Sat Shri Akal --- Newbie on the forum

Kia Ora good chaps,

Inder here from Bangalore, INDIA. Born and brought up in North India moved to South for bread. I've been an avid outdoor man since I can remember. Got into shooting at age of 12 when my dad gifted me a Diana airgun. Never looked back afer that. Did lot of fishing in INDIA for Mahseer not much of a hunting, sadly its banned here. I am a big supporter of RKBA and been a member of https://indiansforguns.com/ (largest gun forum in INDIA) since its inception.

Last year wifey decided to do her Masters. We were looking at the options and really loved New Zealand and its culture. She applied and luckily got admitted at Massey, came to Palmer stone at start of this year. Earlier plan was that she will keep visiting while me with 2 kids, 15 & 4 will stay in INDIA.

I have been lurking on the forum since wife discovered NZ. @Ryan_Songhurst thread ( https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....dragged-60818/ ) and support of you kind folks pushed me to join. I am also in similar situation. My older one did not take staying away from her mother well and started to feel sick (surprisingly younger 4 YO took it pretty well). As we already spent almost all of our savings on my wife studies, her moving back was not really an option. We decided to move to NZ with kids till wife completes her studies, I resigned from my job and was waiting to book tickets when this Covid situation struck and borders closed. Now I am sitting here without a job and still away from wife. Its okay though, almighty has his ways to test us. Hopefully one day everything will get better and all will be with loved ones with joy in their life.

I am a member of Rifle association here and shoot Olympic Trap. Will be looking for trap shooting clubs if and when I am there. Apart from that I love Archery. Big Jim https://bigjimsbowcompany.com/ from USA just finished a Thunderchild longbow for me. Hoping to get it shipped when everything settles till then will practice with my Samick Sage and get better so that I can hunt goats when I am in Palmy. Hoping to meet good blokes and make friends for life as I have here in South INDIA.

Thanks for reading the long post and apologies for the rant.

-Inder

Welcome Inder, really great introduction.
I wish you all the best when you are able to finally get over here.

Welcome.

plenty of good hunting not overly far away from palmy....welcome aboard.

Hey mate , welcome to Palmerston north. I am also from palmy. Not a bad place really! .Chin up , everything happens for a reason a wise man once told me.

Excellent Introduction, Im sure you will enjoy your time in NZ when you get here, will you eat the Goats & can you eat Venison/Deer meat or Wild Pork ?

It would of been fantastic to hunt India back in the day & I think I read some where that Wild Boar & may be Nilgai/Blue Bull could be hunted for crop damage control ?

All the best for you and your family.

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Originally Posted by Trig

Welcome Inder, really great introduction.
I wish you all the best when you are able to finally get over here.

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Thanks a lot Trig, Hoping for the best.

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Originally Posted by Max Headroom

Welcome.

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Thanks Max

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

plenty of good hunting not overly far away from palmy....welcome aboard.

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Thanks Micky, Hoping to get some Goats. Never done any proper hunting apart from one guided Pheasant hunt in Wisconsin USA. Was a wonderful experience.

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Originally Posted by Jusepy

Hey mate , welcome to Palmerston north. I am also from palmy. Not a bad place really! .Chin up , everything happens for a reason a wise man once told me.

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Thanks Jusepy, I really like the place from the pics my wife keep sending us. Absolutely, seen lots of up and downs in my life. One thing i believe, everything happens for good. Maybe some good in this, which we are not able to see right now.

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Originally Posted by Scout

Excellent Introduction, Im sure you will enjoy your time in NZ when you get here, will you eat the Goats & can you eat Venison/Deer meat or Wild Pork ?

It would of been fantastic to hunt India back in the day & I think I read some where that Wild Boar & may be Nilgai/Blue Bull could be hunted for crop damage control ?

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Thanks Scout. I am a Sikh so can eat everything including beef but we do not out of respect for our Hindu brethren. Hunting was fantastic in the days of yore :) . In-fact I a come from a family where my grandparents/uncles hunted. Till recently we had trophies at our village house but then after the Ban everyone stopped. New generation and even my generation has no interest in Hunting or outdoor way of life. Trying to reverse the trend with my son, this reason played a big part in decision to move to NZ.

