Thread: NZDA North 'naki HUNTS Course Finale

Left NPL bound for Whanganui on time. Made good time at the expense of an ice cream stop at the berry farm. Bummed.*

Arrived 17h45, most of the boys already here, off loading quads, guns, and gear bags.

Grabbed a spot in the woolshed, set up my stretcher and mattress, hopeful of a good night's sleep.*

Recognising who's setup next to me, those hopes fade instantly.

Safety briefing complete, farm and instructors divvied up between the 6 students, 4 instructors, and our gracious host.*

Pile outside, hop on the back of a quad and off up the hill. Get dropped off 2/3rds the way up.*

Got El Prezidente as my instructor for the evening, no pressure.*

Hed up the hill, see nothing, turn around and see some deer basically where we started walking from.*

Turn around, head back down, hoping the wind and my noisey walking doesnt catch us out.*

It doesn't. Line up on a deer, two others, and a sheep in the sight picture for bonus drama.*

"Bang, flop." First fallow on the deck. El Prezidente nearly gets a crack at one, too.*

Find the deer, gut the deer, light fading, carry the deer down the hill with only a few breaks. Arrive in the dark. Much publicized special belt carrying techinque is not all its cracked up to be.

One of my classmates has bagged a nice stag. I want one of THOSE!

Evening of great banter in the woolshed. Fry up my deer's heart and share it around. Winning favour with flavour.*

Bed time, ear plugs in, lights out. Hoping 2nd run in fancy down quilt goes better.

10min in the snoring starts. I am in awe for various reasons.

Up before my alarm and anyone else, quilt was OK. Make some ninja-mode coffee and wait for the team to rise.

Off up the hill again, out on a ridge glassing some new grass across the other side

I'm not glassing, forgot binos at home. Yes, I know. No bother as I spot a very unlucky pig behind us that had walked right past us.*

Instructor dumps binos and starts raising his rifle, pig works out whats about to happen and runs into the fence we'd just crossed. Pig bounces off and heads back the way it came, getting a 6.5CM tickle in the armpit on the way off the ridge.*

Pig gets fetched, emptied and hung on the fence.*

The instructor and bino-bringing classmate are back to glassing inside 15min. Takes a little while but my classmate spots a pair of young stags across the way.*

We make a move, so do they. We stop halfway down into the valley and setup on a flat bit.**

Instructor ranges and dials me in. 380m. My success rate on the range with the same gun at similar distance was 1/3. This should be interesting.**

Stags heading down through scrub, I pick the bigger one which stops for a snack - bad idea.

I Send it.*Instructor calls good hit - I didn't see shit.*

Relocate both stags through scope, both still heading rapidly downhill but mine clearly having a bad morning now.* They disappear behind a small spur and scrub. Only the smaller one comes out. Nice.*

Find him, pose for photos, empty him out and carry downhill to the quad. Back in the woolshed for coffee before 10AM.*

Spend the morning attempting some amateur headskinng and enjoying professional banter.

One of our cohort gets his first deer from the deck of the woolshed in front of 10 spectators. Super-calm under presure, impressive stuff.

Back out in the late arvo, with a different class mate and instructor, a more sedate pace.*

We sit watching a basin for a while, we start moving further up hill and spot a deer almost immediately. Amazing what a new perspective can do for you.*

Clasmate was already tagged out so Instructor bags this deer, basically on the quad track. Now these are crafty skills I need to learn.*

News via radio of a big stag in a gut so we drop the deer at the woolshed and head up the ridge to help.*

Locate the team with the big stag down in a gut. Chief Instructor has* done very well.

Didnt seem too far walking down. Turn around and immediately change my mind. Now what?*

Have a go at the now correctly applied fancy belt technique for carrying deer - much more comfortable.* Small problem: I can't actually lift myself up loaded with buck.*

Plan C: Resort to four man dragging effort which is code for three of us pretending to help the first night stag shooting class mate. I did navigation and upbeat 1-2-3 counting between efforts.*

El Prezidente has also bagged himself a good stag. Unclear if his or the Chief Instructor's is bigger, but this doesn't seem to be that kind of hunting party. Each is equally stoked with and for each other. Good sports, both of them.**

Rain arrives as it goes dark. Most of the group is already enjoying the sound of the rain from inside the woolshed. The last two of the more determined groups arrive somewhat damp a while later.**

Evening of banter ensues, though everyone is pretty knackered, so earlier lights out. Less awestruck by the snoring this evening. Double calf cramp to wake me up. Nice.*

Spend the morning packing up and trying to learn all I can about dressing meat. Only cut myself twice. Double nice.*

Group disperses around 11h30. I'm the last one out. Say a final thanks to our gracious host and head home.*

Picked up a bag of pool salt for my stag skin and tested out the berry farm ice creams on the way home. Good test.*

Many thanks to: Paddy, Ian, Neal, Louis and Cameron from NZDA North Taranaki branch for a brilliant HUNTS course, Grant and Craig for hosting us at Inzevar, and lastly to my classmates for tolerating all my questions.**

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Great read it was an awesome weekend and some great shooting from the hunts course students.

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Sorry about all the *'s, I can't edit the post.

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well done you are right thats a real mongrel way to carry a deer - to much weight on ones neck - and need to get rid of deer if one slipped crossing a river damn difficult

Great read mate, well done.

Awesome.....keep it up.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

well done you are right thats a real mongrel way to carry a deer - to much weight on ones neck - and need to get rid of deer if one slipped crossing a river damn difficult

Luckily the only water course we were going to cross was a hosepipe at the woolshed. Still nearly got me though!

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sound like you had a great trip

Great write up and Hunts course - awesome stuff thanks

Awesome. These HUNTS courses are one of the best things ever to happen to hunting in NZ. Well done NZDA!

-yes but Thar with proviso I became a hunts instructor for a period of time did all the theory with keen types and then came unglued when it came to actual hunting a deer - the money supposedly for the hunts course had been redirected to range shooting - so one was up against a rock and a hard place- there was no way I was going to take them out and carry out a goat as many hunts course did - if you are going to run such a course then make damn sure you can do it properly -this one they did well - a property with deer way to go - do it properly or not at all

Originally Posted by Tahr

Awesome. These HUNTS courses are one of the best things ever to happen to hunting in NZ. Well done NZDA!

Yeah we had a great weekend with 6 students and all but 1 got there first deer and alot managed to get fellow bucks.
The one that missed out had his chances but didn't manage to pull it off.
We had a few that had never fired a rifle before the course so they have come along way.

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Awesome
It sounds like I should be doing one as well