPHY - BEST FIORDLAND TYPE DEER (1 ENTRY)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Tim Flower Waikato 266¾ Stina Burn

MCCONOCHIE TROPHY - BEST CHAMOIS (5 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Peter Fairbairn

South Canterbury

27 325.83 Franz Josef

2nd: Jeff Pearse South Canterbury

26¾ 322.81 Whataroa

3rd: Brad Mitchell

North Canterbury

26¼ 319.80 Arthurs Pass

MOUNT COOK TROPHY - BEST TAHR (12 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Mathew Black (Junior)

South Canterbury

46½ 353.79 Poreora Gorge

Gold

2nd: Wayne Cassidy

South Canterbury

45¼ 344.28 Tasman Valley

Bronze

3rd: Callum Wood

North Canterbury

44½ 338.58 Godley Bronze

COLIN PORTER MEMORIAL TROPHY - BEST GOAT (4 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Corey Geddes

Ashburton 110⅝ 297.83 Hamner

2nd: Peter Fairbairn

South Canterbury

109 293.46 Hunter Hills

3rd: Scott Bevins

Manawatu 99⅜ 267.54 Taipa


DILLON SHIELD - BEST DRAWN PIG TUSKS (7 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Glenn Ralston

Ashburton 29½ 303.67 Rakaia River

Bronze

2nd: Tim Flower Waikato 25¾ 265.07 Pirongia

3rd: Nick Sim North Otago 25¼ 259.92 Kakanui Mountains

PUTARURU BRANCH TROPHY - BEST UNDRAWN PIG TUSKS (5 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Glenn Ralston

Ashburton 23¼ Rakaia River

Bronze

2nd: David Mace Taupo 22⅜ Waihau Bay

3rd: George Mills

Otago 21⅞ Waikouaiti

TREVOR CHAPPELL TROPHY - BEST WILD SHEEP (9 ENTRIES)


Locality Taken

Medal

1st: Frans Laas Otago 99¼ 347.37 Pitt Island Gold

2nd: Mark Nobilo North Auckland

88½ 309.75 Pitt Island Silver

3rd=: Roger Stokes

Taupo 88¼ 308.87 Pitt Island Silver

3rd=: Roger Stokes

Taupo 88¼ 308.87 Pitt Island Silver

POVERTY BAY - BEST BY UNDER 19 (9 ENTRIES)

Name Branch Type DS DS Equiv Locality Taken

1st: Mathew Black

South Canterbury

Tahr 46½ 353.79 Poreora Gorge

2nd: Shane Kingan

North Otago Fallow 229⅞ 349.80 North Otago

3rd: Regan Jefferson

Otago Tahr 37 281.51 Jolie

Z VERONESE CUP - BEST ANTLER BY A JUNIOR (5 ENTRIES)


1st: Shane Kingan

North Otago Fallow 229⅞ 349.80 North Otago

2nd: Dylan Manthey

Bush Fallow 181¾ 276.54 Wairarapa

3rd: Taylor Pearce

South Canterbury

Red 269¾ 269.75 North Taylor

E VERONESE - BEST HORN BY A JUNIOR (4 ENTRIES)


1st: Rose Cochrane

North Canterbury

Chamois 23¼ 280.58 Avoca Stream

2nd: Mathew Black

South Canterbury


3rd: Regan Jefferson

Otago Tahr 37 281.51 Jolie

KAIMANAWA BRANCH TROPHY BEST BY A LADY (5 ENTRIES)


1st: Christine McCarthy

South Canterbury

Tahr 41 311.95 Ahuriri Valley

2nd: Rose Cochrane

North Canterbury

Chamois 23¼ 280.58 Avoca Stream

3rd: Maureen Coleman

Thames Valley

Drawn Pig

24¾ 254.77 Kaitiere

NORMAN DOUGLAS TROPHY BEST BRANCH TROPHY - BRANCH ENTRY OF SET OF ANTLERS, HORNS AND TUSKS (6 ENTRIES)

Branch Type DS DS Eqiv

1st: Ashburton Pig tusks 29½ 303.67

Red 331 331

Tahr 44 334.77 Total 969.41

2nd: South Canterbury

Pig tusks 24¾ 254.77

Fallow 234 356.07

Tahr 46½ 353.79 Total 964.63

3rd North Otago Pig tusks 25¼ 259.92

Fallow 229⅞ 359.80

Chamois 26 313.79 Total 923.48

ORBELL TROPHY - BEST ANTLERED OF ALL SPECIES


1st: Murray Lang

Eastern Bay of Plenty

Rusa 167¾ 309.01 Galatea

2nd: Gary Fissenden

Marlborough Fallow 236⅜ 359.69 Moa Flat

3rd: Hayden Breakwell

Ashburton Red 331 331.00 Rakaia River

EGMONT TROPHY - BEST HORNED OF ALL SPECIES


1st: Mathew Black (Junior)

South Canterbury


2nd: Frans Laas Otago Wild sheep

99¾ 347.37 Pitt Island

3rd: Peter Fairbairn

South Canterbury

Chamois 27 325.83 Franz Josef

BOWHUNTING - SENIOR


1st: Corey Geddes

Ashburton Goat 110⅝ 297.83 Hamner

2nd: Scott Bevins

Manawatu Goat 99⅜ 267.54 Taipa

3rd: Andrew Oakes

North Otago Wild sheep

75¼ 263.37 Kakanui Mountains

BOWHUNTING - JUNIOR (NIL ENTRIES)

BOWHUNTING - LADIES (NIL ENTRIES)

WAIKATO BRANCH - OVER 65 TROPHY (NIL ENTRIES)


PLACES TO HUNT

the rAukumArA rANGesThe Gisborne Raukumara region covers an

area east from the Motu River to East Cape

and south to Gisborne. It includes the rugged

and remote Raukumara Forest Park which

includes the 40,000 hectares Raukumara

Wilderness Area. There is over 120,000

hectares of public conservation land within

this region.

The area is characterised by both large tracts

of remote rugged forest areas as well as small

accessible scenic reserves and conservation

areas.

Location - Access is via State Highways 2

and 35 which surround much of the area.

Numerous side roads provide access into the

mostly back country areas.

Map information - NZ Topo50 Houpoto BE42,

Huiarua BE 43, Te Puia Springs BE44, Potaka

BD 44, Matawai BF 42.

Red deer, pigs, feral cattle and goats are

present in Raukumara Forest Park.

The Raukumara Forest Park is one of the

least developed or visited tracts of bush in the

North Island with the steep and unforgiving

topography of the Raukumara Range a feature.

The park covers 115,000 hectares of

extremely remote, bush-clad land and includes

the 40,000 hectares wilderness area.

The area includes all forest types from semi-

coastal to alpine forests. Whio, kaka, brown

kiwi, short and long tail bats and hochstetter

frogs can be found within the park. The area

contains a number of historic places and has a

high cultural significance.

Hunting opportunities within the park are both

varied and significant with Red deer and pigs

in good numbers and feral cattle present but

patchy in distribution.

The Raukumara Forest Park is one of the few

areas in the North Island where hunters can

target trophy Red deer on public conservation

land.

Hunters should be experienced, fit and capable

in the outdoors and be prepared for sudden

weather changes, cloud whiteouts, high

winds and snow on the ranges, torrential rain

and rapidly rising water levels in rivers and

streams.

There are no marked tracks within the

Raukumara Forest Park, although there is

the east-west traverse that is a route and

is not marked or benched. Travel within the

Raukumara Forest Park is predominately via

the river systems. There are back country huts

(basic or standard) through-out the park:

• Mangakahika – 9 bunks, heating,

mattresses Grid reference: Topo50 map

sheet BG39, E1927582, N5697930

• Mangaotane Hut, 6 bunks, heating,

mattresses Grid reference: Topo50 map

sheet BE42, E2018739, N5772395

• Oronui Hut, 6 bunks, heating, mattresses.

Grid reference: Topo50 map sheet BE43,

E2039325, N5795328

• Mangakirikiri Hut 6 bunks, heating,

mattresses. Grid reference: Topo50 map

sheet BE42, E2010795, N5782361

The Raukumara Forest Park offers the keen

hunter a real wilderness experience of New

Zealand’s remote back country.

Hunting permits are available online or can be

obtained from the local DOC office.

Access - The Otipi Road via the Takaputahi

is the only access to and into the Raukumara

Forest Park that does not require permission to

cross private property. Access is normally by

helicopter due to the remoteness and size of

the area and the lack of suitable road access

points.

Contact - For further information contact

Gisborne Whakatane Area Office

Phone: +64 6 869 0460

Address: 63 Carnarvon Street, Gisborne 4010

Postal Address: PO Box 668, Gisborne 4040w,

eAst cOAst huNtINGhttp://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/hunting/where-to-hunt/east-coast/gisborne-raukumara-hunting/where-to-hunt/raukumara-forest-park/

Raukumara


HUNTS STORY

On the morning of Saturday 26th of October I was all packed up and ready for the Oamaru hunting weekend to finish up the HUNTS course. We arrived in Taupo at 9.00am to meet up with the others for an early lunch at McDonalds, before heading on to Helisika where we would walk in from. When we arrived at Helisika we unloaded our packs and had a last minute briefing at Poronui Station from a DOC ranger, then we were off. After three hours we finally arrived at the cars and got our rifles out of Peter’s car, had a short rest and then continued on to the hut.

It was nice to see my rifle was not there; obviously my dad had generously carried it to the hut for me. When we reached the creek, to my dismay, I was told my rifle was in Bill’s ute which meant a 10 minute run back to get it. After another short walk and we were finally reached the camp site for a well deserved rest. After unpacking and erecting our tents everyone suddenly livened up at the prospect of an early evening hunt and with all our training we were keen to test our new skills. Dad and I paired up and took off up the Kaipo Valley hoping to catch a deer out having an evening feed on one of the clearings. We didn’t have any luck so we looped back around towards camp and hunted the hillside as we walked back. About halfway back we spooked a deer and heard the unmistakable Sika alarm call. We waited for a bit but it lived up to its name as the smartest deer and was long gone with no intention of turning around for a look.

Back at camp we found that some of the others had also spooked deer, so it was great to know there was plenty of venison in the area. It was disappointing to hear that Mike had mistaken a deer for a rabbit. After dinner everyone sussed out who was hunting with who for the next day. I was supposed to miss out, but Ian kindly volunteered to take me along with him. Then it was off to bed to get in a good night’s sleep for the next day’s hunt.

We were up early the next morning, about 5.00am, to get down a good breakfast and pack our day bags before a big hunt. George and I met up with Ian and took off first. Ian wanted to get up to one of his ‘spots’ that was right up near the top of the hill, at the time he reckoned the deer would be wandering through. We spooked a stag at about 6.20am and only got to see its white rear end crashing off through the scrub. We stalked our way towards the top, sidling along and up the valley side. We crossed creek after creek and didn’t encounter anything until we turned and started heading straight up. After stopping for a quick snack and a drink Ian said

that I could hunt up front for the next hour or so.

Only after about five minutes at around 11.00am, we spooked a hind and a yearling, I had the cross hairs on the hind’s back but with the way my rifle was made, as I closed the bolt it hit the safety and wouldn’t go down. After stuffing around with that, the hind was lined up again, but while closing the bolt she disappeared into the scrub. It was disappointing to have missed out on it, but I just moved on hoping to see another one. About 250 metres up we spooked another stag but it was gone before we got to see it. Disappointed yet again, I had almost lost hope, believing any other deer in the area would have been scared off. But next thing you know about 200 metres up another deer started calling.

It was a young yearling and a hind was not too far away, feeding off to the right. According to Ian, Sika yearlings sometimes just call randomly so the hinds never take any notice, so we moved on up then I spotted the yearling, its head between a rock and a bit of scrub about 100 metres away . I kneeled down and took a shaky shot, the yearling disappeared and I didn’t know if I had hit it. Next thing the hind ran up about 100 metres in front of us, I took a lean on a rock and lined her up then Ian called to her and she turned around and looked back at us. I just lined up the base of the neck and fired. Watching it fall felt great and the feeling of shooting my first deer was overwhelming.

We walked up to where she fell, while George took off to look for the yearling which had disappeared off to the right. It was a small hind and had been hit perfectly with the bullet entering the base of the neck, missing the shoulder, so no meat was damaged, which was a bonus. After gutting it we fashioned her into a pack and then walked over to George. Disappointingly the yearling had disappeared and was long gone leaving no sign or indication of a hit. We walked up onto the top and dropped into the next valley along and stopped for lunch a short way down.

About an hour later, while walking about 200 metres above a side creek, we spotted a hind feeding in some crown fern. George lined her up but had similar problems like me with the safety catch. By this time she had walked up a bit, but some scrub was in the way, however George still lined her up and fired. She slowly crashed off and this led us to believe she was hit, but when we reached the area there was no sign. We looked around for a good half an hour but we could not find any blood or indication of a hit. It was disappointing for George to have missed out on a deer

and we think it was to do with the scrub in the way, as the rifle had been sighted in the week before.

We hunted our way back to camp and heard another hind calling at us but she had caught our wind from behind, so she was gone before we got to see her. From then, it was about another 2½-hour walk back to camp. It was such a great feeling lugging that deer back into camp and being the centre of attention as everyone crowded for a look. I couldn’t believe no-one else had even seen a deer with the amount we’d seen (I later learned that it was only because Ian had hunted this area all his life and he knew the deer would be in that particular area).

For the rest of the afternoon a few of us just relaxed while some went out for an early evening hunt. That night everyone just chilled out after a huge day and we were all in bed fairly early. The next day almost everyone, (excluding me), had taken off for another hunt but they all returned with no luck. Dylan and Ian had seen two but hadn’t got a shot. For the rest of the morning we packed up and had an early lunch before walking up to the hut to wait for the helicopter. At 1.00pm it arrived and took us out four at a time. It’s truly great how it takes us three and a half hours to walk in and just five minutes to fly out! Helisika is a great service and I would love to fly into the bush with them again.

