Thread: Question - Shooting on Canterbury Rivers

G'day, As the title suggests.

I was down quad-biking a local river in Canterbury and stumbled accross plenty of sign.
Problem is its surrounded by farmland and not that far from a highway...but far enough.

Can anyone point me in the direction of the rules for taking a deer in a river. Or is it a simple no-go?

Many thanks.

With out being sneeky and risking yr fal.Knock on the farmers door first.They might let you shoot on the or near the river boundry.But if the river bed is near the main centres and gets a bit of use i wouldnt bother.Drive and extra hour and get into the valleys and hills.I shoot near river bed edges,but close to the main divine,not close to state high one,main centres or farmers house.Look after yr fal.

To discharge a firearm anywhere in NZ you need the permission of the land owner/occupier, so if it’s some sort of public land you will need some sort of permit.
Penalty is up to $100,000 fine and 2 years jail iirc, so you definitely want your ducks in a row!

For most Canterbury rivers you can use a shotgun to hunt gamebirds. Other forms of shooting are not allowed. Ownership of river beds and surrounding areas is a real mixed bag. Some is local council, some is private, some is “water board”. Some is other govt dept.

You will need a 12g x 7x57 'drilling' and a game bird licence and some 'buck shot' to 'produce'. Hang the deer up and come back later with no gun to collect - I am told

It's not clear at all. I have looked at duck hunting and trout fishing opportunities in my area and can't work it out. Everything is fine until it's not.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

You will need a 12g x 7x57 'drilling' and a game bird licence and some 'buck shot' to 'produce'. Hang the deer up and come back later with no gun to collect - I am told

Can you get non-toxic buckshot? Carrying lead shot within 200m of a waterway will also get you in trouble.

Originally Posted by Cigar

Can you get non-toxic buckshot? Carrying lead shot within 200m of a waterway will also get you in trouble.

You are allowed to carry lead buck shot, so long as you are not hunting "waterfowl type game birds", except on Public Conservation Land. Most open South island rivers are not administered by DoC. Non toxic shot is not required for quail etc. Nor is it required for Canadian geese.

It's not like your going to actually use the buckshot, the 7x57 does the drilling. On most riverbeds firearms are prohibited unless carried by the holder of a current gamebird licence

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

It's not like your going to actually use the buckshot, the 7x57 does the drilling. On most riverbeds firearms are prohibited unless carried by the holder of a current gamebird licence

Where is that stated about gamebird license on rivers? Be curious to read it

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Yip most Canterbury rivers are shotguns only in game bird season I got in trouble for shooting feral cats with a rim fire . Being 20 at the time and prone to going off half cocked I made sure the ranger new how counter productive it was to stop me shooting cats where they had a pheasant release program ran by them . At 32 I understand it has to be one rule for all. On a side not I must have taken 30-40 cats with the hmr up their was good fun

Originally Posted by hillclima

Where is that stated about gamebird license on rivers? Be curious to read it

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Environment Canterbury managed the rivers I was on and it was in their rule book also noted on signs at the major access points

Originally Posted by hillclima

Where is that stated about gamebird license on rivers? Be curious to read it

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https://www.ecan.govt.nz/your-region...-and-shooting/

Different for every area obviously but you do have to dig deeper than DOC and Fish and Game

Thanks for your input team.
Its obvious its loads of grey around what we can do and not.
For example, there is no issue hunting the likes of Rangitata and Macaulay and those types but not much around smaller rivers/streams.

I've messaged ECAN for some guidance. Surely there shoudl be some cut and dry rules for the land they manage.

cheers

Good luck. a few years ago I wanted to make sure I was OK to shoot some bunnies in a nearby riverbed as it was getting to be a plague of them.

first I spoke to DOC, who said they don't manage riverbeds, I should speak with fish and game.

fish and game said they only deal in fish and game birds not game animals, and I would need to talk to DOC

rinse and repeat a couple of times before I got too pissed off to carry on.

I'd love to have some clarification about taking deer in the likes of the rakaia river though so if you find anything out make sure to let us know