Yes technically one can hunt Wild Boar and Blue bulls but there is too much red tape involved. You can not consume the meat, carcass need to be buried in presence of District Forest Officer so people avoid taking that route and indulge in poaching. Not my cup of tea, too averse to illegal things.

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Originally Posted by Phil_H

Good intro @Inder. Really hope you make it. Palmy Stone......erghhh...you could do better.....good universities and hunting further south like Christchurch, though we can’t compete when it comes to hunting goats....bloody nice in a good curry.....the only thing I miss about the North Island.

Anyway, hope to hear more of you and your families adventures getting here to New Zealand.

Cheers
Phil

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Wife wanted to stay in a small place and liked Massey's environment and we did not have much info but we are liking what we see in the pics which she sends. Maybe in future if we decide to live in NZ longer or wife decide to do her doctorate :)

Thanks a lot for so warm welcome chaps. turned from a gloomy to awesome day for me here.

-Inder

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Originally Posted by Woody

All the best for you and your family.

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Thanks Woody,


BTW chaps my wife makes a bloody good goat curry so if I ever get a goat. You all will be invited :) . Dreams for now but heck one can always do that :D

-Inder

Welcome, you’ll enjoy NZ and its hunting opportunities, I used to read books about hunting in India in the early days (pre 1960?) and it’s a shame it’s all gone.

Welcome Inder - when you finally get to go bush the only surprise in comparison to (South) India may well be the isolation - it's really easy to be alone out in the NZ bush

If you want a start then your local NZDA runs the HUNTS course which is a good general starter for those who want to give it a go
There is a book with the course which is a good read
https://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/HUNTS

I've met plenty of Indians here who are mad keen* on goats and they are not prized as highly amongst locals as pigs and deer so the access to hunting them is easier, if that makes sense
If you got into the practice of supplying goat meat amongst Palmerston North Indians that may well be a good way in; just a thought

* In NZ society the word "keen" is what they call a Shibboleth - just say that you are keen on something or keen in general (ie eager to get into it) and you will go far amongst kiwis



Good luck, brother

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Originally Posted by Finnwolf

Welcome, you’ll enjoy NZ and its hunting opportunities, I used to read books about hunting in India in the early days (pre 1960?) and it’s a shame it’s all gone.

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Thanks Finnwolf, I grew up reading Jim Corbett (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett ) and discovered Kenneth Anderson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Anderson_(writer) when i moved to south. I plan to get the books along to NZ If and when I am there. Want my son to read and develop love of outdoors like it happened with me.

Yes its a colossal tragedy. Basically a whole generation is devoid of any knowledge about guns and hunting. They believe on whatever the greenies feed them. There is no hope at all that people will listen to reason and use hunting as a conservation tool as its been used in many other countries.

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Originally Posted by 308

Welcome Inder - when you finally get to go bush the only surprise in comparison to (South) India may well be the isolation - it's really easy to be alone out in the NZ bush

If you want a start then your local NZDA runs the HUNTS course which is a good general starter for those who want to give it a go
There is a book with the course which is a good read
https://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/HUNTS

I've met plenty of Indians here who are mad keen* on goats and they are not prized as highly amongst locals as pigs and deer so the access to hunting them is easier, if that makes sense
If you got into the practice of supplying goat meat amongst Palmerston North Indians that may well be a good way in; just a thought

* In NZ society the word "keen" is what they call a Shibboleth - just say that you are keen on something or keen in general (ie eager to get into it) and you will go far amongst kiwis



Good luck, brother

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Thanks 308 for the pointers on the book and kiwi customs. I do plan to do all the courses as required before becoming eligible to hunt. Sheep and Goat is staple in meat eating houses in INDIA so no surprises there. :)

I am not sure if I ever will be capable enough to supply meat to people specially when I plan to traditional bow hunt but I will always have a place on our table for honest folks irrespective of their background.

Thanks once again mates.

-Inder

Hi Inder, I too read a lot of Jim Corbett books and grew up in Malaya (as it was known as back in the 50’s) so got to see a few animals both in captivity and in the wild so appreciated what hunting opportunities COULD be had.

