Rod and rifle new zealand TruePDF march april 2019

The biggest hurdle can be the snow levels; it’s often hard to judge what they’ll be like, but I find the best strategy is to look at some alpine webcams in the area you’re planning on go

ROD& 2019 ROAR TECHNIQUES: RIFLE RED - SIKA - FALLOW

JACK'S

18-POINT MONSTER

RED

WE TEST THE LATEST GEAR:

| Tika T1x | Beretta A400 Xtreme + | Sig Sauer BDX |

| Athlon Ares 10x42 Binoculars | | Vortex Viper Gen 2, 4-15 X 44 | Bakewell Burner Base Camper |

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Roaring Techniques

Hunting Sika Stags in the Roar by Tommy Montaperto 44

How Much is Your Venison Worth? by Tracy Anderson 48

Best Bullets by John Herbert & other writers. (Refer above right) 57

One Hell of a Hind by Amber Shine, (The Wild Twins) 68

TESTFIRES & REVIEWS

PART 1:

HEAD AND NECK SHOTS

By Dave Benfell 40

NEW SERIES How to

By Martin Robertson

ROARING TECHNIQUES

By Dave Benfell, Howard Egan & Josh Cairns

"How much do genetics,

luck and management

affect your hunting

experience?"

"When floating down a river, your approach is often unnoticed due to river noise "

Why would you want to consider CNS shots on deer? Find out here

THIS MONTH'S COVER:

Jack Gould and his monster 18-point red stag

Genetics Management & Luck

RED

WE TEST THE LATEST GEAR:

| Tika T1x | Beretta A400 Xtreme + | Sig Sauer BDX |

| Athlon Ares 10x42 Binoculars | | Vortex Viper Gen 2, 4-15 X 44 | Bakewell Burner Base Camper |

ISSUE 2 VOL 40 MAR / APR 2019

$9.90 (incl GST)

WHICH BULLET?

OUR WRITERS' FAVOURITE

HEAD & NECK SHOT PLACEMENT HOW MUCH IS YOUR VENISON WORTH? PACKRAFT HUNTING THE WILD TWINS: FIELD TO PLATE

By Jared Hearsey

74

FISHING GUIDE FOR MARCH/

APRIL

72

FISH

"Here at NZ Rod&Rifle,

we’re always happy to

share our knowledge;

to this end here are

some of our staff’s

favourite bullets "

In this article Jared runs through the process

he takes to customise a load for a specific rifle.

"If you’re not getting out for a trout fish in March and April, you’re missing

a whole heap of fun."

Regulars

Ed’s Letter 06

Books: Home from the Homer

SERIES: Scoping Out New Hunting Areas

NEW SERIES: Shot Placement

SERIES: Hunting Legends by Kevin J Whitelaw

The Remarkable Lady Stalker: Ethne Herrick - Part 2 62

SERIES: NZ Rod&Rifle Regional Fishing Guide

COMPETITION: Buck Knives Competition 106

COMPETITION: Entry form for Swarovski scope 112

SUBSCRIBE OR SHOP & Get Delivered to Your Door! 113

Feature

By Jack Gauld

FISH

By John Herbert, Dave

Benfell, Henry Wills,

Jeremy Hanaray, Anto

Hall & Jean-Paul Klaus

SUBSCRIBE PG 113 OR:

www.rodandrifle.co.nz (07) 544 2267 rodandrifle@realcreative.co.nz

PO Box 8187, Cherrywood, Tauranga, New Zealand 3145 www.facebook.com/rodandrifle www.rodandrifle.co.nz

PUBLISHER

Real Creative Media Limited

EDITOR

Dave Benfell editor@realcreative.co.nz

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kevin Power P: 07 544 2267 M:027 229 9968 kevin@realcreative.co.nz

THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS

John Herbert, Dave Benfell Kevin J Whitelaw, Jack Gauld, Willis Macbeth, Gary Girven, Jeremy Hanaray, Kevin Power, Martin Robertson, Howard Egan, Josh Cairns, Tommy Montaperto, Tracy Anderson, Cody Becker, Anto Hall, Jean-Paul Klaus, Henry Wills, Amber Shine, Jared Hearsey, Craig O'Neill

DESIGN & PRODUCTION

Clare Power Real Creative Media Ltd

PROOFING

Joy Hillman

ADVERTISING

Kevin Power Real Creative Media Ltd (027) 22 999 68

DISTRIBUTION

Gordon & Gotch P: (09) 379 3100 ISSN 0111-1353

Published by Real Creative Media Limited.

We welcome features on hunting and fishing Please go to www.rodandrifle.co.nz/guidlines for article guidelines and information.

The act of sending images and copy or related material shall constitute an express warranty by the contributor that the material is original, exclusive to NZ Rod&Rifle Magazine and in no way an infringement on the rights of others

It gives permission to Real Creative Media Ltd to use in any way we deem appropriate, including but not limited to: NZ Rod&Rifle, on any

of our websites or digital media and in future publications by Real Creative Media Ltd.

Opinions expressed in contributions need not conform to NZ Rod&Rifle’s editorial policy as we wish to provide a vehicle for discussion of different points of view on all things hunting and fishing.

EDITOR’S DESK

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD

Dave Benfell

EDITOR/HUNTER

IT’S GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING YEAR

FOR HUNTER/FIREARMS INTERESTS IN

NZ with the changing political attitudes

combined with a large array of organisations

advocating for us We, as a group of

stakeholders, have reached a position where

there’re many organisations looking after

our interests Advocating for firearms owners

and outdoor enthusiasts are the Game

Animal Council (GAC), the Fiordland Wapiti

Foundation (FWF), the Sika Foundation (SF),

the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners

(COLFO), the New Zealand Deer Stalkers

Association (NZDA) and the newly created

Tahr Foundation (TF) to name but a few We

also have several very large establishments

nationally whose purpose is to promote and

organise competitive shooting Occasionally,

a grouping will spring up – like the Lower

North Island Red Deer Fund – in response to a

particular threat

Although there’s a lot of cross-pollination

in terms of personalities within these

organisations, the challenge seems to be

communication across the board and finding

out where we’re best served by a united front

Is it time that we should consider combining

several of these organisations for ease of

administration and to streamline our efforts

so we can move forward with a more unified

message from our community? Would it not

be relevant for members of the Sika, Wapiti

and Tahr foundations to hold a seat on the

GAC or have at least have some form of

official involvement? I’m not for a second

saying that any of these organisations aren’t doing great work on our behalf – I just believe unity is the way forward long-term

As I see it, the challenge in a lot of these situations isn’t planning for next year or the year after, it’s planning for 20 years and beyond How do we structure an organisation that will serve future generations, so they have access to the same lifestyle we enjoy today? I believe it’s time to build a united organisation built on common interests that pools our resources and allows a streamlining

of funding No easy task, I admit, but one I consider worthy of discussion

There are several articles that stand out for me in this issue including the ‘How Much

is Your Venison Worth?’ piece which is an intriguing glimpse at how much your game animal would cost if you were to purchase the venison at retail prices It’s a conversation I’ve often had when forking out for a helicopter

or after paying for a tank of gas on the way into a hunt … whether the venison brought back offsets the cost Considering that your venison is the equivalent to organic, free-range meat, it provides another fascinating aspect to hunting and gathering your own food

Hot Barrels &

Tight Lines

NEWS

WAR AGAINST CATFISH

FRONTLINE

THE WAR AGAINST CATFISH HAS

NOW REACHED LAKE ROTORUA

after the Bay of Plenty Regional

Council caught six catfish during

pest surveillance work Until then,

Lake Rotoiti held the only known

population of catfish in the Bay of

Plenty.

THE PEST FISH WERE CAUGHT near

Mokoia Island and in the Ōhau Channel

connecting Lake Rotoiti to Lake

Roto-rua as part of the Regional Council’s

comprehensive surveillance programme

Working with Te Arawa Lakes Trust, they

have been battling catfish as part of

the biggest biosecurity programme in

the region since their discovery in Lake

Rotoiti in 2016 A significant amount of

the Council’s biosecurity budget has

been spent on control, surveillance

and research, and now the focus is on

fast-tracking options to prevent the pest

from spreading further

Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Biose-curity team leader Shane Grayling said

he’s devastated by the discovery, but

his team won’t be giving up on trying to

control the pest fish because they’re such

a massive threat

“They’re very aggressive predators;

they eat a variety of prey and are

considered the single biggest threat to

koura and could potentially impact on

our trout fishery through competition

and predation There are also currently

concerns they could impact on water

quality, particularly in Lake Rotorua due

to its shallow nature”, said Mr Grayling

Catfish are not native to New

Zea-land They’re carnivorous nocturnal

bottom feeders who prey on trout and

native fish, and they also lower water

quality by churning up mud They’re

thought to be serial spawners and are

capable of producing more than 6000

eggs yearly Catfish can survive up to

48 hours out of the water, which means

they can be transported over land by

stowing away on boats and trailers or

hiding amongst weeds stuck to motors

and recreational gear

It’s not known yet how the catfish got

into Lake Rotorua, and while it’s likely

Correction

WE DINNAE KIN HOW LUCKY WE ARE

in the last issue, we mentioned that ing your firearms license was part of the NZDA HUNTS course Upon discussion with Jim Peffers, National Co-ordinator NZDA HUNTS programme, we found this is not the case In order to manage expectations, Jim advises that the basic HUNTS course syllabus does not include firearms licencing, and having a firearms

gain-licence is not a pre-requisite of doing the

course However, some NZDA branches do include the firearms licence course as an

add-on to their branch HUNTS course.

