@R93 I generally agree with most of that
My one and only post on this is that I cut my teeth hunting in the 80s and the numbers were extremely low.
Just seeing a tahr was a big deal
Actually shooting a bull of any size was a massive in camp and long after the hunt
Red deer were very scarce and it took multiple trips to even see one in the Canterbury high country.
Currently hunting in NZ on public land is the best it has been since the 80s
Deer numbers are very high in the areas I hunt in the South Island
Tahr numbers have been going up consistently especially in the last 20 years that I have hunted them reasonably often.
So maybe step away from the keyboard and just go hunting and shoot a few animals
Go enjoy the wonderful Public Conservation Estate where access and animals are mostly free
Sure it's not being managed as a trophy estate but there is a hell of a lot of it to explore
Since when was an easy hunt fun
Go do something ambitious and learn the craft of hunting
The tahr are evolving and in some unusual places and some bulls will still die of old age
Make an effort
I shot my best bull ever within 3 hours climb of the most heavily used hut in the no fly zone of South Westland
The message in that is that even in one of the most heavily hunted recreational hunting areas of the tahr range, there are ( 2009 ) still world class trophies.
And I fully expect there still will be animals of that age and size around the fringes
When the dust settles make those plans to go hunting, go multiple times, learn the craft and good luck in taking that representative bull tahr trophy
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