Thread: 18 months of hunting

Originally Posted by 300_BLK

Such a cool idea!

let me know if I can help!

What calibre is the Mauser? 8x57?

Mauser is a 270 Win

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

I agree, i know you haven't shot many animals & it's tempting to get stuck into knocking plenty over but you don't want to diminish the experience or measure it by how many "kills" you get. If you are going to spend 18months hunting then you should set a few animal goals, like only chammy over say 9" with a goal of getting a 10" one, once you have shot a couple of 10pt stags only look for 12+ etc

You learn a lot from watching & letting animals go. All the best

^^^^ This

The advice above about selecting your kills very carefully is very very important. It’s all too easy to create the wrong impression in other hunters minds as lots of guys have very different ideas about how many animals is too many. Probably the best advice you’ll hear other than make sure your EPIRB is properly registered.

Originally Posted by Frodo

Mauser is a 270 Win

See. I know it is a 270, but somehow, just weirdly, I still like it.

Originally Posted by outdoorlad

I agree, i know you haven't shot many animals & it's tempting to get stuck into knocking plenty over but you don't want to diminish the experience or measure it by how many "kills" you get. If you are going to spend 18months hunting then you should set a few animal goals, like only chammy over say 9" with a goal of getting a 10" one, once you have shot a couple of 10pt stags only look for 12+ etc

You learn a lot from watching & letting animals go. All the best

I do not think the lad is going on a venture of "kill & destroy"
From what I have witnessed from his prior posts/threads etc - he will be a conservationist connoisseur.
This trip is not about “knocknim-over” but about been out there with them !!

Originally Posted by Sarvo

I do not think the lad is going on a venture of "kill & destroy"
From what I have witnessed from his prior posts/threads etc - he will be a conservationist connoisseur.
This trip is not about “knocknim-over” but about been out there with them !!

Just what I was thinking , thinking about a polite way to say it, Sarvo did.

Have you got a gear list yet?

[QUOTE=Frodo;677404]Thanks so much for the kind words guys! It will really help motivate me when the going gets tough. B)

Offers of free gear and donations: I wasn't expecting anything like that haha, and I'm stoked. In saying that, I'll try my best to get by on as little as possible and see how things work out. Perhaps, in the future, if this project really takes off, I'll consider donations - but for now I'm working as much as I can to save up a bit of $$ prior to the commencement of it all.

I suppose part of the challenge will be to embrace the dirt bag lifestyle and suffer a little....it'll make my stories a little more entertaining.

As far as work goes: currently I'm working on a farm in southland. Perhaps I can sort something out with them, but the plan is to devide the South Island in 3 sections, whereby i'll base myself in invercargill, Christchurch, and perhaps Nelson. It'll allow me to be close to the general region I'll be hunting, and not have to travel 100s of km to get to a spot, and then travel all the way back during nightfall to get to work at the end of my 5 days (while hungry, tired etc).

So I'll look for some part time work (maybe general farm labour, fast food, or at a supermarket etc) in invercargill, Christchurch and Nelson.

I'll begin my journey in Fiordland, and spend 6 months hunting there. I've already sorted out a place in Invercargill to wash hunting gear and take a warm shower etc.

Good effort, and I'd love to do it with you, but nothng exceptional here;you guys need to do your own plannng and financing here. That's all good, but bludging isn't. Do it right and folks will invite you. Hell, you can stay here a few days if liike ,and it's convenient.

I've always been very fond of wildlife - that's how I got into hunting...it's an intersection of sorts between my interests in nature and my interests in firearms/shooting. Most of the joy comes from seeking the animals out. Then again, I love meat, and I'm drawn to the symmetry/elegance of a nice set of antlers! B)

I don't have anything against people hunting on private land, but the prime reason for me avoiding it in favor of public land, is that a large part of the enjoyment I get from hunting is the country I get to explore and momentarily be a part of. I think most of the satisfaction from killing a wild animal comes from knowing that I overcame a series of challenges to get to it in its' natural environment. And there's quite a deeply rooted, primordial feeling when you carry that meat off the hill...as I'm sure many of you can attest to!

