New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 172 - Autumn 2011

Issue 172 aprIl - june 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 ‘Transit Valley stag’ photographed by Paul Peychers, Nelson Branch, Game Animal (Section A), 2009

FeaTuresEaster up the Greenstone/Caples – Pete Henderson .......................................................... 10

Obituary - John Henderson .................................................................................................................. 12

Lock, Stock & Barrell – Corrosive Primers - Chaz Forsyth .............................................. 15

Young Hunter – First Blood – Alec Asquith ............................................................................... 17

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

Black Bear Hunt, North Carolina - Paul Anderson ................................................................. 20

Origins of the Otago Red Deer - D Bruce Banwell ............................................................ 24

Son of Moose - Howard Egan ............................................................................................................ 26

Gisborne HUNTS Course – Mike Spray ...................................................................................... 28

Two trophies in one trip - Ron Poskit ............................................................................................ 30

Game Bird Hunting ................................................................................................................................. 31

Blast from the Past – Jap Valley – Norman Douglas ........................................................... 34

reGularsPresident’s Report – Alec McIver .................................................................................................. 2

Editorial – Is it time? ............................................................................................................................. 4

HUNTS Report – Bill O’Leary – Getting the balance right .................................................. 6

Letters to the Editor ......................................................................................................................... 7-8

Tip Offs – Steve Barclay – Head skinning a trophy ............................................................... 9

DOC Update – National Hunting Advisor, Brent Beaven ................................................... 16

Bush Telegraph – News from around the Traps ........................................................... 32-33

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

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

Heritage – John Forbes, Photographic Slide Collection .................................................... 38

Places to Hunt – Wakatipu Region .............................................................................................. 40

Book, DVD & Product Reviews ...................................................................................................... 42

Poetry – Styag Royal – Bill Ross .................................................................................................. 43

Points of Envy – More in the series - 2010 AHT Competition Winners ..................... 44

On Target – Shooting Results and News .................................................................................. 46

FEATURES

CONTENTS

1NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011

First and foremost in this report, I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences and support to all our members and indeed all the people of the Christchurch region in the wake of the devastating earthquake on February 22nd 2011. I would imagine that all of you have been affected in some degree – whether losing friends or loved ones, losing homes or jobs or just the sheer devastation around you at this time. I would like you to know that NZDA national office can be contacted if you need

any support, and we will do all that we can to help you through this time.

It is with a degree of sadness, that we heard one of our longest serving members, and a national life member, John Henderson passed away recently. John, or JBH as many knew him, was instrumental in beginning and developing many of the projects and plans that we are currently working on. He was a hunter with passion and believed deeply in the NZDA. He will be missed by many and I would

like to acknowledge all of his fine work. JBH was farewelled in a private ceremony as per his wishes.

Many of you will have seen on the television news, or heard on the radio at the beginning of February that Andrew Mears was sentenced in the Rotorua High Court to two and a half years imprisonment for the shooting of Rosemary Ives. NZDA feels that the decision was fair and just for the circumstances. Personally, I am still not satisfied that justice has truly been

done, as Mr Mears’ three companions are yet to be charged with any criminal offence. Granted, they did not fire the fatal shot, but they were equally guilty in my view of being party to the events that unfolded. I am going to be speaking with members of the New Zealand Police to find out why no charges have been laid at this stage, and if any will be laid. It is simply not good enough to charge one member of the party and let the others off scot-free. At the very least they were breaking the conditions on the DOC permits – surely something needs to be done about that to send a message out to hunters that rules (and permits) are there for a very good reason!

Talking of permits, the most important development in the hunting world since my last report relates to heli-hunting and permits.

Canterbury conservator, Mike Cuddihy recently confirmed to a tahr liaison group meeting, that he has received applications for heli-hunting concessions within the Fiordland Wapiti area. However he will not allow hunters or the general public at large to see his decisions on them, or other sensitive applications, until heli-hunters themselves have commented on yet another short-term, non-notified heli-hunting permit (version 3 in fact). This reckless and wilful failure to observe standard legally defensible practice in terms of this permit application and others, leads us to believe they are likely to be allowed to heli-hunt in Fiordland. Certainly it appears to be this conservator’s wish to allow it, and to conceal his permission from responsible recreational hunters. We understand that DOC Canterbury is likely to contemplate further innovations which would allow wilderness areas, currently exempt from all forms of aircraft access, into the heli-hunters’ basket of lands on which they can slaughter at will.

These permits have the potential to put an end to six years of dedicated hard work by the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation and hunters to bring good Wapiti herds back into the Fiordland area.

Furthermore, it opens the door to unethical helicopter operators to do the same in other areas – ie the Kawekas (Sika), Ureweras (Rusa), Rakaia (Reds) and many more. We cannot allow this to happen.

Adding to this potential debacle, the Canterbury conservancy is now contemplating charging professional hunting guides with concessions, a $500-per-animal-shot fee. This is a joke – at the moment they appear to want to have their cake and eat it too, by wanting to make a buck (pun intended!) out of animals that they call a pest. As is always, the case in a situation like this is, the only people who are going to pay the fee are going to be the honest and ethical professional guides (and their customers) and the rest will carry on as usual. Canterbury DOC needs to open its eyes and see that this will never work and they should stick to what they know – conservation.

In actual fact, the Fiordland heli-hunting concessions and this potential fee, may have done us a favour by calling the minister of conservation’s bluff. (As per her promise in the address to conference 2010.) She will now have to change the legislation and take the handling of concessions etc out of the Canterbury conservancy’s hands.

The minister has been looking into changes to the legislation and how to speed up the process of any such change. She has asked that NZDA work with her staff to identify those operators who are slaughtering animals and are a problem. We will be liaising with the department on the identification and prosecution of these heli-slaughterers.

Snow Hewetson and I met with Hon Kate Wilkinson, Minister of Conservation at the conclusion of our March executive meeting to discuss this issue and more. I put pressure on her to make a change quickly.

I also asked for the date that she will be announcing her decision on the Game Animal Council (GAC), as it is now more than eight months overdue.

Now for the really exciting bit. Yes, at long last, I can tell you - that we will be getting our Game Animal Council.

Snow and I were very excited about this confirmation from the minister and from Hon Peter Dunne. The format and proposal still needs to pass through parliamentary procedures, but Kate has confirmed that the GAC will be going ahead and that it will be a statutory body.

I would like to take this time now to thank Ms Wilkinson, and Mr Dunne for their efforts thus far. Adding to that, I will be contacting members of the opposition, especially the Labour party, to talk to them about their views – after all, Labour was in government at the time that all of this was instigated.

Bill O’Leary and I then met with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright and her staff. We discussed NZDA’s current view and objections surrounding the processes and use of 1080. This was to provide information for a national report to parliament she is writing on 1080 and its alternatives, due out sometime in April or May. She expressed that she was very satisfied with the information we provided and has requested that we continue to provide information into the future. This could be very valuable to us as hunters, as we can watch and see what she does with this information.

As a side note, I would like to thank both Snow Hewetson and Bill O’Leary for attending these meetings with me.

We also met with Bryce Johnson, CEO of Fish & Game NZ regarding exclusive capture and private selling of rights for sports fish, game birds and wild animals. The point of this meeting was to see if there are any ways in which F&GNZ, NZDA and other NGOs like NZ Freshwater Fishermen’s Association can work together to put effective pressure on politicians and bodies like the Law Commission to clear this area up. This is only exploratory, and nothing has been committed to at this stage.

Well, as I wrap things up for this issue, as always I wish you all good luck during the roar and duck shooting season. I will be heading down to Fiordland in mid-March as I have been very lucky to draw Wild Natives in the first period of the Wapiti ballot. Hopefully I will see that nice fifty inch bull!

Safe hunting, stay safe and identify your target beyond all doubt.

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

“... we will be getting our Game animal Council.”

3NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 2

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: Chris Hurley

lIFe MeMBers: R Badland QSM, M St J, J Bamford, D Bruce Banwell, W J I Cowan, M Dunajtschik, A S D Evans MNZM, J B Henderson, J H McKenzie MBE, 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, 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 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

NZDA began in 1938 with the purpose of looking after the interests of deerstalkers and, in particular, in response to the Government’s extermination policy of the time. By 1951 it had over 17 branches throughout New Zealand, with 5,000 - 6,000 members. In its history since then it has provided a voice for hunters on issues such as opposing the selling of Crown public lands, foreign ownership, the destruction of the Wapiti herd and the attitude of DOC in its extermination policies re deer and tahr, to name a few major battles.

In the 1970s, NZDA was a potent advocate for the recreational hunting public and at one stage its membership was almost 10,000. It was feared by politicians for its political impact and respected for its political lobbying.

However, the journey has not been without its low points, and the acrimony of some NZDA members towards other hunters in the commercial hunting era of the 60s and later was strong. Even so, some NZDA members wanted a stronger code of ethics and an anti-commercial hunting stance, and the NZ Big Game Hunters’ Association (totally opposed to hunters selling venison), was formed.

Also it has to be said that the infighting at the national conferences and beyond has become a part of the legend, if only to highlight the bloody-mindedness of a good number of Kiwi hunters. While infighting is destructive and negative, given human nature it seems almost inevitable, but it is a miracle that the organisation has continued to have a valued influence and has hung together. However, all organisations go through certain life cycles. They begin with the zest of youth and then mature, and will eventually die unless they rediscover or re-capture their reason for existence. To put it another way, times change and unless organisations adapt and change they will be left as historic relics. However, if organisational leaders understand the nature of each of these cycles, and the challenges in moving from one cycle to another, then they can successfully help an organisation to remain current and indeed

grow. A key is an open and flexible mind.

Some of the signs of an organisation in decline are the following:

• Preservingthepastismoreimportantthan the future.

• Acorrespondinglackofvisionforthefuture.

• Anunwillingnesstochangestructures-‘we’ve always done it this way’ becomes more important than the purpose of the organisation.

• Anunwillingnesstolistentograssrootsmembers and those on the fringe, the very people who are essential for change.

• Anunwillingnesstofaceuptofaultsandat times unpleasant facts and a continuing blind belief that it will all work out in the end.

These comments can apply to other organisations as I have seen even in churches as well as voluntary organisations and businesses. To comment on a few of these signs in regard to NZDA:

There seems to be no vision for the future, or not one I can see. In many areas NZDA seems to struggle to keep up with the present, let alone be pro-active about creating a new future.

There seems to be an overloading of rules and regulations and an unwillingness to change.

There is certainly an unwillingness to listen to grass roots people and those on the fringe.

The Hunting and Wildlife magazine, supposed to be the flagship of NZDA, and 20 years ago a top publication is now arguably the poorest of several hunting magazines and not a good advertisement for NZDA.

The website is uninspiring and unhelpful and needs a complete revamp.

In a significant number of branches a high proportion of active members are solely range shooters, hardly the focus of the original vision of a hunters’ organisation. Range shooting is a fine asset, but it should be complementary, not dominant.

NZDA, in its current form, does not seem to

Is IT TIMe?B y : A l e x G a l e

attract a significant majority of hunters. There may be several reasons for that, but it is a concern.

NZDA, as an advocacy and a public voice, has been mute in the last 12 months. This is in contrast to its success in the 1970s, as mentioned earlier.

So, is it time for NZDA to have a complete and independent review of its reason for existence, its purpose, its vision, its structures and its marketing?

Is it time to go back to square one and ask some hard questions?

One I’d ask is this: if we were to begin a hunting organisation today, given the current scenario in New Zealand, and in particular with the new Game Council, what kind of organisation would we design?

Other questions:

• Whatwouldbethemissionoftheneworganisation?

• Whowouldbetheircustomers?

• Whatdothesecustomersvalue?

• Whatstructuresareneededtofulfilthismission?

• Whatistheplanforthefuture?

These questions are not asked to either devalue NZDA, its history, the work of those in the past or the present. I have paid tribute to its past successes and high points as in the 1970s and we can be proud of and grateful for much of that.

And, if I didn’t care I wouldn’t bother asking the questions - they are raised because I believe there are deep-seated issues in NZDA that need to be addressed and will not be changed by passing a few more, mostly trivial remits, at conference. We are facing a new future today. We need a hunting organisation equipped to meet the new challenges. The Game Council, despite a minor voting pattern for recreational hunting, may well take over some of the role of NZDA. The designation of deer etc as game animals rather than pests

will change things and, as our population grows, we will have more hunters seeking good hunting on the same size area of land, with increasing competition from other users. We may end up having hunting seasons for deer and pay a licence. What will NZDA’s role be in this?

Do the current leadership have the courage to face up to necessary change? Do they have the skills, abilities and vision needed for a new generation? At the very least they should be asking the hard questions or encouraging members to debate rather than stifling discussion.

So where to from here? I have raised the issues. Change isn’t an option - change is inevitable; change will occur anyway. I believe we need powerful and far reaching change that positions NZDA to play an increasingly effective and positive role in the changing hunting scene in New Zealand. Is it time?

Is IT TIMe? – IT Is TIMe!!!By Alec McIver, national president

Alex Gale has raises some very pertinent issues with regard to the current direction of hunting in New Zealand, and in particular the current and future directions of NZDA.

He asks ‘Is it time?’ We, as the national executive of NZDA, answer that with a resounding yes - It is time.

As a matter of fact, I will address some of the points Alex raises.

Alex refers to signs of an organisation being in decline and suggests that these signs are evident in NZDA - I don’t believe that for a second. Membership numbers have continued to increase over the last ten years.

If preserving our past was more important to us than looking to the future, why would we have had such a huge involvement with the Game Animal Council? Why do we constantly work to reduce the poisoning operations around the country and get our branches to put submissions in on things that will negatively affect our members’ rights and ability to hunt?

I also don’t see that there is an unwillingness to listen to grass roots members – we hold a national conference every year – run by and for our grass roots members – we are all grass roots members when you break it down! I must say that I can’t recall when I last saw Alex Gale at a national conference.

Speaking of our conference, Alex calls our remits trivial. These are the remits put to conference by the same grass roots members we apparently do not listen to.

We do have a vision for the future – it is called our business plan. Alex asks, ‘Is it time for a review?’

Well, yes it is – and we would like to ask Alex to undertake this review for us. NZDA is at the threshold of a new era in New Zealand hunting, and a comprehensive review of how we do what we do is timely.

The advent of the Game Animal Council (GAC) heralds big changes in the way Kiwis hunt, and it is natural to assume that this will necessitate changes to the way NZDA runs as an organisation. The GAC will enable NZDA to step back from the high level advocacy we have undertaken over the last two decades or so. We will have representatives on the GAC that will be working at that high level to ensure that the big picture is not forgotten about, or left in the hands of others to take care of. This will allow us to focus on assisting our branches with local advocacy issues instead – getting back to our grass roots if you will. This can only be a good thing for NZDA and I for one am very excited about it!

Our HUNTS programme will continue to improve and will become the bench mark for all hunting safety accreditation in New Zealand – an initiative that will continue to build and grow our branches.

In terms of the target shooting fraternity, of our 9,500 capitated members, only a very small percentage is solely target shooters who do not hunt. Therefore, it is not something that has been a focus of our organisation.

NZDA is indeed at a turning point and a review is needed. As I have previously stated, we would like to invite Alex to lead this review and report to our conference this year in Tuatapere, providing workshop type forums to get down to the nitty-gritty of what our members want.

Is it time? Yes, it is time to move forward, support the initiatives being put in place and get back to what we are here for – hunting and hunters in New Zealand.


HUNTS REPORT

GeTTInG The BalanCe rIGhTB 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

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Bill O’LearyNational Coordinator,

HUNTS

Dear Sir,

It might be of interest to know, in the knee-jerk call for ‘tougher gun laws’, (typically by people who have no idea what the existing gun laws actually are), that last year’s Labour weekend death is already punishable by at least a seven-year sentence, (Section 198, Crimes Act). If ‘tougher gun laws’ are the answer, then it would mean that judges have been constrained from giving out longer sentences in the past. In fact, I cannot think of any example where the maximum sentence has been given for such an ‘accident’. So if anything, it is tougher enforcement that is needed.

A judge would look at whether ruining the life of the culprit would serve justice well, by locking him away for such a long period. If the object is to bring about the offender’s remorse and re-educating him, he has very probably already reached this state before appearing in court and has the rest of his life to live with his conscience and his actions. The judge would also have

to weigh up sending a message to other potential offenders to think twice. My guess is that since this individual deliberately broke several laws all at the same time, he will struggle to come out lightly.

Most hunting ‘accidents’ are one hunter shooting another hunter by mistake, or sometimes a hunter’s bullet landing very far from where it was launched to kill someone entirely out of the hunter’s view. So it is perhaps true that this accident was unusual because it was a hunter shooting a non-hunter. However, it was certainly avoidable in a number of ways. If anything good comes of this sad tragedy, it will be that shooting safety programmes and perhaps even the Arms Code will now look at these circumstances and incorporate into their teaching the skills that might prevent this happening again. For instance, the different colours of various animals’ eyes in a spotlight come to mind.