I would like to thank Thames Valley Deerstalker’ Association for putting on such a great course for us - Peter, Mike, Jock, Maarten, Maureen, Linda, all the hunting helpers and Ian, for helping me shoot my first deer. We have all picked up great life skills to help us with hunting. Every part of the course was great, but overall the hunting weekend was definitely the best!

OPerAtION ‘OAmAru’B y D y l a n I n n i s , ( 1 6 ) , T h a m e s V a l l e y B r a n c h

Dylan with his Sika hind

Time to relax at camp

Taking a well deserved break on the walk in

Dylan and Dean face the task of unpacking the car for the walk in

What was a three-hour walk only took Helisika five minutes! 17NZ Hunting & Wildlife 174 - Spring 2011

It was almost the end of the school holidays, 3.30 in the afternoon, as the Yamaha ‘Rhino’ roared into life on a farm near Akitio.The hunting party included Tim Mclanachan, his father Angus and myself. We were off to find the big one. The day before we had shot some small but still reasonable goats, so we were confident we could find him.

While driving through a steep scrubby paddock, glassing all the nice looking gullies opposite we saw a promising head, but it wasn’t the one. The ‘Rhino’ growled its way to the peak of a large hill and ground to a halt. Out came the binoculars searching for that elusive trophy.

The weather was turning and dark clouds were hanging overhead, so we didn’t have much time. We backtracked to a protruding knob just off the track, and again we glassed the nice looking hillsides across the gully. Nothing seemed to be emerging, so we parked the ‘Rhino’, grabbed the Tikka .223, some Federal ammunition and proceeded to the end of the knob.

We stopped to observe a small mob of goats that had emerged from the skyline, but they were just nannies and kids, and they were a considerable distance away, so we bypassed them. The sun was edging ever closer to the horizon, and the dark clouds didn’t look promising.

As we progressed cautiously off the end of the knob my eye caught sight of two large billy goats. We quickly dropped down and I pulled out the binos. The trailing billy was the oldest and smallest of the two, but was still of a trophy standard. I decided I would take him and leave the bigger one for future generations.

We popped down out of sight and, with a plan settled, we pressed on. By the time we got into position directly below them, but out of sight, the two goats had walked into a perfect position for us to make our next move. We crept forward in the thick grass and matagouri. The animals were grazing on a luscious slope, but too far away

for a clean shot. Tim encouraged me to make the final stalk.

Employing all the sneaky stalking skills I had learned over the years, I eased myself forward, one boot at a time. I kept out of sight behind matagouri bushes, humps in the ground or anything that could act as cover. I worked myself ever closer until I was about 50 to 60 metres away. I had a reasonably strong headwind and the goats were not aware of my presence. I had an easy shot, so I lay down quietly and closed the bolt; the crosshairs came to line on the goat’s engine room. I waited for the telltale thud of a hit. The goat collapsed as the other one bolted around the ridge out of sight.

At the report of a dead goat, Tim retrieved the ‘Rhino’ and brought it round to the top of the hill. With the goat gutted, I piggy backed it for half an hour uphill, where I was picked up by Tim and his father Angus. On arrival back at the house we

hung up the goat for dog tucker and measured the head. Angus assured me that it was 33.6 inches wide, the biggest recorded for the area. What a way to end a wonderful afternoon’s hunt and just in time for the ITM Fishing Show!

YOUNG HUNTER

the bIG ONeB y J a m e s K e l l o w ( 1 3 ) , S a m S t r a t t o n a n d T i m M c l a n a c h a n

33 Hurlstone DriveNew Plymouth

Taranaki Email: [email protected]

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Take a look at our website for up to date innovations, patterns

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James’ trophy mounted, 33.6 inches wide - the biggest recorded for the area it was taken in

James with his trophy goat – the result of a successful stalk


Matt Galyer, Wainuiomata, 11-years, shot his first tahr at 134 metres in the Arrowsmith Range in July 2011 using a custom 8x57 Mauser

Jared Kelynack, Wairarapa Branch, 14-years, with his first Fallow buck

Liam O’Leary, Nelson Branch, 8-years, with his first bunny

Gareth McKerchar, Fairlie, 12-years, with his spiker, shot with a Savage 22.250 on his parent’s hill block Lochie Chittock, Palmerston, and mate

Jared Brensell at Omakau hunting Fallow

Taylah Barrett, Taihape 14-years, with a nice Fallow for the freezer

A summArY OF POLItIcAL PArtY POLIcIesi n r e l a t i o n t o h u n t i n g a n d / o r a s s o c i a t e d o u t d o o r r e c r e a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s . ( T h e s e h a v e b e e n t a k e n d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e p a r t y w e b s i t e s . )

Key Principles

• New Zealand’s indigenous plants, animals and ecosystems must be protected.

• Support given to kaitiakitanga of hapu in conservation management.

• A network protected areas of land and water.

• Public access to the conservation estate.

Conservation on Land

• Oppose carve up of DOC

• Increase funding to restore capacity in science, education and field work

• Support advocacy role in RMA cases

• Increase funding for ground-based pest control

• Increase funding for conservation on private land, eg Nature Heritage Fund

• Tighten biosecurity measures

Public Access

• Support walking right of access along waterways

• Ensure paper roads remain open and adequately marked

• ‘Access Commissioner’ to: negotiate, advise, report and develop code of conduct

• Financial support for landowners who need signs and fencing

Conservation on Land: High Country

• No land sales to overseas persons unless residing here 185 days per year

• Moratorium on tenure review while we assess whether it is meeting conservation objectives

• Assess valuation methods which undervalue Crown interest

• Boost Nature Heritage Fund to be able to purchase more leases

Conservation with Communities

• Build on Greens’ successful budget bids for community initiatives

• Improve DOC/iwi relationships

• Protect RMA

Recreation Policy - Outdoor Recreation, Conservation and Environment

Protecting Kiwi families right to provide food for their tables and practice hospitality through hunting and fishing for generations to come.

Hunting

• Oppose aerial application of 1080 poison.

• Continue to advocate for the reclassification of deer, wild pigs, tahr and chamois as game animals and not pests

• Work to ensure that access is not further restricted, but expanded through fair agreements with DOC and landowners.

• Protect every Kiwi’s right to access the great outdoors.

Fishing

• Oppose the Ministry of Fisheries’ policy of proportional allocation in fisheries. Non-commercial interests, both amateur and customary, must be given priority over commercial allocations.

Conservation

We recognize that enjoying our great outdoors is an important part of what it means to be a Kiwi in this wonderful country.

• See the DOC renamed as the Department of Conservation and Recreation to give emphasis to its dual and equal responsibilities.

• Develop a comprehensive pest control strategy involving community and recreational organisations that could include bounty payments as an incentive for the trapping and control of stoats, possums, weasels, rats and feral cats.

Kiwi Party Constitution on Environment and Conservation

All New Zealanders have a responsibility of guardianship to their natural environment. This includes the stewardship of resources and protection of flora and fauna. Government must promote the balanced use of natural resources in a sustainable manner and encourage ongoing investment in research and development because it is our technological improvements that ultimately enable us to minimize our impact on the environment as we extract and harvest resources to sustain and improve our way of life.

Labour supports an evidence based approach to 1080: Labour has expressed strong support for the recommendations in the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report “Evaluating the use of 1080: Predators, poisons and silent forests”. The Commissioner states “In this report, 1080 has been systematically assessed for its effectiveness, safety and humaneness. While it is not perfect, it scores surprisingly well, due in large part to the increase in scientific understanding, the establishment of a strong

body of evidence, and the addition of many controls over the years.”

We cannot afford to give up the battle against introduced pests such as possums and stoats, because to do so would be abandoning our moral responsibility to future generations. We would lose the North Island kiwi within a generation and the 8-fold increase in kokako population because 1080 poisoning would be reversed. Thanks to the Commissioner, we have the evidence provided in a robust and independent way. Now all that remains is for the Ministers to take action.

There are a number of recommendations in the report, and Labour urges the Ministers for Conservation and Environment to support and implement the following:

• We agree that there should not be a moratorium on the use of 1080. The report gives robust and independent information and advice to Parliament and the public of New Zealand. A moratorium may have been a consideration in the absence of such information and advice.

• We agree that there is scope to simplify the confusing labyrinth of laws which are all relevant to the use of 1080. The Resource Management Act and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act could be the appropriate umbrella to clarify the current situation.

• Labour does not support the introduction of the Game Animal Council – but does agree that if such a council is established, then the Department of Conservation needs to retain the responsibility of pest control. The Department must not be constrained in its ability to carry out pest control and this would certainly occur if the Game Animal Council had such responsibility.

• The Animal Health Board should be subject to the Official Information Act and the Ombudsman Act. Those with concerns about or in opposition to use of 1080 should be entitled to full and honest information in the interests of a quality debate. Therefore, all such information should be available to the public.

• The Department of Conservation should develop a national policy for fur harvesting, especially in light of financial pressures put on it by the current Government.

Foreshore and Seabed

We oppose the Crown sale or lease of the foreshore and seabed or its resources, including


mining. We must protect and preserve our land - to keep it from falling into foreign ownership.

We are concerned about the impact our use of our natural resources is having on land and water, as well as the air.

We promote the regeneration and revitalisation of freshwater marine life, protection of flora and fauna, utilisation of better wetlands; and in the case of lakes and lagoons, restore raupo, nourish beaches and sand dunes.

We will protect natural values and care for streams, lakes, rivers and waterways from agricultural, industrial and domestic waste. We must protect our land from the production, release and disposal of toxic and hazardous waste and promote freedom from ecological destruction.

Issues around water must include the mana whenua, including water rights and privatisation. Treaty claims to water ownership and interests in fresh water must be resolved in the review of the Resource Management Act.

Our priorities are: Repeal; Continue to present legislation that repeals the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

Environment: Climate change affects us all and the biggest emitters must take responsibility to change the way they do business. Any cost they pass on to consumers must encourage environmentally responsible choices. The principle must be that polluters pay.

Moratorium on 1080 drops.

Implementing a more balanced approach to Tenure Review and High Country policy.

Simplifying and streamlining the Resource Management Act.

Marine and Coast Area Act 2011: Guarantees free public access; protects all existing rights, including recreational fishing; makes a common space of the public marine and coastal areas so it can never be sold.

The Big Game Animal Council: The Game Animal Council was born out of UnitedFuture’s Confidence and Supply agreements with both this National Government and the previous Labour Government:

Game Animal Council (GAC)

The Game Animal Council was born out of UnitedFuture’s Confidence and Supply agreements with both this National Government and the previous Labour Government:

• The deer, chamois, tahr and pigs consultation panel that reported back in April 2008 recommended among other things the establishment of a statutory body to represent the interests of big game hunters. The 4000 public submissions received during this consultation process was testament to the importance of deer, chamois, tahr and pigs to New Zealanders.

• The current Confidence and Supply

Agreement with National allowed us to form the Big Game Hunting Council Establishment Committee to engage stakeholders and the general public over specific proposals for the Game Animal Council’s structure, functions, membership and funding.

• The Establishment Committee reported back its recommendations in June 2010.

• Based on those recommendations the National Government and UnitedFuture have successfully negotiated the principles, functions, membership and funding model for the Game Animal Council to be set up as a statutory organisation.

Department of Conservation Reform

• Restructure the Department of Conservation into at least two semi-autonomous divisions – one division responsible for the “conservation” aspects such as scientific research, pest control, and native plant and animal stewardship; the other division responsible for the “recreation” aspects such as land and waterway access, track and hut maintenance, game management, and tourism;

• Amend the Conservation Act to ensure that the interests of all conservation estate stakeholders are taken properly into account when decisions are made (including the “national interest”) to improve the Department’s accountability by preventing it from no longer being both law maker and law enforcer;

• Prohibit heli-hunting (locating and shooting an animal from a helicopter or using a helicopter to herd and chase animals towards shooters on the ground) on public conservation land.

• Review the Department of Conservation’s advocacy responsibilities to ensure that they do not abuse taxpayer’s money to waste ratepayer’s money in unnecessary appeals against local authorities in the Environment Court. Limit submissions to local authority processes only.

• Establish transparent Department of Conservation public application and decision-making procedures for making decisions regarding use of the conservation estate;

• Provide additional funding for 1080-free pest control measures that target the most noxious and destructive pests, e.g. possums, rats, and mustelids etc once thorough consultation has taken place with relevant local community and recreational groups.

• Although we are supportive of most current pest control methods, UnitedFuture is opposed to the use of 1080.

• Ensure all Conservation Boards are democratically elected.

1080

• Completely ban the use of 1080.

• Reallocate current spending on 1080 poison to research into and implementation of, alternative pest control methods, including emerging New Zealand-made, self-setting traps, commercial exploitation of possum

products and non-residual ground-bait poisons.

• Support and promote the growing and ecologically-sound possum fur industry, as both a part of a broader pest-management strategy and an emerging earner of export receipts.

Practical Access to Public Land

• Close the loopholes within our public access law that allow situations of ‘exclusive capture’ to arise and actively go after landowners who continue to sell exclusive access rights to our public resources.