Remember to remove all weeds

Not only are some a pest but juvenile catfish also could be hiding in them.

they got there through moving up the through the Ōhau Channel, humans may have given them a helping hand

“They’re known to hitchhike on boat trailers, so as people move between lakes, there’s the potential they’re carrying unwanted organisms with them This means every single lake user needs to

be vigilant and check and clean all boats, trailers and equipment before moving between water bodies”, said Mr Grayling

And if lake users aren’t vigilant, the catfish could spread further – a shocking prospect for our lakes and the species that call them home For this reason, an army of volunteers has united in the fight this summer, working on the frontline in

an operation to educate the public about the problem pest fish

More than 130 volunteers have signed up to the Te Arawa Catfish Killas programme, a community initiative to stop the spread of the fish In a concen-trated effort, the crusade has seen locals trapping fish and spreading the message amongst boaties and lake users in a series of community presentations From boat ramp to boat ramp throughout the region, the word about the catfish war is out Lake users have been urged to take extra care and wipe down vessels before and after use in order to combat the spread of catfish

Education is essential when it comes

to preventing further irreparable damage

to the lake

FactsBROWN BULLHEAD CATFISH

• Introduced to New Zealand in 1877

• Throughout the Waikato River system

• Typically grow 23cm to 30cm in length

• Can lay thousands of eggs

WHAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE

TO STOP THE SPREAD?

• Bay of Plenty Regional Council has netted 53,478 catfish in Lake Rotoiti since March 2016 They’re also funding research

by NIWA and the University of Waikato to find new surveillance methods and eradication tools to stop the spread of the pest.

• The Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Te Arawa Lakes Trust are also working with community groups and locals to raise awareness.

WHILE THE SETTING FOR THIS BOOK

IS FIORDLAND AND ITS INCREDIBLE

WILDERNESS, this isn’t a hunting book;

it does, however, touch on moose and

wapiti hunting as well as acknowledge

our “prince” of hunting guides Jim

Muir and his long-term client, Mr Eddy

Herrick No, Home from the Homer is

a fiction story for younger readers, but

adults may discover it to be a lighter

and fascinating read as well

This Fiordland story is a time-shifting

adventure; it’s quite unlike anything

else folk may have read and there’s

loads of history, nature and outdoor

escapades contained within its pages

The fictional characters entwined in the

story are the Williams family: Mr and Mrs

Wil-liams and their twins, Zoe and Seth, along with

their conservation-trained dog Chester The

remote-an era without telephones or motor vehicles After splitting up, each twin is faced with the task of travelling to Milford Sound on foot through the wild, unknown terrain in an effort

to reunite with their parents; their journeys are mysterious and full of jeopardy

With the transcendence of time, the reader is continually being introduced to a variety of ge-ographical locations and pioneering characters who were synonymous with early Fiordland

As the story progresses, it becomes obvious that Zoe and Seth form mythical friendships with a number of individuals, all

of whom have been meticulously researched

by the author These include legends such as Murray Gunn, Donald Sutherland and Rich-ard Henry who are all accurately portrayed and cleverly incorporated into the story, while a confrontation with Fiordland’s indige-nous “Lost Tribe” and the Haast’s eagle make Zoe’s intrepid journey perhaps a fraction scary for a young 12-year-old reader

For the hunting-minded reader, there are accounts of the successful partnership of Jim Muir and Eddy Herrick as they hunt-

ed for moose, with the expedition to the Seaforth Valley in Dusky Sound being very well described and cleverly slotted into the kaleidoscope of fiction

As the twins perilously trek the bushlands, each seeking the safety of Milford Sound, snippets of Fiordland history are included which makes this tale far more realistic; readers will find that the frequently altered time zone – a constant occurrence throughout the story – simply accentuates the author’s skill as she blends myth and reality The book is further enhanced by illustrations, maps and excellent photographs of the personalities and locations described therein

Zoe and Seth, after being tormented by a variety of hassles, finally overcome the up-side-down duration of time and reach Milford Sound where they re-join the present and their parents The reunification of the family con-cludes what I found to be a refreshingly light, clever and very different read

Reviewed by Kevin J Whitelaw

WWW.RODANDRIFLE.CO.NZ 11

GETTING OUT FOR THE ROAR? If you’re

anything like most of us, you’re already

arguing with your mates about where’s

the best place to try, what to take and

where to set up camp This is precisely

the right thing to do, and it can be a lot

of fun to include anyone who’ll be going

It’ll also help everyone enjoy the trip

more as you can all discuss different

ideas about what to do and where to go

Importantly, this is when you can start

the conversation about goals, who’s

going with whom and how you’ll all keep

in contact once you’re out there Here’s a

few ideas to get you started:

1 Whom are you going with? Is this their

first hunt or are they experienced? Might

they want to share rifles? What’s the walk

in like? Keep your companions in mind;

you may have to pick an easier entry

plan Conversely, if you’re all keen, go for

the gusto on an epic walk in away from

everyone else On the day, talk to your

partners about where you’re going and

what time you’ll link up or move

2 Think about your firearms When

was the last time you had them out

for a shoot? Don’t kid yourself; re-zero

your rifle every year Take your mates

along and add an extra box or two of

the ammunition that your rifle likes Spot

for each other Write down the drops for

each range and tape them onto your

scope or stock Consider bringing a

single rifle and sharing the load, and the

shooting, with your spotter

3 What if someone wants to do

something else or changes their

mind? It’s important to stick with

the plans you made with your party;

otherwise, how will they know where to find you if something goes wrong? If you prefer to allow changes, bring walkie-talkies or arrange more frequent meeting times In any case, do not enter someone else’s hunting area if you’ve agreed for them to use it

4 Hi contrast clothing is an essential item Make sure it contrasts with your

environment – choose your favourite blaze colour; it’s a key bit of equipment during the Roar when there are a much higher number of hunters out there

Binoculars are also essential gear; you shouldn’t identify game using only your rifle scope – this could easily break a primary firearms safety rule

5 What type of communications gear are you using? We recommend

a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for hunting trips – one for every group at a minimum

MISIDENTIFIED KEY STATISTICS

Page 43 - 45 (A Hunter’s Tale, MSC 2017)

• 80% … are from the same hunting party

• 92% … the victim is less than 75m from shooter

• It happens to experienced hunters as well

“Last year there were two misidentified shootings, one resulting in a fatality Both were shot at less than 75m and one of them was from the same party as the shooter.”

BIG GAME PLAN

Last year there were two misidentified shootings, one resulting in a fatality Both were shot at less than 75m and one of them was from the same party

as the shooter

BY JACK GAULD

On a recent trip with good friends Nick and Shaun into the upper South Island mountains, I started to realise just how much these three factors play a part in

our hunting experiences Without all three – genetics, luck and management – coming together, hunters targeting a wild trophy red stag will have very

limited opportunities You can have management and luck but not get a wild genetic trophy, and even with just genetics and luck, the chances

of finding a trophy stag are low; genetics and management are good on paper, but without luck,

what’s the likelihood? >>

I think most people start their hunts full

of beans and hope aplenty; we were no exception Once we’d navigated our way out of Nelson and reached the start of the 4wd track into the heart of the Marlborough mountains, things were looking up We got

to the car park mid-morning, chucked the packs on and started our walk in; we didn’t even make it around the first bend in the valley before spotting a group of hinds feeding away high up on a face No time for hinds – we continued on, hoping to reach

a suitable campsite before the afternoon rolled around When we grabbed a quick drink and a wee sit-down at the first big side gully we came to, out popped the binos, and straight away more deer were spotted – this time a group of young stags … seven,

to be exact This is when we started talking about management and, for example, that

if helicopters were allowed to hunt this particular area, deer would be as rare as hen’s teeth – mainly due to the lack of bush