While NZ has a very low number of hunting accidents considering how many people

actually go hunting, it’s perhaps part of our mindset too that possums, deer and so on are just pests. The fact that introduced animals can be 1080ed and otherwise destroyed with little regard for their clean or humane death has been an officially mandated part of our culture since the game law changes of the 1930s. As such, a shooter in NZ (as compared to overseas), might have scant regard for killing a possum cleanly and so taking his time to identify a clean kill isn’t necessary. Just a few seconds more thought might have made a huge difference in this instance.

John Dyer

Editor’s note:

Since the writing of this letter the offender has appeared before the court and received two and a half years imprisonment plus $10,000.00 reparation.

Tougher Gunlaws

National competition recordsDear Sir

The late Norman Douglas in correspondence 24 May 1988, intimated that the national part of NZDA was causing him concern again. They were still committing embezzlement of his name on their tusk formula.

27 May 1988, Norman Douglas provided an analysis on ‘The 1964 Wanganui pig tusk infringement – come New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association’s (undrawn pig tusks) formula.

The analysis was completed by the following. ‘Treasure your 1959 original handbook. It is the first in the world. You will not always have me but you will have wreckers.’

I have raised this point because of an item contained in NZ Hunting and Wildlife issue 171, page 44. Putaruru Branch Trophy. The 23¾ should be NZDA score not a Douglas Score.

G R Bennett

Editor’s note:

Mr Bennett is correct in that the undrawn pig tusks are scored using a NZDA score and not the Douglas Score. This was overlooked in the publishing of the results. NZDA also notes that during the reprint of the undrawn pig tusks score pad the printers overlooked the change of description when doing these pads.

Feral deerDear Sir

Feral deer in New Zealand are multiplying to the extent that deer control measures will probably have to be introduced in order to reduce their burgeoning numbers.

This scenario would consist of poisoning methods being implemented, in order to eradicate a high percentage of deer in their feral range.

It is also highly likely that deer eradication will be undertaken by people employed to shoot deer.

Nick Parfitt

Ashley putting her butchering lesson into practice

Knife sharpening is an aspect covered during the HUNTS course

The finer points of butchering is identifying and preparing the various cuts of meat

The first area is ETHICS.

NZDA promotes ethical behavior in hunting and HUNTS introduces new hunters to that concept. Recent events, some tragic, have generated plenty of discussion on the legal and moral implications of some hunting practices. Throughout the world hunters have needed to withstand criticism of recreational hunting and respond with intelligent argument. NZDA and Fish & Game are two organisations that represent hunters in the eyes of the general public and their advocacy for hunting will be strengthened when our hunter training courses incorporate ethical considerations and respect for the law.

The second area is BUSH SKILLS.

HUNTS provides the basic skills to enable new hunters to operate safely in the outdoor environment. These skills and the accompanying technology are constantly evolving. What this means for HUNTS is that the courses must incorporate current best practice in river safety and navigation. Maps should be the new NZ Topo 50 series and time allocated to the use of GPS and the use of personal locator beacons (PLB).

Instructors must be current in their instruction, or use the expertise of others.

The third area is FIREARM TRAINING.

Training must deliver proficiency with the hunting firearm. This means more than just the basic principles of marksmanship. Instructor end-of-course reviews have identified shortcomings in trainee performance on the hill as distinct from on the range. Basic firearm operations such as charging the magazine, chambering and reloading and unloading need practice, and with an element of pressure to simulate the hunting situation.

The ability to adopt a shooting position under hunting conditions requires practice in prone, sitting and standing positions and the utilisation of available support in the form of a back pack or convenient natural object.

In conclusion we need to constantly review and improve our programmes. We have a limited amount of time to deliver the total HUNTS package and within each course we have to get the balance right. Trainee performance on the hill, trainee feedback and instructor review and reflection are indicators that we can use both at branch and national level to gauge our success in delivering a quality programme.

HUNTS is a national training scheme delivered at NZDA branch level. It has a standardised syllabus that has stood the test of time, but like all training programmes needs review, and if necessary, some occasional redirection. At the present moment, my observation and consultation with instructors has identified several areas of the programmme that need some attention. A major revamp is not needed, but some tweaking, and it is a case of getting the balance right in delivering HUNTS courses.


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR TIP OFFS

heaD skInnInG a TrOphyB y S t e v e B a r c l a y , t a x i d e r m i s t

The days are getting shorter, the evenings cooler;

soon it will be autumn. For many hunters this is

the best time of the hunting year. The stags will

be getting fidgety and the hinds will be starting to

group up. It is the time of the year when hundreds

of hunters wait in eager anticipation for the fast

approaching roar.

Many hope to shoot that ever elusive trophy stag,

hoping to secure a good set of antlers to take along

to the taxidermist to be made into an attractive

shoulder mount to proudly display on the wall.

Well as the saying goes, ‘Perfect taxidermy begins

with the perfect specimen.’ While Mother Nature is

not usually ever perfect, there are several simple but

yet important steps a hunter can take to ensure he

delivers a head skin and antlers to the taxidermist

that is suitable for mounting.

For me personally, I try to ensure my clients get

the best possible mount returned. So if the cape

is cut too short, or too damaged, or cut around the

throat etc, I advise the client to consider using a

replacement head skin. To use a head skin that is

not suitable will result in a poor quality mount and

reflect badly on the art and on my ability.

So when you finally do shoot a trophy and wish to

have it mounted just follow the simple instructions

included here and it will be a great start to successful

taxidermy.

It is always a good idea to visit a taxidermist and get

educated on proper field care. Most taxidermists are

only too happy to do demonstrations at hunting club

meetings etc.

An important step to remember is that once you

have removed the cape from your trophy head, make

sure you lay the cape out, flesh side up to cool off.

Usually ten minutes is all that is needed, but once

back at your vehicle lay the cape out again during

transporting. It lets the air get around it. A bunched

up cape can get really warm and may result in hair

slip; an unnecessary disappointment easily avoided.

Good luck for the coming roar and remember, if you

want to preserve those magical moments of hunting,

use proper field care of your trophy. Next issue I will

write about head skinning a wild boar.

SKINNING GAME HEADS FOR WALL MOUNTS

The most common mistake made by hunters

removing a cape is not allowing enough shin behind

the shoulders to work with. Proper field care on the

hunter’s part ensures a good job by the taxidermist.

Try to avoid shooting a potential mount in the head.

The damage done by the bullet is hard and often

impossible to repair.

1. Do not cut the animal’s throat.

2. Make all cuts neat and accurate as possible.

3. The first cut is down along the spine starting

between the ears.

4. Then go around the circumference of the animal

followed by going around the leg joint, up the

back of the leg and across to the circumference

cut as shown.

5. Neatly skin off the body starting at the back and

work your way forward.

6. Sever the head off at the neck joint.

7. Once off, lay out to cool off for ten minutes.

8. Most taxidermists prefer to skin out the face

themselves.

Fallow, an example of Steve’s work. Sambar, a further example of Steve’s work.

Pest tagDear Editor

Reminiscent of the ‘noxious animal’ tag that government applied to deer, is the latest announcement by the Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson that Canada geese are to be declared a pest.

While I do not go duck or game bird shooting, I regard Wilkinson’s action as born of archaic thinking, a throwback to the ‘noxious animal’ days of about half a century ago.

I have advocated before that the word ‘pest’ is totally wrong in the vocabulary and flawed in its execution with inevitable extermination attempts. Any enlightened government would not use the word ‘pest’ and instead would regard any wildlife as a resource to be managed. If

numbers are too high, the annual harvest is adjusted.

Possums are another case in point. They are not a pest, sometimes a nuisance locally, but a resource and a valuable one as currently shown by

the fur at $110/kg fetching over 30 times the price of cross-bred wool.

I have informed Kate Wilkinson that I will not be voting National with either my party or candidate vote based on her bombshell decision as regards Canada geese plus a few other National bungles such as the fisheries mismanagement and the foreshore and seabed fiasco.

Tony Orman

Access chargesDear Sir

The proposal by Timberlands to charge Kaingaroa forest hunters a $50.00 access fee is an imposition when there is no formal provision for meaningful and powerful management input by the persons paying, and there are no other assurances or guarantees for any access ongoing.

Insistence on insurance cover could be justified, and a minor administration fee. However, the proposal seems discriminatory, selective, and exclusive because it confers no rights, and can only be viewed as extortion for recreational opportunity.

If hunting and fishing organisations at all levels are not supported by government to put a stop to this trend immediately, then pity help all New Zealanders who have thus far enjoyed relatively unrestricted access to all the large landholdings in New Zealand. This includes public and private lands, our coast and mountains. Pity help our kids, and their issue.

Graham A Sperry

Hon Peter Dunne and other recipients.

NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 9NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 8

HABITAT STORY

Southern Lakes Branch members at the Stoat’s Nest

My partner, Jane and I had decided that we would head off up to the Greenstone Valley to the Southern Lakes Branch's (SLB) hut (this is the old Mid Greenstone hut, now renamed 'the Stoats Nest'). Over this period a group of us would be re-baiting about seventy odd stoat traps which our branch has put in place. The object is to try and help the Blue duck (Whio) as they have had a bit of a hiding from stoats. We've been catching stoats, possums and rats; so its agreat thing for all the bird life in the area.

Just a note on the traps, they are the large wooden box type baited with eggs and a bit of salted rabbit. If anyone out there is interested, we are currently sponsoring out the traps. For a one off payment of $150 you get a trap for the next 9 years, which is about $16.00 per year, plus a framed certificate and regular updates on how the project is going. Don't be shy give Dave Rider a call on 021 969 350 or Email [email protected] and sponser one or two.

Our plan was to head up to the hut on the Friday morning, then up Steele Creek on the Saturday re-baiting as we went, then staying at the Steele Creek biv. Sunday, we would continue up Steele Creek and over the saddle to the Upper Caples hut, then out the next day. The weather was going to be marginal on the Saturday but clearing on the Sunday. We weren't too concerned if we did this round trip, but it was a trip I've often thought of doing and it would be nice to finally say, 'thats one off the list'.

Friday morning in Queenstown was grey and overcast and while heading towards the Greenstone/Caples car park the weather, looking up the headwaters, looked very dark,

and it looked like it wouldn't be long before we'd be putting on our rain gear. We ended up getting right to the hut with just as a few spits starting to fall.Two other memders of SLB had gone in the previous evening, and by the time we arrived the hut fire was on and it was time to settle in for the night. We were just sitting around in the hut; it was just about dark, but still just enough light to see. So I said to the others, I'll spot you a deer from the hut window, picked up my bino's and within about three seconds spotted a Fallow deer, (a complete and utter fluke). I tried to pass this off as skill, but the others knew it was just plain tin arse. The forecast was spot on, as later that night the heavens opened and the volume of rain that fell was truely amazing. It continued all Saturday so we had a very lazy hut day and by late evening it was beginning to clear.

Next morning, Sunday, was clear and crisp, so four of us headed up to re-bait the traps up Steele creek also we were going to take some details of the Steele creek bivy as sometime in the next few months a team of workers are going to go in and do some maintainace.We continued checking and baiting up to the bivy which is about a two hour walk. After a morning tea break we continued on up the valley, eventually getting to the junction of where the track continues up the valley and the Steele Creek heads left up to a little lake. This was were we said goodbye to the other two and Jane and I continued up towards the saddle.

It's not a bad walk up to the saddle, but with full packs and lugging a doom stick it was just hard enough. If you were ever thinking of doing this walk it does give some spectaticual

veiws, but it would be adviseable to do so in the summer so you had the longer hours of daylight and better temperatures as this is an alpine track and is quite a walk. I also suggest an above level of fitness, good gear and be prepared to camp. The views from the saddle looking back down Steele Creek are great and its very satisfiying when you eventaully get to the top. From the other side, amazing views looking up the side creeks of Kay and Frazer Creeks and also looking right down the Caples towards Lake Wakatipu. We were nearly at the saddle when I spotted three Chamois, wephotographed them, watched them for awhile, then continued on down to the Upper Caples hut. Even though you can see the hut from up above the bush its still at least one and a half to two hours walk down a very steep track to the hut. Just the other side of the saddle I found some very fresh boot prints and thought someone has been up here not long ago. I found out a few days later who they belonged to

Upper Caples hut is a large DOC hut which can sleep about sixteen or eighteen and I think there was twentyfour staying that night. We got there just in time to get the last empty spots, they were all trampers and when I made a public anouncement that I had a firearm and that I was brining it in. There were a few light hearted remarks, but all in all, everyone was good and later a number of the trampers we talked with were very interested it what we were doing, where we had been and what we had seen.

Monday morning dawned fine and after breakfast we packed up and left. I noted that we were about the third party to leave the hut. After a kilometre or two we stopped to

easTer up The GreensTOne/CaplesB y P e t e H e n d e r s o n . S o u t h e r n L a k e s B r a n c h

take a few photos just inside the bush edge While Jane was doing this I headed out on to the bush edge of a very large clearing and about 700 metres down stream a Fallow buck and three spikers were running about and had been disturbed fmost probably by some of the earlier groups that left the hut. The fact that they were looking back indicated that something had set them off. We managed to get a few photos of them running for it and crossing the Caples River.

I've often made the comment that trampers, (I'm sure not all), have the idea that the object of tramping is to get from point A to point B or this hut to that hut, and are not as observant as hunters. I'll give you a few examples. About another two or three kilometres further on as we were going along the track both Jane and I looked out onto a large clearing through the open gaps in the bush and there on one of the clearings were a dozen Fallow does and yearlings about two hundred metres out, and right in the middle of the tusock covered river clearing. We were both watching them and getting some photos when this tramper come barrelling along the track. On reaching us he could see we were taking some interest in something and said "what are you looking at", we pointed the deer out and he was amazed

and revealed that in all the years he'd been tramping they were the frist deer he had ever seen.

Upon reaching the Mid Caples hut we caught up with the other groups of trampers and we were all commenting on the scenery etc, I said "wasn't it great to see those deer on the clearings back up the valley", and all six of them had not seen any of the deer, so we had to show them the photos we had taken, because I don't think they believed us.

The next couple of hours out to the car park dragged on and it was great to eventaully reach it and have a well deserved cold one.The whole round trip was about fiftyfour kilometres.

Interestingly, on the way out we meet the hut warden and we told her about the deer and chamois we had seen, she informed us of a hunter who had been camping up the valley and for the last three or four days and the only deer he had seen was one which was on the track but didn't shoot. Due to the weather he had got the sh#t's and walked out, the hut warden had said to him wait one more day. Afew days later a good friend of mine called and told me how his cold and very wet trip went up the Caples valley. He had said that on the Sunday morning had got up really early and

walked up the track to nearly the saddle then had turned and walked back down, packed up and had left, so explained the tracks we had seen. I then procceded to tell him about the chamios just the other side of the saddle and the deer we had seen on the way out, his exact words were, no!, No, your kidding ! NO! Thats hunting.If he'd only taken the hut wardens advice.

Both Jane and I were sitting on the tailgate of the truck when down the track come the other two SLB members Pam and Aaron, good timing so we all had a good yarn about the weekends adventure and all agreed a great place togo for a walk and spend afew days, the (SLB) hut is fully kitted out, good fire, gas cooker, all your cooking utensiles,plates,cups, knives, forks,spoons etc and is for hire at a good cheap rate, which again, contact Dave.If you've never been for a walk up the Greenstone its well worth it. Even though the weather was mixed you have to take the good and bad and make the most of it. Like they say you can't help the weather and when your in the middle of the Southern Alps you have to be prepared for anything, thats hunting, but with good company, agood warm hut any day on the hill is better than working.

Fallow in the Caples

Pete and Jane from the saddle looking back down Steel Creek

Pete, Jane, Pam and Aaron outside Steel Creek Biv


In the 1970s John Henderson was one of the leading lights in ‘Save Manapouri’, the fight to stop Lake Manapouri being raised to supply a foreign consortium with cheap power. It was a victory in terms of saving the lake and its surrounding environs but Comalco still got power heavily discounted and subsidised by the taxpayer. Besides ‘Save Manapouri’, John was chairman of the conservation council COENCO, served on the Wellington and NZ Acclimatisation Society councils and other outdoor sporting organisations such as the NZ Federation of Rifle, Rod and Gun Sportsmen.

In forthright, direct manner, he took on governments for faulty policy and in particular, a 1970s senior cabinet minister Duncan McIntyre for selling public lands to a rich American who wanted to exploit the trout fishing and hunting values with a luxury lodge.

John Henderson’s debating style was always based on facts rather than opinion or dogma. His son, Dr Ian Henderson now a lecturer at Massey University, remembers how his father did his homework gathering facts before debate. “That’s why politicians like Duncan MacIntyre and Rob Muldoon refused to debate with him - because he always had the facts ready.”