My dog tucker comment was a censored version of saying something which may or may not be favorable in some peoples eyes (from a legal perspective). This is a public forum after all.
All I can say is that, any meat I do carry off the hill will be used in its' entirety and very much enjoyed.

At the end of the day, I'm still a budding hunter. I've only got a few animals under my belt. This project is about educating myself about the game animals which frequent the South Island; about educating myself about 'myself' - what my level of tolerance is (how will I feel about mowing people's lawns for petrol money 10 months down the track?!) - and inspiring other people (especially younger people) who may be interested in travelling paths less traveled, and/or persevering with things which may humiliate them at times, but end up being rewarding in the long-run. I'll be writing about the entire experience. Not just posing with dead corpses and talking about the adrenaline that rushed through my veins as I pulled the trigger and watched the life evaporate from a deer's glassy eyes...

Right now, while I'm sitting in a well heated dining room, with clean clothes, a full stomach etc...it all feels easy. It definitely won't be when I'm out there, but that's the challenge. I want to discover how much I really love what I think I love. Would I do anything for it? What would I be prepared to sacrifice? And so on and so forth.

Some people would call it life experience. But I'd like to treat it as an adventure and document it all.

Cheers,
Arash

You have got a good head on your shoulders.

[QUOTE=keneff;679301]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Thanks so much for the kind words guys! It will really help motivate me when the going gets tough. B)

Offers of free gear and donations: I wasn't expecting anything like that haha, and I'm stoked. In saying that, I'll try my best to get by on as little as possible and see how things work out. Perhaps, in the future, if this project really takes off, I'll consider donations - but for now I'm working as much as I can to save up a bit of $$ prior to the commencement of it all.

I suppose part of the challenge will be to embrace the dirt bag lifestyle and suffer a little....it'll make my stories a little more entertaining.

As far as work goes: currently I'm working on a farm in southland. Perhaps I can sort something out with them, but the plan is to devide the South Island in 3 sections, whereby i'll base myself in invercargill, Christchurch, and perhaps Nelson. It'll allow me to be close to the general region I'll be hunting, and not have to travel 100s of km to get to a spot, and then travel all the way back during nightfall to get to work at the end of my 5 days (while hungry, tired etc).

So I'll look for some part time work (maybe general farm labour, fast food, or at a supermarket etc) in invercargill, Christchurch and Nelson.

I'll begin my journey in Fiordland, and spend 6 months hunting there. I've already sorted out a place in Invercargill to wash hunting gear and take a warm shower etc.

Good effort, and I'd love to do it with you, but nothng exceptional here;you guys need to do your own plannng and financing here. That's all good, but bludging isn't. Do it right and folks will invite you. Hell, you can stay here a few days if liike ,and it's convenient.

I'm not planning on taking up offers of free gear or living in people's homes. That's contradicts the entire thing. As much as I appreciate the generosity...

Any financing will be achieved through my own efforts. The few people whose' offers of an emergency place to wash gear etc have been accepted, are good friends who I've always supported. That's not bludging.

I will be scraping by at times, yes. But I'll be getting back on my two feet through hard work.

And thanks for the kind words.

Looking forward to following this, a hunter with morals on an adventure and can write too, good luck

Must be time for an update @Frodo, how are plans going?

Originally Posted by ROKTOY

Must be time for an update @Frodo, how are plans going?

Hi ROKTOY,

Plans are going well, thanks. Cheers for your interest.

I'm putting together some topo maps at the moment and getting the last of the gear sorted out.

The blog has been dormant over the past few weeks, but I'll update it soon! 1 1/2 weeks to go.

Originally Posted by Frodo

Hi ROKTOY,

Plans are going well, thanks. Cheers for your interest.

I'm putting together some topo maps at the moment and getting the last of the gear sorted out.

The blog has been dormant over the past few weeks, but I'll update it soon! 1 1/2 weeks to go.

Maybe you should look for a sponsor ??
I am sure the big players would get behind you

THE GAME PLAN - The Mountain Gnomad