• Strengthen the mandate of the Walking Access Commission and ensure that the Queen’s Chain is formally enshrined in statute;

• Ensure that New Zealanders have clearly defined legal rights of access to public land (including the Queen’s Chain);

• Strengthen the Walking Access Commission so that it is an advocate for public access rather than purely a mediator in relation to access negotiations; and ensure that it has sufficient power to negotiate specific access corridors across private land with landowners on a case-by-case basis (these corridors could in many instances be based on the ‘paper roads’ and easements that already exist on many legal property titles but are not always acknowledged by landowners);

• Ensure the access regime applies to all private land (including Maori land) for the purposes of ensuring access to public land for all legal pursuits;

• Replace the existing and arbitrary four-hectare rule in relation to subdivision-derived esplanade reserves with a less arbitrary trigger for creating new access.

• Maintain and strengthen a Code of Conduct (via the Walking Access Commission) that protects property rights and the rights of landowners from people trespassing beyond a legally established corridor, littering, leaving gates open or other nuisances;

• Require recreational clubs to adopt the Code of Conduct and deal with any complaints directed at their members;

• Establish a clear set of guidelines for applying to set up new access corridors;

• Require and resource the Walking Access Commission to enforce the terms of access corridors on landowners once they have been established;

• Ensure adequate funding is available to cover any costs (such as track maintenance) that the establishment or maintenance of an access corridor may entail – under no circumstances should the landowner incur any costs associated with public access corridors on their land;

• Establish a fund to compensate landowners up front for any damage that members of the public cause to their property (the land access agency can pursue offenders to recover the cost of fund payouts separately);


204 R

UGER

32 V-

Max

& 40

V-Ma

x

22-25

0 REM

55 PS

P

22-25

0 REM

55 V-

Max

222 R

EM 50

V-Ma

x

223 R

EM 55

PSP

223 R

EM 50

V-Ma

x

223 R

EM 69

Matc

hking

243 W

IN 95

SST

270 W

IN 15

0 SST

270 W

IN 13

0 PSP

30-06

SPRIN

GFIEL

D 150

FMJ B

T

30-06

SPRIN

GFIEL

D 180

SST

& 18

0 SST

308 W

IN 15

0 PSP

308 W

IN 16

5 Gam

eking

308 W

IN 15

0 SST

308 W

IN 18

0 SST

6.5x5

5 SWE

DISH 1

40 SS

T

Timaru, NZ 03 688 2126 [email protected] www.targetproducts.co.nzLeading Importers & Manufacturers of Ammunition for trap, skeet, sporting clays & hunting

Fiocchi has a range of quality Centrefire hunting cartridges to suit all of your hunting requirementsLoaded in the USA by Fiocchi of America, Inc using Hornady and Sierra projectiles

exterIOr bALLIstIcsB y C h a z F o r s y t h , O t a g o B r a n c h

Introduction

A revolution in the study of ballistics has been the arrival of the personal computer. Since the early 1980s, personal computers have offered immense calculating power, at a steadily reducing cost. Development of ballistic programmes for the non-professional experimenter soon took place.

Ballistic programmes

Ballistic programmes have been around since the advent of the computer in the early 1940s, and there is a now wide range from which to make your choice. Some are available as free downloads (freeware or shareware). Buying your own offers far more options, usually involving a wider choice of ranges, sight settings and bullet weights and styles. One with which the present author has some familiarity with, is that offered by Professor Arthur J Pejsa, who, after surviving the Second World War as a B29 bomber pilot, took up lecturing in mathematics at the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. He went on to design missile guidance systems, designing the re-entry system for the space shuttles before leading the design team for an inertial

navigation system now in wide use on long-range aircraft.

Pejsa’s ballistic modelling system, in common with many others, merely requires that you input the ballistic variables like bullet weight, the height of the sights above the bore, and the desired range for sighting in. It then prompts you for the number of columns for which you expect ballistic data, even helping you work out an estimated value for ballistic coefficient (c) should you not know it. You decide the sighting range, you decide the distances at which you want to know the bullet path and the programme does the rest. You get bullet remaining velocities at whatever ranges for which you’ve asked, along with sight correction figures, kinetic energies and the bullet path above or below the line of sight.

There are many more ballistic programmes which are accessible to the private computer user. Simply Google ‘ballistics shareware’ and a useful list will appear, including ‘buyware’, listing those programmes available for purchase. One, that of Arthur Pejsa, is available, along with an excellent textbook, to be found at http://www.pejsa.com/

Another, by Bryan Litz (also an aerospace engineer and a competitive shooter), comes complete with a ballistics software programme included. Litz is now chief ballistician at Berger Bullets. Litz has pioneered the use of the G7 ballistic coefficient (c), which he believes more closely models the shape of streamlined, long (= heavy) bullets beloved of target shooters. (The G1 ‘c’ value more closely replicates the flat-based bullets commonly used by hunters. One programme that has been around for some time and recently updated is Point Blank Ballistics.

Accordingly, the following websites will provide access to some ballistic programmes – www.accurateshooter.com

www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource

www.norma.ccjavapage_US2.asp?Lang=2

LOCk, STOCk & BARRELL


shOOtING cOmPetItIONs 2011

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

Brenda Perry Rotorua

NZDA BENCHREST SHOOTER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Ian Owen Nelson

BROWN TROPHY FOR F CLASS COMPETITION

Dean Maisey Bay of Plenty

POstAL shOOtING 2011J M WILKINSON CUP FOR POSTAL SHOOTING - SENIORS

1st Steven Silcock Bush 118.4

2nd John Lumsden Napier 116.13

3rd Malcolm Brennan Marlborough 116.12

J M WILKINSON CUP FOR POSTAL SHOOTING - LADIES

1st Jaimee McCarthy South Canterbury 87

2nd Cynthia Page Northland 78

3rd Lisa Simonsen (Junior) Hastings 44

J M WILKINSON CUP FOR POSTAL SHOOTING - JUNIORS

1st Thomas Myles Marlborough 53

2nd Connor Rapley Hastings 51

3rd Lisa Simonsen Hastings 44

HAWKE'S BAY CHALLENGE CUP - JUNIORS

1st Lisa Simonsen Hastings 37

sPecIAL AWArDs 2011NEWTON MCCONOCHIE AWARD - FOR MOST OUTSTANDING YOUNG DEERSTALKER OF THE YEAR (2 ENTRIES)Lee Kelly Thames Valley Branch

JOHN MURPHY MEMORIAL TROPHY - FOR ADMINISTRATION ExCELLENCE ON THE PART OF BRANCH ADMINISTRATORSMalcolm Mitchell, Neil Cowie and Murray Burns Upper Clutha

MORROW TROPHY - FOR BRANCH MEMBERSHIP PERCENTAGE INCREASE1st Upper Clutha 65%2nd Wairarapa 59.18%3rd Whangarei 54.29%

JOHN T DILLON MEMORIAL TROPHY - FOR THE BRANCH WITH THE GREATEST NUMERICAL INCREASE IN MEMBERS1st Hutt Valley 452nd Thames Valley 363rd= South Canterbury 343rd= Upper Clutha 34

HARVIE MORROW AWARD - FOR NZDA RESEARCHChaz Forsyth Otago

NORMAN DOUGLAS MEMORIAL TROPHY - FOR PROMOTION OF THE DOUGLAS SCORE SYSTEMRay Webb Otago

MONARCH OF THE GLEN AWARD - FOR THE MEMBER WHO PERFORMS ‘ABOVE AND BEYOND’Malcolm Perry Rotorua

LIterArY AWArDs 2011SECTION A: PHILLIP HOLDEN CUP - FOR STORIES OF APPROxIMATELY 4,000 WORDS (3 ENTRIES)1st: Stephen B Howl Taihape Swamp King Sambar

(H&W 170)

SECTION B: TONY ORMAN SHIELD - FOR STORIES OF 1,400 WORDS (5 ENTRIES)1st: Melissa Winters Bay of Plenty A Mother's Story

(H&W 170)

SSECTION C: HALCYON POETRY COMPETITION (2 ENTRIES)1st: Fran Allcock Te Awamutu Exposure

(See page 43)

ROTORUA BRANCH TROPHY - FOR BRANCH NEWSLETTERS1st South Waikato2nd Thames Valley3rd Hastings

NeW ZeALAND DeerstALkers’ AssOcIAtION INcNAtIONAL cOmPetItIONs

NZDA Inter Branch Rifle Match Trophy (Last competed for in 2002!!)


NAtIONAL PhOtOGrAPhIc cOmPetItIONs

2011

G - BLAKE CLINCH, WAIKATO BRANCH

D - MURRAY PHILLIPS, MANAWATU BRANCH

H - BUD JONES, WELLINGTON BRANCH

B2 - JOHN LUMSDEN, NAPIER BRANCH

A - PAUL LENZ, GOLDEN BAY BRANCH

A - WILLIAM (BILL) WALLACE, BUSH BRANCH

E - GREIG CAIGOU, NELSON BRANCH

C & F - WILLIAM (BILL) WALLACE, BUSH BRANCH

B1 - SHANE ENGLEBRETSEN, BAY OF PLENTY BRANCH

B3 - STUART BAYLIS, HUTT VALLEY BRANCH


vIDeOs 2011TRAINING AND PROMOTIONAL VIDEO – NORTH CANTERBURY BRANCH TROPHY

Total entries: 3

1st: Derek Johnson West Coast Rakaia 1080 drop

2nd: Zeff Veronese North Canterbury Mt Cook Tahr North Canterbury Trainees

HUNTING – RAMSAY TROPHY

Total entries: 4

1st: Greig Caigou Nelson Wild Horizons

2nd: Derek Johnson West Coast Bulls in the Mist

3rd: Zeff Veronese/Bill Scally

North Canterbury Mt Cook Tahr Hunt June 2010

NEW ZEALAND WILDLIFE – JOHN ANDERSON MEMORIAL TROPHY

Total entries: Nil

cOLOur AND bLAck AND WhIte PrINts 2011SECTION A: GAME ANIMALS – TAUPO BRANCH TROPHY

Total entries: 43

1st: William (Bill) Wallace Bush About to Squeal

2nd: Nick Sim North Otago Bugle by the Bull

3rd: Paul Lenz Golden Bay Calling the 'Kids'

HC: William (Bill) Wallace Bush Kaweka 8

HC: Paul Lenz Golden Bay I'm sure I heard something

HC: Stephen Hansen North Otago Startled Red deer stag

SECTION B1: OTHER WILDLIFE – BIRDS – NORTH OTAGO BRANCH TROPHY

Total entries: 50

1st: Shane Engelbretsen Bay of Plenty The Boss

2nd: Jaimee McCarthy South Canterbury King Kea

3rd: William (Bill) Wallace Bush Let's Party

HC: Bud Jones Wellington Pestus Wilinsonia

HC: William (Bill) Wallace Bush Chubby wee rock wren

HC: Andrew Rowland Porirua Karearea mating

SECTION B2: OTHER WILDLIFE – MAMMALS – JOCK MCQUILKEN CUP

Total entries: 15

1st: John Lumsden Napier Night Climber

2nd: Jamie Fairburn Bay of Plenty Stay away Seal

3rd: John Lumsden Napier Eye to eye ball

HC: Paul Peychers Nelson Alert black rabbit

HC: Paul Peychers Nelson Female sea lion

HC: Marilyn Rathgen South Canterbury Beach Boss

SECTION B3: OTHER WILDLIFE – INSECTS, REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS – W H ROBINSON TROPHY

Total entries: 21

1st: Stuart Baylis Hutt Valley Spider

2nd: Brad Ramsay Taupo Spider 2

3rd: Brian Witton Auckland Hanging by a thread

HC: Jamie Fairbairn Bay of Plenty Nursery web up close

HC: Paul Adamson Bay of Plenty Red Admiral

HC: Paul Peychers Nelson Powelliphanta snail

SECTION C: SCENIC – VERONESE TROPHY

Total entries: 35

1st: William (Bill) Wallace Bush Room with a view

2nd: John Cowan Malvern Oxford Forest

3rd: William (Bill) Wallace Bush Ivory Lake Waterfall

HC: Brian Witton Auckland Mountain Tarn

HC: Brian Witton Auckland Beautiful Fiordland

HC: Paul Lenz Golden Bay Nancy Sound, Fiordland

HC: Greig Caigou Nelson Headwall Morning

SECTION D: FLORA - Harris Trophy

Total Entries: 40

1st: Murray Phillips Manawatu Seed pod on the beach

2nd: Graeme Williams Malvern Black, white and shades of brown

3rd: Paul Clinch Waikato Alpine Bloom

HC: Chris McCarthy South Canterbury Nature's porcelain

HC: John Cowan Nelson Tall Timber #1

HC: John Lumsden Napier Fungi Trio


SECTION F: BEST COLOUR OR BLACK AND WHITE PRINT - Carter Cup

1st: William (Bill) Wallace Bush Room with a view

SECTION G: BEST JUNIOR PRINT - Thames Valley Branch Trophy

Total entries: 3

1st: Blake Clinch Waikato Robbie

2nd: Beccy Lumsden Napier Froggy up close

3rd: Beccy Lumsden Napier Froggy

SECTION H: BEST COLOUR OR BLACK AND WHITE PRINT - Wellington Branch Trophy

Total entries: 21

1st: Bud Jones Wellington All dressed up

2nd: Brian Witton Auckland Invader

3rd: Paul Peychers Nelson Whitetail doe on the beach

HC: Paul Peychers Nelson Melting ice

HC: Brian Witton Auckland Ripples

HC: Bud Jones Wellington Splish, splash I was taking a bath


SECTION I: HUNTING AND WILDLIFE COVER - Athol Hood Memorial Trophy

1st: Paul Lenz Golden Bay I'm sure I heard something

SECTION J: SUPREME BRANCH PHOTOGRAPHIC AWARD - Ian D Wright Award

1st: Bay of Plenty 44 points

2nd: Napier 41 points

3rd: Bush 39 points


FrOm the WILD hILLs OF scOtLAND tO the ruGGeD mOuNtAINs OF A scOttIsh cOLONY - PArt 3 OF 6

the OrIGINs OF the OtAGO reD Deer herD (heADs 7, 8 AND 9)

NO. 7. the ‘GLeNFALLOch heAD’. seAsON AND LIceNceD sPOrtsmAN At thIs stAGe uNkNOWN.L E N G T H - l e f t – 4 2 ¼ i n c h e s , r i g h t - 4 2 i n c h e s .

