NZ Hunter

a word from the editor

This spring we’ve visited some interesting new places, and revisited some favourite old haunts. I never fail to be amazed by the variety of hunting experiences available in this country, and every time we come back from a trip I find it’s just opened the door to many more! I’ve seen some young and old fullas get their “first” of several species and trophies in the last couple of months, and as always it’s been a pleasure to see the enjoyment and respect they have gained from the trips we’ve done. We have been working hard on the new firearms legislation, alongside all the other hunting and firearms organisations to firstly get sensible submissions in about the ridiculous parts of the bill, and then secondly talk to the politicians to see…

q&a

HI GREG Just a quick question about your Carbonlight 7mm Rem Mag On your show you say you have a 180 grain long range load, I’m guessing you have no problems stabilising it with standard 1:9.5 twist? Also what projectile are you using? I have a 7mm-300wsm 1:8” twist shooting 180 ELD-M and it works great, but I’m just curious about your combo. DANIEL HI DANIEL, Yeah, the 9.5" twist stabilises the 180gn Berger Hybrid okay, and driven at 3000fps by Reloder 33 it’s the best long range load we’ve found for these barrels. We have shot stuff to 800 yds with the TV Show rifle. I would prefer more twist, but we've shot them for years in our 9" twist Bartleins with no issues out to long range, and the Sako/Tikka's are only half an…

into the dark

Robert, now 83 years old, is a seasoned hunter who has done it all. His many stories of hunting around the world always intrigued me, but the story that captivated me most was the one about hunting Wapiti bulls in Fiordland in the late ’60s. Listening to his words started a fire within me. That fire was fuelled further when he gifted me copies of his personal photos from these trips. I was hooked! Fast forward to 2013 when Rob Fickling’s first season of ‘Beyond the Divide’ aired on Australian TV. In it was a double episode of a Fiordland bugle hunt he did with a friend in George Block. These episodes drew me in like a moth to a flame. The scenery, the hardships, the bulls, the bugles and the…

with high hopes

This particular mission had been in the pipeline for a good month, so we were all keen as mustard. We had been to a similar location the previous winter and had no luck but saw plenty of animals and sign and thought it would be easier this time without the snow! After a bouncy drive in, we shouldered our packs and trudged up the riverbed. It didn’t take long for the sandflies to find us once we were parked up on the binos. Before long, Jack had spotted the first group of deer: a few hinds and a young 8 point stag with good shape. We decided to leave him to grow, and then we spotted a few more groups feeding reasonably high up, which was surprising given the high venison…

landsborough in the summer

We hit the ground running nearly literally and had our packs on as soon as we landed at Kea flat, heading upriver for Dechen flat Not long after, a tahr appeared across the river. Keeping to the shadows and scrub, he was much darker than the bulls we’d spotted in the tussock on the walk up. I’m not sure if this was from age or because he was living down low. We’d just started eyeing him up when Lucas saw another bull step out into the clear. We could see this one was much bigger-bodied – around the 13-inch mark but he had smaller bases and less of a mane than the first one. We decided to get closer so we wove through the waist-high tussock to get to 200m. Despite…

bushnell live animal gallery

Bushnell are proud to promote this page aimed at celebrating our game animals. Send in your photos of live game animals to luke@nzhunter.co.nz to go in the draw to win an exciting product each issue. The prize for this issue is... Bushnell Prime 10x28 Binoculars With an RRP of $299!…