As an aside: when we arrived in NZ we got off the plane and my father walked through customs carrying a 303 and a 30-06 (a pre-‘64 Model 70 Winchester no less!) and all the customs guy said was ‘nice rifle’ when he saw the Model 70, try that these days and see how far you get!

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Originally Posted by Finnwolf

Hi Inder, I too read a lot of Jim Corbett books and grew up in Malaya (as it was known as back in the 50’s) so got to see a few animals both in captivity and in the wild so appreciated what hunting opportunities COULD be had.

As an aside: when we arrived in NZ we got off the plane and my father walked through customs carrying a 303 and a 30-06 (a pre-‘64 Model 70 Winchester no less!) and all the customs guy said was ‘nice rifle’ when he saw the Model 70, try that these days and see how far you get!

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I still re-read Corbett and Kenneth Anderson when ever i feel like being outdoors :). In-fact I was reading "The last white hunter" memoirs of Donald Anderson (Son of Kenneth Anderson) . That was a different era. A real golden one .


Ha ha that reminds me my own surprisingly good experience with TSA in USA. I was carrying a Air arms pro sport air-gun (Sadly thats all we can import) out of Chicago. Agent took it out of the case and was like what a stunning beauty (it really is :) ) . Thank you Mr. Singh, hope you enjoy it till very long. It was quite different than how our guys at airports treat anything which resembles a gun.

I do want to bring a Diana 52 .22 Airgun (Along with loads of shooting and fishing equipment) when i come there as it does not require a license in NZ. I am not really sure about doing that though..

-Inder

Welcome Inder.

Welcome Inder

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Originally Posted by Inder

I still re-read Corbett and Kenneth Anderson when ever i feel like being outdoors :). In-fact I was reading "The last white hunter" memoirs of Donald Anderson (Son of Kenneth Anderson) . That was a different era. A real golden one .


Ha ha that reminds me my own surprisingly good experience with TSA in USA. I was carrying a Air arms pro sport air-gun (Sadly thats all we can import) out of Chicago. Agent took it out of the case and was like what a stunning beauty (it really is :) ) . Thank you Mr. Singh, hope you enjoy it till very long. It was quite different than how our guys at airports treat anything which resembles a gun.

I do want to bring a Diana 52 .22 Airgun (Along with loads of shooting and fishing equipment) when i come there as it does not require a license in NZ. I am not really sure about doing that though..

-Inder

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Haha yeah oh boy, I could do a whole topic on "traveling with guns" one chapter on India !

I flew in Bombay then Delhi & walked out of the Airport with my 30/06 - SXS 12ga & a heap of ammo in 1989, stopped & thought Ah Heck better go back in !!!

Wish I hadn't now lol !

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Originally Posted by Rushy

Welcome Inder.

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Thanks Rushy.

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Originally Posted by mimms2

Namaste bro. All the best on your endeavours.

I am guessing you will now need an import permit from the police. "Sentimental Value" may be a good enough reason. Any PCP rifle does require a Firearms License, but someone here with FAL may take posession of it for you, until you get yours.

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Thanks mimms2 and Namaste to you too.

Diana 52 is a spring powered airgun. For what reading I have one it does not require a FAL in NZ. I will send a mail to local police station in Palmy before i come there, just to be sure.

While it does hold sentimental value for me and in desperate need of some TLC but i really don't want to complicate anything If and when I arrive there.

Lets see that fate has in store for me.

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Originally Posted by Mathias

Welcome Inder

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Thanks Mathias

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Originally Posted by Scout

Haha yeah oh boy, I could do a whole topic on "traveling with guns" one chapter on India !

I flew in Bombay then Delhi & walked out of the Airport with my 30/06 - SXS 12ga & a heap of ammo in 1989, stopped & thought Ah Heck better go back in !!!

Wish I hadn't now lol !

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Ha ha tell us more about it Scout. I believe import ban came in effect sometime around 85-86 IIRC so that would have created a lot of drama for you.

Thanks a lot again guys for the welcome. I hope NZ gov chooses to go back to Level 2 tomorrow and separated families like us get some hope.

-Inder

Welcome Inder

Welcome to the forum.

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Originally Posted by Mark M

Welcome Inder

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Thanks Mark.

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Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Welcome to the forum.