S P R E A D – 3 8 ½ i n c h e s , S P A N – 2 9 ½ i n c h e s .

B E A M – 5 ⅝ i n c h e s . D O U G L A S S C O R E – 3 5 6 ¼ . P O I N T S - 1 6 .

NO. 9. erIc m GILLesPIe. mcGILL’s creek, IvIAtukItukI vALLeY, 1932.L E N G T H - l e f t - 4 5 i n c h e s , r i g h t – 4 3 ½ i n c h e s .

S P R E A D - 4 3 i n c h e s , S P A N - 3 8 i n c h e s .

B E A M – 6 ¼ i n c h e s . D O U G L A S S C O R E - 3 3 1 . P O I N T S - 1 3 .

NO. 8. Peter hArrIsON. ArAWhAtA vALLeY, sOuth WestLAND, 1963.L E N G T H - l e f t – 4 3 ½ i n c h e s , r i g h t – 4 2 ½ i n c h e s .

S P R E A D – 4 0 ¾ i n c h e s , S P A N – 3 0 ½ i n c h e s .

B E A M – 5 ⅞ i n c h e s . D O U G L A S S C O R E – 3 5 8 ½ . P O I N T S - 1 7 .

An acquisition by the NZDA Otago Branch for display and part of its collection at their clubrooms.

However, it is not known when, or where, the stag was taken, nor do we know at this point of time, who

was the lucky sportsman. Its origin was the large estate just out of Dunedin known as Glenfalloch, at

times owned and operated by several well known Dunedin families, so we can only surmise that the

trophy was secured by a member of one of those. It was obviously secured during those golden days of

the Otago herd between 1920 and 1930. It is hoped that the sportsman who secured it and the season

in which it was taken will be discovered sometime in the future.

This fine trophy was secured on what is known as the ‘Big Slip’ in the lower reaches of the

Arawhata Valley. Harrison, an Ashburton sportsman, spotted the animal on the slip and

successfully stalked and secured him. On another occasion, during a hunt there a season

or so later, he secured yet another stag also scoring a respectable Douglas Score. The

Arawhata and the Waiatoto Valleys both produced excellent trophy stags during the period

between 1950 and 1970.

When Gillespie secured this stag, John Forbes, who Gillespie knew very well, passed some flattering remarks

about his trophy after he had carried it out and Forbes had got around to measuring it. The stag was located

on the north-west faces of McGill’s Creek, Gillespie merely walking onto him, the stag feeding in a snow-

grass depression. All Gillespie was obliged to do was aim and shoot him. Gillespie was an experienced

hunter, having offered his services as a guide during those halcyon days of the Otago herd. He often worked

in conjunction with the famous Jim Muir, described as the ‘Prince of Guides’. In 1923, together with Muir,

Gillespie was employed escorting E J Herrick and his wife on their successful expedition into the Blue River.

Previous issues have featured heads 1 - 3 (Issue 172) and 4 - 6 (Issue 173).

Heads 10 – 18 will feature over the next three issues.


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hOrNY hIND, sOrrOWFuL stAG - 2011 rOAr B y A i d a n B o s w e l l , T e A w a m u t u B r a n c h

STORY

PArt 1: hOrNY hIND

It took me 12 days of hunting over two years

to get my first deer out of Pureora Forest. It

was a hard apprenticeship. To begin with I was

more likely to drop my rifle than ready it during

that first vital second of seeing or hearing

a deer! My deer lore, skill and composure

have increased a little since then and my

average has been steadily coming down. The

first two weeks of April were to be my most

productive ever on public land and provided

me some further insight into my own hunting

motivations.

The gods granted me two short roar trips to

Pureora this year. The first weekend of April

my mate Darren, from North of Auckland

joined me. By the time we hit the gravel road

into the forest it was dark and the headlights

lit up the tunnel of trees ahead. Still a couple

of kilometres from our camp site, I wondered

why Darren had suddenly decelerated. ‘Wow,

there’s one.’ Standing on the road, with eyes

shining back, was a good size stag. The light

made it hard to discern what he was probably

a long, skinny 6- or 8-point. He stood for

a few seconds as we came to a stop, then

jumped up a low bank and made to enter the

bush. He had no more than poked his nose

into the bush (literally), when he stopped and

looked over his shoulder at us for a few more

seconds. He then jumped back down on the

road and trotted away for about ten metres

before leaping up the bank and repeating the

process! Down he jumped again and trotted

around the corner and

out of sight.

When we rounded the corner he had vanished.

He was lit up by the lights for close to a

minute. It was great to see a stag before we

had even reached our hunting spot. We were

hoping he had rivals and they were all up for

a scrap!

We set up camp beside the ute and got our

kit ready for an early rise in the morning. I

discovered I’d made the most embarrassing

of hunter’s mistakes - leaving vital equipment

behind. My GPS, rifle bolt and a small hand

tool for encouraging kareao/supplejack to let

me pass; were all sitting in my bumbag back

home! I considered all three of these to be

pretty important for the area we were

heading into!

Unfortunately the night roar did not

keep us awake. There was none

at all! Regardless, we were up

and heading into bush well before

dawn. We heard nothing during the

45-minute walk in, despite

my regular roars. As we

reached the edge of my

‘secret prime area’

I passed the horn

to Darren to rest

my voice. He let

rip with a few

Sika roars and

had the same

success as

me. It seems the deer did not discern! With

the light up enough to see under the canopy,

we worked in towards the first wallow. Roaring

and patiently waiting and listening. Nothing. I

put my trail camera up overlooking the first

wallow. We kept off the wallow, trying to

minimise our scent, as it looked like it had

been used recently. There was at least one

stag around, so all we had to do was get inside

his comfort zone and provoke a response!

Without my GPS it was going to be difficult

to find all the other wallows. The bush is

thick with no distinctive features. Fortunately

Darren had his, so I could take a best guess

of the rough area, and at the very least we

could be sure of finding our way back

without resorting to a compass

safety bearing!

We headed down a small stream

into what I thought was a likely

area. The wind took us in

a rough southerly

direction.

Roaring,

waiting and

quietly

moving saw


us cover only about one kilometre, eventually

looping back to hit our track about lunch time.

We had not found any of the wallows I’d hoped

to and decided we should head back down the

stream working the wind as best we could.

Roaring, waiting; roaring some more and

moving, zig-zaging with an unfriendly wind.

By mid-afternoon we were both getting a little

despondent. A half-hour siesta perked us up

although by this stage we were resigned to not

seeing an angry 16-point stag come roaring

in. At about 4.00pm we found a nice open area

with about twenty metres of visibility and sat

down. I roared and we waited and listened.

We chatted quietly and I roared occasionally.

Darren suddenly whispered, ‘That sounded

bigger then a bird!’ I had not heard it and

responded, ‘I doubt it. Where from?’ He

pointed down and across the slope. We sat

in silence straining our ears. To my surprise

another suspicious ‘crack’ came from down

the hill. Something was moving! A minute

later, another ‘crack’. Something was sneaking

in on us, very slowly and quietly! I felt the

excitement of the stalk, but this time we were

being stalked, awesome! We both sat, just a

metre apart, waiting, looking and listening.

Not moving or making a sound. The wind was

causing me concern but was out of my control.

What ever it was; man or beast, it was moving,

which put it at the disadvantage. Then I saw a

fern move. It was close, only twenty metres,

but I could not identify it. More movement,

dark moving across light contrast. Still could

not identify it. The low pungas, kareao and

ample tree trunks concealed it. It was moving

up to the same height as we were, but about

twenty-metres along the slope. I saw Darren

looking at me questioningly. I pointed and

whispered, ‘It’s moving right to left.’ He went

back busily looking through his scope trying

to find it.

Then a deep bark! It was low and loud, in my

excitement it sounded like a 16-point stag at

least! Then another bark, and a few seconds

later a third. I was buzzing now, struggling to

keep my breath soft and quiet. This is what

hunting is about! A few seconds later I saw

the white bum of a deer trotting directly away

from me. I realised I only had a few seconds

to act, so I let rip with a high pitch ‘cheep’ and

sure enough I saw the animal stop and turn its

head to look back. No antlers on this hind but

a perfect neck shot stance from just twenty-

five metres. Only one problem, I did not have a

rifle. ‘Give me the rifle!’ I whispered franticly.

Darren passed it over. Up went the .308, I

waited for the cross hairs to settle on the neck

and gently squeezed the trigger. I saw the bum

patch drop and knew she was down. Venison

in the freezer, yum! Darren asked, ‘Did you

get it?’ ‘It’s down,’ I replied. Despite being the

one to first hear it, he had not seen it during

the whole event. Even when it was walking

away, his view was obscured by a tree trunk,

while mine, just one metre away was clear! We

jumped up and walked the twenty metres to

the animal; a big fat hind.

The normal process ensued followed by

sharing a three and half hour carry using the

‘Gale belt method.’ It seemed a lot harder

than expected for a hind; in fact it was damn

hard work! On the scales at home the carcass

weighed 60-kilograms; getting close to

borderline for old guys like us to carry in rough

country.

The day had all the highs and lows of a hunting

trip. High hopes, frustration, relaxation, a

stalker’s buzz and now an unusual hunting

story. A horny Red hind coming in for some

action! I decided my roaring must be damn

sexy!

The next morning we headed back to where

we saw the stag on the road. Although we

found his prints we heard and saw nothing. By

lunch it was time to head home.

When I retrieved the trail camera two weeks

later only one deer had been snapped. This

animal passed by the wallow just three hours

after we crossed through it. It never returned.

PArt II: sOrrOWFuL stAG

My second trip was to the popular Piro Piro

flats area with a good Sika hunting mate called

Steve. I’d never been there, but Steve’s old

man had based himself there in a caravan

for a few weeks, so I reckoned he should

have gleaned a few good spots. The party

swelled with the addition of brothers, one

of whom now lived on the west coast. Why

anyone would hunt Pureora when they have

the west coast as home turf is a mystery. He

assured me it had nothing to do with avoiding

his sister’s wedding preparations with the

ceremony less than a week away. We ended

up with four hunters and a ‘camp father’.

The weather was not good and the first

morning was spent talking rubbish in the

caravan as the rain fell. By lunch time I

found myself acting as guide with three of

us working together roaring, listening and

moving. The bush was noticeably more

open than where I normally hunt. It was

a pleasure to walk through it and not be

always clambering under and through thick

vegetation. Working with the wind and the

contours we drew a blank. No roaring and

very little sign. We were in the wrong place

and probably doing the wrong thing. Late in

the afternoon Seamus had pressed 50 metres

ahead and spooked an animal from just off the

side of the spur. Naturally it had been sitting

in the only thick vegetation in the area! We hit

the track just before dark which was a relief.

Despite a GPS, it’s never pleasant trying to get

out of unknown bush after dark.

The next morning the brothers headed out

and I decided to hunt closer to camp. A short

drive and I was back in the bush. I decided

on a different approach this time. Concluding

that any stag this close to the main camp

would be a) dead, b) super cagey or c) very

quiet, I decided on some old fashioned bush

stalking. This area was ideal with lots of small

spurs and guts to peek into. Once again the

bush was quite civilized and there was some

sign about. After about thirty minutes and

only 300 metres from the car I came across

a little clearing mostly over grown with scrub

and with obvious deer paths through it. I

pushed through and back into the bush edge.

Experience had taught me not to push out

into the open bush (however tempting it is to

get out of the thick stuff), but to pause just

inside and have a good look around, take half

a step and do it again. Eventually I broke clear

on the edge of a small spur about five metres

high. I sidled carefully around, two steps

and standing still to survey the newly visible

ground for thirty seconds, two more steps,

etc. As I rounded the end of the spur I spied

a very red patch of fur between the fork of a


tree. Easing the half cock on my 1938 .303

closed, I slowly swayed forward to reveal more

of the animal. Sure enough, a spiker stood on

high alert looking straight at me from fifteen

metres. As I stood closer to the tree between

us I could see more of him. I suppose he could

only see my shoulder and half my face. I eased

the rifle up and the cross hairs went straight

to his neck. A firm squeeze of the trigger (my

old .303 does not respond to touching off

or a gentle squeeze; it requires a firm hand

otherwise it ignores me!) and he dropped on

the spot.

His heart was still beating so I quickly bled

him. His spikes were an odd pair, one straight

up and the other out to the side. Fortunately

it was only a short carry to the car. At lunch

time the brothers turned up saying they did not

believe there was any deer in the forest and

left for Whakatane where they reported much

greater success with a vastly superior guide!

After lunch and some tips from the neighbours

I headed back in the direction of yesterday’s

unsuccessful hunt. I spent two-hours

sidling across a very step and quite thick hill

side, sheltering occasionally from passing

showers. When I crested the ridge I heard

that wonderful sound of a stag in the distance.

My first one for this year. He was moaning

rather than roaring hard out and did not seem

to directly respond to my roars. To complicate

things he was across the slope rather than on

a ridge opposite. I suspected he was about

500 metres away near the drop off to the

river, but I knew that he could be a lot closer

with a gut muffling and distorting his roar. I

proceeded slowly, carefully using my GPS to

get a rough triangulation on his position. It was

thick and I did not like my chances of getting

close to him.