We decided that because we knew there were better genetics to chase, carrying on up the valley would be our best bet After finding

a nice flat spot by the creek, we set up camp, blew up the airbeds and had a bite to eat;

while talking, we spotted several more groups

of deer, so we spent some time looking and

watching to see what they were up to

At about 5pm, the animals all started to make their way down towards the valley floor

to feed on the nicer grass; we didn’t make it more than 500m from camp that night and we’d already spotted a really healthy number Once it got dark, we wandered back to camp and cooked a feed; we started talking about the future of hunting in NZ and how we felt that management was going to be key

COMPANY

The next morning, we climbed the hill in front

of camp and started glassing, having several close encounters with some silly yearlings on the way up We’d just sat down at about 9am

on the very top when we heard,

‘whoop-whoop-whoop’ coming straight up our valley

towards us; a bloody helicopter had turned

up out of the blue and proceeded to fly the whole mountainside we were watching Then,

on top of that, it started chasing and looking

at the deer and chamois before slowly going back down lower to the valley floor and out

of sight; our hearts sank we watched over 50 deer – many big stags and a handful of nice chamois – leave our valley We listened and watched the chopper for a while, then finally worked out it was spraying the wilding pines;

it grid-searched the whole valley from 9am

Our hearts sank

chopper for a while,

then finally worked

out it was spraying

the wilding pines.

SETTLING IN

ABOVE: ALL SMILES

FROM THE AUTHOR

RIGHT TOP: ALTHOUGH

IT’S GOT FARM BLOOD

IN ITS VEINS, it’s worth

admiring how perfectly even

this cracker head is.

FAR RIGHT: IN THIS BIG

OPEN COUNTRY, it’s vital to

let your eyes do the walking!

WWW.RODANDRIFLE.CO.NZ 15

till 4pm, spraying the pines Just our luck, we

thought; we had a permit to hunt this block,

so why would they choose this time to do the

spraying, knowing we were here? We couldn’t

figure it out, but at the end of the day, it was

just the luck of the draw

In my opinion, trophy deer, like the ones

featured in this story, could be a lot more

achievable if the resource was managed

correctly The red deer is an awesome

creature and a valuable resource to a large

percentage of our current population

As Kiwis, we’ve grown up with this introduced ▶

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wild animal becoming the pinnacle of the

industry, and I hope in my lifetime, between

the hunting community, the NZ Deerstalkers

Association (NZDA), the Game Animal Council

(GAC) and DOC as well as others, there

can be a re-think on Wild Animal Recovery

Operations (WARO) activities and some

cohesive cooperation on enhancement and

management of our trophy bloodlines

Back to the story … With our hopes

shattered, we limped our way back down the

mountain, arriving back at camp to lick our

wounds and wonder if they’d be returning

the next day to finish the spraying Long

story short … they did; after two more days of

relentless aerial attack and not many animals

spotted, we were getting impatient However,

luckily, it was now the weekend, and if there’s

one thing DOC do well, it’s not work on the

weekend!

On the day the helicopter first turned up, we’d

watched it chase a group of what looked like

big, old stags out over a lowish pass in the next

valley; we were hopeful they might return to

the good grass over the next few days, so we

set a plan to hit the ridgeline the next morning

BIG STAGS

We woke up to an overcast day and a little

bit of rain, but nothing was going to stop

us – except maybe another chopper? We

headed up a steep ridge checking out all the little guts as we went; we spotted

a group of hinds sunning themselves amongst some rocks, then noticed a group

of stags just above them Being the first decent antlered things we’d seen in a few days, we made a beeline for them to get a better look … two big 11-pointers and an old, heavy 10; not really what we were after, but

we decided to get within range just in case

As we were making our way along the ridge, we spotted another group of four stags feeding about a kilometre away on

a face with a long side ridge with a steep, rocky bluff at the end A closer look through the Vortex spotting scope showed that two

of these beasts were big … really big! “Change

of plan”, I said “We’re going after them!”

It took us about 30 minutes to work our way round the top ridge to get to the start

of the ridge where the stags were last seen

It was still another 800m to get to the face they were feeding on, but just as we started making our way down the blind side, we saw them kick up their heels and trot around to the rocky bluff at the end, then out of sight we quickly adjusted our plans thinking they’d maybe smelt or seen us;

Nick and I took off straight down the ridge and Shaun stayed behind to keep an eye on things

ABOVE: NICK’S OLD 13-POINT STAG; heavy

timber with palmated tops! BELOW: THE BOYS sitting

down having a rest on the hill

A TRUE WILD GENETIC TROPHY

When we got to roughly 100m from the rocky

edge, we slowed down and started creeping

along; the wind was good – we just had to hope

they were still there As we crested the edge of

the ridge, we looked below hoping to see them;

we almost decided they must’ve left when out of

the corner of my eye, I spotted an antler sticking

up from behind a rock only 20m away Nick had

just stood up and was starting to walk straight

towards the stag to have a look off the other side

of the ridge, not knowing it was there I quickly

grabbed his attention and whispered, “They’re

right there! Behind that big boulder!”

We couldn’t get a clear shot from where we

were – we had to get closer; quietly scrambling

around the rocks to get into position, I looked

back at Nick “Are you ready?” I asked

With a thumbs up from Nick, I poked my

nose around the rock, saw the first stag

bedded up right there and shot him through

the head at roughly 7m

Then Nick jumped up beside me as the other

three deer stood up to see what the bloody

hell was going on; the biggest of the three ran

straight behind a big boulder about 15m away

and stood there Nick couldn’t get a shot until the

stag came out from behind the rock, and when

he did so, it was at full gallop Boom! Thud …

Boom! Thud Two shots – two hits; but the animal

went over the edge and out of sight

Knowing that mine was as dead as a dodo, ▶

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we took off running to see if Nick’s stag had

gone down As we made it to the edge, we

couldn’t see it running off anywhere, so

presumed it was dead somewhere below us;

sure enough, 30m down the face where we’d

first seen them was a dead deer! We went

down to investigate Nick’s animal first … wow,

what a stag! An old 13-pointer with

super-heavy timber – a true wild genetic trophy! We

couldn't believe our luck

CHRISTMAS TREE

Hoping that what I’d just shot was as good as

Nick’s, we went back to have a look “Jesus”,

was the first word out of my mouth, followed

by, “It’s a bloody Christmas tree!”

Eighteen even points the genetics could

only be explained by the escape of a bunch

of stags about 8 years ago from a station

The biggest of the three ran straight behind

a big boulder about 15m away and stood there Nick couldn’t get a shot until the stag came out from behind the rock, and when he did so, it was at full gallop.

nearby However, this was only a young stag – probably only 4 or 5 years old – and it couldn’t have been an original escapee; instead, the result of premium genetics entering the herd

My best guess was that it was the son of one that had escaped What were the odds? We’d just shot a giant, wild 13-pointer and a semi-wild 18-point Christmas tree

Over the moon with our trophies, we took some photos then cut the heads off, grabbed the back streaks and started our long walk back to camp It seemed a bit of a waste leaving the legs behind, but old, stinky stag meat isn’t the best companion, and we had

a very long walk to get back to the truck – otherwise we’d have packed them out

THE BEST PLACE

Camp was abuzz that night We ate fresh back steaks with Back Country cuisine and had a really good yarn about how this area is benefiting from the lack of access and limited permits; if it was open all year round and without a permit system, it’d be the same as everywhere else in NZ These new genetics have already had a positive impact on the area, and in the future – if managed – it’ll be even better … it’ll be the best place to hunt wild stags in the world Something as simple

as not taking part in spraying operations at the same time hunters have permits would

be a great start I think what was most clear

to us that evening while sitting around chatting and admiring our trophies was just how much old Lady Luck plays her part when hunting trophy stags

LEFT: STARTING THE CLIMB back to our gear

carrying meat in hand

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LEFT:

THE NGARURORO FLOWS

THROUGH PRIME SIKA

country with trout to boot

(Photo: Chris Coutts)

RIGHT:

BLUE SELF-BAILING,

two sprayskirt styles and

a warehouse inflatable for

towing gear.