John once explained to Ian of how and why he memorised the calculations of flow rates (in cubic metres per second) in the Waiau River and what was going to be diverted through the Manapouri power station, how much power that would produce and how much aluminium could be made. Because he knew how to do the calculations in his head - not just memorising the final figures - he could always deal with any revised figures that might be sprung on him during a debate or in an interview. And if anyone tried the put-down of ‘I think you have your figures wrong’ he could go through the calculations in front of an audience or camera - and make his opponent look foolish. Such was his debating skill that cabinet minister Duncan MacIntye refused to debate with him. On Radio Windy, talkback host MP Rob Muldoon after a few encounters with John, refused to allow him to participate. My observations were that during such encounters JBH never lowered himself to personal attacks and playing the man, although his opponents often did. He debated the issue, the facts and the illogic of bureaucratic policies with an incisive style.

In personality JBH was modest and with a quick sense of humour which were so obvious in his skilled limericks and verse - ‘doggerel’ he called them - often about his hunting

friends. A devoted husband, father and grandfather he loved horses, almost became a jockey and trainer, enjoyed jazz and swing music and was adept on the piano.

Within Wellington NZDA, John Henderson implemented a data collection scheme where hunters measured the fat around a deer’s kidney (an indication of the deer’s condition factor) and aged the animal from teeth and jaw bones.

His son Ian observed, “Through his conference papers overseas he brought NZ game management - or the absence of it - to the attention of the world. His attempts to set up a nation-wide data collection system (and database) got the Forest Service really worried and they tried to discredit it, but also spurred them into doing their own research - which opened up career paths for people like Graeme Caughley.”

The necessity JBH saw to collect scientific data on game animals also spurred the development of the Paxarm tranquilizer gun and he was involved in its early development, making darts and testing propulsion systems and drug formulations. During his time on the Wellington Acclimatisation Society Council he was instrumental in employing the first scientific staff to do research, not just on game bird and trout populations, but also water quality and pollution detection - long before regional councils or NIWA existed.

John Henderson played a major part in the 1970s battle against trout farming - probably the issue with the most lasting success. And he was involved in the earliest battles against 1080 including presenting the then biggest signature petition - 80,004 - to parliament.

The 1972 election was a major victory for outdoor sports and the environment. The National Government had supported raising Lake Manapouri, trout farming and selling public crown land at Te Anau to Stockton Rush, an affluent American. Sportsmen organised with John Henderson at the helm, and lobbied the Labour leader, Norman Kirk, who also opposed trout farming and raising Manapouri. On election night, Norman Kirk swept to power with newspapers such as NZ Herald acknowledging the outdoor sporting public had been a major factor in the government’s defeat.

The years of commitment by John Henderson resulted in a recommendation going forward that John should receive a New Year’s honour but he politely declined any suggestion of official honours.

Yet he had his critics too and not just MPs or bureaucrats. Some within the outdoor ranks who belonged to the National Party then in power, struggled whether their personal loyalties lay with NZDA or the government. At the Ashburton NZDA conference, Duncan McIntyre in what seemed an orchestrated betrayal, called on conference to move a vote of ‘no confidence’ in the NZDA president. Quickly the late Bruce Candy of Ashburton countered with a motion of confidence in John Henderson as president. It was resoundingly carried.

When hearing critics of such a dedicated man to a cause, I’m reminded of the words of a US president (1901-1909) Theodore Roosevelt who fittingly was also an avid big game hunter and conservationist; It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though chequered by failure than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in that grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

John Henderson was and is an inspiration to all New Zealanders who love fishing, hunting and the environment.

John ‘JBH’ Henderson, ‘actually in the arena’ for half a century, on behalf of outdoor sportsmen.

‘jBh’ a ChaMpIOn OuTDOOrs aDvOCaTeB y T o n y O r m a n

jOhn henDersOn 13 nOveMBer 1925 - 16 FeBruary 2011.

John Henderson, former New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association (NZDA) national president and national life member recently passed away, drawing to a close half a century of battling for the outdoors and in particular deer and deerstalkers.

John Henderson’s advocacy was unselfish, untiring, and at great personal cost in terms of time and expense. His political battles went far beyond New Zealand’s outdoor sport and embraced the environment and the country’s society. JBH, as his friends knew him, was often ‘20 years ahead of the present’ with his foresight and perception and back in the 1970s, spoke on crucial issues like population growth and a population limit for New Zealand. By invitation, he addressed international wildlife conventions in Finland, USA, Australia and Europe.

I first met JBH in the mid-1950s, when as a teenager embarking on a land surveying degree, I attended Wellington branch NZDA meetings. With me was school friend Graeme Caughley who was studying at Victoria University and later would become one of the world’s foremost ecologists and an invaluable contributor to the deer management debate.

John Henderson invited me on hunting trips with his friends Bill Cowan, Keith Seagar and Tig Johnston. Also I fished the Wairarapa’s trout

streams such as the Makuri and Makakihi with him for he was a skilled fly fisherman, as was his wife Winnie.

I came to know JBH as a man of great principle, integrity and a passion to reverse crazy bureaucratic policies like deer extermination, the spreading of toxins and the sale of resources for short-sighted exploitation particularly by foreign interests.

Underlying his arguments was a well educated and extremely intelligent man, who attained 90 percent of a science degree, its completion being prevented by his father’s sudden death and the urgent need to take over the family printing business.

John Henderson served on the NZDA’s national executive and was national president in two terms, 1968-1972 and 1981-1983

As national president of NZDA, John delivered strong and stirring conference addresses, building on the style he had delivered as Wellington NZDA president. His editorials in Roaring Stag the Wellington Branch’s newsletter can be seen by the titles - Deerstalking a Sport Ignored, The Great 1080 Square-off and Deer Extermination - a Dream in Desperation.

His writings and speeches often went beyond deer and deer hunting to the wider picture. In 1970 at NZDA’s national conference at Taupo he advocated planning a population limit for New Zealand. “There can be no cause for satisfaction in covering our land with urban sprawl--it is witless to stress human populations by crowding when many populations are already largely irrational and unstable.”

Then he delivered his punch line, “It is high time New Zealanders set themselves an upper limit---my own estimate is 5 million people.”

Government’s policies were called to account. In one address, JBH accused governments and departments of ‘dereliction of duty and many glaring cases of deceit.’ In a 1972 address, ‘Man and his Environment,’ John urged his audience at Wellington’s Victoria University Winter Term Lecture Series to political awareness and action and to never be duped into believing that politics and the environment are other than cause and effect.

JBH crossing the Otaki River en route to the Tararua tops (1960) with his Mannlicher stocked Brno 7 x 57.

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.

OBITUARY


Some of our members and friends, in their quest for ‘cheap ammo’, may buy old military ammunition. Military ammunition is sometimes primed with primers that actively invite or assist corrosion of the bore, or (additionally) may release mercury which causes embrittlement of the brass so it is no longer ductile. Firing it may be extremely dangerous and is to be avoided.

Quite apart from its value to cartridge collectors (who will swap at least round

for round if you have desirable cartridges), older ammunition is usually less reliable, less precise and more prone to defective performance. In short, it may display ‘hangfires’ (delays in ignition upon firing), acting as if it is inert or even splitting the web, the solid brass surrounding the primer pocket (which will dump propellant gases into your action or worse, your face and eyes). The ‘duds’ may help show if you have a flinching problem, but otherwise will do little for your

marksmanship skills. More serious case failures could damage your rifle, YOU, or your friends.

How do you know if the ammunition you are firing is corrosive? Here is a list from the American Rifleman issue of April 1969 (pages 34, 35) of the non-corrosive rifle loadings. If there is any doubt, clean initially with boiling water, then use solvent and finally oil.

COrrOsIve prIMers- hOw TO IDenTIFy TheMB y C h a z F o r s y t h

LOCk, STOCk & BARRELL

aMerICan aMMunITIOn:

Generally, all military .30’06 small arms ammunition manufactured from 1953 onwards is non-corrosive.

The major exception is that from Frankford Arsenal, (FA) . Small lots of.30’06 ammunition made in 1953, 1954 and 1956 are corrosive. These are all the 172 gn boat tail loads in MATCH cartons with red, purple and green primer waterproofing respectively.

All 7.62 mm NATO (except FA56 MATCH) is non-corrosive.

All .30 m1 carbine ammo of American manufacture is non-corrosive.

BrITIsh aMMunITIOn:

Generally, those cartridges with brass coloured primers are non-corrosive. (All with copper primers are chlorate primed and may contain mercury fulminate.) Usually, post 1958 manufacture will be non-corrosive. (Kynoch ceased production of metallic ammunition in 1958, so those military loadings headstamped ‘K’ won’t be common in New Zealand.)

BelGIan aMMunITIOn:

All rifle ammunition made from 1958 onward is non-corrosive. Headstamp is FN.

CanaDIan aMMunITIOn:

DA or DAQ – all ammunition post-1950 is non-corrosive. .30’06 marked VC 45 is also non-corrosive.

GerMan aMMunITIOn:

The widespread use of non-corrosive (‘Sinoxid’) priming developed and used by RWS from 1911 means that all post-World War II (after 1946) small-arms ammunition is non-corrosive.

IsraelI aMMunITIOn:

all loadings from Tel Aviv Arsenal are non-corrosive.

NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 15NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 14

DOC upDaTe

NATIONAL HUNTING ADVISOR

Brent Beaven is DOC’s national hunting advisor. This is a new role that is focussed on encouraging hunting and improving the hunting experience. Prior to this, Brent had been DOC’s biodiversity manager on Stewart Island for ten years.

Contact Brent on 027 2664079 or email [email protected]

Before we knew it the three-day hunting trip had arrived. A group of twenty-four had joined the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association’s Hutt Valley Branch annual HUNTS course. A group of people from all walks of life coming together with one common goal; to successfully stalk, kill and butcher our own meat.

The course was incredible value consisting of seven, two to three-hour evening classes which varied in content from map and compass work, species identification to first aid. Also, two days were spent at the Kaitoke shooting range to improve our aim and confidence firing different firearms.

Before the hunting weekend, we spent a separate day in the Tararuas doing map and compass work and learning bush survival skills. Making fires out of wet wood was a smoky highlight, and setting up make shift shelters from tarps were just some of the skills taught to us.

The course hunt was to take place at a private property near Stratford in Taranaki. We set off early in convoy and arrived at the property mid morning. After making camp, the group was split into small groups of three to four people. Each group was led by two experienced hunters. Due to the size of the property it was possible to spread ourselves quite far apart from other groups. Everyone

put on a bright orange vest for safety reasons before we set off.

Everybody in the group had different levels of experience; some were brought up on farms, some had hunted previously but lost their enthusiasm, and the rest of us were city slickers who had never killed an animal before. It was wonderful to see a large percentage were fathers and sons, obviously bonding in this wonderful outdoor environment. The dress of the group was also diverse; some wore gum boots and flannelette shirts, while it looked like others had just stepped off a Rambo movie set. Whatever works I suppose.

YOUNG HUNTER

FIrsT BlOODB y A l e c A s q u i t h

New National Park Plan Approved for Stewart IslandOn 9th February, the NZ Conservation Authority approved the new Stewart Island/Rakiura Conservation management Strategy (CMS) and Rakiura National Park Management Plan (NPP). These documents set out both the overarching direction for the management of conservation lands on Stewart Island (CMS) and the more detailed management direction for Rakiura National Park (NPP) for the next 10 years.

NZDA was heavily involved in the formulation of this plan at both the local and national level, so I wanted to take the time to look at what the plan says about the future of Whitetail deer on Stewart Island.

What do the plans say about Whitetail deer?The Department of Conservation does not currently undertake any control of deer species within Rakiura National Park. Work on deer is focused on monitoring the health of the forests to keep track of the impacts of deer.

In the table below is a list of the key hunting related policies from the plan, along with a brief description on what they mean to the future of hunting white-tail deer on Stewart Island.

POLICY WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR HUNTING?

Will encourage recreational hunting on public conservation lands and encourage hunters to target areas that are identified as having high deer numbers or areas that are most at risk from the presence of deer.

Recreational hunting should continue to be supported on the island for the next 10 years, as it has for the last 10 years.

Should liaise with, coordinate and inform local authorities, adjacent landowners such as the Rakiura Maori Land Trust, Tangata Whenua, commercial and recreational hunters and the community through the Stewart Island/Rakiura Pest Liaison Group to effectively eradicate, control and manage impacts of introduced animals.

Hunters will continue to be informed and involved around pest control operations (eg the possum control programme on the island)

Should facilitate the wider distribution of information about the Stewart Island/Rakiura Pest Liaison Group and Department of conservation meetings and initiatives to a national audience through the web and other appropriate channels.

Information on DOC’s animal control programmes will be more widely available than previously.

Should consult with the community, through the Stewart Island/Rakiura Pest Liaison Group and Tangata Whenua, prior to undertaking introduced animals control operations where the operations involve the use of previously unused toxins or biocontrol agents and methods.

If the possum control methods were changed, then the liaison group would be consulted.

Should continue to undertake monitoring, through the use of representative exclusion plots, with the aim of better understanding how deer, possums and rats interact to affect forest ecology

Continue to determine the actual impact of deer versus possums versus rats so we can make informed decisions on where money and effort is best spent.

Should aim to control (where eradication is not possible) the impact of introduced animals within Rakiura National Park to a level where they are not having unsustainable effects on native species and vegetation within Rakiura National Park.

Control is focused on impacts of animals, so that we keep a healthy forest long term.

Should, through the review of the Stewart Island/Rakiura Biodiversity Action Plan, work with the Stewart Island/Rakiura Pest Liaison Group to establish specific control measures for the purposes of implementing and achieving the objectives and policies in this section.

Hunters will continue to be involved in planning how we will achieve our animal control operations on Stewart Island.

Should undertake deer control in accordance with the following priorities:

a) maintaining deer-free areas (such as existing deer-free islands)

b) preventing the colonization and establishment of new deer species not presently found within Rakiura National Park.

c) to maintain the general welfare of the park’s indigenous species, habitats and ecosystems and to maintain scenic and landform values; by controlling deer where necessary.

No new control proposed here.

Should consult with the Stewart Island/Rakiura Pest Liaison Group and the wider community to determine appropriate methods for control for those sites identified above.

The idea that hunters and others be involved in planning activities that might affect their sport is strongly represented in this plan.

Plain English summaryNo formal control of Whitetail deer proposed. DOC to continue monitoring and if it was proven that the impact of deer was unsustainable, undertake other means of control after consultation with the Stewart Island/Rakiura Pest Liaison Group.

In other words, Whitetail deer have no planned control or plans to eradicate them within the

10 year life of this plan. Any ideas for deer control would need to be discussed with the community and NZDA via the established liaison group. This means that you would have input right from the start in all management decisions around Whitetail deer.

A full copy of the plan can be viewed on-line at www.doc.govt.nz (http://www.doc.govt.nz/publications/about-doc/role/policies-and-plans/conservation-management-strategies/stewart-island-rakiura/).

A successful hunter proudly shows off his goat.

Pre hunt briefing. (Note the use of the high visibility safety vests.) Learning the finer points of using a firearm on the range in a controlled environment.


Our group was allocated a ridge and valley to hunt in. Using all the knowledge we gained prior to the hunt, we looked for animal sign and faeces. Staying down wind and low so not to expose our silhouettes above the ridge line, we came across a couple of goats on the far hill side.

‘Here we go boys,’ was the call from our experienced group leader. The goats were about 200 metres away. I quickly lay down with my .270 and lined up one of the goats. Having never killed anything before, except a couple of magpies my heart was racing. I held my breath and squeezed the trigger. Got him. I quickly reloaded and tried for the second, but it was long gone. I felt surprisingly proud of myself, but unfortunately, the job wasn’t quite finished.

As I excitedly walked towards my prize I could see it was still alive. I looked towards the group leader for guidance. ‘Finish it off.’

I was going to shoot it, but was told the bullet could ricochet of a hidden rock. ‘Use your knife,’ he said. My pride and excitement quickly disappeared as I unsheathed my

knife. The technique was to stick the knife through the middle of the throat, then push outwards, severing its windpipe. Contrary to the World War II movie techniques of ear to ear. This was certainly much harder than shooting it from 200 metres away.

I grabbed the goat’s head and did as I was told. I did it with the false confidence of someone who doesn’t want to look ‘soft’ in front of tough seasoned hunters. After finishing it off, we then got down to the skinning and butchering part. I took the back steaks, back legs and skin as a trophy. One thing that wasn’t taught on the course was how to get rid of the smell of blood on your hands.

We continued until almost sunset. Everybody in our group had successfully stalked, killed and butchered at least one goat by the end of the day. It was amazing; by the time I had killed my third goat my sensitivity had almost disappeared. It had now become a job. I wanted to be as efficient as possible in killing, skinning and butchering.

There was a great sense of camaraderie amongst the group, as we hiked back down the ridge. We all had meat bags full of fresh organic fare and a sense that we had achieved something special.