While sheltering from another shower I

realised two things. Firstly, I was running out

of light under the bush canopy and, secondly

I was now only fifty metres from

the track we

had walked on yesterday and the track was

heading pretty much straight to him. Deciding I

would use the track to get closer to him; work

out where he was and make a plan for the

morning. I crashed the fifty metres to the track

and padded quickly along to the top of the

drop off to the river. I pulled the horn out of my

shirt, when at that moment he roared, just a

few metres away. If the horn had not been tied

around my neck I would have dropped it! He

was no more then ten metres below me behind

some toetoe.

I stood stunned for a few seconds wondering

what to do. For the lack of a better idea, I

roared back at him - more of a moan to imitate

his, than an angry roar. I have no idea if that

was the best thing to do, but it certainly got a

response. There were a couple of loud crashes

and I quietly closed the bolt, silence for a few

seconds then another snap to my right and he

stepped out on the track. He was a big boy

but looked grey in the fading light. We looked

at each other for a few seconds, and then he

turned to look the other way. He could not have

seen me as I was partly camouflaged by toetoe

leaves across the track and had not moved.

I paused for another second, thinking – well

this is the part I am supposed to shoot him. I

raised the rifle and despite his proximity, I was

standing in an awkward position for a shot in

that direction, so was very unstable. I lowered

the cross hairs to the bigger base of the neck

and squeezed. The trusty

.303 did the job

and he dropped on

the spot and then

started thrashing

his good 8-point

antlers violently.

I waited,

expecting to see the life ebb out of him. After

what seemed like a long time, (probably about

thirty seconds), his movements began to

slow. I stepped toward him and the thrashing

became frantic again. He was still very much

alive and conscious of me. I did not feel at

all good about that. With a smaller animal

(without antlers) I would have leapt on to cut

the throat, but I was not going near this boy.

Those antlers looked sharp. The only thing for

it, was to shoot it again. I lined up the neck

again and shot. The thrashing became even

more fanatic! Feeling sure that he must fade

quickly now, I waited. Another thirty seconds

and he was still very much there. Watching

him suffer was not making me happy, so

taking careful aiming right at the base of the

skull I shot a third time. This one stopped him.

I could scarcely believe it took three 150gr

.303 bullets to kill him.

Another successful hunt on the same day!

Pleasing in some ways, but not as exciting as

the hind, or as satisfying (skill wise) as the

spiker and as I’m not a trophy hunter, I felt a

bit sad to see such a magnificent animal dead.

Next time I might take a camera.

He had kindly come up to the track, so I

planned to beg the use of the neighbour’s quad

bike and carry him out whole. While I was

taking the head off I noticed a big chip in his

antlers. My second bullet had hit his trashing

antler! It must have been deflected away

explaining why it did not slow him down at all.

A nice 8-point but with the bullet damage I

would be too embarrassed to take him to

the measuring night. After gutting him,

smiling for the camera I headed

off into the darkness to

borrow the bike.


At 12-years-old, this young lad is rapidly becoming an accomplished hunter. He has had a grand start to his hunting career.

Like many young New Zealanders, he has enjoyed the opportunities this country can provide. He began with hunting on the family farm with his air rifle after sparrows, magpies and other pests. With supervision from his father and grandfather (Pop), he progressed to the .22 rimfire and accounted for many rabbits, hares and possums.

Using his little .410 shotgun he dispatched rats and a ferret as well as enjoying two successful duck opening mornings.

Hunting with Pop, he moved on to the pursuit of big game during 2009. On a friend’s property he took his first deer, a Fallow yearling. Its skin now resplendent on the wall of his room at home.

In 2010, another mate’s property provided a Red stag and a wild boar. A wallaby joined the list and the year was topped off with successful hunts for chamois and a bull tahr!

Zeke hunts with his father’s Remington .243 and is a steady and careful shooter. Preferring to take his shots from a steady rest, he seldom requires a second shot to dispatch his target.

With two trips to Stewart Island under his belt, this year’s expedition was eagerly anticipated.

Zeke achieved second place in the 2011 Manawatu Branch Trophy for Best Whitetail.

Editor’s note:

Look for the story about his Stewart Island trip in the next issue of ‘NZ Hunting and Wildlife.’

Also profiling will be another young hunter, Mathew Black, South Canterbury Branch who achieved three firsts and a second in the 2011 national antler, horn and tusk competitions.

Zeke meIkLe – YOuNG huNter PrOFILeN o r t h O t a g o B r a n c h

YOUNG HUNTER

Pest control – rabbits, hares and possums

2010 chamois

Wild boar 2010

Red stag 2010

Wallaby 2010

Successful tahr hunt 2010

Taking a steady shot

Paradise on opening day


BUSH TELEGRAPH

mINIster OF cONservAtION’s sPeech tO cONFereNce Read by Eric Roy, National MP

President, Alec McIver, National Executive members, branch representatives and hunters.

It seems fitting to be meeting on the door step of such a grand New Zealand landscape steeped in hunting history and the long involvement of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association.

At the end of my speech last year, I mentioned that the challenge was for DOC to ‘foster and build a solid working relationship’ with your association and other recreational hunters.

I am aware that many of your branches are involved in ‘hands on work’; such as hut development or maintenance, track work, restoration projects, search and rescue, firearms safety and junior hunter training. I am also aware that at local and national level your association makes a considerable contribution to the debate around issues affecting hunting and this Government values your input.

Conservation does not mean locking up land. Likewise it doesn’t mean we avoid development or extraction of value. But, it does mean managing our resources in the sure knowledge that we are dependent on nature’s services and that our prosperity and posterity hinges on how well we maintain harmony with nature.

There will always be debate about what is best for us as a nation. That is healthy and should be welcomed. Unfortunately in this day and age we don’t get to have too many robust intellectual debates as they’re so heavily influenced by emotion and the media that people get shy about expressing their views.

So when it comes to issues you’re passionate about, I would encourage you to raise them with us as a Government. There is always room for discussion and even in the event we don’t agree, we’re always willing to listen. I welcome the regular meetings I have with Alec to discuss the issues that matter to your organisation. I also have regular contact on a local level with Bill Davis, President of the North Canterbury Branch of NZDA. This Government does listen to you.

For DOC’s part it has been implementing improvements and working through various issues that have the potential to impact on recreational hunting. These include the introduction of new hunting dedicated pages on the DOC website and the on-line hunting permit system. In the first five months, this system issued over 19,000 permits. An expected outcome of this systems introduction was to make it easier for hunters to get a permit and the information needed to safely hunt in an area.

So far, this system is proving effective and hopefully you agree. A new hunting brochure has also been published providing an introduction to hunting on conservation land, planning and preparing for a hunting trip, permits and licences, backcountry accommodation as well as various safety messages.

New initiatives aimed at adding to recreational hunting opportunities continue to be made available. An example is the Tasman Wilderness Area, which was made accessible for recreational hunters to fly into blocks between March and April. This significant change to the Kahurangi National Park Management Plan was approved on the basis that recreational hunters are recognised as a key partner to help DOC manage the effects of deer within the Tasman Wilderness Area. Run this year as a trial, it was so successful that it is likely to be repeated in 2012.

The National Hunting Advisor role has continued to illustrate the benefit in having a dedicated person acting as a contact between NZDA and DOC on national issues. I’m aware that Brent is leaving the role to spend more time with his family and I thank him for the obvious enthusiasm and expertise he has brought to the job. With Brent tonight is Ian Cooksley, who has moved into this role and I’m sure will carry on the good work of providing a linkage between DOC and recreational hunters.

Several important issues are being addressed at present and I will give an update on them.

The formation of a Game Animal Council has been announced and the enabling Act is being worked on at present. While the Council may not meet all parties’ aspirations it should be an important contributor to recreational hunting in New Zealand. I anticipate that the Council’s work in many instances would be complimentary to your Association’s in the liaison between hunters and the government to improve hunting opportunities.

Given the high parliamentary workload leading up to the election it’s likely the Game Animal Council Bill be introduced to the House later this year. After that, there will be an opportunity for the public and interested parties to have a say during the select committee process. Obviously there are a few different opinions on how the Council will operate, or whether it should even exist.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment raised some concerns recently about whether the Council would impact on pest control work with respect to 1080 drops. These are the sort of details that will get widely canvassed at select committee. I would

encourage you to make submissions on the Bill once it reaches this point. Obviously the association will put forward a strong voice, but you are also welcome to add any specific views you might have as individuals.

Heli-hunting continues to be an issue which we all need to work together on to find the best outcome. While DOC continues to work through the applications for long-term permits for this activity, we have been considering the issue of hazing and herding. I think it’s fair to say most New Zealanders disagree with this practice. It goes against what we would consider a fair hunt.

This issue has been on my mind and I am considering a regulatory option to address it. The most likely option is to introduce an amendment to the Wild Animal Control Act preventing herding and hazing of chamois and tahr by heli-hunters.

A sombre note but one that illustrates the Department and this Association having the same expectation of firearms safety is the prosecution of those involved in the fatal shooting of Rosemary Ives at a DOC campground near Turangi last October. I acknowledge the support your association gave during the prosecution process.

An important opportunity for hunters input to DOC’s management is the renewal of the various conservancies’ ‘Conservation Management Strategies’ and I encourage your involvement in this process. For some conservancies the consultation is beginning this year and for others it will commence early 2012. I suggest that you contact your local DOC office for an update on when and where consultation meetings will occur.

Continuing on from last year, the general sense is that there has been improvements in the relationship between DOC and recreational hunters, whilst also recognising there are areas where there will always be disagreement. Whilst there is room for improvement, there are a lot of positives to build on. I am keen to see this improvement continue and thank your association for the very real contribution to recreational hunting in New Zealand. Several issues remain and by working together, understanding each others views I’m sure these will, over time, be resolved.

I note that your association’s membership continues to grow and I wish you all the best for a long future and look forward to productive engagement on what ever the issue happens to be.

Thank you.


BUSH TELEGRAPH

GrAF bOYs DO It AGAIN1080 poison documentary wins in JapanPoisoning Paradise - Ecocide New Zealand has won the Conservation Advocacy Award at the Japan Wildlife Film Festival.

Included in the judges comments were – ‘We have no choice but to face this film honestly. We, human beings now must pay respects to precious lives other than humans! Otherwise, we will also become extinct. The detailed facts that are documented in this film will touch our hearts heavily over and over.’

It’s not the first time Poisoning Paradise has won an award. The documentary won Best International Film - Environment and Ecology - at the International Film Festival Ireland in 2010, and Best Film - Environment and Ecology - at the Heart of England International Film Festival, also last year.

‘We’d like to see Poisoning Paradise screened on national TV, along with one of the many DOC and AHB films that advocate for 1080 use. That would be a balanced and fair way of presenting both sides of this urgent issue, to the people of New Zealand. At the moment, the public are only getting one side of the story, and in my opinion, that is to everyone’s detriment, including our wildlife’s.’ said Clyde Graf.

The makers of the film - Waikato brothers Steve and Clyde Graf - made the documentary in response to what they say is the huge amount of 1080 poison dropped across New Zealand forests, every year. They say it was important to highlight the dangers, the extensive evidence of harm and animal cruelty that are associated with aerial 1080 poison drops.

‘Poisoning Paradise is an accumulation of facts, science and testimonies from scientists, farmers, and experts from all across New Zealand. Every minute of the film is important, and accurate.’ said Steve Graf.

cONservAtION AuthOrItYSource: The office of the Minister of Conservation.

On 22 August 2011 the Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson announced eight new appointments to the New Zealand Conservation Authority, the body which oversees the policies that govern how public conservation land is managed.

The authority will also have a new chairperson, with Dr Kay Booth taking over the role from Don Ross.

Ms Wilkinson says Dr Booth brought a wealth

of experience to the role.

‘Kay has been a member of the conservation authority for six years and I am delighted that she has agreed to take on this important leadership role.’

The new appointees are John Thorburn of Christchurch, Dr Warren Parker of Rotorua, Jo Breese of Wellington, Judy Hellstrom of Picton, Dr Gerry McSweeney of Arthur’s Pass, Professor Mick Clout of Manurewa, Sandra Cook of Otautau and Ian Buchanan of Greytown.

Yvonne Sharp, Waana Davis, Hally Toia, and Brian Stephenson have been reappointed for a further term on the authority, alongside Dr Booth.

‘The authority has a pivotal role in planning for the management of the public conservation land and resources over the medium to long term.’

‘It is fantastic to have such a broad range of highly experienced people on board for that purpose.’

Ms Wilkinson says she wished to thank chair Don Ross and the other outgoing members of the authority - John Nankervis, Linda Conning, Mike Browne, Louise Savage, Basil Morrison and Charles Crofts - for their contributions.

mY FIrst Deer Or tWO!B y T a y l a h B a r r e t t ( 1 4 ) , T a i h a p e

After nagging Dad all week to take me hunting, he finally gave in. So early on a Saturday morning we headed off to Omarae Station. As we were walking along a ridge we saw a couple of Fallow deer down on a flat, just across from us. I said to Dad, ‘We should have a go at them,’ but he said, ‘just carry on.’

We had no luck in the bush so we walked out into a clearing. Dad spotted some Fallow deer feeding between the trees. We quickly dropped to the ground and belly crawled forward to get a clearer view. As soon as I was in a good position Dad handed me the rifle, a Bruno .222 with a suppressor on it. I lined up on a nice deer, putting the cross hairs just behind the shoulder, took a deep breath and gently squeezed the trigger; just as Dad has taught me to do. Two deer immediately took off which made me think that I had missed. Dad reassured me that I had hit one and we rushed down to have a look for it. Sure enough, there it was, right where I had

shot at it. Dad and I were both very proud!

We gutted it, or rather I supervised Dad, as he did it. When we had finished, we dragged it back to the bike and took it down to the truck. As soon as we were loaded up we headed back to the house.