TYPES OF PACKRAFTS

Bucket boats are open and allow water to

en-ter the boat where it’ll remain trapped They’re easy to enter and exit, and large-capacity

or two-man options are available In heavier water, the tendency to fill up means regular stops to empty them

Self-bailing bucket boats have holes in the

base to let water out when the boat is swamped;

they’ll have an inflated mat on the floor and an inflated seat to keep you up out of the water

These boats will always have water in the base

Spraydeck boats have a sprayskirt that

at-taches to a spraydeck; this system keeps out water, but some skirts may have a tendency

to be swamped in large volume rapids These boats keep you drier and warmer; whitewater designs may allow you to run rivers of greater difficulty When rivers are low or there are abundant river hazards to scout, getting in and out of a spraydeck is a nuisance

The boats pack down very small, and when you arrive at your destination, you use an inflation bag to inflate them Weights range from 2-5kg, but other gear needs to be car-ried: helmet, personal flotation device (PFD) and 4-part paddle

BRANDS

Alpacka Raft – these are one of the original

packrafts made in the US; most others are copies Available from Arno at Packrafting NZ

Koaro – a range of packrafts made in

Kara-mea Available from Sam at Koaro Packrafts

Frontier Packrafts – made in China but

de-signed for NZ conditions Available from Hugh Canard at Blue Duck Paddling

CARGO STORAGE

Traditionally, packrafts came with tie-downs

on the front of the boat to allow packs to be stored up front; having weight up front can

be an advantage when paddling In white

water however, large overnight packs can be

a nuisance and even a safety hazard; it can be easier to portage with a pack tied on the front

as you can simply slip the pack on your back with raft attached – it’s also easy to detach

A more recent innovation is the cargo fly: this

is a waterproof zip in the tube of the packraft which allows a considerable amount of gear

to be stowed inside the raft in dry bags This keeps the exterior of the boat “clean” (i.e., free

of hazards) Whilst the boat has to be deflated

to retrieve gear, the dry bags actually fill a lot of void making daily inflation less of a hassle; how-ever, a heavy boat can be awkward to portage

A Warehouse inflatable is a reasonable way

of towing excess gear if the river is Grade 2 or less and isn’t too bony

RIFLE STORAGE

Rifles can be stored inside the cargo fly in a dry bag wrapped in soft clothing and sleeping bags to prevent knocks Stoney Creek make a rifle dry bag in bright orange; it’s best used with

a soft, padded rifle case For easy access, it’s possible to stow a rifle across the bow of your boat but this places it at risk should the boat hit

a rock or capsize – in a dry bag, a rifle will still sink Assume you will lose your rifle overboard

at some point! The orange colour of the Stoney Creek bag would assist in finding it; however, a sensible precaution might be to attach a piece

of foam or small balloon on a length of twine

to provide a floating marker should the rifle

be dropped Remember, twine can work like

a cheese cutter if you end up tangled in it, so low-strength twine is best A pair of swimming goggles is also a good idea for retrieving lost items (I’ve seen two Go-Pros lost overboard)

RIFLES FOR PACKRAFTING

Short bush-pig type rifles are ideal for stowing

on a boat on gentle rivers; with a short overall length, they’re easy to attach to the deck and

Three Golden Rules for Deer

1 Dawn and dusk on river flats in spring are the most tive, so stop paddling an hour before sunset and set up camp

produc-to allow a land-based stalk in the golden hour; river flats in popular areas may only see deer arrive in the last minutes of daylight.

2 Don’t scent up the flats you plan to hunt When paddling, you can’t really adjust for the wind; you can improve your odds

by camping up a side stream to avoid winding up the valley

A down valley katabatic wind means it’s time for hunting up

a side stream When the tops warm and air flow reverses up valley, it’s a good time to hit the river.

3 River noise works in your favour as you float down and prise animals, but it can work against you in the roar Some

sur-of my favourite roar spots are elevated as I feel you do better roaring down onto river terraces I’ve had stags roaring up

at me all through the night and then encountered hunters camped on the riverbank who tell me nothing’s roaring – they’ve heard nothing but the roar of the river all night As that old book says: “Hunter Climb High”.

can be readily accessed to take a snap shot

– 308 calibre rifles lend themselves well to

being shortened as they can achieve

rea-sonable velocities with fast-burning powder

and lower-weight projectiles A moderator

will increase the overall length of the rifle but

will reduce recoil; if you know your point of

impact without the moderator, this allows you

to take quick shots from the boat or the bank

Once camped, you can reattach the

modera-tor for a more pleasant shooting experience

and do your dawn and dusk land-based stalk

Any rifle length can be accommodated

inside a cargo fly; the cargo fly dry bags are

at-tached, but gear will move, and it’s important

to protect your rifle from impact against rocks

On a long trip in good deer country, a

bush-pig rifle stowed on top of one raft for

snap shots and a long-range rifle nursed

inside the cargo fly of another raft could be

shared by a party Stainless steel is going to

fare better than a blued rifle

STOWING YOUR GAME

It’s much easier to bone an animal out on the

spot and carry it in ham bags or pillowcases

If you’re quite light, then a packraft might

cope with a gutted animal on the bow; but if

you’re tipping the scales yourself, you’ll want

to avoid loading unnecessary weight There

are some great videos online showing how

to bone out an animal and save yourself a

bad back With the cargo fly you can place

bags of meat inside the boat, but you’ll need

to consider the balance of the boat – it’s best

to push weight forward (i.e., load meat into

the dry bags first); tied on the bow in a day

pack is best for weight balance

RIVER HAZARDS

There’s an element of risk in packrafting

that can be reduced by taking some simple

precautions

Sieves – these form where the current drags

you through a log or rock strainer Logs have killed paddlers on Grade 1 water, so inspect all rapids Boat scouting can be done from the river if you’re confident to catch every eddy; shore scouting becomes necessary as hazards and current increase – get out and walk the riverbank

Foot entrapment – don’t stand up in strong

currents – it’s too easy to trap a foot Float feet first and conserve energy to dodge hazards

Swim aggressively at the first opportunity to make a safe exit

Hypothermia – if you lose your raft and all

your gear and you’ve gone under-dressed, you’re at risk In your PFD, keep an emergen-

cy blanket and cigarette lighter (seal it in a length of bike tube folded over each end and then heat shrink-wrapped) Always have a dry

A BACKPACK FULL OF COOLED MEAT ready to

float out.

▶

(Photo: Chris Coutts)

Three Things to Learn

1 Paddle within your limits: packrafts are inherently stable and

you’ll be tempted to paddle more difficult rivers than you’re

capable of doing; you won’t realise you’ve no margin of safety

until you’re in trouble.

2 Practice falling out, holding on to your raft and paddle, and

re-entering your raft (wet re-entry) quickly Practice until it’s

second nature.

3 Take a Packrafting 101 course and join PRANZ (the Packrafting

Association of New Zealand) Take some safety and skills

courses and learn to paddle with experienced paddlers before

pushing out and planning your own trips.

set of camp clothes – resist the urge to use them to start the day dry

MINIMUM SAFETY GEAR

A wetsuit is suitable for two to three seasons

of the year depending on the climate in the area you’re visiting In winter, or in areas of snow melt, a dry suit can be advisable; in summer it’s possible to paddle in shorts and polypropylene A good lifejacket and a helmet (both designed specifically for packrafting) are essential A pair of decent shoes will protect your feet; wetsuit booties are borderline as even the soled variety offer limited protection when walking across – and between – cobbles

If you get tangled up, you’ll need a decent knife to cut yourself loose Your PLB and a small emergency kit (critical first-aid items, space blanket and emergency fire starter) need to be with you if you’re separated from your boat – get a PFD with lots of pockets

Always carry a means of communication and navigation Know where the PLB is; it’s no use if it’s floating off downriver on your raft without you, so keep it on your person Carry

a repair kit and know how to use it; Tyvek tape works wonders Have a clean boat with

no loose gear or entrapment hazards – one exception is paddle leashes and surfboard ankle leashes which are worth having for lake crossings in windy conditions

Travel in a safe group; three is a minimum safe-group size, but you must all stay in sight when paddling Use agreed hand and paddle signals because river noise drowns out shout-ing Assess risk and if needed set up “safety”:

one person runs a rapid, one person waits downstream to retrieve gear, and one waits

at the hazard with a throw rope (that they’re

trained to use) Consider removing a stowed rifle and walking it to below any rapid where there’s a high chance of capsize

deck-RIVER ETIQUETTE

If a river is run commercially, (particularly night), give the local river runners a courtesy call Respect private land as not all rivers have

over-a Queen’s Chover-ain for cover-amping

Avoid paddling areas with whio (blue duck) during the fledgling season, September to De-cember; the young whio cannot fly and may

be pushed down river as you pass through

GOING LOW WEIGHT

Packrafts may be less then 3kg, but typically your full set of gear can amount to 10kg or more; this additional weight can be a chal-lenge and you’re likely to be looking for new ways to reduce weight Small tent flies are common; in summer, simple hammocks may

be viable – some rafters even claim to have slept in dry wetsuits on one-night, walk-in, float-out trips to save on weight

The bad news is, the walk in is going to be more of a grunt; the good news is, the float out – if well-planned – can be a doddle