In the evening we sat around our camp telling tales of hunting and gathering, whilst eating our goat stew. I was amazed how such a basic instinct such as hunting could bring out a feeling of real contentment. After all, it’s something we’ve been doing since the beginning of mankind.

Thank you to the NZDA Hutt Valley Branch as I now have the skills and the confidence to keep my freezer stocked up for many years to come.

YOUNG HUNTER

Hanging the carcass from a tree makes skinning easier.Two of the girls clean up a skin in preparation to preserve with salt for tanning later.

Our camp site was set up on a property near Stratford, Taranaki.

Jack Wilson 6½ years old, North Taranaki Branch with 5 hares he shot with Dad’s Norinco .22 magnum on Uncle Ian’s farm. The meat later made delicious hare and ham patties.

James Denholm, Manawatu Branch with his first deer.

Charlotte Flanagan,15 years old, Hutt Valley Branch with her first two goats shot 3 January 2011 with Dad’s Remington .22 magnum while on a friend’s farm looking for pigs, rabbits, hares and deer.

Riley Smith, 7 years old, Gore & Districts Branch, had a successful Christmas hunt.

Ella Wilson, Wellington Branch started hunting rabbits two years ago and has now moved on to bigger game by getting her first deer on 23rd December 2010.

Jabe Radich, North Taranaki Branch with his 58.6 kg boar which has a good looking set of tusks.

NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 18

The late afternoon found me back on the ladder stand looking for Whitetail with Mickey’s instructions to get a nice deer for meat so that he and the boys could take it with them on their Illinois hunt. An hour later a nice fat doe came out and started feeding; one shot from the 7mm magnum got Mickey and his mates their venison. The calibre used was probably a bit on the large side for Whitetail, but as this was my bear hunting rifle I wanted to try it and get a bit more familiar with its dynamics.

Day 3, 9/11/08

Up around 7.00 am, another great day, eight degrees Celsius and a clear sky. Mickey’s pond was next on the agenda to ascertain if there were any raccoons in the traps the caretaker had set the previous day, (after he had found thirty-seven dead mallard ducks of his original fifty that had been due to be released.) There were two racoons, one in each cage trap. I killed the larger of the two to bring home and Mickey’s friend took the younger one for meat.

Over to Poplar Ridge in the afternoon to join the guys sighting in their muzzleloaders and shotguns for their Illinois Whitetail hunting trip. High powered rifles are not allowed where they were going; in addition to their firearms they would each use compound bows. It was surprising how accurate the shotguns and muzzleloaders were; these guys were shooting two to three inch groups at 150 metres with both types of firearms. I got my first shot out of a muzzleloader and even managed to hit the target! I put half a dozen shots through the 7mm which was shooting good. All ready for the first day of bear season tomorrow!

Day 4, 10/11/08

Opening day for the bear hunting season, and up at 4.30 am to be greeted with great weather. Breakfasting with Mickey, I had to admit to being both anxious and excited about what the day may bring. Work commitments meant Mickey was heading back to Wilmington, so after goodbyes I headed to Poplar Ridge (remembering which side of the road I should be driving on). There I met Abel and two other American blokes, Ryan and Frankie, who would be hunting on the same property. I was dropped off at a stand on the bush edge; a steel ladder going up to a platform about three metres off the ground. It is illegal to hunt bears over bait in NC, so it

is really a matter of hunting the right areas at the right time.

On daybreak I looked around, and in front of me was a cut corn field with thick bush and 50 feet high trees behind me. As stated previously, these areas are very wet and some of the trees grow roots up through the water to breathe. Knee length waterproof footwear is desirable (so I found out). These wet areas are called ‘bays.’

There were a lot of ducks flying over me and I thought to myself that I could possibly shoot more out of the stand than I shot from the impoundment the other morning. Twenty minutes later saw my first bear about 400 metres in front of me, quartering away from my right to left; I managed to get some footage of him before he disappeared. Half an hour later, a noise behind me and to the right, a young bear around 125 pounds (60 kgs) came running past me panting. I got a feeling that he was scared of something, but managed to get him on film before he was swallowed up by the bush. A while later another young bear came past me, also puffing and again I thought something bigger could be chasing them. Nothing more appeared, but it was great to see these little guys meaning a great morning. At 11.00 am, Abel and I collected Frankie and Ryan who hadn’t seen any bears, but had seen a lot of Whitetail. Food and a discussion regarding the evening hunt followed.

That evening Abel took me to a different location to a tripod stand three metres above the ground. Just before dark another bear around the 125 pound (60 kg) mark visited me. He came along an overgrown track straight towards me, walked up to the ladder,

put his two front paws on the bottom rung and looked straight up at me. I was sitting dead still and even though he was close, I am sure he didn’t see me. As he took his paws down and sat right underneath me, I tried to get my camera into action but he heard me and wandered off looking back trying to figure out what was going on. I headed out after dark to find Frankie had shot a bobcat that had disappeared into the thick scrub and was unable to be found. At Mickey’s place over tea and a couple of beers we discussed the morning’s agenda; Ryan and Frankie would go in stands and I would hunt the bush edge with Abel.

Day 5, 11/11/08

We rose again at 4.30 am and off to Poplar Ridge; another brisk morning with a little fog about. We dropped off Ryan and Frankie before Abel and I headed for the bush edge. Only just out of the truck we saw the first bear crossing some open ground to our right before quartering away from us. A nice bear, 200 - 250 lb (100 -120 kg), but Abel thought we would find something bigger if we waited. A short time later another smaller bear headed away from us about 300 metres off along an impoundment bank towards where Ryan was. The bear went out of sight and we heard a shot from that direction. Thinking that Ryan had shot the bear, Abel contacted him on his cell; Ryan confirmed that he had shot a bear but a different and bigger bear than the one we spied. (Great stuff Ryan).

When we thought it was too late for more hunting, a bear suddenly appeared across to our right preparing to cross open ground.

STORY

I was guiding a party of four from North Carolina, USA at Holyburn near Tuatapere, hunting Red stag, Fallow, bull Elk (Wapiti), goats and Arapawa rams.

I mentioned that I had been on a couple of unguided

hunts for black bear in the USA, and although I had

some great video footage of bears, and my friend

Patrick from Australia had shot a nice colour phase

one, I was yet to get one myself.

Immediately this great bunch of guys offered me

the opportunity to go bear hunting on their friend’s

property in North Carolina, maybe shoot a duck

or two and possibly a Whitetail deer. I didn’t think

about it for very long before taking them up on their

kind offer; the excitement and anticipation started

right then!

I contacted my friends who own and operate Neves

Taxidermy, Bethel, New York and explained I was

coming over on a bear hunt and might have a skin

for mounting. Then it was time to organize flights,

hunting licences, insurance etc. All done, and now

the only problem was the three months waiting time

until I left.

November 6th finally arrived and I was on my way to

the States, arriving in Wilmington, North Carolina on

Friday 7th around 10.00 am.

Day 1, 7/11/08

I was greeted at the airport by Mickey and Vann

Fogleman and great weather. Mickey had organized

this part of my trip to hunt on a friend’s property.

Supplies were obtained for the week before the

three to four hour 185 miles (297 kms) drive to his

place in Swan Quarter, Hyde County, North Carolina,

(NC). The terrain was flat, quite wet, with thick

undergrowth most of the way. The land is mainly

used for agriculture, predominately cotton, grain

crops and pine plantations. Lake Mattamuskeet, the

biggest natural lake in NC is abundant with water

fowl and just down the road from Mickey’s twenty

hectares; his retreat from the city for himself and

his family - an awesome spot. Settling in, Mickey

offered a Whitetail hunt as the bear hunting season

didn’t start until the following Monday.

We headed out in the late afternoon to a spot

leased by my host in corn fields, surrounded by

state forest, other private land and a lot of pine

plantations. I waited for my buck for a couple of

hours in a tree stand and saw three doe come and

go, but no Whitetail this time. Half an hour before

dark a young black bear, around 125 lbs (60 kgs)

caught my attention. He was about 200 metres

away on the edge of the bush and quartered to

my left, before he headed out of sight. Waiting a

short time in the fading light, I then returned to

Mickey’s for tea and refreshments. (An eventful first

afternoon).

Day 2, 8/11/08

Up early the first morning of duck shooting, off to

the duck blind (maimai); a wooden platform with an

entry point at each end sited in a corn field with a

fifty-metre harvested strip on either side. The whole

field had been flooded to about knee depth and

decoys placed where the corn had been harvested

from. Just before daylight we settled into our

‘impoundment’, (name for the area used for duck

hunting in NC.)

Shooting is allowed from 6.04 am, and it started

right on cue with lots of ducks (the main species

teal) flying around. The weather was great, and

just like New Zealand, this kept the ducks nice and

high. Over an hour and a half I managed to shoot a

couple. The limit is six each per day; we shot about

a dozen all together, so I think it was a win to the

ducks.

The shooters from the area headed to the local

diner for a great breakfast and catch-up on the

morning’s shoot, where the general consensus

was that, although we were a bit shy of the limit,

it would get better. Then it was to bear hunting

country; Poplar Ridge, (a great place for bears I am

told). Owned by Randy Hignite, the place is mostly

swampy with some higher ground and covered in

thick scrub. I also met Abel, who worked for Randy;

fortunately I hit it off with Randy and Abel straight

away as I would hunt with them all week.

An elated Paul with his black bear

Ryan (left) and Abel with Ryan’s black bear that weighed in at 193 kgs

BlaCk Bear hunT - nOrTh CarOlIna 2008B y P a u l A n d e r s o n , W e s t e r n S o u t h l a n d B r a n c h

21NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 20

Abel liked this bear and told me to shoot him if I could. As he was going away from us, I headed along the bush edge about 50 metres to shorten the distance between us to get a shot. When the bear turned slightly to cross in front of me, I lay down on a track to sight him through the scope, only to discover he was in line with where we thought Ryan was (bugger, no chance of a shot here).

The bear had to cross my track to get the thick cover; the adrenalin started to pump. He disappeared from sight then reappeared again 130 metres away. I got the bear in the scope and squeezed off a shot. He hesitated slightly, and then took off to the left. I took another shot, only to be a bit late getting it away; which meant he was out of sight when the rifle went off.

Now the anxiety started as we ran down an old overgrown track through the bush to ascertain if the bear had crossed it. We were about 150 metres in with thick bush on our left, a water course where the depth was over my head, and more thick bush on my right. We waited, and noticing the water hadn’t been disturbed, didn’t think the bear had crossed the track. Five minutes later we heard something crashing around in the bush to our right on the other side of the water course. The bear was now between us and where he was shot, about 100 - 150 metres further over. He sounded like he was around 50 metres or so into the scrub, but because of the thick foliage we could only see in about 30 – 40 metres, therefore he was out of sight. It was a good time to play the waiting game while I went over the shot in my mind.

Every few minutes we heard him crunching sticks and his coarse breathing, which sounded like he was hit in the lungs and would die. While we waited, Ryan arrived and followed the blood trail from the other side and confirmed pinky looking blood. The waiting continued until we heard the bear again, indicating he might be a bit closer now. Crouching in the bush Abel was sure he could see the bear. I bent down beside him and yes, there was the bear; but I couldn’t make out which part of him was in view. Deciding to get some more lead into him, two more shots were fired through the bush to finish the job. I was pretty sure they both connected.

Everything went quiet and thinking he was done, we waited and then headed back out to where the hunt began. We followed the blood trail, me with the gun, and Abel the camera, (no prizes for guessing who was in front.) The blood trail went through the scrub to approximately 50 metres into the bush to a black shape in front and to the left of us.

It was the bear, sitting on his haunches in foot deep water. I couldn’t believe it when he stood up and lifted his head to look around at us 25 metres away, his breathing audible. Without taking my eyes off the bear, I stepped closer, took my time to get within about 6 metres, then stopped to finish the job that started an hour and a half earlier (dead at last!). With a wounded bear in thick scrub one must avoid risks. Only then was the realisation of how big this bear was and the language and comments on the video would back this up. What a magnificent animal! I had never seen any animal soak up lead like that, and was pleased to see him dead. At this point I was a pretty elated and happy Kiwi.

Now the fun began; it took five of us to drag the bear along the ground. A considerable amount of effort was expended getting him the 50 metres out to the edge of the bush. An open area provided photo opportunities and after a spell we carried him out to his entry spot. With 30 metres of swamp to cross after the bush, Abel’s great idea was to use a 25 tonne digger and a tandem trailer. We picked up Ryan’s bear too, and with the two bears on the trailer it was off to the local crab factory for the weigh in.

An example of an ‘impoundment’ used for duck shooting in North Carolina

We rolled Ryan’s bear onto a pallet on the forklift to deposit him on the scales where he weighed in at 426 lbs (193 kgs). A great bear and a very happy Ryan. Then it was my turn and my bear tipped the scales at a huge 576 lbs (261 kgs), WOW. What an awesome bear. It was then back to Mickey’s to skin the bears out. It took me two and a half hours to get the hide off mine and with the feet still in it weighed 80 pounds (36 kgs). We quartered the bears and packed the meat in ice for transport. I kept my back steaks to slice up for the guys going to Illinois. Bear meat is very popular and tastes great! The rest of the bear was given to Randy’s friends; nothing was wasted.

What an awesome time I had with these guys in North Carolina and the great bear

was the icing on the cake. I knew he would look awesome as a life size mount in my lounge in Tuatapere! From here it was back to Wilmington to spend a couple of days with two more friends of mine, Eddie and Steve, shooting a nice big male fox as a bonus.

I would like to emphasise that if you are intending to hunt overseas please make sure you have the right permits etc to get your animals home. I very nearly lost this trophy of a lifetime because I never had all of the required documentation on my return. In fact I am sure if it had not been for friends of mine pointing me in the right direction and helping me out I would still be without it. Thanks guys.

A proud Paul Anderson beside his 261 kg full mount black bear on display in his Tuatapere lounge

The grey fox that was a bonus while at Wilmington


No. 1A ‘IAN’ McLEOD.MacFARLANE VALLEY, 1924.LENGTH - left - 44 inches, right - 43¾ inches.SPREAD - 39 inches, SPAN - 28¾ inches.BEAM - 5¾ inches.

A fine example of Scottish-style trophy, it was secured on ‘Two Stag Flat’ in the MacFarlane River Valley. The stalking party consisted of McLeod, Frank Kitto, Archie Kitto and John Ross. After considering retreating from the valley due to threatening weather conditions, Archie Kitto and Ian McLeod decided to take a last look at the flat they later named ‘Two Stag Flat’. It proved to be a wise decision, McLeod securing this fine trophy which was located with hinds and ‘roaring’ on the flat. In the opinion of the writer, this trophy would compare favourably with any antlers produced by Red deer anywhere in the world.

No. 2.ARCHIE D KITTO.ALBERT BURN, 1921 – ‘The Big Chief’.LENGTH - left - 38½ inches, right - 38½ in.SPREAD - 39½ inches, SPAN - 30½ inches.BEAM - 6 inches. POINTS - 19.

Archie Kitto always considered this his best trophy, although a number of his contemporaries preferred his ‘Junction Stag’. This animal was located rutting on the upper flats of the Albert Burn after the party, consisting of Archie Kitto and his father, Frank Kitto, had endured a long trek into that valley from Mill Creek, a tributary of the Matukituki River. A long stalk from high above where the stag was seen holding a harem of hinds, demanded a long shot over some considerable distance and downhill. An unexpected encounter with a young 8-pointer during the stalk almost cost Kitto his trophy.

No. 3.ARCHIE D KITTO.MINARET BURN, 1922 - ‘The Junction Stag’.LENGTH - left - 47½ inches, right - 44¼ inches.SPREAD - 39 inches, SPAN - 32½ inches.BEAM - 5½ inches. DOUGLAS SCORE - 353⅝. POINTS - 13.

A very cunning stag, this animal took Archie Kitto for ‘a ride’ on a couple of occasions before the persistent sportsman eventually caught up with him high on the ‘tops’ above a branch of the Minaret Burn, there managing to secure him while he was lying down. It had begun to snow and weather conditions were threatening. A symmetrical trophy of typical Highland Scottish style, he is an epitome of his race and a very attractive trophy. Kitto was rather disappointed when he eventually realised the stag carried thirteen points, at first convinced he had shot the longest ‘royal’ taken from the Otago herd up until that time.

FrOM The wIlD hIlls OF sCOTlanD... ...TO The ruGGeD MOunTaIns OF a sCOTTIsh COlOny. The OrIGIns OF The OTaGO reD Deer herDB y D B r u c e B a n w e l l

ARTICLE

There are only two elements required for a stag to produce first-class antler; first-class genetics and a suitable environment which is capable of providing the necessary sustenance and minerals. Perhaps one of the more phenomenal examples of this process moving up to a higher level was the transition of Highland Scottish Red deer from the hills of Scotland to the mountains of a far off colony, those of the Province of Otago. Incidentally, the name ‘Otago’ is a pidgin English term for the Maori name, Otakou, the pronunciation of which, of course, is similar.