That evening Dad and I, along with my two cousins, Zach (6) and Kaleb (4) headed back out to see if we could get another one. We came across a few Fallow feeding on a face. As it was pretty windy we didn’t take the .222 this time but took Dad’s Ruger 7x57 with a suppressor and bipod. When we saw the deer I grabbed the gun off Dad, lined up the top deer and fired. The deer dropped straight to the ground. The other deer

hadn’t moved so Dad asked Zach if he wanted a go. Zach lined up on the other one and shot it. I thought it was pretty amazing that Zach did everything himself; but this wasn’t his first deer, he shot his first one when he was just five!

It was a very exciting day, I had shot two deer on my first hunt, and I can’t wait to go hunting again.

YOUNG HUNTER

The ‘A Team’ Tayla (14) with cousins Kaleb (4) and Zach (6)


B y J A A n d e r s o n , S o u t h C a n t e r b u r y B r a n c h

W i n n e r o f t h e N Z D A s h o r t s t o r y c o m p e t i t i o n s

R e p r o d u c e d f r o m ‘ T h e R o a r ’ V o l u m e 8 , N o v e m b e r 1 9 6 1

Wednesday, the third of May and I’m just back from another stalking trip. The most successful trip ever and I know that this story of it will enrich the lives of all who read it. It is the record of a trip into the Godley watershed in the quest of tahr and chamois, not the first such trip that I have made, but one which will live in my memory for ever. This time, my ambition, was not to secure trophies myself, but to guide others to success.

Some of you know Tom Ormiston. Others will have been less fortunate – and theirs is the loss. Perhaps I can do something to bring the sprit of this man to you all. A fine sportsman and a life member of the Auckland Branch of NZDA, and never has such an honour been more worthily bestowed. Ever since the day that he saw a bull tahr head mounted in Jack Dillon’s sports shop at Taupo, Tom has wanted one – Badly! I had thought that they were just some sort of goat ‘til I saw that head – they make a fine trophy…..do you think I could get one?....I’m not as young as I used to be, but given time I’ll get anywhere - So ran Tom’s letter.

In November last I met with Tom and his wife for the first time and was privileged to be their guest for lunch; a more enthusiastic and energetic stalker I have yet to meet – a better cared-for husband yet to find. To quote Tom, ‘he and his mate would be going bush for three weeks in April in the Urewera after stags, after which he’d like to come south and try for a tahr.’ His good wife was the height of hospitality. Little did she realise just where her Tom was heading – neither, I fancy, did he.

Seven-thirty a.m. Monday the 1st May found us braving 15 degrees of frost and crawling from our ‘sacks’. Ice had to be broken on top

of the water bucket before porridge could be cooked….morning ablutions were necessarily brief. Boots, wet the day before, had to be thawed out before they could be put on. All the while the line of sunshine which had been bathing the peaks of the Liebig Range since dawn, was slowly creeping nearer across the two-mile wide river valley. As we left the hut the tussocks were white and hoar frost and frozen ground rang with the rhythm of our steps.

A mile out in the river bed we met the sun and our vapour trails of breath vanished; frozen fingers and toes came to life; the incessant drops on the tips of our noses vanished as if by magic and the world became in a trice, a wonderful place to live in. Six and seven thousand feet above us the ice seracs of the glaciers on Mounts Acland, Sidney King, Wolseley and D’Archiac, gleamed in their splendour and the deep crevasses creaked as the ice moved. In a sweeping curve ahead the Classen Glacier swung away to the south, to the west, the Maud and Grey with their tumbling icefalls vied with each other in their race to join the Godley, swelling and filling the valley with a mile-wide stream of ice. Eight miles away and three thousand feet above us the vast ice plateau of the Godley Glacier glistened in the sun, broken only by a small patch of Westland fog rolling through the Sealey Pass. Voicing all our thoughts, Tom said, ‘It’s been well worth the trip – even if we don’t see a tahr.’ From ahead came a deep incessant roar – the roar of an angry river.

To those unaccustomed to them, glacial rivers appear at first insignificant. Perhaps only 50 yards wide and with boulders sticking out frequently they look from a distance as though they can be easily boulder hopped. To those

who know them more intimately, they are a constant source for fear.

Tom, Norman and I slithered down the steep 20 foot bank and picked our way though myriads of great round boulders to the water’s edge where a long shallow ripple ran diagonally downstream offering a reasonably safe ford. The pool above, a hundred yards long by perhaps sixty wide, ran deceptively smooth and deep, oily whirls here and there indicating deeply sunken rocks, the whole appearance grossly belying the concealed power of a dangerous river. Below the ripple, the river dropped steeply in cascades of white water and spray – no innocent river here. Being dressed in shorts, I set about prospecting a route across. The thin film of ice along the river edge presented no difficulty – the white glacial water, did. Water through which the visibility is restricted to a depth of a few inches, ‘neath whose surface lay hidden rocks and in which one step was often inches deep the next, thigh deep. The chill of the water was terrific. By the time I reached midstream my legs were numb and I searched in vain for a large rock on which to climb to relieve the pain. All exposed rocks were coated heavily with ice, there was nothing but to carry on. Safe on the bank, I lay on my back with my feet in the air, draining my boots and waiting for the circulation to return.

Tom and Norman had been dressed in longs. These, and their socks they removed, lacing their boots on again. Norman had suffered a serious accident a little over 12 months ago. He is in his middle fifties, weighs about 16 stone, and none to steady on his feet in such conditions. Tom is tough and lean, a little over five feet in height and very light. I watched anxiously as Tom led the way across, standing

trOPhY OF A LIFetIme

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Mts Acland (8,294 feet) and Sidney King (8,064 feet) tower above the moraine of the Classen Glacier and the icy waters of the Godley.


downstream in case of trouble. Progress was painfully slow, but safe. How they stood up to the cold I don’t know. Tom, in a very short shirt and bare undercarriage, stooped over with the cold, looked to me like some lean Indian brave in a breech cloth; while Norman, following behind in a long bush shirt, could well have passed as his squaw. As they lay back in the sun drying before dressing, Tom was heard to remark that his wife took very good care of him at home, and that it was just as well she could not see him now.

Ten minutes later, trousers on and considerably refreshed, we were skirting the lateral moraine of the Classen Glacier enroute to the Classen Bivvy. Keith Severinsen’s party had apparently been the last visitors here. A month previously they had been marooned by a swiftly rising river for three days without supplies and had enjoyed with relish some stew cooked in 1956 and left in a billy in the bivvy. We did not stay, pressing on and beginning our climb up Panorama Peak. Feed was abundant at low levels but there was little fresh sign of game. I warned Tom that our bull would not be easy to find, and that his only chance might be at long range – perhaps 800 yards. Glasses were essential and we sat and glassed the slopes. Below to the left was a large lake left by the receding ice of the Classen Glacier, and to the right a still large lake dotted with icebergs, at the foot of the Godley.

For more than a mile we skirted the ridge, following the lateral moraine of the Classen. A mile ahead, past the end of vegetation we could see a mob of bull dotted over a bare rocky bluff, but it was apparent that it would be impossible to stalk them from any direction. Regretfully disregarding them, we zigzagged our way higher – 3,500 to 4,000, 4,000 to 5,000 feet were reached and passed with still no sign of our quarry. A thousand yards away a mob of bulls regarded us disdainfully, secure on their rocky outcrop. The wind in our faces brought me the smell of bulls – it is the first time I have noted it on the hill – and I remarked on it to my companions. Ten minutes later, as I dragged myself over a rocky spur, I disturbed two bulls in a gut. The area had been shot over a great deal since Xmas and the bulls were away in a flash, dropping from sight round the next spur. A glance up the gut revealed another larger bull clambering to his feet. I signalled Tom up. His mouth hung open, it just wouldn’t shut. Four day’s growth of white whiskers ringed it like a halo. The rarefied atmosphere together with the tough climb was affecting us all. By the time he had reached me the bull was off – down hill in a mad rush. Tom fired, but with no result, and our bull disappeared round the spur below.

By this time the first two bulls had come into sight again crossing a mile wide shingle slide 300 yards away. Norman kept them occupied whilst Tom and I watched for the big bull to appear below. He came into view 350 yards below, angling down across the shingle at full tilt. Tom’s shot speeded him up if anything, but had no other result. A cartridge jammed - there was a moment of feverish activity then Tom was in action again, this time from 500 yards. The bull swung to the left and a shot splashed close to his feet as he ran. One shot left and the bull going ‘like the hammers of hell’, at 700 yards. Tom fired, and flattened the bull as it rounded a large rock. Beside myself with joy, I slapped him on the back congratulating him. Norman still firing at the other two had never at any stage seen the one that Tom was firing at, he was quite surprised to learn that there had been three. The mob of bulls on the bluff was standing wondering what all the noise was about. I splashed a bullet at their feet to keep them awake, as we believe that half the joy of the chase is in the difficulty of the stalk and it would never do to have them too tame. They made off with haste, like so many flies crawling along a wall.

Tom rose to his feet – very shaky; his hand would not keep still, even when we pumped it. His knees weren’t too steady either, but his eyes were very bright. He had achieved his ambition – an ambition that he himself had doubted possible.

As we lay in our bunks that Monday night after he had finished skinning out his head and put Peltex on the head skin he was heard to remark, ‘You know, I’ll never know whether I really shot that bull or whether he just ran into the bullet. They’re a fine game animal – I’d have given a lot of money to protect them from extermination. They will be a great asset to the country in the future.’

Talk drifted to Wapiti and Fiordland, as it is usual when I’m around. Tom has been there more than once. He said, ‘The last time Holmes

and I were camped by Lake Sutherland, a few hours after we passed the Herricks going out, the Nitz brothers walked into our camp. It was their second trip …’ Oh! Did I forget? – Tom was 75 last birthday – to listen to him is to step back into history. May it be every stalker’s prayer that he may live to enjoy the splendour of outdoor life as fully, and to as good purpose as Tom has done.

Mt D’Archiac (9,179 feet) and the Fitzgerald Glacier

From an eerie perch above the junction of the Grey and Godley Glaciers Tom surveys the peaks of the Main Divide. Left to right – Moffat, Livingstone, Loughnan and Sutton-Turner, all over 8,000 feet.

The view from Panorama Peak. Below Norman the ice fields of the Godley Glacier spread from Neish Plateau hidden by Mt Wolsely on the left, past the Sealy Pass. In the fog, Mt Petermann, the Stewart Saddle, Malthus, Dennistoun and McClure peaks to Mt D’Archiac on the right.


GrANNIe OLIve’s

recIPessOuPThis is a delightful soup that can be made during the roar.

Into a large billy or pot put some meaty bits of deer bone.

Add a couple of cups of barley, spit peas, some dehydrated onion, carrots, swede, mushrooms and some greens.

To bring out the meat flavour and nutrients, season with a pinch of thyme, sage, salt, pepper and a dash of curry powder.

Simmer slowly for several hours with the lid slightly ajar to assist with releasing the nutrients from the bones.

This is really good cooked over a slow but cheerful fire.

The soup can be further enhanced with the addition of ‘doughboys’. Take a couple of cups of self-raising flour, a pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix to a dough with cold water and shape into light-weight balls. Pop them into the simmering soup and cook for ten minutes or so.

Soup is great for tea, supper, breakfast or place it in a flask for during the hunt.

THE STALkERS’ TABLE

Photo taken by Max Pudney of Grannie Olive, as she would like to be known.

GOLDeN sYruP steAm PuDDINGFor your next roar hunting trip consider taking along some golden syrup, plus a small metal bowl, along with a generous piece of aluminium foil and greaseproof paper that will fit over the bowl. Also make sure that you have a length of string.

Grease the metal bowl and then put three or four tablespoons of golden syrup in the bottom followed by three tablespoons of cold water. Heat through so that the syrup and water gently merge then set aside.

In a separate bowl or billy mix together two large cups of self-raising flour with cold water adding a pinch of salt and sugar.

Pour the mix on top of the golden syrup in the bowl and dribble two or three tablespoons over the pudding and at the edges of the inner sides.

The pudding bowl needs a foil and grease proof paper covering with a pleat in each, so that when the pudding rises it expands and is kept waterproof.

Place the foil and paper with their one inch pleats over the pudding bowl and tie them down against the outer bowl sides with the string.

Pop the bowl into a large pot or billy of boiling water. Boil gently for twenty minutes or so. Golden syrup steam pudding is much like a water bath floating, so won’t need much water above the top of it – maybe three inches, depending on the pudding weight.

When done, turn upside down onto a tray or large plate and serve. Enjoy.


HABITAT

Many of you will be aware that the Association is actively involved with the blue duck (whio) recovery programmes throughout New Zealand in conjunction with the department of conservation (DOC).

Two members of the Nelson Branch have been heavily involved over the years with trap lines.

Will Rickerby looks after trap lines locally in the Fyfe River area which drains off Mt Owen. He has spent countless hours tramping over the area making trapping tunnels, clearing and resetting traps.

The other member is Paul Peychers who carries out trap checks in the Worsley Valley, Fiordland. He does this in conjunction with the Wapiti Foundation’s blue duck project.

At the Nelson Branch’s August club night, Kate Steffens DOC’s local whio expert talked to members and sought help with this worthy project.

Listed below are some ideas of how you might be able to participate in your local area:

• Consider taking ownership of a current back country trap line or area. This involves maintaining the trap lines to DOC best practice and time frame.

• Consider taking ownership of a proposed back country trap line or area. These are usually dependent on funding to pay for the additional trap lines. This involves maintaining the trap lines to DOC best practice and time frame.

• Assist DOC staff with trap checks in the back country

Some sites involve a considerable number of traps, ie: Fyfe/Sandstone, 172 traps; Wangapeka South branch, 242 traps and Wangapeka North branch and main stream, 277.