A lot of packrafters use cuben fibre tarps and low-weight, waterproof packs such as the Porter by Hyperlite Mountain Gear These packs are probably not robust enough for hunters who’ll be overloading with meat and carrying heavy loads when not packrafting If you’re looking at a new pack, then it’s a good idea to take your packraft in to test whether the pack can be compressed and inserted into the cargo fly; most packs will fit, but there are some that won’t

WWW.RODANDRIFLE.CO.NZ 25

▶

CLASSIC NEW ZEALAND RIVERS

The website www.packraftingtrips.nz has

de-scriptions of the suitability of a number of

riv-ers for packrafting Rivriv-ers change all the time

and new log hazards are impossible to predict

and won’t necessarily be in trip descriptions;

ask the local kayak club for advice – don’t just

jump in a river with fingers crossed

It’s very easy to float beyond your ability in a

packraft as they’re naturally stable Paddle a

doz-en easy Grade 1 and 2 rivers before

contemplat-ing any with Grade 3 rapids; Grade 3 plus rivers

are for experienced and trained packrafters

only Taking some lessons may seem

unnec-essary but there are a range of paddle strokes

and techniques that become essential to avoid

hazards in higher grades of white water

THREE CLASSIC NZ PACKRAFT HUNTS

These are selected because they offer long

trips and great hunting They all pass through

some private land, so check and be sure you

know where you can hunt and camp

The Ngaruroro – this one can be as long as

you like: park and walk from Kuripapango

then float out for a day; walk to Rocks Ahead

and float for days; walk two days; (or fly in) to

the headwaters and take a leisurely week with rod and rifle staying in a new hut every night

Catch some trout and knock over a sika This river needs high flows, so what better time than after a late spring flood

The Motu – an epic paddle through great

hunt-ing grounds; this would make a mean roar trip A mate reports getting the fright of his life on this river – a stowed rifle appeared in the packraft be-hind him and despatched one of a mob of pigs he’d glided past without noticing The first thing

he knew was an enormous unexpected bang and then a warm sensation in his wetsuit

The Clarence – a magic trip for late March

with the last salmon running, temperatures still reasonable and maybe a stag or two roar-ing as the crisp autumn evenings arrive Flows can be low in summer Negotiate access from all manner of directions and maybe collect

a chamois on the walk in Again, trip options exist from days to weeks Legendary packraft-

er Dulkara Martig did an epic weekend trip with Peter Doonan, climbing Tapuae-o-Uenu-

ku from the Awatere then descending to the Clarence and packrafting out

Rivers change all the time and new log hazards are impossible to predict and won’t necessarily be in trip descriptions; ask the local kayak club for advice – don’t just jump in

a river with fingers

crossed.

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SERIES: SCOPING OUT NEW HUNTING AREAS

I began investigating a new area I wanted to explore in North Canterbury.

FIRSTLY, I KNEW THERE’D BEEN SOME REPORTS OF WILD ANIMAL RECOVERY OPERATIONS (WARO) in the approximate area I got onto the DOC website to see what I could find about WARO restrictions

in the area; this page has maps and details

on when and where restrictions are in place for all of New Zealand: https://www.doc

ness-or-activity/national-wild-animal-recov-ery-operations/ I find this information useful

govt.nz/get-involved/apply-for-permits/busi-as it helps to give me an idea on the likely extent of WARO activity in the region; in this case, the area had reasonably recently been closed to WARO, which is beneficial in such

open country where deer are easy pickings for helicopter hunters

1080

Another important factor having a bearing on animal numbers is recent aerial 1080 poison application The DOC website has recent and proposed applications on their GIS (Geo-graphical Information Service) website which

is a lot more user friendly than it’s ever been

http://maps.doc.govt.nz/mapviewer/index html?viewer=pesticidesummary.

The block I was planning on hunting had some ground bait laid, but no discriminate aerial 1080 like the adjacent, notorious Moles-

BELOW:

LOOKING INTO THE

NEXT CATCHMENT.

WWW.RODANDRIFLE.CO.NZ 27

worth drop It’s also worth noting that various

factors affect the effect of 1080 on deer such

as the application (sow) rates, time of year of

application and if the drop had included deer

repellent Sow rates have reduced a lot in

recent years to currently under 2kg/hectare

with 1.5 grams of 1080 per kg of bait being the

common brew Whether or not deer repellent

has been applied appears to not necessarily

be included in the pesticide summary, which

is an improvement that could be made to the

information

SPECIES

The DOC website indicated there’d be red

deer, chamois and pigs in the region As per

my last article, the only way to really know

what the area’s like is to go bush and find out

for yourself

As it was mid-August, I wanted to have one

last look for a stag before they dropped their

antlers, which usually happens from late

Au-gust on There were also chamois in the area,

which would provide another option if I

man-aged to get up high into the bluffs The area I

chose was north-facing with a pocket of bush

in an otherwise barren landscape My thoughts

around this were that the north-facing slopes

would attract deer during the winter months

and the bush would provide a stronghold or

shelter from threats (hunters and helicopters)

WEATHER

After checking www.yr.no and the MetService

3-day and mountain forecasts, it was pretty obvious it was going to be a cracker weekend weather-wise It always pays to check a couple

of different forecasts; I find the YR forecast is pretty good for rain but the MetService forecast

is more reliable for wind The biggest hurdle can

be the snow levels; it’s often hard to judge what they’ll be like, but I find the best strategy is to look at some alpine webcams in the area you’re planning on going into, as well as taking note of the weather during the week leading up to your hunt I noted there was no snow for the period prior to my hunt and most of the webcams showed there wasn’t a lot around Since I was hunting the northern faces, I took note of web-cams that were showing country of a similar aspect (i.e., I didn’t pay too much attention to a ski field camera as it’s likely on the south face – where I wasn’t going to be hunting)

Things were looking positive – a clear, calm

ABOVE: GOOGLE EARTH

IS ALWAYS GOOD FOR SCOPING NEW SPOTS –

look for nice areas of tussock, sunny spots in winter or even tracking in screes The route I took is shown in red.

▶

weekend with high snow levels in the middle

of August; it should be a prime chance to get

a stag before they drop their antlers However, you can’t always predict these things …

CAMP

I arrived at my campsite not long after dark;

the frost was glistening on my tent only minutes after I’d finished pitching it – it was going to be a cold night, and for some reason I’d thought it was a good idea to bring my three-season sleeping bag …

An unsettled sleep in my frozen abode was disturbed by my alarm, and I procrastinated about disestablishing camp and making

an early assault on the valley of choice My hands stuck to the tent poles and burnt with cold as I hurried to and from the pumping heater of my truck, trying to get the damn tent down; the temperature on the truck was reading minus 5 degrees

LOOKING FOR SIGN

The leading ridge I’d selected for my ascent was a good choice The open tussock pro-vided easy access, and before I knew it, I was offered generous views of the valley ahead

of me; lovely pockets of tussock caught the first rays of sun which beamed over my shoulder to the faces across from me I sat just off the ridge, looking for signs of life in this barren and vast countryside I’m not used to hunting such huge expanses where there’s

no obvious place to start the search for game;

so, I just picked the most obvious-looking areas with good sun and near bush fringes … nothing stirred

I pushed on along the now-gentle ridge; I’d done the majority of the climbing by now so

ABOVE:

THE TOPO MAP SHOWS

MY MISSION FOR THE

DAY from my GPS trail, with

areas of deer sign shown in

THE SADDLE I think they

used this route for getting

between areas of cover and

other warm, sunny areas in

settled weather This sign was

probably a day or two old.

