Hi all
I'm looking to go on a day trip for my first hunting (in fact more like "walking with a gun on the back" type of trip) in Oxford Forest following the track.
Is there anything I need to know and bring?
Thank you in advance!
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Hi all
I'm looking to go on a day trip for my first hunting (in fact more like "walking with a gun on the back" type of trip) in Oxford Forest following the track.
Is there anything I need to know and bring?
Thank you in advance!
Attachment 263168
No shooting from the track
Headlamp, extra batteries and a back up
Good stuff mate. The packing list from Better Hunting is a pretty good starting point.
It's a popular spot so I would make a plan as to some likely spots you might push off the track and take a look around if you feel confident.
I grew up around there but have never hunted it, but I'm sure someone with local knowledge will be along to give you pointers
Water bladder
Raincoat, even if it is not raining
Printed copy of map of area in plastic ziplock bag with compass
A known and trusted individual that you have told where you will be going and who, if you are not back by a certain time, will alert authorities
merino baselayer
Printed permits too - easy to forget
Enthusiasm and good eyes to identify any potential targets.
Thank you! The list is really useful!, as I'm not sure if I'm into the hunting, my first trip will likely be me walking around without firing any shot. The list for the day trip is certainly useful in this case.Quote:
Originally Posted by veryfuturistic
exactly could not have put it better great advice 308 all he needsQuote:
Originally Posted by 308
No worries, the whole Better Hunting course is worth a look in. It's easy to get dissuaded -- I say this as someone who is largely self-taught and still learning. Just think of your first hunt as the first in a series of hunts. @Happy Jack's points about enthusiasm and powers of observation are good ones. Sharpen your senses and learn the geography of where you would like to hunt. Figure out what the habits of the deer are, what they are feeding on etc. Over a few visits you will get a better picture of the landscape and eventually this will bear fruit.
Dunny paper.
a knife
I'm still very much learning being self taught too but been tramping for years.
Buy this book, the latest edition about $34.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a94d074ff1.jpg
good one esay to forget rangiora is no substituteQuote:
Originally Posted by Gamehunter
A bucket to put everything you learn on the trip into. You might not shoot an animal but remember any clearings where the sun strikes in the early morning and evening. Where you see any fresh sign. Where you are best to SIT, wait, and look, rather than clumsily tramping through the bush hoping to score something.
That should fill the bucket up nicely.
If you take a map and compass make sure you know how to use it properly.
NZTopo50 app on your phone is handy if you don't have a GPS.
Before you shoot a deer, do you know how to cut them up?
Heaps of good advice already mentioned.
After going on my first official hunt last weekend with my son and seasoned hunting mate for two nights I soon discovered that I had packed way too much, brought too much food and too many extra items of clothing. I was amazed at how little we ate. We didn't shoot anything as the deer we did see were too far away.
It was still a fantastic adventure because we learnt sooo much and nothing beats being out in nature away from the rat race.
Being wished "good luck" or sharpening your knife prior to a hunt is NOT bad luck.
Yep, I hunted with a guy that was superstitious to that crap.
Good luck
What a pack of pussies
Rifle ammo and a knife.
Dumb.Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokeyJason
I think early on it's better to have more headroom for safety / chance of getting lost or spending a shitty night out than coming in hot with just a knife and a gun like rambo.
I've not been in that area but you could follow the track and then push off east from Mt Oxford - seems like there's some open country there that would be good for glassing.
Good luck n have fun
@HarryMax, SmokeyJason is a hardened old deer caller from the 70s that used to roam the bush in a pair of holey y-fronts with a swanny over the top and live for a month off a bag of flour and whatever he shot.
Yeah but ol mate who's going in the bush for the first time isn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by RUMPY
There's always a first time. Fwiw I too was a first timer. Gotta start somewhere, hard way is the best.
Ok BoomerQuote:
Originally Posted by SmokeyJason
I tend to agree, my first time was last weekend with an overloaded pack spending 2 hours bush bashing going up and down super steep hills! I'm over 50 and unfit so it was a good tester and was also a good way to find out if hunting was for me or not. I learnt a hell of a lot and had a great time so will be continuing on the hunting journey. Plus I spent some great one on one time with my 15 yr old son, can't beat it.Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokeyJason
one item I never go without is a pull thru and several pieces of cloth then if I suspect moisture in barrel easy fix most hunters carry to much - day hunt culling it was a sheath knife spare knife ( mercator) in pouch pull thru ammo compass toilet paper spare lighter piece candle ( just in case need to light fire ) thats it
Tend to agree with @SmokeyJason and @Barry the hunter. We all tend to carry far too much gear these days. PLB, rifle, ammo, kit and caboodle pull through, knife, light rain jacket, lighter and tinder, insulation tape, plus what I’m wearing is about all I take for local day hunt. Don’t carry much more when hunting the likes off Molesworth, St James, Upper Leatham etc. I go through stages of carrying shit I never use and have a cull of gear in bumbag or daypack every so often. I get by ok even with the odd unintended night out.
That's another thing to have if possible is either a PLB or satellite messaging service so you have contact with someone on the outside world if all hell breaks loose.
yes I do agree with that Monkey nutz I could add nowadays I do take my cell phone ( cameras great ) but a PLB would be good - but some hunters almost rattle with what they carry
800ml drink bottle..poweraid from shop works good and lasts forever refilled from creeks. Couple of muesli bars.if are a hungry model.half a Boston bun buttered and top flipped so icing n butter are in centre and bread outside. Plb/phone maybe GPS if own one. Knife because a man without a knife is like a dog without a dick. (Dog without a dick is a bitch n I'm nobodies bitch).box of barley sugars for emergency rations. Positive attitude. Binos. Positive attitude.
Properly sighted in rifle, bolt, mag, ammo, knife, pack, water, little bit of food, toilet paper, headlamp, survival blanket.
If going some where for the first time don't go too far off the beaten track, venture a bit further each trip out until confident of the area.
You will get to know where to look after a while, and try to keep wind in your face.
Good luck
