Thread: Good helicopter pilots on south island

Hey all, coming to the South Island in late march. Was wondering if anyone had a lead on a good heli pilot for 3 guys to stag hunt? Appreciate any and all info. Thanks.

Ron

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Hi Ron. The South Island is a big place with a lot of good helicopter operators. Best you narrow your search.

@Micky Duck you want to give your church story again. Here's another one

Ok im flying into Queenstown. I had a hookup with a landowner to hunt on his property but it didnt work out and now going into it taking a stab in the dark.

Its a DIY, flying in from the states and trying to figure stuff out as we go.
Ive done a lot of elk and deer hunting so I have a good idea on how to survey land and scout using maps, i guess i need to find some names of heli pilots out of Queenstown.

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Do you have anywhere to Hunt yet?

Micky Duck

Please tell me your Church story.

Best bet is to come up with a rough area/catchment that you intend to hunt and someone will be able to advise who to approach about flying in. There are lots of operators out of Queenstown.

Originally Posted by norsk

Do you have anywhere to Hunt yet?

Micky Duck

Please tell me your Church story.

Seconded

Typically this forums works by introducing yourself in the introductions section.

Also most of the area around Queenstown/wanaka is balloted to individual partys near when you are here so you cant hunt it. We are friendly enough here and someone will help you out I'm sure but best way to start is to give an introduction so guys can size you up otherwise they are much less likely to helping a guy from overseas come and shoot our game.

Some of us have similar sentiments about foreign hunters as you do in the USA about out of staters (except you dont have restrictions here and some but not all overseas guys are known for shooting a bunch of young animals because they can).

Now forget every big Red stag you have seen on social media (including the "free range" ones) as they are very unlikely to be found on public land especially by someone new to an area here.

Now for the good. We have amazingly scenic hunting areas that are worth just going to and if you treat it like an experience and dont get dissapointed if you dont get something you will cherish the trip forever regardless. Learn to sex and judge Chamois and you do have a real chance of taking a nice representative 9 inch plus buck home (there is no shortage around Queenstown). Learn to age red deer to a point and ask yourself do you want to take home a piddly little young 10 point thats not impressive in the least at the cost of letting it grow. There are usually plenty of females that taste better and yearlings that taste better again if you would like the meat and you can likely get the whole thing home from them whereas a stag is unlikely.

If you get stuck and dont get any help get in touch and i can send you in the right direction if you head further north to canterbury and if im free Ill take you out.

PS where in the States are you from I was born over there

Certainly not hard to do DIY hunt here in NZ and probably easier around Queenstown given the close proximity to good hunting.
Your results may not meet your level of expectation so ask a lot of questions in order that you at least spill a bit of blood

If going diy, just remember your weather in nz is very unsettled. You can have all 4 seasons in an hour if your in the right place so need to have gear to cope from 30 degree heat to freezing hail coming at you horozontally

Scott Rogers at Haast Heli is a bloody good barsteward. Knows all the chamois and stag spots in his locale

look for an older pilot. They obviously make it home and have done enough flying to stay alive.
Our flying conditions are like our weather, very changeable.
Only ever done 1 fly in hunt. It was with Mountain Helicopters at the Glaciers on the west coast
https://www.mountainhelicopters.co.nz/
Had a great trip in the green MD500

Often its worth giving a few of the companies a call as they will have an idea of where game is and how many hunters/parties they have booked to fly into the different areas.

Z
Read as somewhat Tongue in cheek .

Literally dozens of good mountain pilots in this part of NZ. NZ trains some of the best helicopter pilots in the world largely because of our topography and changeable weather. Take your pick.
You'll mostly be limited to public land a long ways from Qtown, or private land. Most of the public land in this part of South Island is balloted later March onwards.
Send me a PM with your rough intentions and I can point you to some people who might be able to help.

Go to www.doc.govt.nz web site and look for the hunting section.

From the you should be able to find an area to hunt and its all public land and not somebodies spot x

Also don't forget to get your hunting permit if your going on public land this can be obtained from the above website I mentioned, these are free

Heed the warnings though about our weather etc don't become another statistic.

Happy hunting

Saw a YouTube video of some US clowns boiling up a tahr head in a motel room, after eating all the emergency food left in a public hut the night before. I don't think they did anything illegal but it's just bad ettiquette. Treat the place with respect and you'll be welcomed back. Good luck