If anyone is keen on becoming involved with the project please contact your nearest DOC office.

SWAZI JUNIOR SHOOTS

G O R E B R A N C H S W A Z I S H O O TIt was a great day with some excellent weather and shooting skills to match. Each

kid had to shoot 8 targets with .22 rimfires, and then a balloon on completion of

the targets. Afterwards the adults had a go as well, and placed some balloons

at 400m and 500m to test their skills with centrefire rifles. The balloons were

dispatched quickly and without suffering.

In the middle, 1st, Meagan McFadzien with her brother (L), Bevan gaining 2nd,

and 3rd, Milly McLeod, a first time shooter. Even young Kerian Christey had a go

with some help from the adults.

N O R T H C A N T E R B U R Y B R A N C H S W A Z I S H O O TOn a beautifully crisp and clear Sunday morning on 17th

of July, 12 keen junior members gathered at the Burnett

Range, some looking a little uncertain, some clutching a

favourite rifle, but all eager to do some shooting and try to win the

Swazi prizes. The shoot consisted of two matches. First - 3 positions (standing,

kneeling, prone) at 50 metres using rimfire rifles. Second - 3 positions at 100

metres using centrefire rifles. This was followed by a novelty shoot to test the

shooters a bit more, but with a bit of fun added in, (honestly, guys, those water

balloons did not move).

The prize winners were – Overall: 1st, Matthew Mesman (14yrs); 2nd, Thomas Le

Heux (15yrs) and 3rd, Vinny Todd (16yrs)

Rimfire top score – Rebecca Cochrane (13yrs). Centrefire – Matthew Mesman

As an added bonus, a few days later two of the Swazi prize-winners also had their

photo taken with Davey Hughes – ‘who just happened to be in the area’ doing his

book tour.

bLue Duck recOverY PrOGrAmme

Whio in the Worsley Valley, Paul Peychers, Nelson Branch (entered 2010 photographic competitions)


Last issue’s (173) heritage feature was about the Nitz’s brothers Wapiti heads. The brothers, Edgar and Herman, who hunted the Fiordland for the mighty Wapiti, were also regular hunters in and around the Wairapapa district. The Nitz family emigrated from Europe and settled in the Wairarapa in the late 1800s. During their time there they became a well integrated part of the community.

One of the Red heads has been mounted with the head turned to the left. This is the result of an unusual antler configuration. The head’s left antler is what may be termed as a standard shape and layout. However the right antler is what has been described as a ‘Windsor throw back’, and consequently the head could not be mounted in the more traditional position as the ‘throw back’ would not allow it.

Bruce Banwell informed us that this was a common feature in some parts of the Wairarapa in the early days, but occurring in pockets. These pockets occurred from the dominant stag, often followed by his sire who had carried the same trait - or ‘mum’ carried the gene. In other pockets the old conventional British style predominated, a little like the Otago form. This feature evolved from the strong German influence in Windsor Great Park stock.

The second head is that of a nice 12-point Red. Unfortunately this head was received showing signs of deterioration with the head skin starting to rot.

Not long after we took delivery of the heads a South Canterbury Branch member and former Young Deerstalker of the Year (2008), Ian Irvine shot a young stag for the freezer and kindly donated the head shin for the remount. Tim McCarthy, (National vice president), approached G D O’Rourke & Sons Ltd, taxidermists based in Timaru who very generously agreed to do the remount at no cost to the trust, which we are sincerely grateful for.

There is no information of the exact whereabouts in the Wairarapa these heads were taken. However a recent visitor to national office indicated that he believed that the ‘Windsor throwback’ may have been shot on Te Awaiti station, (possibly Lagoon Hill Block about the 1920s), as the Nitz brothers were known to be frequent hunters on the station.

HERITAGE

the NItZ brOther’s reD Deer heADs

The 12-point Red

Edgar (L) and Herman (R) with a collection of heads.

The ‘Windsor throwback’ head Another angle of the ‘Windsor throwback’


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POetrY? NOt me!!! P o e t r y P o i n t e r s :

B y F r a n A l l c o c k , T e A w a m u t u B r a n c h

‘I’m not into poetry,’ is probably the most frequent thing that people say to me about poems, ‘especially’ guys, hunters and real blokes. I can see them looking trapped, uncomfortable, and trying to be polite.

Why is that? - I’ve never, ever, heard anyone anywhere say, ‘I’m not into songs.’ Songs are poetic words or lyrics with music added to them.

Poems are songs without the music. Simple as that! In my view, simple is best!

Talk about a hunting trip? Not a problem! Write about it in an article or hunting story? Oh yeah, give it a go! Turn it into a poem? Nah!

Here’s a challenge: Call yourself a hunter? Hunter: one who hunts. Start hunting up some words. Think of yourself as an adventurer? Get adventurous, get daring, and chop up some sentences.

What would you even want to write about? And why?

The New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association national literary competition Halcyon Publishing Award for Bush Poetry is a beautiful and ornate silver cup … it would look great on your trophy shelf, and with your name engraved on it for all time!

The great majority of people will never go to the places that we’re privileged to go as hunters, back country enthusiasts or wilderness explorers. They will never see what we see, go where we go, or do what we do. You can take them there with words.

Pointer: Topic - ‘Bush Poetry’ - So much to choose from! Hunting trips, helicopter rides, mates and buddies, experiences, wildlife, scenery…

Pointer: Words - Many people have their poetic intake quota clouded by unpleasant memories of agonising over the correct comprehension of complicated, convoluted and awkwardly worded creations by literary ‘masters’.

See how the words in that sentence become a mouthful of unpleasant difficult things that you probably can’t be bothered with? I chose them to convey feeling as well as meaning.

I wanted you to feel that it was heavy, dull and tedious.

i) Worse than that, from school days of our past lurk memories of poems which were subjected to laborious analysis of the English language and comprehension, and instances of thinking one comprehended what one was reading, only to be humiliated in front

TIP OFFS


of our peers by some ‘teacher’ who was apparently qualified to know exactly what the poet intended, but lacked the training and diplomacy to convey that to the student.

Pointer: Meaning - I did it again! I bet I lost you half way through …

What the heck does that huge, long, complicated, boring sentence mean? Also, I wrote it in ‘3rd person’ – not directly to YOU, but about some invisible other ‘one’.

Is this better?

ii) You probably remember reading poems in school, and your teacher embarrassed you in front of your mates by telling you that you didn’t understand. And just what made the teacher think they knew better than you?

Now you know what I meant to say, and I’m involving you by talking directly to YOU.

AND I’ve changed my style to more of a chat with you: - if you were talking to your mates, or on the phone you probably wouldn’t use words like example i) above, you’d chat with them like example ii).

Pointer: Style - you usually talk in a different style to different people: you talk to your mates differently to the way you talk to your bank manager, or a stranger. If you’re at a funeral you talk in a different style than if you were at the rugby. The style you chose for your writing will depend on several things, like what you want to talk about (topic) and who you are talking to.

Pointer: Get started - don’t know where to start? So you sit down to write something – a letter, a hunting story (horrors – a poem!) and just don’t know what to say, how to start??

Do you have the same problem when you pick up the phone to talk to your mates?

Instead of the phone in your hand, you simply swapped it for a pen or keyboard.

Instead of telling your story into someone’s ear, you’re telling the same story onto a piece of paper. Use the same language and the same words (unless they’re offensive) that you would normally use to your intended audience … it’s just talking to the paper instead of to a person.

Formula: So here are the basic ingredients for writing a poem – or a story or an article.

Topic - what are you going to talk/write about?

Words - choose words that flow,

- words that are easy to read, easy to say

- and words that fit with the topic

Meaning - did you say what you meant to say …

- will I understand what you’re telling me

Rhythm and beat - if this had music, what would it sound like?

- would it be rock, rap, waltz, classic?

- would it have verses with a repeating chorus?

My poetry formula goes something like this:

1. Topic: What’s the poem about?

An inspiration might come from something seen, somewhere been, something heard, something done.

Most of my poems start with a few words, or a phrase that I’ve heard someone say in conversation, and I think ‘hmm, there’s a little rhyme in there!’

Some of my poems are ‘real’; some are fiction, based on fact; others

simply imagination let loose. It doesn’t really matter at all, as long as you figure out what your poem is about.

2. Words: What words will I use?

Keep the topic in mind. It would be no good writing about a thoroughbred if I used words suitable for a donkey!

If I wanted to describe a beech forest, I’d have to do more than say ‘in the trees’. I’d want to tell people about the lacy leaf patterns and how the sunlight dapples through them, I’d want to tell them about the mounds of soft green moss that grow everywhere, and about the silence of a misty morning.

Your choice of words can change the style of your poem from factual to far-fetched; from informative to creative; from dreamy and old fashioned to snappy or fast-paced.

Compare these:

i) I saw my horse trotting down the race track he looked pretty cool I hope to heck he can run fast I hope he makes it to the finish line…

ii) pacing the race track came my colt prancing and dancing like a lightning bolt supercharged muscle-bound energy volt thunders through the finish without a fault…

3. Meaning: What’s the purpose of the poem: Who is it written for? Who will read it? What sort of feeling or emotion do I want to put in? Any? None?

Compare these:

i) the helicopter flew over the ground it made a loud sound it was quite a rough ride I started to feel sick …

ii) above the ground with that thrumming sound the helicopter skipped and skimmed ‘cross the tussock twisting and twirling until my stomach brimmed…

I could have ended with ‘until my tummy turned’ … but does that sound tough or soft?

Tummy suggests soft, feminine, even childish.

Stomach is tough, masculine, muscular, gritty.

I felt sick! Or my tummy ‘turned’ or my stomach ‘brimmed’ - here’s a word that takes you there!

Brimmed: just about over-flowing! Even the consonant blend of Br is almost guttural and gastric.

I’ve tried to use words that add feeling and explain the actions, and describe the scene.

4. Rhythm and Beat

Will it rhyme, how will it flow? If it had music, how would it go?

Would it be rap or rock, a ballad or an anthem? Try several different beats, it’ll help all the words fall into the right places, the right rhythm. Chant them out loud and count the syllables.

When it sounds right and flows if I read it aloud … it’s done!

Since the introduction of the Halcyon Publishing Award for Bush Poetry, Fran Allcock has been the winner every year. See her winning poem for this year, Exposure, on page 43.


bO

Ok

bO

Ok

Title: The Third Wave: Poisoning the Land

Author: W F Benfield

Publisher: Tross Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-872970-28-8

RRP: $45.00

Format: Paperback, 170 pages

Reviewed by: Harvie Morrow

This was a very hard review to do but I must say that the topic has been handled well by the author. There is so much technical data out there, if he had used it all, this would have been almost unreadable. His choice of what to use has created an excellent read.

What is ‘The Third Wave’? To tell is to negate reading this well written book.

This book illustrates the ecological history of New Zealand in an easy-to-read and captivating manner. The author starts his story at a time before New Zealand was invaded by anyone. He tells us those facts needed to understand the outright stupidity of the current ecological policies being practiced in New Zealand. His in-depth understanding of how an eco-system is structured and consequently balances itself out clearly and convincingly lets the reader fully comprehend the dangers of the current poison regimes practiced by DOC and AHB. I found myself being dragged along our historical path getting more and more frustrated at the burgeoning stupidity of those using the current crop of toxins.

The author lets the reader understand so much about how our land has morphed into its current state, and explains that all is not bad as it stands. The outright blinkered view of Cockayne in the 1930s has not been totally forgotten, nor the ERMA debacle. This debacle is extremely well documented here. Any one who cannot understand how ERMA came to its rather unpopular decision should read this book. You will get an understanding just how biased some of the decision was.

Although this sounds like a doom and gloom topic, this book leaves one with some hope that all is not lost if we continue to keep ourselves educated in the ways of the administration, and use this information collectively for the betterment of our current situation.

bO

Ok

REVIEWS

Title: New Zealand’s Mountain Monarchs

Author: Ken Tustin

Publisher: The Halcyon Press

ISBN: 978-1-877566-12-7

RRP: $49.95

Format: Soft cover, 240mm x 175mm, colour photographs, 328 pages

Reviewed by: Tim McCarthy

From the time I picked up this book and started to read I knew that it was going to be very hard to put down.

This is not only a book about our Himalayan tahr, it is also about Ken Tustin’s journey through life.

He started over 40 years ago as a young man hunting for autopsy data on tahr for Graeme Caughley with the forest and research branch of the New Zealand Forest Service (NZFS). His dedication to research and amazing scientific data gathered in often harsh and lonely environments, gives him the right to be called one of the foremost authorities on this magnificent animal.

As his life moves from NZFS to helicopter pilot on wild animal recovery to professional helicopter pilot in Antarctica, Ken takes you along for the ride in his story.

The information in this book is a must read for anyone who is looking to learn about the habits and lifecycle of the mighty tahr in our mountains. The stories and the laughter, to the friendships made, the dangers of hunting in the winter, from the single grundy to the multi grundies (descriptions of the land Ken hunted).

Ken has the incredible knack of bringing the outdoors into your lounge, so much so that you can almost smell the tahr and feel the cold from the snow you find them in.

In this book Ken has touched on the very important view that tahr must be recognised as the aesthetic resource as well, believing that the appreciation of them must go way beyond just hunting them.

Title: Wild Horizons

Author: Greig Caigou

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 1869508785

RRP: $38.99

Format: Paperback, 153mm x 234mm, 288 pages

Reviewed by: Lance Barnard

Wild Horizons is the second hunting book written by Greig Caigou. He writes of his hunting adventures in the South Island back country, combining his experiences with hunters from the past. Within the writing of his hunting experiences he also includes budding hunters of the future.