Having observed and studied Red deer antlers across the entire spectrum of the species, including many park-bred examples, it is the opinion of the writer that two of the greatest Otago sets are among the finest in the world for sheer beauty and symmetry. Because of their traditional pattern, comprising in general a lower number of tines, and the fact that symmetry fails to provide points in the current forms of scoring systems including the Douglas, in many cases they do not score as high as more multi-pointed specimens but less attractive trophies taken from alternative herds.

For many centuries the forebears of the Otago herd had roamed the Highlands of Scotland, in more recent times because of the destruction of the Caledonian Forest were forced to occupy a hostile environment, both terrain and climate, which eventually failed to supplement what eventually proved to be a case of latent, quality genetics. When the mountain ranges of Otago and South Westland provided the necessary minerals through the

medium of lush vegetation, the transformation was tremendous, the genetics once again coming to the fore and we were presented with antlers of classic Scottish form, but of a quality undreamed of by those responsible for the relocation and acclimatisation. The ultimate result was a high standard of wild, trophy-class Red deer probably unsurpassed anywhere across the entire spectrum of the Holarctic region (temperate zone), particularly in regard to the form of antler, size in proportion to body weight and their symmetry, Sportsmen from all over the world flocked to Otago, particularly from Britain and as a consequence, many of the great heads found their way to the British Isles.

When Sir Edwin Landseer created his famous painting, Monarch of the Glen, little did he realise by exaggerating the quality of the antlers, he was merely pre-empting what was going to be produced by the stags of the Otago herd. Painted with a background depicting part of Black Mount Forest it was perhaps a little ironic that those Otago stags owed around 50% of their origin to that very forest. Adding further interest was the fact that it was thought the body of the stag had been modelled from a stag at Stoke Park, the origin of another significant local population, the Rakaia herd, and neighbouring the range of the Otago animals.

Perhaps one of the more interesting factors arising from the antler production of the Otago stags is the two identifiable configurations that occur even after one hundred and thirty years, these clearly displaying the forms traditional to the two forests used to afforest Invermark in

1853, namely Black Mount and Glen Avon, The traditional sweeping form of the Black Mount style in contrast to the more ‘V’-shaped Glen Avon style with its strong, clustered tops are both still obvious in Otago specimens, although some quite naturally display intermediate form.

When the writer arrived at the national conference of 2000, on entering the judging room was astonished to see two lovely trophies entered for competition leaning against a wall alongside of each other. Both were traditional Otago-style heads. One was a typical example of Black Mount form, while the other resembled the configuration of Glen Avon. One had been taken in the Burke Valley, the other at the head of Lake Ohau.

The original stock liberated at Morven Hills in the Lindis Valley, once becoming established, eventually dispersed, occupying the mountains of Otago Province and much of those of South Westland over the next fifty years. This herd arose from a gift of seventeen calves from Invermark Forest made by the 11th Earl of Dalhousie to the people of Otago, the initial eight in October of 1870, arriving at the port of Otago, Port Chalmers, during January of 1871, the second shipment thirty-six days later.

Invermark was, prior to 1853 when it was afforested (restocked) by the two sources already mentioned, although the situation is hard to understand considering the areas it bounded, was apparently only supporting one lone hind, evidently a wanderer from Deeside.

The calves were captured during the months of May and June under the direction of the head stalker, Archibald Campbell, assisted by

one of his staff, Donald Cameron. Sixty were taken, but because of feeding difficulties only seventeen survived. According to Cameron, the calves were wild at first, but became so tame that after a time they would follow the stalkers around like dogs.

In the forest register of Invermark appears the following entry: ‘In 1870, the first Red deer sent to New Zealand were given by the Earl of Dalhousie and Mark Forest and milked by me at Gleneffack, Arch Campbell, Forester’. By the term ‘first Red deer’ Campbell was obviously referring to them as being the first lot of calves bound for Otago and not suggesting they were the first of the species to go to New Zealand, that occurring in 1854 and consisting of

Richmond Park animals to Nelson.

During July of 2009, North Otago Branch were about to host national conference and asked for a display of available Otago trophies to be displayed at the venue. A collection of eighteen first-class samples were gathered and displayed. These, of course, constituted a mere handful of what has been secured over the years. Many have disappeared with time and many found their way to Britain. Two magnificent examples taken by Lord Belper during the season of 1925 hang today in Beauly Castle, seat of the Lovat Frasers, near Inverness. Nothing is known of the whereabouts of a lot of five taken by one Captain J Haggas in 1933, incorporating what

was described as the best bag of four royals ever taken from the Otago herd and secured in the MacFarlane Valley. Nevertheless, the display at Oamaru was described as a sensation for sportsmen and created considerable interest for those attending.

Last year, while visiting Scotland, including visits to several Highland forests, a collection of photographs taken by the writer of the individual trophies displayed at the conference created great interest, in particular with some of the local stalkers with whom the writer was fortunate in meeting and all concerned expressed the opinion they had never ever sighted anything of such quality before.

More heads will be featured in future issues.

NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 24 25

sOn OF MOOseW i n n e r o f t h e T o n y O r m a n S h i e l d 2 0 1 0

B y H o w a r d E g a n , W a i r a r a p a B r a n c h

I live in a farming area near the Wairarapa coast hill country, made up of what they call limestone. The area that my whanau and friends roam over is owned by four families of humans. They call us ‘Fallow deer’. Our tribe has generally been persecuted by humans, but in this little area, it’s not too bad. There was one tragedy a year or two back though, when two of our leaders (Monster and Moose) were killed by humans with their bang-sticks. We try to live for the present, so I mustn’t talk about that.

My life has been good. At five and a half years old, I am big and strong, my antlers are heavy, long and well spread. Thirty inches by thirty-two inches in human figures. I have beautiful palmations which I know are attractive to the does. I know how to use them too; in fact I killed a three and a half year buck last week. I only have two does, and this stranger tried to intrude. He had broken one of his antlers above the brow tine, so perhaps I was a bit harsh but I got angry. His dead carcass looked like a pincushion. Usually if I give a croak over one of my scrapes, the young bucks will run away. This one should have, but it’s not my problem. I need to mate, but neither of my does is ready yet, and that big old white throated buck is holding most of the does in the next valley.

The kanuka valleys are what make our tribe’s home country so good. We will never leave, as Fallow deer do not roam, we are home-bodies. In fact, our family groups of does raising their fawns, and the young boy spikers, will live in the same gullies all year round. It is fertile grassland, with plenty of food and the lush grass grows beneath the high canopy of the kanuka trees. The families can hide there when they need to. Personally, I only spend half of the year with the family. In the springtime, after my antlers have dropped off, I always team up with a couple of the other bucks of a similar age to me. We move away to an area of rough, less accessible country where we can feel safe. It doesn’t take much food to keep two or three of us going. If we have to, we can travel fast to food because we don’t have the distractions of fawns and does. I enjoy those ‘boy-zone’ periods; we stay there until mid-autumn when it’s time to go back to the doe country for a bit of ‘nooky’. Our new antlers have of course grown by then. We polish them in late February.

We were late coming back from our ‘boy-zone’ country this year and only got here a fortnight ago. The weather was kind, feed was plentiful and lush. We knew there was no hurry as the does would cycle late this year. White throat, the herd buck, arrived back at the same time. He’s older than me at six and a half, and he’s real big. Caution required. I’ve set up at this

steep bush covered slope at the head of the gully, watered by a stream. It’s the home of this fruity looking big ginger doe and that black girl has come to my croaks. I’m two kilometres away from the herd buck’s stand, with his group of twelve does and fawns. I’ll be OK. I fixed that one-antlered buck didn’t I?

The sun’s getting a bit low, 5.30pm in human terms. Maybe it’s time for a nibble. Perhaps soon, but it’s comfortable here in the scrub. “Bark, bark, bark.” “Bark, bark, bark.” What the hell is wrong with black doe? She’s been barking like that for about two tui songs. I’d better just wander out and have a look.

Meanwhile, the old Fallow fella is hunkered down on a sheep track one hundred and fifty metres away, cammo clad, very still and camera ready. He’s been there for fifteen minutes, since he heard one single croak from the mature buck at 5.15pm. The melanistic doe scented him when she crested the hill above. “Bark, bark, bark.” She didn’t stop for at least two minutes, and was largely hidden by a tea tree bush. Not a photo prospect but out of the corner of an old eye, the hunter saw the huge ginger buck walk out of the scrub. Superb, a top class trophy; Douglas Score 240+. Click, click, click. The middle photo was good.

Discovered he is the son of Moose, as the right antler clearly identifies him.

ARTICLE

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All other thirteen HUNTS trainees shot animals on Makapua that day;

three more deer and ten goats. So the following day there was plenty of

meat to process.

Makapua is a working farm with a wonderful environment that entices

and holds a number of game animals. There are large areas of native

rewarewa, manuka groves, and pastoral land. The topography varies

from hilly to steep terrain. The Makapua Stream has cut a deep papa

valley through the property and is a delightful place for an early morning

stalk. Colin and Marg run cattle, sheep and deer. During the roar Colin

leads clients on hunts where all animals taken are free range and fair

chase. The farmed deer paddocks are exclusion zones for hunters.

Colin and Marg are very proud to have a visitors book with over two

hundred signatures of people who have shot their first deer ever. This

extraordinary privilege for new hunters is testament to the value Colin

and Marg place on recreational harvesting and the incredible enjoyment

it brings to those who love to hunt.

Gisborne HUNTS are incredibly fortunate to be hosted by Colin and Marg.

The four deer taken is a limit. The names of the fourteen trainees go

into a hat and four are drawn. Those four can hunt deer. All four deer

hunters are paired with a goat hunter; that way eight get to share the

experience of shooting both goat and deer.

For the past two years Gisborne HUNTS has offered a prize to trainees

for the best photo of a live wild deer taken during the HUNTS weekend.

The prize was put up by Shane Kapene from Gisborne’s Hunting and

Fishing outlet. We are fortunate to have Shane’s support and his interest

in HUNTS through him being a Mountain Safety firearms instructor and

HUNTS instructor trainee. The prize, a Hunter Elements skinning knife

(nice prize Shane), encouraged all trainees to stalk deer and get that

best photo. It soon becomes apparent to all, that hunting deer with

a camera can be a lot more challenging than hunting with a rifle

especially if you do not have zoom function on your lens. We had a

few nice photos entered but one beauty of a yearling hind took the first

prize.

Much of the Sunday of the HUNTS weekend was spent sharpening

knives, skinning and processing game ready for the freezer. For most

of the trainees this is a new experience but one that holds huge interest.

We spent allot of time on this phase, demonstrating, and helping trainees

break down their animals. I must say it is a wonderful thing to watch as

fourteen trainees work with care and pride. We put a fair bit of meat in

Colin and Margs’ freezer as a huge thank you. The rest, once bagged,

was shared amongst the trainees so all took home venison and goat to

cook and serve as a meal for their family.

Camaraderie on hunts is a wonderful thing. The success of a hunt which

is later celebrated by all comrades is a moment worth capturing. I got it

on film.

They reckon you get out of it what you put into

it. Well that certainly was the case with the

last lot of fourteen spirited Gisborne HUNTS

course trainees. Go getters all of them.

I begin by telling you about a hunt with

HUNTS trainee Logan who I had the privilege

of tagging behind. You could say I was the

official cameraman. My job was to capture the

moment so the video was at the ready. Logan

was a happy sort of a fellow and most of the

time he had a big grin. He was pretty fit as

well. Logan was a bit nervous as we snuck

around the hills on Makapua Station searching

for deer. Logan had never shot an animal

before and he quietly tippy toed behind his

guide, Colin Baynes who was leading the hunt,

following his every instruction. Colin and his

wife Marg own Makapua. In the late evening

we spotted two deer, a hind and yearling, who

were some distance off and unaware of our

stalk.

The back side of a spur enabled us to close the

distance and I filmed Colin and Logan peering

up over the hump to see the two deer standing

broad side on about 60 metres away. Colin

whispered instructions to Logan who loaded

and closed the bolt on the .243. Colin stuck

his fingers in his ears and I kept on filming

thinking, ‘don’t jump when he fires and ruin

the film.’ After what seemed like a very long

time Logan fired, catching me unawares and

making me jump. The yearling hunched at the

impact, wobbled and fell to the ground. I spun

the camera onto Logan who had a grin that

extended from ear to ear and Colin shaking his

hand vigorously.

By this time the light was beginning to fade

fast and we needed to get a move on fast to

get this animal up the hill before dark. We

wandered down to the animal and that’s when

everything pretty much got hilarious. An

important part of any hunt are the photos.

These are taken as a record of the hunt, to be

placed in the album so they can be brought

out at any time during celebrations or on a

special occasion. Logan had a wee problem

with photography. It was getting dark by this

time and the camera flash was necessary.

Every time we flashed Logan would blink. He

blinked and blinked and blinked some more.

Consequently in all the photos he had his

eyes closed. Logan was a tad embarrassed

about this to the extent of frustration. He

told us that he experienced similar frustration

when they were taking photos for his driver’s

licence. They said he was not allowed to drive

with his eyes closed so he needed them to be

open in the photo. Even worse came time for

high school prom photos. Well I say no more.

We managed to get a couple of photos after

twenty or so attempts of Logan with his eyes

as half open slits which would have to do.

Due to this delay a subsequent demonstration

on dressing out and autopsy was carried out

under torch light. Logan carried his deer up

the steep hill running on adrenalin I think. We

got it back to camp and decided to take more

photos next day in the daylight when eyes

would be in non blink mode. It was a great

hunt and a pleasure to be with Logan when he

shot his first animal.

GIsBOrne hunTs 2010 B y M i k e S p r a y

The HUNTS course trainees

MSC ARTICLE

Logan processing his deer

Lyn carries out her deer

Lyn and Ashley making venison mince

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STORY

TwO TrOphIes In One TrIpB y R o n P o s k i t t , N o r t h C a n t e r b u r y B r a n c h

Now retirement age has hit, you’ll notice us older fellows do a lot of reminiscing, yet we still potter around the hills with the odd success. But, there’s nothing like those hard trips where great amounts of energy were used with inferior gear compared to today. One such hunt I went on was with an icon of the North Canterbury NZDA who I met many years ago on search and rescue exploits around Canterbury; the one and only Zeff Veronese who became a very good but competitive friend. On this occasion he had a contact at Mt Creighton on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and so was born a hunt for the Fallow stags in their rut.

We drove down on 16th April 1991 with a trailer attached carrying my two trail bikes, an AG175 and a Honda 125, the laugh being that Zeff had never ridden a motor cycle. On arrival a practice run was first on the menu, oh for a video camera. As he puttered around the moderately flat paddock there were legs and arms going everywhere, his eyeballs were stuck out like dog’s balls and Italian expletives vented the air between a fall or two until he got the hang of it. He was one determined character, so we loaded up and left the next morning.

The going was on a 4 x 4 track with real steep pinches, eventually going round to a beautiful small lake that had a picturesque hut overlooking it. Zeff was glad to be out of the saddle, quoting with a wry smile on his dial, ‘I must be bloody mad coming on one of these things.’

A night of Alfredo with other Italian delicacies was had, (he’s not a bad cook) followed by an early rise in the morning. Zeff knew the area and so he, being a lot younger, then put the pace on, so covering a lot of high open tussock tops. Nothing for a long time was seen or heard until we approached a ridge overlooking a small valley with intermittent bush. Some time was spent glassing and then the grunt of a buck was heard. Zeff spotted him some 300 yards away over on the opposite face, down a lot lower but standing side on and coughing out that distinct Fallow grunt. A lot of antler was apparent; Zeff carefully lay down, and using his day pack for at rest, he nestled ‘the beast’ (a prototype 7mm x 300 Weatherby), to a comfortable position and squeezed off. A miss, then my backup shot missed too as the animal jumped up a few steps to stand side on again. Zeff felt he went under him, so after making the necessary adjustments, the next shot pole axed him on the spot.

Two fellows got down there as quickly as possible to ascertain his potential, which turned to great pleasure on seeing a rack of well over the 200 DS mark. Photos, then head skinning, followed by a snack, soon saw us on the long journey back, intermittently looking into the little guts and depressions as we went, but not a sign was seen. It was decided the game was nearer to the station so we would move back to the shearers’ quarters for my chance.

On the way back a really steep incline presented itself whereupon Zeff said, ‘I’m not bloody riding up that!’

I went up first and walked back to take his bike up while he went up by ‘hob nail express’. To be fair it was steep and I had trouble keeping the front wheel down; it even gave me a scare when I went near the drop off edge a few times.

Being back at base brought an air of relaxation to my mate, bar an easy ride tomorrow, biking was finished and I would doubt if to this day Zeff has ever been on a bike again.

