Thread: Hunting for Internation Visitors

There are quite a lot of similar threads to this one on here. The search function on the site isn’t great, but if you dig back a bit you’ll find lots of good info.

Apply for your firearms license ASAP (https://www.firearmssafetyauthority....rearms-licence). Police would prefer you apply at least 4 months in advance, so you’ve got time if you start now.

If you have a particular ammunition you need, check Christchurch retailers online (gun city, gunworks) to see if they have it. Ammo is generally expensive here, and more limited selection. Personally I’d bring my own rifle ammo.

If you are connecting through Auckland on the way to Christchurch, leave time between flights to get your guns and paperwork inspected. If you’re flying straight into Christchurch from the USA you’re fine.

If you’re transiting through a third country (Australia etc), be careful. Some people say it’s fine, others say it’s a nightmare, I'd personally avoid it.

Hunting licenses are free online (https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-re...unting-permit/). Basically you’re agreeing not to scare people, shoot native birds, or at night. Takes 2 minutes to fill out and goes straight to your email. Check all the boxes for the South Island so you can hunt whatever open area you want.

Department of Conservation (DOC) maps website (https://www.doc.govt.nz/map/index.html). There are topographic and satellite layers that are both very useful. You can also add features like hunting boundaries, trails, huts, etc. It’s really handy for understanding where you’re going, what’s there, the rules/restrictions are, hut fees etc.

There are some ballot only zones that show up in yellow on the doc map when you turn on the hunting boundaries. These require ballotted/special access through doc. Most of the ballots have closed for this year. There’s lots of open public land.
Be aware that many trails in NZ go through rivers (often repeatedly). If you get rain or the hills inland of you get rain, you might not be able to pass even relatively small creeks until their levels drop.

Weather events are common. Plan a couple hunt options spaced across the South Island in case one area gets rained out, roads are closed etc. Plan for lots of rain and damp, be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t show up.

Train for lots of up/down hiking. Most mountain hunting in NZ is a lot closer to mountain goat or sheep hunting in North America than most NA deer hunting. Fitness is the number one thing that wrecks international hunters here. Best training is stairs with a heavy pack, both up and down.

DOC does aerial and ground poisoning for pests (https://maps.doc.govt.nz/externalmap...sticidesummary). Check this website for where they have, or are planning to do poisoning. It’s not a colossal issue, but sometimes it can affect your hunting areas. Generally try to avoid areas that have been poisoned. They also show future poison projects so you may be able to sneak in ahead of them.

Deer/goat/pig hunting on public land is basically open season – the government wants them gone. Ducks are administered like in North America with seasons, regulations, tags, limits etc. Same for freshwater fish.

Airline rules on firearm and ammo transport etc seem to change over time. Others can chime in on this, but it seems like they sometimes get bent out of shape if ammo is in non-factory packaging (like plastic ammo boxes) so having ammo in factory boxes (even if it’s reloads) calms them down. Might not be an issue, just something that gets raised every so often. If you contact the airline in advance and get their instructions in writing you should be fine.

April is the roar (rut) so the busiest time of year in the woods. Pretty similar to North America – if other people are already hunting an area, go somewhere else, and if you run into someone be friendly and work out a plan so you aren’t hunting on top of each other. Same as NA there’re some dicks out there, but if you’re being friendly, you’ve done your bit. You’re likely to end up sharing huts with people, both hunters and non-hunters. This guide has a decent balance of hut etiquette suggestions: https://goodblokes.nz/backcountry-hu...e-for-hunters/