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Thank veitnamcam

-Inder

Hi, yes, welcome to the forum and hopefully soon to New Zealand.

As said, a few Indian people come on the HUNTS courses and I'd be interested to know how they get on shooting a few goats afterwards. The Sikhs are well thought of in New Zealand. There's also a NZ Bowhunters society and they may give you a good lead to where you can get goats. Goats and pigs are the mainstay of bowhunting in NZ. But I'd do the NZDA HUNTS course too for the bushcraft skills and to meet some good blokes. NZDA has a lot of politics so don't worry about that too much. For bowhunting, you need easy open country, preferably private land which can take a lot of effort to secure permission for. However up towards the Wanganui river there are numbers, I hear, on public land.

Palmerston North isn't the most exciting, great climate part of NZ but it is close to good deer hunting in the Tararua Ranges and the Ruahines. You'll need your buschraft for those places. Look on the NZ Mountain Safety Council web site. See if your wife can get you a copy of the bushcraft manual. One of the great NZ hunting writers, Roger Lentle, did his PhD at Massey. His books may be hard to find in shops now. "Red Deer in New Zealand" is still the classic current reference. To learn what keen can be, look for a copy of Barry Crump's "A Good Keen Man". It is set about 60 years ago in a different hunting era but is still hilarious reading (for kiwis).

"Palmy" is a great centre of practical science and good place for a Masters. There will be a few jobs around there too. The PhD isn't really a ticket to a secure high paying job like it is in other countries like England, so don't sacrifice too much to do one unless you can get do it from a regular salaried position.

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Originally Posted by Bagheera

Hi, yes, welcome to the forum and hopefully soon to New Zealand.

As said, a few Indian people come on the HUNTS courses and I'd be interested to know how they get on shooting a few goats afterwards. The Sikhs are well thought of in New Zealand. There's also a NZ Bowhunters society and they may give you a good lead to where you can get goats. Goats and pigs are the mainstay of bowhunting in NZ. But I'd do the NZDA HUNTS course too for the bushcraft skills and to meet some good blokes. NZDA has a lot of politics so don't worry about that too much. For bowhunting, you need easy open country, preferably private land which can take a lot of effort to secure permission for. However up towards the Wanganui river there are numbers, I hear, on public land.

Palmerston North isn't the most exciting, great climate part of NZ but it is close to good deer hunting in the Tararua Ranges and the Ruahines. You'll need your buschraft for those places. Look on the NZ Mountain Safety Council web site. See if your wife can get you a copy of the bushcraft manual. One of the great NZ hunting writers, Roger Lentle, did his PhD at Massey. His books may be hard to find in shops now. "Red Deer in New Zealand" is still the classic current reference. To learn what keen can be, look for a copy of Barry Crump's "A Good Keen Man". It is set about 60 years ago in a different hunting era but is still hilarious reading (for kiwis).

"Palmy" is a great centre of practical science and good place for a Masters. There will be a few jobs around there too. The PhD isn't really a ticket to a secure high paying job like it is in other countries like England, so don't sacrifice too much to do one unless you can get do it from a regular salaried position.

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Thanks for the welcome Bagheera (Jungle books fan? .. eh :) )

My coreligionists usually stay out of any kind of trouble, glad to know that they are doing good in NZ too :)

I do intend to join bow-hunters society and NZDA hunts course. To learn , re-learn the basics and meet like minded mates. Part of few groups and rifle association here too, never enjoyed the politics and stayed out of it.

Thanks for the pointers on the books. Will surely look them up. I enjoy reading and really would like to learn about hunting in NZ and how it was in years gone by.

I am not sure if I will be ready to hunt at least for a few months before i feel confident enough to shoot a live animal. I am reasonably okay with Sage but will have to learn the new longbow. Apart from that need to go through the rigors of arrow selection and tuning a traditional longbow. Till then may be a rabbit or two with the airguns.

I completed my masters long time ago and have no intention of going to school again. Usual IT up-gradation courses and certifications are enough education for me for this lifetime :) . PHD is for wife, she has gone into learning mode and not sure what she will decide after her masters, I will do my part of dissuading her though ;)

Thanks a lot for the long post and pointers.

-Inder