Thread: NZ vs USA hunting style

There is a lot of factors to this, I guess.

First of all: a totally different approach to hunting/game in general. Being classified as pests game is eradicated by rigorous means in NZ - in the US game is managed as a valuable resource. Introduced species in NZ vs native species in the US.

Terrain: Hides and tree stands are mostly common in eastern US states (typical whitetail states). In the western states the terrain is similarly rough as in New Zealand and most hunting is spot and stalk. There are similar differences in Europe: In Germany's flat country most deer hunting is done from blinds. In the Austrian Alps spot and stalk is at least as popular.

Land Ownership: Blinds are most useful on private land, like in the eastern US states. On private land you typically have a rather small but well-known area to hunt - without competition by others. On public land (a lot of NZ and western US) you have so much country to explore that blinds will rather benefit other hunters than yourself.

Length of season and bag limits: In the US hunting seasons are pretty short. Tags are limited and legal animals are clearly specified. You typically do a lot of pre-season scouting, use trail cameras aso. On opening morning you know where to sit to find your one animal. NZ has 12 months of hunting so you can hunt whenever you want without any pressure to be successful - there's always tomorrow. And there's no limit regarding number, size, sex or whatever.

Kiwi attitude: My impression is that Kiwi hunters have some sort of "keep it simple" attitude towards hunting. Minimal gear but great physical efforts. American hunters tend to be gear nerds. (I am not intending to criticise either of both attitudes as I like both.)