I could take my time glassing as new country opened up ahead of me I was lucky to have the wind blowing gently into my face, so the area I was entering was undisturbed I noted a few animal tracks in the snow and screes but there was no other sign of life

Up ahead of me was a gentle saddle which fed down into a bushy gully on one side; on the other side of the saddle was a vast, north-facing, tussock face stretching a couple of kilometres into the distance There was quite a bit of track-ing in the snow here, and it became apparent several deer had been using this route to access the sunny, open spaces

After spending some time glassing onto the sunny face where the deer sign was headed,

I decided that even though I was reasonably confident there were at least a couple of deer somewhere over there, this was more

of a reconnaissance mission; covering some new country was more important than the increased chance of shooting a deer if I was to try and track the prints to their owners.The snow was quite thick as I dropped through the saddle towards the creek below; I’d made up my mind I was going to try and make it onto the far ridge for a look into the next catchment as the snow was surprisingly light on the ground After dropping through the saddle, I chose to take the scenic route through the bush edge to see what sign was present there

It was pretty steep going as the bluffs sected the bush, but I managed to find some fresh deer trails; at one point, there was a whiff of deer on the breeze, as they’re often a bit more noticeable in winter Then up ahead

inter-in the distance, I spotted a couple of spikers sunning themselves in a patch of tussock, relatively uninterested in my distant presence Today I had bigger plans … they’d keep for another time

I had lunch in the creek which had a nice gravel bar strewn with deer prints of varying ages – they definitely moved through here at times It was just after 12:30 as I left the creek

to make a steep ascent up the sunny ridge above me Quite a bit more sign was located

on the nice tussock areas just out of the line, but no obvious big-stag sign was noted.The sweat started to pour off as I got higher and higher up the ridge The craggy bluffs I was negotiating signalled the start of chamois country, but only old sign was spotted; some tracking was noted in the snow between bluffs ahead of me, but it appeared to be at least

bush-a week old Often trbush-acking in snow cbush-an be bush-a great indication of where game are, especially SERIES: SCOPING OUT NEW HUNTING AREAS

▶

chamois and tahr which are more often living

above the snow line However, in this case, it

appeared the prints were of transient chamois

which weren’t currently in this catchment

THE FINAL CATCHMENT

The snow got thicker as I neared the summit of

1800m; it’s pretty rare to get that high in winter

with no climbing gear, but the warm conditions

had made it possible as the snow had retreated

from the sunny faces I knew that all the ridges

I needed to walk were gentle enough and

north-facing, which should in theory allow for

travel without the fear of ice which can ruin any

plans of passage without the right gear I also

knew I could always drop back into the creek

if I needed to – I wasn’t going to be getting

myself into a spot I couldn’t get out of!

A brisk breeze greeted me at the ridge

along with a stunning view of the head of the

next catchment A pocket of bush reached up

from the valley below towards me and was

being lapped by the mid-afternoon sun, but

alas, nothing presented itself

There was no chamois sign on the main

ridge which was unusual as they often use

ridges for travel I also got a good look down

various spots on the cold side of the valley, as

sometimes chamois prefer the cooler faces,

but again I was left without even feeling like I

was onto something; it was apparent that the

chamois population was pretty low in this area

I continued on my way down into the

final catchment – a smaller one leading back

towards the road The sun-drenched tussock

areas screamed deer, and some old tracking

indicated they’d been there, but not today

FAR LEFT CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:

SELFIE UP HIGH IN THE SNOW Having the right gear

and knowing your limits is crucial in winter.

DEER DROPPINGS IN THE TUSSOCK; this stuff was

reasonably dry so probably a few weeks old.

DEER BROWSE ON THE SPANIARDS — as sharp

as this plant is, deer and/or chamois do like to browse it.

SPIKERS UP HIGH getting

some sun

THE SNOW Having the right

gear and knowing your limits

is crucial in winter.

SERIES: SCOPING OUT NEW HUNTING AREAS

TIME TO HEAD BACK

The sun was starting to drop lower in the sky, and I had about 600m to descend on an un-familiar ridge At this time of year, the deer will often move around during the day and not necessarily wait until the last hour of daylight

Also, with this big open country, I felt like I’d searched most of the likely spots and wouldn’t

be able to make a retrieval in daylight even if

I did see something worthy of shooting, so I decided to make the descent before nightfall

I’d found enough sign to know there was a small population of deer living there in winter, and maybe it’d be a good spot in summer as there were some nice areas which looked like they’d draw in the deer when the tussock real-

ly took off and the deer didn’t mind getting up high to seek some reprieve from the intense summer sun The chamois were probably

on the main range back further, and there appeared to be no permanent population in

or directly near my route

Next time, I’ll venture a bit further afield; with this spot being pretty easy to access, it means the pressure is likely to be increased, which in turn tends to move the deer out of these easier areas On the other hand, sometimes these easily accessed spots are overlooked, especially during the winter months when hunting pres-sure is low Happy exploring and warm barrels

SIKA STAG MY FAVOURITE TIME OF THE YEAR IS THE ROAR, and my favourite stag to hunt

is, without a doubt, the sika I love the country they like to range in, their sneaky yet curious nature, and I also think they’re a stunning animal There’s a lot of misconception about sika stags, particularly during the rut period; firstly, unlike the much-more-studied red stags, sika stags will still feed throughout the Roar – this could be because they sometimes travel great distances prior to and during the rut and simply need fuel for this increased activity.

BEHAVIOUR

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, sika don’t gather and hold harems in a traditional sense like other deer; they’re rovers and are more likely to have a large area which they patrol in search of hinds The stags will focus and concentrate around a hind or hinds that are cycling but feel happy to roam their respective rutting areas in search of females

A cycling hind can turn an area into a mini

circus of stags fighting and roaring, and if you can successfully stalk in on one of these hives of activity, then you’re in for a hunting experience like no other The key ingredient

to this exciting behaviour is the cycling hind Once the action is over, the stag is off search-ing for the next female; this may be within the same group or location, or he may look for a completely different group Often you can see mature sika stags solo and wandering around

WWW.RODANDRIFLE.CO.NZ 33

during the rut which is in contrast to mature

red stags which will most likely have

dominat-ed some hinds and holdominat-ed up

WHERE TO ROAR FROM

MY ADVICE TO NEWER SIKA HUNTERS

revolves around the not-often-spoken-about

question, “Which location should I roar from?”

Where you roar from is particularly

impor-tant for sika stags It’s well known that they'll

frequent certain areas during the rut, year in,

year out; often these areas will hold the same

stags if undisturbed, so they get to know their

respective rutting areas

I’ve learnt the quickest way to put mature,

experienced stags on alert is to roar from

what I call the ‘lazy areas’ Picture this: in the

middle of the Kaweka’s – quite a popular

hunting area on public land with a large track

running down to the river Just off the side

of the track about 80m through a stand of

beech trees is a beautiful big rock which is

great for glassing animals over

spring/sum-mer as it overlooks a stunning little valley

with a lone patch of beech trees and some

mature manuka; a perfect sika hunting spot –

anyone who Google Earth’s the block before

going in would see it During the rut, however,

there’s no quicker way to put every big stag

on edge than by roaring from that rock It’s simply a highly unlikely area for them to hear

a challenge from, and believe me, they’ll have

a handle on what other stags are in the area and where they’ve been frequenting By the end of the Roar in that block, there may have been dozens of occasions where hunters have called from that exact same rock!

A BETTER TACTIC

ADMITTEDLY, YOU’LL GET YOUNGER STAGS that occasionally come in to your roars from those locations, and sika in general can be curious; but a much better tactic – and one where you’ll come into contact with the po-tentially bigger and sneakier stags – is to get into areas near where the animals are Push in

on them, then when the wind’s in your favour, call from these locations only if you have to; if your stag or stags are roaring well, you don’t even need to alert them with your calling – you’ll have a much better response and success rate The best locations to roar from vary; it’s up to you to explore your hunting block Go into your allotted area and let your senses guide you, as deer can favour beech-lined ridges, gully heads or mature manuka as

Unlike the more-studied red stags, sika stags will still feed throughout the Roar – this could

much-be much-because they sometimes travel great distances prior to and during the rut and simply need to fuel this need for energy.

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well as everything in between

Sika are – and will always be – my favourite animal to hunt, and during the rut is the most exciting time to hunt them; but they have a reputation for being wily for a reason To be successful, you’ll not only need to outwit the stag itself, but also every other hunter chasing the same prize The next time you reach for that roaring horn, take a second to think

to yourself: “How many other hunters have done this from this exact same spot?” And then think, “If I were a sika stag, where would

I expect to hear a challenge from?” You might

be surprised at the results

BY HOWARD EGAN

FALLOW BUCK

THE MATURE FALLOW BUCK IS ALL ATTITUDE … show off and skite The hunter needs to accept the truth of that and understand that he’ll need to hunt fallow completely different to red deer

or sika – where to go, when to go (time

of day), and especially, how to act – erwise, he has little chance of outwitting

oth-a moth-ature buck.

FALLOW HABITS

FALLOW ARE GRAZERS, NOT BROWSERS … sun lovers Whilst a fallow buck doesn’t wallow like a red or sika stag, he uses a well-scented scrape – sometimes lasting years The scrape will be at, or right next to and in sight of, good family grazing territory – grassland – so he can show off and skite to an audience; the buck knows these spots have proven successful

in the past, so why not use the same scrapes (freshened up and re-perfumed) again and again? Thus, a skilled hunter’s memory for an area can turn the buck’s habit against him.Get yourself to the area about breakfast time – when the sun starts to warm the place

up and the fallow deer walk carefully out of the kanuka or bush where they’ve sheltered and slept The hunter must be ‘sensible sitting’ ready to deal to the buck which will follow the group of does, yearlings and satellite bucks – anything from six to a dozen deer

SENSIBLE SITTING

‘SENSIBLE SITTING’ will take into account:

an area where fallow are known to frequent, wind direction, position (keep high ’cos fallow don’t look up), full camo including face mask, some cover (even thistles) in front or behind,

The red stag roar

is a challenge

… aggression …

aimed at rival

stags, threatening

them with murder

if they dare come

near his hinds;

the fallow buck

croak, however,

isn’t aimed at other

bucks – it’s pure

advertisement,

telling the does of

his presence and

how sexy he is.