Good weather stayed with us as we climbed up a side valley the next morning, disturbing goats as we went, deer sign was prevalent in the bush. Seated by some scrub the binoculars scanned the opposite face as the morning sun hit it after a moderate frost. The scene still

STORY

etched in my memory, the game on view was everywhere. Goats of every hue and colour were scattered about in small mobs, the young ones playing chasing and king of the castle on the little knobs. Fallow deer were also present, some twenty in total in four bunches. There were the usual grey/black ones with a few of the menai colouring, much like a Red fawn at birth only with white underneath. Then a beautiful pure white doe was seen. As Zeff said, they are not to be shot and I can understand why. They are a great sight to see, two light timbered bucks were in sight, and as no big boys were in the area we left this tranquil scene.

It was decided to enter the native birch bush to hunt, and as we came up on a flatter open area with a creek bubbling through it, a buck’s grunt was heard, the guttural throat rasps increasing in volume and intensity as we closed the distance. Zeff passed me ‘the beast’ saying quietly, ‘That will make sure he goes down.’

I thought my BAR .308 was enough, but who can argue with this thirty-inch cannon. I went forward on my own and as I ghosted up behind a tree I peered round to see his majesty using his vocal chords to the full extent. Some dozen or so does were in the background looking very uneasy. Silently ‘the beast’ was brought up to bear on his lungs some forty-yards away; he fell at the shot, as I winced at the mighty kick, then Zeff was with me watching the master of the area kick his last.

Another very tidy head DS 214, and if my memory serves me correctly Zeff’s was about DS 217. Two happy boys toasted each other that night to our success and a memorable trip.

Ron’s Fallow was taken in native birch. Another very tidy head. (DS 214)

Zeff heard the distinct Fallow grunt before spotting him some 300 yards away (DS 217)

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Our motor cycle ride ended at this picturesque hut overlooking the beautiful Lake Luna (near Queenstown)


BUSH TELEGRAPHARTICLE

Tahr InTeresT GrOupA meeting was held 17 February where DOC gave a run down on their control operations. A heated discussion followed on whether or not bulls were to be targeted by DOC. The department claimed that only mature bulls would not be targeted and this was challenged by several stake holders who were adamant that the agreement was that no bulls (mature or otherwise) should be targeted outside of the national parks.

The question was then asked at what stage a bull became a mature bull. After some robust debate it was decided that there needed to be some clarification on whether it is all bulls or mature bulls only which are to be left.

A claim was then made that there were 80 to 90 bulls left in Mount Cook National Park after DOC’s control operation. DOC then asked, who would clean them up? One of the group said that according to DOC’s own records and permits, those 80 to 90 bulls would have already been taken by live capture, heli-hunting or recreational hunting. It was also noted that there was significant migration into and out of the park by mature bulls.

Tahr Interest Group control management of females and juveniles, 7 – 12 February 2011Area Total

sightingsTotal kills

Landsborough 348 143Karangarua 208 73Mahitahi 33 17Total West Coast 589 233Total East Coast 307 60Two Thumb RangeTotals overall 896 299

Orua Blue DuCk prOTeCTIOn prOjeCTManawatu BranchA recent report in the Manawatu Branch’s newsletter, Ruahine Rumble, indicates that the project is still going strong and that animal numbers being trapped are falling. Some concern was raised around the number of traps (27) which were either set strangely or had got hung up after firing. These traps had the setting loop sitting on the trigger arm which someone possibly did intentionally. As many of the traps as possible were reset. It is great to see that a regular number of volunteers are still actively involved with the project.

BUSH TELEGRAPH

prOseCuTIOn FOr IlleGal hunTInG In CanTerBuryDepartment of Conservation media release, 10 February 2011Thanks to the efforts of some recreational hunters, the Department of Conservation (DOC) has successfully prosecuted a commercial helicopter operator for illegally heli-hunting in a recreational hunting area (RHA).

Last week in the Rangiora District Court, Simon Lawn, Phillip Coll and Ahaura Helicopters Ltd were convicted on all charges for undertaking wild animal recovery operations (WARO) in Lake Sumner Forest Park, North Canterbury.

The two individuals and the company received a total of $3,150 in fines and $2,646 in costs for culling and recovering deer in the Lake Sumner recreational hunting area.

DOC Waimakariri staff received independent reports from two groups of hunters who noted a helicopter being used to shoot and recover deer in the Mackenzie and McMillan catchments in the early morning of the 7 March 2010.

“We hope the successful prosecution sends a strong message to WARO operators that both DOC and recreational hunters are committed to protecting RHAs from illegal WARO activities,” said DOC Waimakariri Area Manager Kingsley Timpson.

“We are very grateful for the detailed information provided by both parties as to the exact time, location, movements and notable features about the helicopter. This has enabled us to lay charges against the two individuals and the company under the 1977 Wild Animal Control Act.”

This is the first successful prosecution of this nature for the Department and is due to the high quality of the information supplied by the hunters.

RHAs are set up so recreational hunters can access and stay in remote areas for the enjoyment and skill of hunting on foot, without suddenly being disturbed by, or competing with, commercial helicopters also after the same animal.

Lake Sumner recreational hunting area is one of eight RHAs in the country set aside in the early 80s solely for recreational hunting. Commercial helicopter operators are not permitted to operate in these areas under their current WARO permit conditions.

According to Kingsley Timpson, it has been hard in the past to enforce these conditions due to the remoteness of RHAs and difficulty in positively identifying alleged offenders.

“We cannot be in all places at all times and are very reliant on the public to be our ‘eyes and ears’ when it comes to noting and reporting illegal activities on public conservation land”.

GaMe BIrD hunTInG seasOn Is alMOsT upOn us.

Experienced hunters will already be keenly counting down the days and preparing for the first Saturday in May – opening day – which is May 7 this year.

But if you’ve never had a go, it’s not too late to give it a shot.

Fish & Game Wellington has all the information for beginners wanting to get started in this classic Kiwi pastime, and we can even point new participants towards potential hunting sites.

Game bird hunting is a traditional and popular pursuit which helps build a range of positive personal attributes, especially connecting people more closely to the outdoors. What’s more, kids love the excitement of being out in the field with their elders and it’s one of the few activities to actively engage them longer than computer games.

Hunters in New Zealand also make a huge contribution to the environment by helping protect, maintain and enhance threatened wildlife habitat and ecosystems that game birds rely on. This has a significant beneficial flow-on effect to all species that live in these unique environments.

Fish & Game carefully manages bird populations to ensure the harvest over the season is entirely sustainable. And of course, hunters have the opportunity to treat their family and friends to healthy, totally free-range, flavoursome food they’ve gathered from the wild.

For more information contact Wellington Fish & Game on Telephone 06 359 0409.

Place 3 ducks in a large pot and cover with water. Add 1 whole onion per duck and cook slowly for 2 – 3 hours.

When cooked remove the ducks from the liquid and allow liquid to cool. Once cooled, remove the fat that will have settled on the top of the liquid.

Remove the duck meat from the bones and shred.

Pour the liquid through a strainer and save. Keep the onions and leave to drain on a paper towel.

Now melt 150 gms of butter in a pot and add ¼ tsp dry mustard, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp mixed herbs, 1½ tsp curry powder, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and 1½ tsp brown sugar.

Then blend in 1 cup of flour and the cooked onions. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1½ - 2 litres of the saved cooking liquid. Return to heat and stir until it boils. Then add 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp sherry and the duck meat. Then bring back to the boil. Great served with mashed winter vegetables or rice.

wal’s DuCks(This is a family recipe that is tried and true).Anne Cocks, Kaikohe

MInIsTerIal release Kate Wilkinson - 17 March 2011

Canada geese protection status changed

The protection status of Canada geese as a

game bird will be changed to allow farmers,

park owners and aviation managers to cull these

birds themselves, Minister of Conservation Kate

Wilkinson announced today.

Canada geese will be removed from Schedule 1 of

the Wildlife Act 1953 and listed on Schedule 5. This

means that Fish & Game will no longer manage the

geese as a hunting resource. A permit will not be

required to shoot them.

‘As the population of Canada geese continues to

increase so does their risk to aviation safety and

the damage they inflict to pasture and crops,’ Ms

Wilkinson says.

‘The current status where the geese populations are

managed as a game bird is not working.

‘Farmers have been getting increasingly frustrated

with these birds fouling pasture and damaging

crops.

‘They also pose an aviation hazard due to their large

size and this change will allow for the birds to be

more effectively controlled where they pose a risk

to aircraft safety.’

Ms Wilkinson says there are tens of thousands of

Canada geese across the country and recreational

hunting opportunities will remain.

‘I expect Fish & Game to continue to work with

landowners to assist with managing populations

around the country.

‘The geese are well established and on top of that

farmers will have an incentive to provide hunting

access to reduce their goose control costs.’

Background

The Canada goose is an introduced game bird

managed by Fish & Game councils for the benefit of

recreational game licence holders.

Species listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Act are

declared to be game. This means the populations

are managed by local Fish & Game councils for

recreational hunting purposes.

Species on Schedule 5 are not protected.

Farmers, urban park managers and those

responsible for aviation safety advise that current

Canada geese management is not adequately

meeting their needs.

In 1995 the South Island Canada Goose

Management Plan was agreed that set the

maximum population number at 20,350. The

population has remained well above that level and in

2008 was estimated to be 35,000.

Fish & Game councils are independent. Under

the current regime, farmers, park managers, the

aviation sector, and the government have no direct

input to goose management.

Individual landowners can suffer thousands or tens

of thousands of dollars of damage to pasture and

crops from geese in a single year.

Four to five geese will consume the equivalent

amount of grass that a sheep does and this impact

is further compounded by associated fouling.

FrIenDs OF The COBBBy Alec Milne, Golden Bay, amateur ornithologist

‘Friends of Cobb’ are a small group of enthusiastic conservationists who are actively trapping stoats in the Cobb Valley, for the benefit of the area’s iconic birdlife (The Golden Bay Branch of NZDA are also running stoats trap lines which is great.) We have always envisaged an area of intensive pest control near the road end. To this end we have applied for and been granted, funding for an area of intensive rat and possum control running from the bush near the NZDA lodge up to Chaffey’s Stream (ie the forest face on the true right). The abundance of mice means trapping is not an option and feracol (vitamin D) is the most benign toxin suitable. (DOC used feracol in this area two years ago for possum control.) There is no secondary poisoning effect with feracol and it is not persistent. The standard warning with feracol use states venison should not be recovered from areas where feracol has been used and it is only to be used in bait stations. Therefore, unless deer learn to lift the lid and lick out the paste it is hard to envisage any problems. (If this did occur, lids would be modified to ensure deer were excluded.) If members have concerns or are aware of any issues regarding feracol use in hunting areas, please respond to [email protected] and the issue will be raised with the DOC (Takaka).

GaMe BIrD hunTInG - GIve IT a shOT!B y H a m i s h C a r n a c h a n , c o m m u n i c a t i o n s o f f i c e r , N Z F i s h & G a m e


Last March I had the great pleasure of receiving a renewal of an old invitation from Cliff Marshall to accompany him on a trip to his fabulous ‘Jap Valley.’

As for obvious reasons this is a relatively secret spot in the Kaimanawa bush, I will not go into the exact locality details. Suffice to mention that on the appointed day, April 11, Charlie Bins and I met Cliff Marshall and Roy Larritt at Taupo lakeside and proceeded together to Cliff’s ‘Jap Valley‘ camp.

Although a damp morning the afternoon turned fine, and making good time we had the camp nicely fixed up before dark.

The following morning dawned wet, but we arose at 5 am and left for a day in the bush together. We did not go to Jap Valley, however, but during the day’s wanderings in high, beech bush we saw about ten Red deer and two Sika hinds. Lured to his doom by Roy’s big roaring horn, Charlie shot a small 8-pointer Red stag for camp meat.

The Reds, a poor lot of small-bodied animals were roaring quite well this day, but the Sika were silent. Cliff and I made an attempt to photograph a Red stag while Roy, a past-master in the art of calling, kept him working up with his horn. So successful was Roy, that Cliff and I had hardly gone 70 yards stagwards, with our cameras still in their cases, when we were met by the stag coming fast through the bush towards us. We froze while he passed us closely. He ran right up to Roy and Charlie and received such a fright that he took off with such speed that he fouled a tree and turned a somersault.

When we arrived back at camp that night it looked as though the weather was lifting, so we hoped for a fine day on the morrow.

Although there was rain and thunder during the night, daylight saw clear skies and a promise of a good day. As Roy had to leave for home the following day Cliff and he left at daybreak for Jap Valley, while Charlie and I left for a ramble together. After going for some distance we sat on a log. Suddenly there was noise of something behind us and we turned just in time to see a dark Sika stag making off. He did not have a good head.

As we progressed along a Red hind barked, and later we saw a Red hind standing under a leaning tree where we left her unmolested. Further along we saw another hind and then a Red stag. Then I stalked and photographed a Red stag as he lay in his form chewing his cud. I had to follow him for quite some time, often only about 20 feet off, before he laid down in a suitable spot where the light was sufficient to get a correct exposure even for the fast Tri-X film, so dark was the floor of the forest.

The exposure of l/25th at f4.5 was later found to be good, but the distance to the stag was too far. It was interesting to see his reactions when he heard the camera.

We later saw two more Red deer, and I heard a pheasant ‘curking’ in the distance, alarmed no doubt by a passing deer. The Red stags were roaring well in the morning, some roared all day; but we heard no Sika.

We arrived back at camp a little earlier than Roy and Cliff who brought back four Sika heads and a skin. They had, it appeared, a great day in Jap Valley. Roy had to take off his boots and stalk in his socks in order to get his 6-pointer. In sandals Cliff had skilfully stalked and shot two 8-pointers. One was of the small variety,

the shoulder height being thirty-three inches; and the other the large type, the shoulder height being thirty-eight inches. With this head he won the Waikato Branch Jap competition and the Humphrey Trophy.

The skin from this stag was a Red type with light spots – a typical Manchurian Sika. The other head Cliff carried to camp was one of those ‘motor-bike’ mutations.

Next morning dawned foggy and wet, and we bade cheerio to Roy as he struggled out to his car under a ninety-two pound load of skin, horn, meat and equipment. It was decided to give Jap Valley a rest, so Cliff went out on his own while Charlie and I took off in another direction.

When about a mile from the camp we heard the first Sika whistle of the season. After a long spell we heard it again, but then a Red hind and fawn dashed off with prolonged barking which spoilt our chances. A little further on we came across some little pigs. I tried to take a photo of them but one ran into me and the whole sounder bolted, jumping a nearby hind and fawn in their noisy flight. Far behind us a Sika bugled twice, but although we back-peddled he wouldn’t play.

We returned back to camp after seeing about nine more Red deer and hearing another Sika stag whistle away to our rear. Cliff arrived shortly after. He had shot a Red deer or two and had explored some more country.

We arose early the next morning, and despite the rain Cliff decided to take us off to Jap Valley. After quite a hike we eventually topped a saddle, and Cliff waved his hand towards a valley that spread before us. ‘Jap Valley,’ he said, as he cupped his hands about his mouth and gave his famous whistle-roar.

Immediately from about 150 yards ahead of us came the answering call “Meee-ooo-rrr.”

It was decided that I should take this beast, so I cautiously made towards the spot and waited. Soon I saw a Sika hind, followed closely by the stag, working through the pepperwood. The hind passed through a gap between big beech trees about forty yards away, and knowing that the stag would be following close I aimed the rifle in that direction. The stag appeared, showing 4-points on my side, and bringing the sights on his chest I quickly pulled the trigger.

As the bullet struck home he gave a jump and bolted, and I immediately raced after him to find him dead about 50 yards beyond. In the process I twisted my left foot severely—the first time I have hurt myself in nearly 20 years of deerstalking. Unfortunately, too, the stag’s right antler had only 2-points.

As we went further into the valley we saw many Sika stags and hinds, the stags answering Cliff’s calls from every quarter. We went carefully from one to another until Cliff indicated a fine stag, apparently an 8-pointer, and motioned for Charlie to take the shot. It was one of those difficult shots, and I was not surprised when Charlie missed.

After a bit we saw this buck again, and I got in a hurried shot at about 70 yards as he turned to go. He disappeared from view as I fired, but my two companions said I had scored a hit. I followed as hard as I could with my sprained ankle, and just managed to catch sight of him and put in a shot at 40 yards as he was going over a mound. Down he went with a hit in the hindquarters, but just managed to pull out of sight with the aid of his front legs. We trailed him for some distance but all to no avail.

Hardly had we got going again when Cliff spotted a great stag with three on each top looking our way. I have no doubt at all that he could have raised his rifle and shot what was probably a world-class Sika head but instead, with the

sportsmanship so typical of this man, he turned and motioned to Charlie to take the shot.

Unfortunately, before Charlie could get into position to see the stag it had vanished with the ghost-like ability so characteristic of the Sika. There can be no doubt about it, these Sika stags in prime make a Red stag seem a fool.

Soon we ran out of the herd, so we stopped and had lunch beside a stream before returning. One roared only, something like a Red (no whistle) so I wished to see him. He proved to be a typical black faced little fellow, so we left him standing and no doubt wondering what he saw.

