NZ Hunter

a word from the editor

It’s rapidly approaching that time of year that all hunters look forward to – the stag’s antlers hardening and the coming of the roar! Now is a great time of year to harvest some fat venison and some will be already looking for stags. There are a few things to consider if you’re looking to collect some antlers you’ll be proud of. Firstly, some facts about how a stag’s antlers grow - they pump calcium rich blood up through the pedicles and into the newly forming ever enlarging “receptacle”. A calcification honeycomb progressively forms the pathway that the blood continues to flow up through to carry more calcium to fully form the shape of the stag’s antlers. This means the antlers as you see them forming and growing in…

a year later

I looked back along the ridge where I had seen some hinds, and standing there alone was another deer. Through the binos it looked like a very good, mature stag. With two heavy clubs protruding from his head, he definitely had antlers worth investigating. A quick set up of the spotting scope revealed a beauty of a stag. He had plenty of mass on his tops and two huge brow tines. I quickly counted four on each top and knew then he was going to be a shooter. He was about 2km away so I wasted no time packing up my gear and dropping over the ridge to head in his direction. I had one last side creek to move around to get to where the stag…

sika success

“Bugger this – I’m wet to my undies and the stags have gone quiet!” Hunting in unfavourable conditions in the bush can really wear a hunter down, both physically and mentally. The 2018 roar seemed to be one of those times as my good mate Wallace and I were blasted by heavy winds and downpours, making stalking in tight bush very difficult. But you don’t get them sitting at home!After a hard but fruitful roar in the Ruahines chasing Reds, Wallace and I planned to hit our local spot in the Kaimanawas for a couple of days. Sika stags are by far my favourite deer to target in the roar; they are very vocal and territorial which can make for some exciting encounters.With a wet forecast and no likelihood…

richie's time to shine again

They tend to vanish for the month of March and show up again in time for the roar. Even then, older stags are less likely to be found in the open so Ritchie, Baden and I knew our time to find big, mature animals was coming to a close. We had some days to kill before our trip south in search of Whitetail so we decided to try a spot a little closer to home. This spot is not all that popular due to its rugged terrain and typically low deer numbers. But with low numbers comes plentiful feed and with lots of bush and places for stags to hide in, we thought we would have a good chance of finding something decent.Leaving the car early in…

tararua 10

Over previous years I had roared at plenty of stags, however none of them had ever come in on me, and would only reply from a distance. Any stags that I had secured during prior roar trips had either been shot in the open or bush stalked the same as any other deer at any other time of the year. I had seen many videos and read plenty of stories about hair-raising encounters with Red stags in tight bush during the rut, and was determined to make it happen for myself. Early on in April, I managed to tick the box with two young 8 pointers in the Tararuas and Ruahines. Both stags came tearing in as I had been roaring at different animals across the gully…

live animal gallery

Nikko Stirling are proud to promote this page aimed at celebrating our game animals. Send in your photos of live game animals to nikkostirling@nzhunter.co.nz and go in the draw to win an exciting product each issue. The prize for this issue is... A Nikko Stirling Metor With an RRP of $349! Lee Jefferson with a curious black buck from the Caples Sika out in the open from Josh Wiggins A Mule deer buck in Grass Valley Sacramento USA. Taken by John and Jennifer Strickley A roaring Red stag from Cameron Macdonald An alert Red hind and yearling on a sunny Te Urewera face - Cameron Forlong A young stag enjoying an evening meal - Gary Harwood ■…