Thread: Seeking Advice - New to Hunting

Hi guys,

Myself and my fiance have decided to get out of town for a while, and do some long-term camping. While we are stuck in Auckland for the time being, our ultimate goal will be to move far, far away.

Anyway, I have always wanted to learn to hunt/fish, camp and become self-sufficient out there as much as possible. I have a bow and an air-rifle (I can hear you laughing), but that is all I can really work with at this stage. A gun license sounds like a fantasy in the current environment (a friend said not to bother... there is a 2 year wait-list at least).

Can anyone share their thoughts on how we might approach this? Where should we go? We have 2 (non-hunting) dogs that will be with us, and we are happy to rough-it long-term. Ultimately we will probably get a sweet camper trailer of some sort, but we want to start with the bare minimum before we go fancy. This is going to be a way of life for some time, assuming we enjoy it as much as we think we will. Also, the plan is to slowly migrate south, assuming we will ever be able to get into the South Island again...

Don't get me wrong, we aren't going to be dependent on hunting and fishing to survive, given I still have income from a business I own... but it would be fun to try and make that work.

• Where would you start?
• What would you do if you had no choice but to do this?
• If you needed to maintain some kind of cell reception, how would you do that?
• What gear would you consider 'must-have'? What would you do for comms/navigation?
• What would the minimum effective vehicle/4WD be?

Literally any thoughts or insights will be appreciated.


Cheers,
Mitch

Start small then work your way up. Start shooting a few rabbits. Make sure to learn and practice other skills especially off track navigation.
Nap compass and phone are all you need for navigation. In reach or plb for extra safety.
Get a 22 and a 223. You will be sorted for the vast majority of NZ hunting. Get good with them.

Hey, welcome to the forum.

NO one person will be able to answer all your questions, but a good start is reading through the forum, and watching videos.

The absolute first place you should start with your bow and air rifle (not laughing because both can kill) is learning how to be accurate with each.

You don't want to wound an animal so figure out how to master your weapons.

first thing i shot (rat) air rifle
first deer i shot crossbow.
start off with something small like a 22, learn to shoot and gauge wind/ elevation etc.
from then on things get better but way more expensive

I would start with the camping. Get that sorted, then worry about the hunting.
Air rifles are not allowed on public (DOC) land. Bowhunting is allowed with a permit (which are free), though I think there are minimum draw requirements etc that apply. The air rifle could keep you fed with rabbits, possums etc if you have access to private land.
Maintaining cell reception means only going to areas that have coverage, which rules out a lot of areas if you want constant reception. Some areas you will get reception within a shortish drive, or by walking to the top of a certain ridge, etc if you just need to check messages occasionally.

Register with the NZDA HUNTS program.

Originally Posted by Phil_H

Very first thing I would suggest you need to do - if you intend hunting with and owning a rifle at sometime - is get your firearms application in to the Arms Office. Even if the delay is two years, it isn’t going to be any shorter time the longer you leave it. In fact I would suggest you both get an application in.

Cheers
Phil

Along with this, try to stagger the two fire arm licience expiry dates. If they both expire at the same time, you won't be able to hold them while both of you are unlicensed.

A small point but one to consider down the track.

From all the reading I have been doing Bay of Plenty seems to be over run with deer.

Realistically go out with binoculars and a notepad. Look for deer and try to stalk into them, them make notes about what worked and didn't work.

Worry about shooting them later.

They are wrong about the gun license though. If you don't apply you won't start the process of rising to the top of the queue of the long list of applications.
May as well start asap.

Hey guys… I was wondering if you could comment on how security fits in to the equation.

If we load up a 4WD with everything we intend to live off, and fit it all out etc., it seems like we would be taking a bit of a risk every time we park up somewhere and wander off into the bush… What can be done to avoid getting our stuff stolen while we are away from the car? Is this even worth worrying about?

We would be pretty screwed if this happened… so just curious about your experiences and thoughts.


Cheers,
Mitch

Originally Posted by Mitcho

Hey guys… I was wondering if you could comment on how security fits in to the equation.

If we load up a 4WD with everything we intend to live off, and fit it all out etc., it seems like we would be taking a bit of a risk every time we park up somewhere and wander off into the bush… What can be done to avoid getting our stuff stolen while we are away from the car? Is this even worth worrying about?

We would be pretty screwed if this happened… so just curious about your experiences and thoughts.