The time was now getting on, so we made our way back to the saddle near which Cliff shot an 8-pointer which proved to be too young for a good trophy. Just how many deer we saw that day I haven’t a clue, but it was as Cliff had told me, there were no Reds in Jap Valley. In the course of our long bush ramblings we disturbed both species, but it was easy to tell the two apart. When it was Reds, we saw their yellow patches disappearing; when it was Sika their bobbing ‘fannies’ were snow-white, for they lift the hairs of the white part into a dish-sized circle when disturbed. At no time did we find Reds and Sika together, for they each formed into their own little groups.

The next day, April 16th, dawned fine, and Cliff left early for Jap Valley to take photographs. As my foot was swollen and painful, I stayed in camp and cleaned up the skulls of Cliff’s two Sika heads. Later I left for a ramble on my own, finding my way to a little clearing where I found six cast antlers—two from Sika. No doubt many more could be found there.

On returning back to camp I found that Cliff had arrived before me with two more Sika heads. One was another ‘motor-bike’ variety, this time complete with hand-grips! The other head was much better and won for Cliff a second place in the Waikato Branch NZDA competition. Unfortunately the head missed the right trey

tine, and the left trey was almost incorporated in the tops - a common characteristic of the Sika.

Although we were supposed to return the following day, we decided to leave camp at daybreak for another trip to Jap Valley. There we found the herd had moved further away and were more cautious. However, after a

while Cliff got them bugling. While he was taking a photo of a young buck from 50 yards back I saw a 7-pointer spying on him while he focussed his camera. Then a good bugler close-by had Charlie stalking in his socks, his boots in the bag. However, the buck came up very close to him on the lee side in thick pepperwood, winded him and bolted, but not before Charlie had spotted his 3-point top!

We continued on, by-passing a small dark coloured young buck which stood and looked at us as we passed (so foolish at that age), until we came close to two bugling bucks. As I started to stalk them a doe got in my way, but Cliff kept her interested while I worked back and around to work into the wind to get closer to the further stag. As he had the innertop missing I left him and was coming, back, to see the other when I met him and the doe making off. I thought the head not up to standard so let him go too.

On returning back to Cliff he told me he thought he saw three on top and advised me to have a further look. I duly, took off, and when within a short distance of the two animals the doe got in my way, forcing me to take refuge behind a konini tree. Here she unknowingly kept me stranded while Cliff and Charlie, seeing my predicament, skirted around and gave Charlie an opportunity of dropping the stag from across the creek.

It was an 8-point head, but unfortunately it had a brow tine missing. However, seeing that it was Charlie’s first Sika head we persuaded him to take it home. He eventually won second place with it at the Auckland Branch of the Deerstalkers’ Association competition.

Proceeding further down the valley we heard another good bugle.

Cliff kept him interested while I circled in; only to have a very tricky wind give me away when I was very close. Later we saw several does, also I caught sight of a dark young 6-pointer; but only a glimpse of a dark red body and a black and white stern.

We reached camp that night just as the sun was setting in all its golden glory, flooding the beautiful wild valley with a molten mist. So, too, was the sun setting on our stalk, for this was our last day in Jap Valley.

To think it over now brings back nostalgic memories - of the smell of the forest; the tinkle of the bush streams; the roar of the waterfall; the chorus of bird song; and the telegraph-pole sized beech trees displacing old manuka - an ever expanding forest. And lastly, of companions staunch and true!

jap valleyB y N o r m a n D o u g l a s , ( f o u n d e r o f t h e D o u g l a s S c o r e s y s t e m )

O r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n N Z D A ’ s a n n u a l p u b l i c a t i o n ‘ T h e R o a r ’ , V o l 3 , M a r c h 1 9 5 7

BLAST FROM THE PAST

The story of a hunt in a secret valley where the Jap still holds its own. The other members of the hunting party with their trophies

Norman Douglas with his Sika stag


GrannIe OlIve’s

reCIpesEels (a recipe I inherited from my mother). They taste much like whitebait.

My father would catch the eel then skin, gut and chop it into pieces before giving it to my mother to cook.

She would put the pieces of eel into a pot, cover it with water and put the pot on the back of the stove to cook slowly. When the eels were cooked, the pot was put on the kitchen sink bench to cool overnight. Next morning using two forks she would remove the cooked flesh from the bones.

Mother would then roll the eel flesh into a ready made egg batter, add a dash of salt and fry as you would any other fritter.

The Kapiti Coast Meats butcher, (Stuart, who is also a hunter) says he always puts the eel bones into a pot and covers them with water to make a soup. He throws in anything else, ie carrots, veges etc. This would be very healthy too.

Stuart is going to get me two eels in due course and I will experiment with the eel soup and let you know the recipe that comes to the fore.

Deer kIDneysHave the frying pan sizzling hot with oil, butter or fat.

Finely slice the kidneys and place into pan with a dash of salt and black pepper.

Cook one side for a few seconds, then turn over, moving the kidney slices around the pan so as not to stick.

Serve and eat at once.

This recipe will also work for deer heart and liver.

Back at home I stuff hearts with traditional stuffing and slowly bake in the oven keeping the lid on the roasting dish until cooked.

Good cooking Grannie Olive

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

THE STALkERS’ TABLE

N E L S O N B R A N C H 2 0 1 0 S W A Z I S H O O TThe Nelson Branch ran its Swazi shoot at the end

of last year and put almost thirty young shooters,

(male and female) through their paces. The shoot

entailed 20 rounds at 100 metres using deer targets with

firing from prone, sitting and standing positions. A shoot off was required

to confirm that female shooters can more than hold their own.

SWAZI JUNIOR SHOOTS

Orders & payment should be posted to:NZDA, PO Box 6514, Marion Square, Wellington, 6141Under the terms of the Privacy Act 1993, I acknowledge that you are retaining my name for the purpose of mailing further information on NZDA and related matters.

FundraiserNZDA has produced 100 Limited Edition B&W Unframed Prints (to Fit a 16” X 20” frame with matting board) Money raised from the sale of prints will be managed by the National Association to provide funds for research projects. NZDA has commissioned further prints in this big game series, which will also be available as limited editions. The original pencil drawings were created by Wellington artist, Alan Patterson.

Please send me ___ prints @ $75.00 each including post & packaging

I have enclosed my cheque for $ _____________________

Name: _________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________

Email: _________________________________

Phone: _____________________________

Call 03 688 2126 Visit www.targetproducts.co.nz

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Editor’s note:

While many game food harvesters may eat the heart, liver and kidneys, the NZ Food Safety Authority’s advice on eating offal is:

‘The heart is usually safe to eat. Never eat the liver or kidneys and don’t feed them to your pets. These organs filter poisons from the body and concentrate them. These poisons may make you very sick or could kill your dog if you use them for dog tucker.’

R O T O R U A B R A N C H S W A Z I S H O O T A U G U S T 1 8 T H 2 0 1 0On a cold wet totally miserable afternoon, six young men and their dads

turned up for our annual Swazi shoot. Placings: Grant Piper 1st; Mitchel

Peterson 2nd; Cameron Slade 3rd; Josh Lee 4th. Grant and Mitchel received

Swazi prizes. The two younger ones had their day also; Cameron Russell

shot the highest score for the day and his mate Patrick put up a credible

performance also.


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John with his ‘light box’ and camera recording the glass slides

Some time ago, when David Hodder was on the national executive he brought the John (Jack) Forbes’ photographic glass slide collection to Wellington. This came about after a Mr E W Atkinson of Rangiora prevailed upon his Uncle, Mr Frank Eade who received the slides after the death of John Forbes, to let him have the slides so that they could be delivered into a safe haven.

The collection of 320 slides date from C 1912, come in fifteen different sizes and are an irreplaceable and valuable historic record of the history of deerstalking in New Zealand. The slides depict mountain scenes, campsites and magnificent trophy heads; but one slide that caught my eye was that of a live stag with its antlers caught in a flax bush. Some of the slides are in a stereo format. Despite their age they are in very good condition, but being only one millimetre thick glass, are very fragile and will

not stand too much handling.

John Forbes of Christchurch was one of our greatest deerstalkers, (as told in Graeme Robson’s book, Following the Sons of Invermark (2008)). It is understood that Forbes was a representative for Healings, the cycle wholesalers and each year he took extended leave to hunt for his trophies in the wild country of Otago and Westland amongst the wild herd of British indigenous Red deer gifted to the Otago Province by the Earl of Dalhousie in 1870 from his estate in Invermark.

During 2010 I volunteered to become a ‘cataloguer’ for the NZDA Heritage Trust and one of my first tasks was to find a away to digitize the Forbes’ collection. Unfortunately the trust does not have a ‘magic lantern’ to be able to

show the slides, so digitizing is our only option. Every now and again a ‘magic lantern’ does become available on the internet auctions but sell for a few thousand dollars.

Trying to find ways to record the slides was not an easy task, however after a lot of trial and error I found a suitable solution. By making a ‘light box’ and placing a slide onto it I am able to photograph the slide with a digital camera and download the photo to a computer. Once the work has been completed the photos will then be burnt onto a CD or DVD.

I consider it a privilege to be able to work with our heritage and to help to make our history more available to our future deerstalkers.

The boxes that the slides arrived in

An example of an original slide The result of a slide after digitizing. Photo taken by John Forbes of a 19-point Red shot by Archie Kitto, C 1920, (possibly the Hunter Valley)

jOhn FOrBes phOTOGraphIC Glass slIDe COlleCTIOnB y J o h n R i l e y

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PLACES TO HUNT

FeaTures:

A total area of approximately 347,000 hectares of conservation estate is currently available for open hunting in Otago, and many other areas are available for restricted hunting. In addition, more conservation areas will become available as new conservation lands are gazetted through the ongoing Pastoral Lease Tenure Review process. Wild animal populations in Otago are generally at low to moderate levels. This is largely the result of extensive commercial helicopter hunting for deer, chamois and tahr, particularly in the western mountains. In addition, the department has undertaken sustained goat control in all areas since 1990 and maintains a tahr buffer zone

between the Haast Highway and the Fiordland National Park. Regardless of overall levels, however, good localised hunting opportunities exist among many diverse landscapes.

hunTInG In MOunT aspIrInG naTIOnal park - wakaTIpu area:

All of the following areas are part of Mt Aspiring National Park, and are administered from the Wakatipu Area Office: phone 03 442, 7933 fax 03 442 7932; Cavells Building, 1 Arthurs Point Road, Queenstown 9371 or P O Box 811, Queenstown 9348.

Beans Burn and Rock Burn:

Takes in the Beans Burn and Rock Burn catchments, and is bordered by the Dart River and the Humboldt Mountains north to Poseidon (2208m), Niobe (2204m) and Tantalus Peak (1951m). Comprises beech forested valleys and terraces with subalpine and alpine vegetation on the tops. Although there is no hut in the Beans Burn there is a rock bivvy near First Flat. Access to the Beans Burn is usually via the Routeburn-Kinloch Road to Weka Flat, then by track to Lake Sylvan and continuing north through open beech terraces along the Dart to the Rock Burn. There is a four bunk hut with mattresses and heating at the mouth of the Rock Burn, Topo50 map

sheet CB10, E1228149, N5042941 (also known as McIntyres). A bridge crosses an impressive canyon above the hut. From here, sidle the hill and follow the Dart River to the Beans Burn. Alternatively, Dart River Safaris operate a jet boat service up the Dart in the summer. This would eliminate any river crossings and they can drop you at the mouth of the Beans Burn.

No hunting is allowed in the area bordered by the Dart River, the Route Burn and Lake Sylvan due to it being a high use area by trampers.

The Rock Burn can be popular with trampers as an alternative from the Routeburn, with routes leading from the Rock Burn to the North Routeburn, the Olivine River, and the Beans Burn. Animal numbers, vegetation and terrain are similar to those in the Beans Burn. Like many of the valleys in Mt Aspiring National Park there are large boulders and rock overhangs that can be used as shelters. Access to the Rock Burn is via the Routeburn-Kinloch Road to either the beginning of the Lake Sylvan track or to the Routeburn day shelter and over Sugarloaf Pass.

Routeburn North Branch:

No hunting is allowed in the main Routeburn Valley as it is a high use tramping area. The rifle bolt must be removed while in the main Routeburn Valley.

The North Branch is dotted with huge bluffs, particularly on the true left. Access is via the Routeburn-Kinloch Road to the Routeburn shelter. From there, take the Routeburn track to the Routeburn Flat hut (sleeps 20) where

the North Branch joins the Routeburn.

Rees Valley:

This includes land within MANP, from Lennox Falls to Black Peak, along the tops of the Forbes Mountains to Mt Cunningham, then down the park boundary beside the Rees River. It includes the Hunter Creek catchment. Much of the area is subalpine and alpine vegetation and terrain. Beech forest is confined to the lower slopes of Hunter Creek and Cattle Slip faces, alongside the Rees River. Access is via the Rees Valley Road to the Muddy Creek car park. The Rees Track provides access up the valley. Huts in the area include Earnslaw Hut, Topo50 map sheet CA10, E1238883, N5048944 (‘basic’ hut sleeps 4/heating) near Lennox Creek, with a rock bivvy further upstream.

Upper Dart:

This area takes in the Upper Dart catchment and valley north of Daleys Flat Hut, up to Mt Ansted and Cascade Saddle, and across to the tops of the Barrier Range. Beech forest is confined to the terraces and lower slopes in the mid-section of the valley, with the catchment head predominantly sub-alpine and alpine vegetation. The Dart Track follows the Dart River and crosses into the Rees from above Dart Hut. Another route provides access via Cascade Saddle into the West Matukituki. The area is popular with trampers taking in the Dart-Rees circuit. Dart Hut, Topo50 map sheet CA10, E1246716, N5060574 (sleeps 32, heating and mattresses), is at the foot of Mt Cunningham and Daleys Flat Hut, Topo50 map sheet CA10, E1232582, N5056824 (sleeps 20,

heating and mattresses supplied) is midway up the Dart valley. Access is by air, jet boat or on foot up the Dart Valley.

Arawhata:

This is a very large area taking in part of the Arawhata catchment that lies within Mt Aspiring National Park. It includes the Joe River, the Five Fingers Range, and the Olivine Range. As well as the major peaks and alpine zone, terrain includes some very large grassy flats. Most of the area lies within the Wilderness Zone, and as such there are no huts, tracks or bridges and no aircraft landings are permitted. As it is on the western side of the main divide it has typical Fiordland/West Coast weather and vegetation. Hunters are asked to report any tahr sightings in this area as it is part of the southern exclusion zone, a buffer zone protecting Fiordland National Park from tahr ingress.

Barrier:

This is mountainous terrain in the western reaches of Mt Aspiring National Park, bordered by the Barrier Range and the Olivine Range in the east and includes the Forgotten River and the headwaters of the Barrier and Pyke Rivers. All of the area falls within the Park’s Wilderness Zone. Access can be gained from the eastern side by walking overland for a number of days, or via Te Anau and the Hollyford and Pyke Rivers. There are no huts, tracks or bridges, providing a truly remote experience. This area is also on the western side of the main divide, so experiences Fiordland/West Coast climate and vegetation conditions.

hunTInG In The wakaTIpu reGIOnThe Wakatipu area comprises a large area of Otago’s western mountains. It includes a range of ecosystems, such as the beech forests of Mt Aspiring National Park and the Caples and Greenstone Valleys, the shrublands of the Remarkables and Hector Mountains and the extensive tussock lands of the Richardson Mountains and Shotover district. Hunting areas are spread throughout the Wakatipu region.

Hunting & Fishing New Zealand vouchers

Published stories* in this magazine will now receive Hunting & Fishing New Zealand vouchers to be redeemed at any of their 30 stores throughout the

country from Kaitaia to Invercargill

You can use your voucher to buy the knife you’ve always wanted, to update your outdoor wardrobe, or to bring the price down on a heavy duty purchase.

Note: vouchers cannot be used on purchases of firearms, ammo & licences.

Vouchers - the perfect excuse to visit your outdoor store - again!!

NOTE - we are moving into the 21st century - if possible, please send your stories on disk or email them to the editor. Slides and prints are still preferred over emailed images, to ensure quality reproduction

* Vouchers will not be awarded in sections that offer other prizes eg Beginner’s Luck

Write a story and WIN

hunTInG OuTsIDe MOunT aspIrInG naTIOnal park - wakaTIpu area

Upper Shotover Conservation Area (9356ha):

Takes in the northern Richardson Mountains and includes the headwaters of the Upper Shotover from Mt Bowyang, north along the tops to Mt Ferguson at 2484m, Centaur Peaks at 2525m and Lochnagar at 2542m. On the northern boundary it joins Mt Aspiring National Park near Mt Tindall. The area lies above 1000m and comprises subalpine and alpine vegetation with extensive bluffs. It includes the headwaters of the Glencairn, Sixty-mile and Lochnagar Creeks. Access is mainly by air from the Matukituki Valley, or by foot via the Rees Valley or Branches Station; the latter requires landowner permission. The river valleys are pastoral lease land and no hunting is allowed.

