Houseplant Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 Got my first deer on public land here in NZ. I live in the only part of the country where there are no deer, so a family trip south gave me the opportunity for a day's hunting. Started walking in to the bush at 0500, pitch black and raining, thinking what am I doing? Passed up a few wallabies because I didn't want the noise from shooting them to scare any deer in the vicinity. By 0930, I was starting to give up hope. Turned a corner and there was a nice hind stood side on to me, literally 3 metres away! Her head was in the foliage, so she didn't see me. Shouldered rifle and pulled the trigger. She jumped and fell over one metre away. A pretty bizarre set of circumstances. Deer hunting on public land is often difficult, so I was very lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoBodyImportant Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) Nice, the US has thousands of miles of hunting land but you have to hike 5 miles off the road to even see a deer on public land. By then you are tired and don’t want to drag the deer out. Can you eat a wallaby? Edited May 15, 2019 by NoBodyImportant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houseplant Posted May 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 Thanks. I walked more than 5 miles before seeing that animal. Boned it out in the bush, but it was still a hell of a walk back. You can eat wallaby, apparently the backstraps and back legs are good to eat. I haven't tried it, but will give anything a go once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaymo Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 You took the shot from a whole 3 meters away! Doesn’t beat a 704 yards Hare shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) Nice one Houseplant. I hunted NZ back in 1991 with Alan Simmonds of Turangi. He took me into the bush and we walked miles with me infront and he behind... we could not walk side by side. Saw half a dozen sika but they walked off into the bush before I could get a shot. Eventually Alan put his hand on my shoulder and said "OK big white hunter, which way to the truck?" I did not know if I was still in NZ, totally disorientated. He told me to turn left and pull back the herbage alongside us and there was the truck a few yards away. This was before Global gizmos and he said there are people go missing never to be found every year in the bush there. This was North Island. He had spent a lot of his life as a pro deer culler and just had an inbuilt instict as to where he was. You are one very lucky guy a) living in NZ and b) being able to hunt there. I did take a tahr and a chamois down in South lsland which is an experience I will never forget. Enjoy that prime venison. There is very little wild meat that isn't edible and I would think the backstraps from a young wallably would be delicious. Edited May 15, 2019 by Walker570 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 28 minutes ago, Jaymo said: You took the shot from a whole 3 meters away! Doesn’t beat a 704 yards Hare shot! with an AIR RIFLE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave at kelton Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 Nice one good to find a Kiwi on here. Spent 6 weeks in NZ a couple of years ago. Fabulous country and people and hope to go back one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houseplant Posted May 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 2 hours ago, Jaymo said: You took the shot from a whole 3 meters away! Doesn’t beat a 704 yards Hare shot! True. My (very brief) thought process was do I tap it on the shoulder and give it a sporting chance, or just take the shot. In my limited experience of hunting deer, wild boar and even goats, I have learnt "don't look a gift horse in the mouth", so it was obviously the latter. Backstraps for dinner tonight 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redogi73 Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 Houseplant, if you would be so kind as to post NZ hunting posts regularly I'm sure a lot of us on here would be interested (and jealous). Do you fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted June 5, 2019 Report Share Posted June 5, 2019 Nah, don't tell them Houseplant, they will all want to go Brilliant country but even better people in it. Spent three weeks out there in the early 90's hunting and fishing and treated like royalty. Just a long long way to fly and I am now past the age to be doing that or I would be back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houseplant Posted June 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2019 On 06/06/2019 at 05:17, redogi73 said: Houseplant, if you would be so kind as to post NZ hunting posts regularly I'm sure a lot of us on here would be interested (and jealous). Do you fish? Sure, I was posting for a bit, but not sure if anyone found it interesting as I'm so far away, and the hunting culture in NZ is very different from the UK. Fishing? Where to start, it would blow you mind! I live in the northern NZ. There is no deer hunting where I live, but the fishing is out of this world. I went fishing this morning. Came home after an hour and a half because I caught more than enough fish to feed my family for a week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houseplant Posted June 12, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2019 On 06/06/2019 at 05:22, Walker570 said: Nah, don't tell them Houseplant, they will all want to go Brilliant country but even better people in it. Spent three weeks out there in the early 90's hunting and fishing and treated like royalty. Just a long long way to fly and I am now past the age to be doing that or I would be back. All are welcome! There is more than enough hunting to go around. You can even bring a rifle, provided you apply for a visitor firearms license in advance. https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/firearms-and-safety/visitor-firearms-licence-and-import-permits Anyone can hunt on public (Department of Conservation) land. This map shows what is available. Check the "Open Hunting Permit Areas" box on the left. In addition to deer, goats and pigs are fairly widespread. http://maps.doc.govt.nz/mapviewer/index.html?viewer=docmaps Just be aware that public land hunting is not easy (unless you get lucky). It often involves a lot of walking up hills/mountains, through dense bush, and sometimes across rivers. The weather is highly changeable and can be fatal, especially in the south, or at attitude. If all that sounds too exciting, you can pay to hunt on private land, but you may have to sell a kidney, or maybe two for a trophy stag! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.