Cheers,
Mitch

Become a regular commenting member on this forum, make acquaintences and then in a couple of years you will have many friendly contacts from one end of NZ to the other that you can ask : Hey, can I leave my truck at your place for a week's hunting"??

Re walking/hunting from Auckland to Wellington, those of us who have done those sorts of expeditions usually spent years doing all the little trips inbetween, getting to know the lie of the land (pre gps and G Earth!!) and then stitched all those trips together in one big long adventure. Usually in a January to May period of the year. Just a written out general route for mum and dad to follow, and off we went. No plb/radio/gps. Just your packs' contents a rifle and a head full of knowledge

Maybe one person stay at the vehicle. Alternate turns away.

It is what it is, parking in areas that are very remote reduces the chance of theft by virtue of no one else being there.

You could put a trail camera watching over your truck and have it notify your sat phone, but this isn’t really practical.

If I go anywhere overnight or longer I just take the clapped out corolla for leaving at the road end.
I leave nothing in it and leave it unlocked. That way no one has to break a window to verify there are no coins in the ashtray.

In some ways you just have to accept there is a security risk with a vehicle at a road end and carry on, if one worries too much about it, it either stops you going hunting or ruins your hunt because you worried about the car the whole time.

I realise none of this directly answers your need, it’s more to give some examples to help you think of how you will manage this part of it, ultimately you will need to figure your own methods that work. Which judging by the questions you are asking, you will be able to do.

I started out getting the firearms license, joining the NZDA ,doing the HUNTS course, and going out a couple of times with other people before heading out on my own. There is A LOT to learn, the most important in my opinion being the laws and safety.
Funny enough my first gun was a 7mm08, i only started shooting bunnies later with my second gun a .22. Unless you know people with land that you can regularly go to, it is actually easier to hunt large game on public land. DOC doesn't make it easy to hunt small game in my experience.

Get rid of the crossbow and the recurve - trade them in on a min 65lb draw compound bow. Couple of reasons. Crossbows have a very limited range in terms of the kinetic energy of the bolt. At short range they are very effective killers. Unfortunately at longer ranges they tend to wound more easily than kill. And even more unfortunately because you can pick one up and as a complete novice, use it like a firearm, I.e. point and fire, you learn squat about archery. And novices with crossbows are a recipe for wounded animals. They shoot at stuff because the bolt can get there, not because it can kill when it does. An arrow from a bow has the kinetic energy to penetrate a broadhead well into or through an animal at its most extreme range. Because of the weight of the arrow. As the French found out at the wrong end of English longbows.

The recurve is a lovely bow but will take you much longer to become proficient with as you have to hold the full weight of the bow pull at full draw. 65lb is a very effective weight for a hunting bow. Yes, you can hunt with a 45lb. But its like the difference between hunting with a rimfire and a centrefire.

The compound bow allows you to hold as little as 40% of the full pull weight at full draw length. Gives you time to hold and aim with less strength or fatigue. Also the string accelerates whereas a recurve decreases its shove on the arrow instantly from release.

With a 65lb bow or higher you can kill rabbits effectively with a blunt. Broadheads are far too expensive to waste on rabbits. Instead use a field pile and drill two holes behind the tip, flat or pointed tip, at 90 degrees to each other, one behind the other, and pass a panel pin nail through. Bend it at each end against the hole edge, each end in opposite direction, so that it is locked in place. With both pins bent and trimmed to about 5mm each leg, you get a swastika like pattern. Without the nails the rabbit or possum or wild cat will depart the scene dragging your arrow. With the nails, the full kinetic energy of the arrow is transferred to the target. Instead of penciling thru, you get broken bones and destroyed tissue. I.e. bang-flops.

I hunted and shot an awful lot of rabbits in Foxton hedgerows back in the day. A 55lb bow will do the job but only just. 65lb is much more efficient.

Hunting rabbits in hedgerows and above ground habitats don't bother with long shots. Walk slowly up on them, they will take cover and freeze. Look in the hedge, gorse, grass for the eye. Use your peripheral vision. Most folk will walk right past them. Learn to see the eye and you will shoot a lot of orchard and paddock rabbits.

The skill level you need is to be able to consistently hit a matchbox at 25 paces on the ground. I used to always have my bow in the back of my HQ Holden Station Wagon as I visited rural folk in my work. I silenced many a scoffer when they saw the bow with the match box on the lawn trick. And won a few wagers not to mention hunting rights. To be fair, I practiced daily.