Black Peak Conservation Area (2650 ha):

Covers the northern headwaters of the Shotover River, the Shiel Burn tops and the Polnoon Burn tops. Very mountainous terrain with high peaks, alpine benches and extensive, steep bluffs. Vegetation is alpine and subalpine. Access is generally by air from the north via the Matukituki Valley. Foot access is available via the Leaping Burn (permission required from the owners of Matukituki Station). Foot access to the Shiel Burn and Polnoon Burn tops can be gained through Branches Station in the Shotover Valley (landowner permission required).

Ballarat Creek Conservation Area (600ha):

Adjoins Mt Aurum Recreation Reserve and covers a series of ridges running into Ballarat Creek and the Flood Burn. Ballarat Hut is on a terrace approximately a third of the way up Ballarat Creek, but is an historic hut and not for overnight use. Access is via The Branches

Road to the confluence of the Flood Burn and the Shotover River.

Lower Dart (4600ha):

Covers the broad expanse of the Lower Dart Valley from Bride Peaks and Mt Head down to Mt Earnslaw (2820m) and the mouth of the Beansburn. Terrain and vegetation covers the full montage of snow tussock, red, silver, and mountain beech forest, and sub-alpine and alpine tops. There is a moratorium on shooting whitetail deer between Chinaman’s Bluff and the Earnslaw Burn, and Mt Alfred. There is a 20 bunk hut with heating and mattresses at Daleys Flat, Topo50 map sheet CA10, E1232582, N5056824 in the Dart Valley (hut tickets required). Access to this area is via the Glenorchy-Paradise Road.

The Slip Stream area is adjacent to the lower Dart on the true right and includes Slip Stream and the Cosmos Peaks areas. No access is allowed into this sacred area without a special permit.


Title: Atlas of Rare Birds

Author: Dominic Couzens

Publisher: New Holland, UK

ISBN: 9781847735355

RRP: $69.99

Format: Hardcover, colour pictures, maps and information

Reviewed by: Hilda Frampton

A bird lover would find this book a rich encounter with rarity. Sad to say, humans are the main offenders of this cause. Even if they have been guilty of liberating pests of prey, loss of habitat, diminishing food sources, climate change and black market racketeers all contribute to the ecological disaster that is encroaching into the wildlife kingdom.

However, the real enthusiast will find the comments and photography an eye pleasing pastime. This is a valuable resource of intriguing and sometimes comical behaviours, of the beautiful plumage and the striking companionship with the photographer. There are maps giving the exact distribution of the birds and in a wider comparison to the rest of the world.

The author has seriously consulted history right through to the threat of extinction. Successful trapping and relocation regimes have in many cases prolonged the life and helped some bird species back from the brink, although this can come at a high price, a feather in the cap for the dedicated ornithologists.

This book is a must if you enjoy reading about the rare birds of the earth and appreciate great photography.

BO

Ok

Title: SPOT X - Gamebird Hunting New Zealand

Author: Mark Airey

Publisher: Spot X Publications Ltd

ISBN: 9781877374617

RRP: $44.99

Format: Soft cover, 295mm x 210mm, colour photos and topomaps

Reviewed by: Alby Frampton

Gamebird hunting spots don’t come any easier unless like me and many other enthusiasts you have that private and personal friendship with a farmer or landowner. Browsing through these pages I recognised some well-known locations, but never envisaged the number that is accessible throughout the country. It makes one want to tackle a few more local spots, but having said that, why gallop off to new pastures when you’ve already got a good one?

For a new chum to gamebird hunting, especially outside of ducks I found the information informative and valuable. The research done to put this book together was a great idea and as it’s only the 1st edition so makes you wonder what extras the 2nd edition will cover.

This book provides notes from North Cape to Bluff and the variety of gamebirds are all given mention; where to go and how to get there then X marks the spot.

There is important coverage of firearm safety and the approach to landowners. Not only is this book an investment that should be on the bookshelves of local hunters but also on the shelves of all hunter’s caravans and shooting rigs. Even more so for those who spend a lot of time cruising the islands hunting during the seasons and for those hunters who are retired and still hunting and cruising.

Hunters are not always willing to share good posies and this book has done it for you. – Go get them.

BO

Ok

Title: Best Short Nature Walks in New Zealand

Author: Peter Janssen

Publisher: New Holland

ISBN: 978–1–86966–288-2

Format: 243 x 167mm, 224 pages, soft cover, coloured and black and white photos plus location maps.

Reviewed by: Trevor Dyke

The arrival of Best Short Nature Walks in New Zealand could not have been better timed. Having only moved to Wellington a few months ago I turned to the section that covers the Wellington and Wairarapa region. I soon discovered that there are thirteen walks scattered throughout the region, some of which my wife and I have already visited with our grandchildren. We have already earmarked future walks to do.

There are over 200 walks listed in the book covering the whole of New Zealand. Each walk has the point of interest described; graded as easy, medium or hard; how to get to parking area with a description of the road and route; and the time to allow for the walk, based on a leisurely pace. Some useful tips about equipment, shoes, jackets, security, using mobile phones, sandflies, giardia and watching wildlife is also covered.

A general description accompanies each walk and any features along with nature notes so that you can identify some of the country’s flora and fauna. Also some route directions are provided where needed.

Best Short Nature Walks in New Zealand is written in an easy style. Descriptions are brief with information on each walk only taking two or three minutes to read. The size of the book is small enough to keep in the car or place in your day pack to refer to on your walk. I for one will be purchasing a copy to keep in the car.

This book compliments Peter Janssen’s other books, Excellent Short Walks in the North Island and Excellent Short Walks in the South Island and more recently, Touring the Natural Wonders of New Zealand.

BO

Ok

REVIEWS

Call 03 688 2126 Visit www.targetproducts.co.nz

Imported & Distributed by Target Products

SINCE 1876

POETRY

I heard you from my camp one eve

As darkness settled down

I knew that I must hunt you

And gaze upon your crown

You roared at dawn next morning

To challenge for your hinds

And soon the call repeated

By others of your kind

I said that I will stalk you

Through all these forest lands

Where hills and glens can hide you

From Haast up to the Franz

I chased you over river flats

Or waited in the snow

You always had the next move planned

And knew just where to go

Through glasses I have watched you

When a distant shot was heard

You ran your does to safety

Proud guardian of the herd

Sometimes I give up with despair

You seem to outwit man

And then I see you in a gorge

On shale or shingle fan

I’ve seen you in near summer

In early sunny dawn

Just browsing midst the tussocks

Or watching playful fawn

You seem to know just where to graze

Or where the grass is green

A patch of sweet snow lichen

By the shady mountain stream

And when the God’s are angry

The lightning rips and jags

You stand high on the ramparts

‘Defiance from the crags’

For days on end I’ve missed you

When other stags have run

I hope you are no victim

Of an airborne hunter’s gun

But now my time is getting short

I’ll have to hitch my pack

I hope the Gods protect you

For next year I’ll be back

So if you think you’ve beaten me

This seems to be your right

You’ll know that you were close to me

I had you in my sights

I pray that if somewhere, sometime

I hear your mating call

I hope the monarch that you are

You never have to fall

‘sTaG rOyal’By the late Bill Ross, an old West Coaster


POINTS OF ENVY

wInnInG heaDs FrOM The 2010 COMpeTITIOns

Three heads will

feature in each of

the next issues of

NZ Hunting and Wildlife.

ClIFF Marshall MeMOrIal TrOphy – sIka DeerW i n n e r : D i o n P a t t e r s o n , W a i k a t o B r a n c h . D S : 1 6 0 ¾

We tramped for several hours into the Waimarino, then dropped our overnight gear to continue hunting. Around midday I gave a roar and was answered by

the Sika stag which then proceeded to crash in.

MCCOnaChIe shIelD – ChaMOIsW i n n e r : V e r n P e a r s o n , T a u p o B r a n c h . D S : 2 7

I spotted a chamois through breaks in the fog and tried a shot at 360 metres and to my surprise got it. When I got to it I discovered that the chamois was

bigger than I thought making me very happy.

The seDDOn shIelD – russIa DeerW i n n e r : D a v i d C o o m b e , T h a n e s v a l l e y B r a n c h . D S 1 6 7 ¼

TrevOr Chappell TrOphy – wIlD sheepW i n n e r : J i m m y S h a n d , N o r t h O t a g o B r a n c h . D S 7 8 ½

While hunting down Dogs Den Bush I spotted the ram on a bluff about 250 metres up from the river. I managed to get within 150 metres to take him.


January 2011Sunday Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday

30

nra northland Champs, Whangarei.nZda north island. Benchrest, Kaitoke.

31

nZda north islandBenchrest, Kaitoke.

1new year’s day

nZCT new year Shoot, rotorua.Mountains to the Sea art exhibition, nelson starts.

2

nZCT new year Shoot, rotorua. Kid’s Fishing day, hauhora. nra Southern hawke’s Bay Championships, Cheltenham.

3 4new year’s holiday

5 6 7 8

WSra Service Challenge, Trentham.nra 300m nationals, Trentham/Seddon.

9

Kaikohe a&P Show.Charles upham Memorial Shoot, Masterton. nra 300m nationals, Trentham/Seddon.

10

Charles upham Memorial Shoot, Trentham.WSra Service Challenge, Trentham.

11

nra teams north/South islands, Trentham

12

last day payment haast block system, 4pm.nra Champs, Trentham.

13

nra Champs, Trentham

14


15

unclaimed haast blocks available from 9am, 03 750 0809. nra Champs, Trentham.

16

Taranaki a&P Show. Paeroa a&P Show. Wairoa a&P Show.

17

Castlepoint Fishing Competition.Taranaki a&P Show.Wairoa a&P Show.

18

Southland anniversary

19

nra oceania Games, Trentham

20

nra oceania Games, Trentham

21 22

23

dargaville hunting, Shooting & Fishing Show, Kaipara.Tauranga a&P Show.horowhenua a&P Show.

24

Tauranga a&P Show.horowhenua a&P Show.

25

Wellington anniversary

26 27

28 29

nZda north island. Benchrest, Kaitoke

the way it used to be... The combatants photographed by Fred Gillespie

2011 Calendar

Please send me ________ ‘the way it used to be...’ heritage A4 sepia tone

calendar(s) @ $7.50 each including post & packaging

I have enclosed my cheque for $ ________________

Name: ______________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________

Email: _______________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________

ORDERS & PAYMENT SHOULD BE POSTED TO:NZDA, PO Box 6514, Marion Square, Wellington, 6141UNDER THE TERMS OF THE PRIVACY ACT 1993, I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE RETAINING MY NAME FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAILING FURTHER INFORMATION ON NZDA AND RELATED MATTERS.

the way it used to be... NZDA 2011 Calendar

. . . historical photographs from the

glory days of hunting, featuring old

huts, dated camp scenes, bringing

home the trophies by horse pack, big

Red stags, Wapiti bulls and memories

of the 1975 ‘Save our tahr campaign’.

Features NZDA, sporting clay and

NZSR championship shooting dates,

militaria auctions, pig hunts, A&P

shows, hunting ballot dates, national

competition close off dates, and most

important WORLD RUGBY CUP MATCH

SCHEDULES.

January 2011Sunday Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday

30

nra northland

Champs, Whangarei.

nZda north island.

Benchrest, Kaitoke.

31

nZda north island

Benchrest, Kaitoke.

1new year’s day

nZCT new year Shoot,

rotorua.Mountains to the Sea art

exhibition, nelson starts.

2

nZCT new year Shoot,

rotorua. Kid’s Fishing day, hauhora.

nra Southern hawke’s Bay

Championships, Cheltenham.

3 4new year’s holiday

5 6 7 8

WSra Service

Challenge, Trentham.

nra 300m nationals,

Trentham/Seddon.

9

Kaikohe a&P Show.

Charles upham Memorial

Shoot, Masterton.

nra 300m nationals,

Trentham/Seddon.

10

Charles upham Memorial

Shoot, Trentham.

WSra Service Challenge,

Trentham.

11

nra teams north/South

islands, Trentham

12

last day payment haast

block system, 4pm.

nra Champs, Trentham.

13


14


15

unclaimed haast blocks

available from 9am,

03 750 0809.

nra Champs, Trentham.

16

Taranaki a&P Show.

Paeroa a&P Show.

Wairoa a&P Show.

17

Castlepoint Fishing

Competition.

Taranaki a&P Show.

Wairoa a&P Show.

18

Southland anniversary

19

nra oceania Games,

Trentham

20

nra oceania Games,

Trentham

21 22

23

dargaville hunting, Shooting

& Fishing Show, Kaipara.

Tauranga a&P Show.

horowhenua a&P Show.

24

Tauranga a&P Show.

horowhenua a&P Show.

25

Wellington anniversary

26 27

28 29

nZda north island.

Benchrest, Kaitoke

nOrTh IslanD BenChresT ChaMpIOnshIps - january 2011B y P e t e r H a x e l l , A u c k l a n d B r a n c h

ON TARGET

North Island Benchrest Championships - January 2011

Competitor Match 1 2 3 4 5 Agg Place Agg Place

105 Peter Haxell LV100 0.287 0.130 0.192 0.175 0.204 0.1976 1 LVGRAND 0.2357 1

LV200 0.470 0.465 0.508 0.845 0.449 0.2737 1

HV100 0.229 0.362 0.366 0.145 0.245 0.2694 1 HVGRAND 0.2998 1

HV200 0.680 0.656 0.520 0.549 0.896 0.3301 1 2GUN 0.2677 1

102 Malcolm Perry LV100 0.347 0.309 0.223 0.238 0.274 0.2782 4 LVGRAND 0.3232 2

LV200 0.455 0.997 0.701 0.541 0.987 0.3681 2

HV100 0.240 0.548 0.266 0.379 0.357 0.3580 4 HVGRAND 0.3644 2

HV200 0.800 0.751 0.648 0.922 0.587 0.3708 2 2GUN 0.3438 2

104 Mike Peacock LV100 0.307 0.277 0.258 0.290 0.190 0.2644 3 LVGRAND 0.3257 3

LV200 0.803 0.795 0.434 0.841 0.996 0.3869 4

HV100 0.422 0.369 0.236 0.383 0.377 0.3574 3 HVGRAND 0.3806 3

HV200 0.861 0.675 0.412 1.373 0.716 0.4037 4 2GUN 0.3531 3

The 2011 North Island Benchrest Championships were hosted by the Hutt Valley Branch on their Kaitoke range over the weekend 28/29/30 January.

Conditions on the Friday were quite nice but after that it was all down hill. Saturday morning was decidedly awful and Malcolm Perry reported trees down on the access road. Fortunately, the farmers amongst us had the appropriate tools to clear the road and the boys’ combined efforts cleared it so we could get to the range. We were greeted with horizontal rain and howling gales. Needless to say, not the best for shooting small groups. In fact, trying

to get a couple of bullets to touch proved an interesting endeavour.

We were joined by four new shooters, two from the outskirts of Wellington who shot both the 200 yardages. Another drove down from Palmerston North to have a look at what we do and came equipped with a very nice .222 bench rifle that was originally owned by Lynn Harris. He shot some of Lynn’s loads which came with the rifle at some 100m targets and did pretty well for a beginner. Hopefully the seed has been sown. Many thanks to those who made the effort to attend.

Sincere thanks to Maurice Subritzky for organising the shoot and his wife Margaret for the nice roast dinner on Sunday night. Thanks also to the target crew who did a wonderful job on the 200m yardages with not one mistake.

Many thanks also to Malcolm for staying on-site to look after our gear and play security guard. I speak for everyone in saying that it was very much appreciated.

2011 CALENDARS NOW $7.50ea


AJ Productions .................................................................................23

Animal Skin Tanning Services Ltd ................................... 48

Barnaul ..................................................................................................29

Great Lake Tannery & Expiditer ......................................... 12

Gunworks Canterbury ............................................................... 39

Hunting & Fishing NZ ....................................................... 27, 40

Kilwell Sports Ltd ............................ 19, Inside Back Cover

Lecia, Lacklands Ltd ................................................................. 27

Lowa ........................................................................................................ 31

Mana Charters ............................................................................... 12

Nicholas Taylor, Barrister ....................................................... 48

NZ Ammunition Company ...................................................... 39

NZ Deerstalkers’ Association ..................................... 13, 36

New Zealand Police .............................................................. 8, 14

Steve Barclay Taxidermy ............................................................. 9

Swazi Apparel .................................................. 37, Back Cover

Target Products (1978) Ltd .......................................... 37, 43

‘Wapiti Bull’ limited edition print offer .......................... 36

Zeiss ................................................................. Inside Front Cover

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NZ Hunting & Wildlife 172 - Autumn 2011 48

New Zealand Hunting & Wildlife | 172 - Autumn 2011

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