His thoughts of hunters of the future and by gone eras are of genuine respect. He shares with them a deep appreciation and affinity with the land and the animals they hunt.

Greig Caigou concerns himself with the justification of ‘why we hunt.’ I see little point in the need to try to justify hunting. No matter how noble his views are on this subject, they will be lost on the average hunter, who like me, sees hunting as simply a form of animal husbandry.

Caigou’s obvious Christian beliefs emerge throughout this book and I was not comfortable with these references, however I am sure many readers will appreciate them.

I find it difficult to associate the writings of transcendentalist writers such as Thoreau and Leopold to the situation that exists in the New Zealand environment. These writers were concerned about the mismanagement of the North American wilderness. The situation in New Zealand is vastly different. We simply eradicated a country of its indigenous flora and fauna and replaced it with the flora and fauna from the Northern Hemisphere. We have built a nation largely through the economics provided by this introduced flora and fauna. Which ones are assets, which ones are pests? That is simply a question of values.

Caigou’s concern for the youth of New Zealand is genuine. With his experience as a teacher he has worked at the coalface in this area. His views are pragmatic, but compassionate. He must not be taken lightly here, as problems with youth pose a real concern for New Zealand society.

Greig Caigou’s hunting adventures are a good read, especially for those familiar with areas such as Westland and Fiordland. He shares a candid, informative insight into the ways of very experienced, capable hunter outdoorsmen. There are also many snippets for the novice hunter to take advantage of as well.


POETRY

I was thinking of all the hilarious scenes

and stories I’ve heard – all true it seems!

that tell what ‘exposure’ really means

and our vuln’rability to flying machines:-

Each little tale told below

Will hopefully all help to show

Exposure is not from rain and snow

It’s when you’ve got nowhere to go!!

I was camping up on the open tops

One of those fabulous breath-taking spots

No bush, no trees, over the edge sheer drops

delivered by chopper on one of his stops.

It was hot as heck so I removed my clothes

Sunnies on and zinced my nose

Not a good moment that I chose

… as over the hill a chopper rose.

Well I wandered off to dig a hole

Armed with shovel and toilet roll

When a chopper popped up over the knoll

Open-top camping had taken its toll!

Alone in the mountains I felt quite brave

Naked I stood at the tarn to bathe

When a chopper flew by and a groan I gave

Then brazenly smiled and stood to wave!

I’d cavorted all day in the tussock for fun

And lay spread-eagled enjoying the sun

An all-over tan, yeah that was the one!

When I glimpsed that chopper, and knew I was done…

This little poem ‘Exposure’ is fully a work of imagination…

although I don’t deny that I have felt vulnerable myself at the odd chopper-moment!

For information on how to write a poem refer to page 40.

NeW ZeALAND DeerstALkers’ AssOcIAtIONLIterArY AWArDs

hALcYON POetrY cOmPetItION – WINNer 2011

exPOsureBy Fran Allcock, Te Awamutu Branch

Title: Flashing Antlers – New Zealand Bush and Mountain Hunting

Produced by: Stealth Films Ltd

Directed by: Steve Couper

Running time: 85 minutes

RRP: $39.95

Reviewed by: Trevor Dyke

The copy of the DVD that was sent for reviewing was a ‘rush’ copy and was to undergo some finer editing before actual production.

Flashing Antlers is made up of two main hunting sections with a short bonus section – ‘Red deer encounters’ tucked on at the end. All filming has been done on location in the South Island and is 100% free range.

The first section takes place on Mt Nicholas Station, Queenstown covering a mixture of Red and Fallow deer. The hunt was undertaken in a variety of weather conditions which included fine weather, fog and snow. This was good, as it shows the conditions that hunters encounter when out in the hills, and how quickly the weather can change.

The Fallow buck that is taken as a trophy is one that anyone would be proud to claim as their’s. Nice wide palmation and a good spread. During the hunt, meat for the freezer and camp is also harvested.

The second section is filmed in the Fiordland National Park during the roar with some good examples of NZ’s flora and fauna. Of particular note was the filming of a native falcon on a nest which dive bombed the crew in an endeavour to drive them away from the nesting area.

The climax of the Fiordland hunt is the taking of nice even 12-point ‘bush’ stag. This section also brings out the necessity for ever being alert for the unexpected animal. While trying to bring in a distant stag, and at the same time travelling towards it, they encountered a ‘silent’ stag just forty metres in front of them. Further demonstrated is the effectiveness of a short grunt to get the attention of a deer, especially if it is on the move, making it stop and look and thus giving you just enough time to get that shot away. Another tip that comes through is that patience can be rewarding especially when observing an area for sign or movement.

Camouflage clothing is worn and when required a ‘mask’. While there are two schools of opinion on using this type of clothing I must admit that the benefits can be seen during some of the stalks.

The bonus section is a mixture of deer filmed largely out in the open. It also features a few pigs and some close up footage of a hare.

There were two areas around safety that caught my eye. One was the carry out of the Fallow head in an upright position and not down; not a recommended practice. The other was the number of times that a round is loaded into the chamber at the time of leaving the campsite.

This is definitely one worth considering adding to your library of hunting films.

The DVD can be obtained from www.stealthfilms.com

Dv

D


POINTS OF ENVY

WINNING heADs NAtIONAL ANtLer, hOrN AND tusk cOmPetItIONs 2011

After spotting the large billy from the track I embarked on a two-hour stalk through terrible head high broom. When I walked over the ridge the

billy was 100 metres away on the next ridge. After 25 minutes I closed the gap to 38 yards where I managed to put an arrow into his neck with

another into his shoulder to finish him.

The buck was sighted on the tops on the opposite side of the valley approximately two kilometres away, and was finally shot in the bush two-

days later after a long exhausting stalk.

cOLIN POrter memOrIAL trOPhY – best GOAtC o r e y G e d d e s , A s h b u r t o n B r a n c h , 1 1 0 5 / 8 , ( D S e q u i v a l e n t 2 9 7 . 8 3 ) , t a k e n a t H a m n e r w i t h a b o w .

mANAWAtu brANch trOPhY – best WhItetAIL AND ALsO WINNer OF A brONZe meDALG r a n t T i p l i n g , T a r a n a k i B r a n c h , 1 4 2 1 / 8 , ( D S e q u i v a l e n t 3 1 0 . 8 9 ) , t a k e n a t W a k a t i p u .


After four-days of looking for a Sambar stag, I sighted this stag sitting in the grass; only his head and antlers were visible. At last light, after a

25-minute wait, right on dark, the stag stood up and was shot at 275 metres.

heNDersON trOPhY – best sAmbArR o g e r W i n s l a d e , A u c k l a n d B r a n c h , 1 9 0 1 / 8 , ( D S e q u i v a l e n t 2 8 9 . 3 1 ) , t a k e n a t F o x t o n .

NAME BRANCH SPECIES LOCALITY DS

Neil Halkett North Otago Chamois Rakaia 26

Peter Fairbairn South Canterbury Chamois Franz Josef 27

Steve Gillan South Otago Fallow West Otago 222

Timothy McCarthy South Canterbury Fallow McKenzie Country

234

Roger Winslade Auckland Fallow South Kaipara 215 ⅞

Mark Thom Otago Fallow Rankleburn 205 ⅝

Stan Lowe Bay of Plenty Fallow Waimate 213 ⅛

Bruce Gunn Manawatu Fallow Wairarapa 221

Shane Kingan North Otago Fallow North Otago 229 ⅞

Gary Fissenden Marlborough Fallow Moa Flat 236 ⅜

Dallas Nelley Taranaki Fallow Whenuakura River

218

Glenn Ralston Ashburton Drawn tusks Rakaia River 29 ½

David Mace Taupo Undrawn tusks Waihau Bay 22 ⅜

George Mills Otago Undrawn tusks Waikouaiti 21 ⅞

Kelvin Greaves South Canterbury Undrawn tusks Haka Valley 20 ⅛

Benjamin Te Kahika

Tutira Undrawn tusks Urewera 19

Glenn Ralston Ashburton Undrawn tusks Rakaia 23 ¼

Scott Bevins Manawatu Wild goat Taipa 99 ⅜

Les Nelson Bay of Plenty Wild goat Welcome Bay 111 ¼

Corey Geddes Ashburton Wild goat Hamner 110 ⅝

Peter Fairbairn South Canterbury Wild goat Hunter Hills 109

Gerald Kapoor Thames Valley Red deer Erua 313 ¼

Peter Fairbairn South Canterbury Red deer South Canterbury

322 ⅜

Hayden Breakwell Ashburton Red deer Rakaia River 331

Murray Lang Eastern Bay of Plenty

Rusa Galatea 167 ¾

NAME BRANCH SPECIES LOCALITY DS

Alister Bradley Manawatu Wild sheep Pitt Island 82

Mark Nobilo North Auckland Wild sheep Pitt Island 88 ½

Chris Dummer Wellington Wild sheep Pitt Island 80 ½

Richard Miles Wellington Wild sheep Pitt Island 78 ½

Frans Laas Otago Wild sheep Pitt Island 99 ¼

Regan Jefferson Otago Wild sheep Wainakarua 70 ¾

Andrew Oakes North Otago Wild sheep Kakanui Mountains

75 ¼

Roger Stokes Taupo Wild sheep Pitt Island 88 ¼

Roger Stokes Taupo Wild sheep Pitt Island 88 ¼

Daniel McBeth Te Awamutu Sika Te Wake Tops 187 ¾

John Voorend Waikato Sika Oamaru Valley 181 ½

Issac Te Kahika Tutira Sika Kaweka 179 ⅞

Graeme Blanchard Hutt Valley Sika Ripia 176 ½

Peter Flynn Thames Valley Tahr Hooker Wilderness

42

Tony Burt Bay of Plenty Tahr Tekapo 43 ¾

Christine McCarthy

South Canterbury Tahr Ahuriri Valley 41

David Clark Eastern Bay of Plenty

Tahr Havelock 40 ½

Callum Wood North Canterbury Tahr Godley 44 ½

Callum Wood North Canterbury Tahr Godley 42 ¾

Wayne Cassidy South Canterbury Tahr Tasman Valley 45 ¼

Glenn Ralston Ashburton Tahr Rangitata 44

Mathew Black (Junior)

South Canterbury Tahr Poreora Gorge 46 ½

Peter Fairbairn South Canterbury Tahr Mt Cook 43

Grant Tipling Taranaki Whitetail Wakatipu 142 ⅛

NEW ZEALAND DEERSTALKERS’ ASSOCIATION ANTLER, HORN AND TUSK COMPETITION TROPHY RECORD BOOK CERTIFICATES 2011


ON tArGet

Rimfire 3 Position 50m and 100m

Prone 50m

Colin Curreen SWAI 100

Bryn Blythen WGRI 99

Brenda Perry ROT 98

Standing 50m


Brenda Perry ROT 88


Kneeling 50m

Brenda Perry ROT 94


Brian Lambert SWAI 92

Aggregate 50m

Brenda Perry ROT 280



Prone 100m



Brian Lambert SWAI 92.01

Standing 100m


Brenda Perry ROT 82


Kneeling 100m

Bryn Blythen WGRI 94.01

Brenda Perry ROT 91.03

Colin Curreen SWAI 89.01

Aggregate 100m



Colin Curreen SWAI 262.01

Rimfire - Grand Aggregate and medals

Brenda Perry ROT 544.04 Gold

Bryn Blythen WGRI 544.01 Silver

Colin Curreen SWAI 542.01 Bronze

Centrefire 3 Position 100m and 200m

Prone 100m



Hilary Heard ROT 99.01

Standing 100m

Brenda Perry ROT 90

Mark Poots TPO 81


Kneeling 100m

Brenda Perry ROT 99.04 New record


Mark Poots TPO 91.03

Aggregate 100m




Prone 200m




Standing 200m




Sitting 200m




Aggregate 200m

Brenda Perry ROT 290.13 New record



Centrefire - Grand Aggregate and medals

Brenda Perry ROT 578.24 Gold

Mark Poots TPO 544.13 Silver

Bryn Blythen WGRI 538.11 Bronze

WAIkAtO reGIONAL chAmPIONshIPs 2011H o s t e d b y S o u t h W a i k a t o B r a n c h o n t h e T S S C R a n g e a t T o k o r o a 1 6 – 1 7 J u l y 2 0 1 1

R e p o r t b y M a l c o l m P e r r y , S o u t h W a i k a t o a n d R o t o r u a B r a n c h e s


The number of entries for this event was very disappointing, and had it not been for the presence of two entries from the Whangarei Branch, it would almost have been a non event. The regionals are now the normal national rimfire and centrefire matches and are graded. So there is no reason for shooters to be afraid of them (the period where they followed the Oceania format did make some people reluctant to enter). As we have usually provided medals for this event, which cost a considerable amount, it was announced at the presentation that if numbers attending did not improve at the central regionals, the awarding of medals would be replaced with certificates. This outcome is very disappointing as we used to see several entries in the lower grades, the winners of which also get certificates.

In spite of the low turnout, the competition was top level, and some new faces in the medal presentation was good to see. There were seven entries in rimfire and eight in centrefire, and all but one shooter were A grade.

It is worth noting that Brenda Perry set two new records in the centrefire.

The next match of this kind will be the central regional championships at Rotorua on 15 and 16 October 2011. It would be pleasing to see you there.

Rimfire winners: Bryn Blythen, silver; Brenda Perry, gold; Colin Curreen, bronze

Centrefire winners: Mark Poots, silver; Brenda Perry, gold; Bryn Blythen, bronze

Bryn Blythen checking his adjustments

Brenda Perry lining up for a shot

Mark Poots keeping a close eye on every shot


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New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 174 - Spring 2011

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Transcript of New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 174 - Spring 2011