THE ROAR

YOU’VE BEEN WAITING ALL YEAR FOR THIS

WWW.RODANDRIFLE.CO.NZ 35

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and patience – let the deer come to you;

don’t walk around scenting up good country

Sensible sitting will easily involve three hours

minimum

FINDING FALLOW

THE PRIME NEED OF FALLOW IS

GRASS-LAND but with adequate protection from

hunters; a recipe which is best met in

moderately rolling country – ideally grass

flats, slopes with scrub, bush in gullies, or

on ridges Fallow live in matriarchal groups

which will base themselves upon the best

available piece of territory; the bucks will join

them just before the April rut and stay for

about five months Later, they’ll move away

to a nearby rough patch of cover to shed,

grow and polish their antlers; antlers take four

or five years to reach a respectable size and

six to eight years before they’re something a

hunter could feel proud of

BUCK ARROGANCE

‘SHOW OFF AND SKITE’ – that’s the fallow buck

to a T, whereas the mature red or sika stag in

autumn is pure aggression Whilst two equal

fallow bucks will certainly fight if there’s no

alter-native, they’ll endeavour first to bluff their rival

and manoeuvre him into a disadvantage

Parallel marching (above) is a tactic you’ll frequently see during the rut – two bucks parading together, strutting to advertise their egotistically self-believed superiority

The whole stance of the mature buck in the rut is arrogance – he’ll stand stiff and tall, staring straight ahead so the group of breed-ing does he’s joined can see his impressive antler palms side on – a real showman … show off and skite

YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO BE PREPARED.

To the hunter nothing compares with the sound of a stag roaring across a gully It’s time for action You make your approach

plan based on experience The wind The lay of the land Cover Maybe even a little luck

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TIPS FOR FALLOW DEER HUNTING:

PADDOCKS; stream beds, slips, upper bush edges in moderate hill country, open faces on the tussock and scrub hills also qualify.

2 FALLOW LIKE THE SUN Some of the best fallow territories I know are the clear, grassy slopes you find in places like Wanganui’s Paraparas, Mararoa River and the Paparoa tops If they’re not disturbed, fallow will bask way out in the sunshine for most of the day.

3 USE THOSE BINOCULARS.

4 FALLOW DON’T LOOK UP A fallow group lying or grazing, facing all directions, is well set up to spot an approaching hunter; but fallow noticeably never look uphill, so get above them.

5 BREAKFAST TIME IS THE BEST TIME TO HUNT FALLOW – not break of day – when the sun’s warming the day.

6 FROM MY BOOK, Hunting Fallow

Deer in New Zealand, learn the

seasonal habits of the fallow sexes; trust them and base your hunting strategy on them.

7 DON’T TRY TO CROAK THE BUCKS – ESPECIALLY WITH

A CALLER … you’ll only get satellite bucks Stalk in to the mature croak but watch out for the doe group which is normally ten to twenty metres away from the buck.

ROAR VS CROAK

ANOTHER MISTAKE MANY HUNTERS MAKE

is they assume the red stag roar and the low buck croak are the same – wrong! The red stag roar is a challenge … aggression … aimed

fal-at rival stags, threfal-atening them with murder if they dare come near his hinds; the fallow buck croak, however, isn’t aimed at other bucks – it’s pure advertisement, telling the does of his presence and how sexy he is The tone and volume of the croaks of a young and a mature fallow buck are completely different; the ma-ture buck is basically saying, “Come over here girls; I’m hot and you’ll love me!”

WHERE TO GO

THE FALLOW DEER HABIT WILL DEPEND

on the territory used seasonally by the herd for the autumn rut; to quote from my

book, Hunting Fallow Deer in New

Zea-land, “Understanding the seasonal use of

territory is the key to successful fallow deer hunting” My opening comment is that the matriarchal does bring the yearlings and fawns to autumnal use of the best available territory – prime grass or crop The bucks join the groups when their antlers are polished – say at the end of March They suss out the girls, ignore the spikers, then

do a round of their scrapes … a freshen up

They then move on to the most important area for the master bucks – the lekking area; you can bet your bottom dollar all the best areas being used during autumn by the family groups – the prime grazing – will include a lekking ground; it’s a display area – like the male black grouse (blackcocks)

in Europe – where the male displays to the hens/does, who then pick their mate

Fallow is the only species of deer which use a lekking ground; I’ve seen leks on a small terrace, a farm track, or a scrub edge

Parallel marching is the base lek activity; I

CROAKING WILD BUCK

watch it nearly every rut

It’s generally important to consider the mindset and attitudes of the whole herd – both the up-themselves bucks and the ma-triarchal does; it’s a strong-minded species

of deer, which is now firmly established in New Zealand Record books show a steady lift in our fallow trophies over the past thirty years – this coincides with the period that fallow have established in new areas as a

Fallow is the only

species of deer

which use a lekking

ground; I’ve seen

STRUTTING WILD BUCK Typical show off and strut of the fallow buck.

result of liberations on private property A big advantage in this is that landowners will exercise rigid management of hunters – let the young bucks go, let them grow; leave the milky does and velvet bucks – as is being done in the permit-only recreational hunting areas of the Blue Mountains and Greenstone/Caples Obviously, access to private land areas is a matter of contacts, referrals and old-fashioned doorknocking

ED'S NOTE:

Howard Egan, aka “Grandad” to his friends, has been involved with the outdoors his whole life

His passion has been for fallow deer – ing every traditional New Zealand herd over

hunt-a sixty-yehunt-ar period, commencing 1955 He’s also farmed fallow in hard antler for nearly twenty years and still has a small group be-hind wire Howard watches the lower North Island herds for long periods during the rut,

“sensible sitting” with a camera on his lap; he has gained a considerable understanding of the fallow buck rut

Author of a fallow deer series for NZ Rod&Rifle in 2008/2009, Howard also has

two hunting books to his credit

The book mentioned in this article, Hunting

Fallow Deer in New Zealand by Howard Egan,

is available in all good bookshops, including Whitcoulls and Paper Plus

BY JOSH CAIRNS

RED STAG

WILD MASTER BUCK, 2018 rut.

IF YOU’RE ANYTHING LIKE I AM AT THIS

TIME OF YEAR, you’ll be counting down

the sleeps like a kid counts down to

Christ-mas Day! Roaring red stags will be on

your mind every time you gaze towards

the nearest mountain range or bush ridge,

and as the days shorten and dew becomes

more prominent on the lawn in the

morn-ings, the anticipation grows.

I grew up chasing red deer in the thick

bush of The Catlins in the Deep South; I shot

my first deer at the age of nine and was lucky

enough to take several good stags in my

ear-ly years of hunting My passion for tops and

mountain hunting developed when I moved

to Canterbury to attend university and

discovered the abundance of alpine hunting

in the ranges around the main divide While

alpine hunting for all game animals NZ has

on offer is my passion, every Roar brings the

same excitement and anticipation During

this season, I make time to hunt both bush and alpine country, as the thrill of a bellow-ing stag charging through the bush is just

as amazing as glassing a magnificent beast roaring in the distance amongst alpine scrub

or tussock

Over the years of chasing stags throughout

NZ, I’ve learnt a lot; every hunt and interaction

OLD TUSSOCK STAG 2017

We spotted his hinds out feeding in early morning sun Finally he appeared after we'd been glassing the nearby creek for well over

an hour.

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with game provides many learning experiences – this is something a young or beginner hunter won’t necessarily be aware

of Eventually a hunt may begin to play out like a failed one in the past, and it’s then you realise you have a few tricks up your sleeve

The following are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned in my time on the hills

LOOK FOR YOURSELF

THE ROAR STARTS EARLIER AND LASTS LONGER than most think – or say! From mid-March, I’ll be out on ridges in the evenings or later at night, just listening to see if stags are going yet That said, get out hunting regard-less of the weather and if you let out a few roars early in the season, there’s still the possi-bility one will sneak in for a look; just because they’re not vocal doesn’t mean they won’t come in to check you out, as although they’re cautious, deer are naturally curious creatures

Don’t listen to what your old mate says about the stags not roaring; go and look for yourself!

