The Way It Was

I find nothing more exciting than trekking through haunts of our forefathers with stories of magnificent animals seen and shot under testing conditions in hobnail boots, a bag of rice and wool clothing. Days on end, and often only a pouch of tobacco to keep them company.

Fast forward….

We have industry marketing machines and television media promoting kitchen sinks, bbqs, and fabric motels as essentials on a hunting trip. Polaris vehicles, helicopters to tops and short strolls carrying a heap of unnecessary shit a few km’s.

Hats off to NZ Hunter for putting in the hard yards, and respecting hunting for what it is.

I for sure will make sure my kids understand through experience that effort = reward, and kitchen sinks are not required.

Gripe over, sorry.

Must admit I'm a sucker for running a fair bit of fancy gear however nothing beats just getting out there and doing it, at the end of the day all you need is something that goes bang in the right direction and a knife to have plenty of fun and fill the freezer, I see alot of people forget this and don't even bother going out unless they have all there new shit to accompany them

When you look back at the quantity of rifles, Bowie knives and other gizmos manufactured and marketed during the colonial days, the conquest of the American west, followed by the romance of African safaris between the two wars and post ww2, except for the electronics and the quality of the printing of the colour paper there is not necessarily that much difference on how much shit you got told you had to buy and carry.

In France , from the 1900s till 1972, every year there was the huge catalogue of the Manufacture des armes et cycles ( guns and bicycles) of St etienne.
My family still had a couple of late editions when I was a kid.
If you pile up 4 or 5 current catalogues from hunting and fishing , that gives you an idea of the thickness of the catalogue from that manufacture

https://www.amazon.com/Catalogue-Man.../dp/2714443095

Way I see it is, use electronic stuff to incress your awareness of things. Wind meters to teach you feel of wind what plants react how to different wind speeds and work out windage. Night vision and thermal to learn what your not seeing, range finders for learning distance and drop. Cameras on scopes for?? Utube I guess.
But at end of day it should be you, a rifle and a animal pitting yourself against each other.
At end of day you need to be able hunt and shoot on your skill alone.
I've got nothing against people going into the field with the whole kit and kaboodle but if you don't have the basics down then your just playing a video game in reality.

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Originally Posted by Stag

I find nothing more exciting than trekking through haunts of our forefathers with stories of magnificent animals seen and shot under testing conditions in hobnail boots, a bag of rice and wool clothing. Days on end, and often only a pouch of tobacco to keep them company.

Fast forward….

We have industry marketing machines and television media promoting kitchen sinks, bbqs, and fabric motels as essentials on a hunting trip. Polaris vehicles, helicopters to tops and short strolls carrying a heap of unnecessary shit a few km’s.

Hats off to NZ Hunter for putting in the hard yards, and respecting hunting for what it is.

I for sure will make sure my kids understand through experience that effort = reward, and kitchen sinks are not required.

Gripe over, sorry.

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Fair call @Stag and im with you 100% . The best trips for me involve campfires, sleeping rough and living out of your mobile home ( pack ). Ive just finished reading Allan Harrisons book " A deer stalkers Paradise " . Epic read. Spending weeks on end in Fiordland and the coast chasing deer. The NZ hunter crew did that trip through the arawhata saddle to Williamsons flat. Don't know if you saw it but it was bloody epic. Followed in Allan Harrisons footsteps.

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Originally Posted by Nathan F

Fair call @Stag and im with you 100% . The best trips for me involve campfires, sleeping rough and living out of your mobile home ( pack ). Ive just finished reading Allan Harrisons book " A deer stalkers Paradise " . Epic read. Spending weeks on end in Fiordland and the coast chasing deer. The NZ hunter crew did that trip through the arawhata saddle to Williamsons flat. Don't know if you saw it but it was bloody epic. Followed in Allan Harrisons footsteps.

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That was one of there best episodes

I have good kit but practical stuff that is light and fit for purpose. Most of the promoted stuff is just unpractical.

Yeah @Nathan F I saw that and that’s why I enjoy watching as aligned to what I believe hunting is all about.

You ain’t seen promotion until you walk in the shoes of the 500,000 or so in the US that have bought into the “buying shit they don’t really need” mentality.
I’m happy to leave the horns and insta-bragging crowd behind and join you folks in just putting meat on the table.
Actually, I hope I never put NZ meat on my table…I hope it’s my little daughters who do all the harvesting.

Cabelas do a neat catalogue...havent seen one for years.

I bet if your beaut little gadget broke down, all those hard yards you put in would keep you well.
I am wondering your age mind. Compass and topo both beaut little gadgets and been round a long time.;)

I like gear too, but it's been refined down to almost nothing, so back where I started (I don't want to carry a load of shit up the hill). Planning the next goat hunt and getting a little excited. I've pretty much given up chasing deer. No time and fuel too expensive.

I’ve kind of gone the other way. I started out with the newer tech as a teenager. I was doing ok for a few years as far as getting deer but the more I read about past hunters and cullers and the more I learned about our hunting history I sort of wanted to see if I would “make the grade” if I had all the old gear and did it a bit harder.

Ive done a few “old school” trips now. I’ve found them to be a really good way to reset the thinking and they’ve been some of the most enjoyable hunting trips I’ve ever had.

Theres still a place for new tech in my book but we all have our own line in the sand for what tech we’d use and the way we like to hunt. Every time I take the 303 and a frame pack and consign my cooking to a campfire, I gain more than I lose.

Don’t get me wrong I like new tech and fit for purpose gear. What I am referring to is packing 35kg packs, dropped on the top of a hill by a helicopter, dressed like a compost bin to walk straight down the face where the Taj Mahal is waiting furnished with stoves, bbqs to name a few.

We have the privilege of travelling light, with good kit (mainly tramping brands) that allow us to put in a solid effort and retrace some of the golden years.

What gets my goat is that my kids see this stuff and start thinking they need that to hunt. My kids are privileged, they will learn what a real day on the hill feels like and the rewards of putting in a lot of effort.

Last decent trip my 9 year old walked 35 clicks over 2.5 days and was rewarded for his efforts many times over.

Maybe I born 50 years too late :(

Greetings All,
There are some things I don't miss like the oilskin parka's I started with, the heavy woollen Swandri and singlets that followed, crap boots and uncomfortable packs. Heavy rifles with unreliable scopes are also on the list of un lamented kit. I did really enjoy the NZ Hunter episodes where Willy was a crash test dummy for some of this ancient kit and did OK as well.
GPM.

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Originally Posted by Stag

Don’t get me wrong I like new tech and fit for purpose gear. What I am referring to is packing 35kg packs, dropped on the top of a hill by a helicopter, dressed like a compost bin to walk straight down the face where the Taj Mahal is waiting furnished with stoves, bbqs to name a few.

We have the privilege of travelling light, with good kit (mainly tramping brands) that allow us to put in a solid effort and retrace some of the golden years.

What gets my goat is that my kids see this stuff and start thinking they need that to hunt. My kids are privileged, they will learn what a real day on the hill feels like and the rewards of putting in a lot of effort.

Last decent trip my 9 year old walked 35 clicks over 2.5 days and was rewarded for his efforts many times over.

Maybe I born 50 years too late :(

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Nah., I reckon you’ve got it exactly right.

Your young fella will thank you when he’s grown, you’ll yarn about the hard days you both put in over the years and neither of you will forget what you’ve done and where you’ve been.

Not to go to far into platitudes but that’s what it’s all about I reckon.