PLAN YOUR DAY

WE’RE ALL TIME POOR THESE DAYS, so plan and maximise your hunting opportuni-ties I like to spend a lot of time poring over maps and Google Earth as well as searching the internet for tips or photos of the area

Plan around the prominent winds and learn what effect the katabatic winds have in the catchment you’re hunting; always try to work with the wind and be careful not to scent out the country you plan to hunt – that means fly camping in logical places too!

WATCH THE WEATHER

TAKE NOTE OF ANY FACES the sun will be hitting early morning and late evening – red deer (particularly hinds and young) like the sun, especially as the temperatures start to drop in Autumn

On the map, identify likely areas that may hold animals, such as leading ridges, terraces, benches and creek heads; these are areas

stags normally like to hold as their territory and are where you may find rubbings, wallows and rutting pads

If you’re hunting in an area and there’s no sign at all, move quickly through it – slow down once you start hitting fresh sign again; maximise your time hunting ‘hot’ sign

START EARLY AND STAY LATE

AIM TO BE HUNTING through, sitting and waiting, or glassing likely areas at daybreak and again later in the day, right till dark Yes, the stags may be active all day, but those old-

er boys generally don’t muck about too much

in broad daylight; roaring action will usually

be better at those times too I’ll always glass till dark – some of the best stags I’ve taken have been at very last light; while at the end of the day you may not be able to commit to a stalk, hearing one challenging right on dark will help you narrow down animal locations for the following morning

FIND THE HINDS AND THE STAGS WILL

BE NEARBY

IF YOU’RE HUNTING EARLY IN THE ROAR and find hinds, keep an eye on them leading into the season If you’re hunting during peak Roar time and you find hinds either in the bush

or on the tops, sit tight and have a decent look! Chances are a stag will be located somewhere near them If the wind’s in your favour and they don’t know you’re there, take the time to glass properly On numerous occasions, I’ve found hinds and after a long time watching intently, have picked a stag up tucked away out of sight; it’s not uncommon for them to be sleeping in the tussock or lying in a wallow

ROARING

IF THE STAGS ARE ROARING WELL, leave them to it; don’t bother calling, trying to get them to answer – you don’t need to, and if you make a stuff-up, you may just push them away You’re better off going into stealth mode and stalking them without them knowing you’re even there However, if you’re just after the rush of possibly roaring a stag in, then by all means try to entice one in

If you have a stag roaring well and he’s a way off, cut your distance fast; deer make noise during this season too, so don’t be too worried about being somewhat noisy Stay low and move quickly; in the tops, you may be limited by topography and staying out of sight might be a challenge If you’re lucky and get within range, then you can make the call on whether to shoot

In the bush, the last 100 metres is where

If you’re hunting

during peak Roar

time and you find

hinds either in the

bush or on the

tops, sit tight and

have a decent look!

Chances are a

stag will be located

somewhere near

them.

TOP: AN OLD GNARLY

WEST COAST STAG 2018

We found fresh prints in

the river below, so started

roaring our way up valley He

answered and appeared on

a slip above us.

BOTTOM: BIG STAGS

TYPICALLY RUB BIG

TREES We later set eyes on

a magnificent West Coast

stag not far from this tree,

so no doubt we were in his

territory He busted us and is

still there!

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you really need to slow down and take

your time getting in on the stag If he’s only

half-heartedly roaring, you can give a quiet

moan and try to work him up; but don’t

overdo it as you run the risk of scaring him off

thinking you’re the bigger beast In my

expe-rience, you’re best to try and imitate the type

of roaring he’s doing While travelling through

likely looking country, if the stags are quiet, I'll

roar every 20 minutes or so, then wait at least

10 minutes for a reply or noise of an animal

moving in

CHOOSING YOUR ANIMAL

EVERYONE HUNTS FOR DIFFERENT

REA-SONS, but I’m always looking for a mature

stag In the tops, you generally have time to

judge an animal and decide if you want to

shoot it; in the bush, you often don’t have this

luxury If I have two stags or more bellowing in

the bush, I want to try and get a decent look

at all of them if possible If you spot a stag in

the bush and he doesn’t know you’re there,

take your time – he may not be the big guy!

Often a satellite stag or spiker will charge

straight on in; be prepared to let him walk if he’s

a small or younger-looking animal, as if there’s

another roaring in the background, chances

are he’s the older boy holding the hinds

It’s amazing how long a stag may stay in

view if the wind’s in your favour and you’re

well concealed – you don’t need to shoot him

immediately

MORE STRATEGY

ALWAYS ROAR FROM VANTAGE POINTS

with some form of natural cover; if you bust

out a call while you’re in tight crap and a

stag decides to come in then and there, your

options are limited If you can, roar from high

points or into gully heads; always position

yourself beside a fallen log, tree or rocks, preferably where you have at least 15 to 20 metres visibility Then let out a roar and wait without moving too much; watch and listen

Try to have an organised rest ready to go, so you’re not fumbling about trying to get com-fortable when a stag wanders in

Stags will often try and circle to cut your scent once they’ve worked out roughly where you are If you’re hunting with mates, don’t all focus on watching in one direction; stags have a habit of just appearing out to the side

of you, so scan all around you with your eyes and keep head movement to a minimum

And, if you do hear one skirting around the side of you, be prepared to make a hasty retreat to try and cut him off

Most of you will have seen footage or read about one hunter hanging back and roaring while the other stalks in on the animal; this of-ten works well, but be sure to have laid some clear ground rules regarding positioning and responsibilities The stalker should focus on being as quiet as possible and moving only when the stag or his hunting mate is roaring

Once you think you’re within 50 metres of the stag, really slow down and take your time; the deer will often be standing dead still and watching in your direction, so sudden movements or noises will alert him immedi-ately Hopefully, you’ll get a chance to see him first or cut him off, and then make the call on whether to shoot or not I’ve used this method several times with perfect results

TWO FINAL TIPS

IN ALPINE COUNTRY – glass, and then glass some more In the bush – if you think you’re going slow enough, slow down! I cannot emphasize these last two pieces of advice enough

If he’s only heartedly roaring, you can give a quiet moan and try to work him up; but don’t overdo it

half-as you run the risk

of scaring him off thinking you’re the bigger beast.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:

INITIALLY WE THOUGHT THIS HIND WAS A LONER

— but no — we spotted an ugly stag tucked away in the scrub behind her.

YOUR EYES WILL COVER

A LOT MORE GROUND

than your legs with a lot less effort.

DEER ARE HABITUAL CREATURES This old stag

has roared in the same heavily hunted public land valley every year for at least four years!

NEW SERIES: SHOT PLACEMENT

THIS OPENING SEGMENT IN OUR SHOT

PLACEMENT SERIES deals with shots

to the Central Nervous System (CNS) of

a game animal These are broken down

into two areas: the head and the neck

Both shots are basically aimed at hitting

the CNS of a deer, just at different points,

and they both require careful

consider-ation Choosing whether head and neck

shots is a capability you’d like to have in

your skillset is an entirely personal thing

for a hunter; it also depends on your

style of hunting A bush stalker is far

more likely to aim for a head or neck at

close range, however it’s the more

delib-erate targeting of these shot placements

this article will cover – when the shooter

has time to choose The hunter needs a

thorough knowledge of their personal

capabilities, an understanding of animal

behaviour and the accuracy potential

of their rifle/load combination; it’s a

destination you arrive at after gaining

experience.

SO, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO CONSIDER

CNS SHOTS ON DEER? Firstly, compared to

a heart/lung shot, it damages by far the least

amount of meat, so you get nearly all the

prime venison available Secondly, a

well-placed CNS shot causes instant incapacitation

and rapid onset of death; this is useful when

you need to anchor your animal on the spot

to avoid the short dash they often make with

a heart/lung shot Maybe there’s a nasty bluff

you don’t want it to fall into or a thick patch

of bush which might make recovery difficult

The third reason is, in my opinion, a sika or

fallow tanned skin looks better without large

holes through the shoulders These reasons,

be attempted in a deliberate fashion I don’t recommend head or neck shots for beginners, as there’s enough to think about when you’re starting out without giving yourself the added pressure of a smaller target What I’m not advocating is making head and neck shots your main shot placement; the shoulder area is the largest target and always your best chance

at putting your game animal down – but there are circumstances where CNS can

be considered I also understand the ethical arguments against head shots, the main one being the possibility of a lost animal with a damaged jaw; but with consideration, practice and a thorough knowledge of what you’re trying to do, you can absolutely minimise this happening

A well-placed CNS shot causes instant incapacitation and rapid onset of death; this is useful when you need

to anchor your animal on the spot

to avoid the short dash they often make with a heart/lung shot.