NZ Hunter – August 2019

scent down to the mature stag that we

thought was the owner of the wallow.

The following morning after a rocky

sleep, we heard what we thought must

be the 10 pointer roaring over the ridge.

Dad roared and it replied from some

distance away. The mature stag from the

wallow also started roaring, but it must

have winded us during the night as it

was now a whole gully system away from

us – too far for us to hunt.

As we glassed

and roared, I

spotted the 10

pointer trotting

around the head

of the gully

we were in,

responding to our

roars.

Dad offered for Will and me to

have a crack, with a shot at around

150 metres. Will took the first shot and

regrettably missed and I couldn’t get

a back-up shot away. We were pretty

disappointed, but that’s hunting. We

went back to our fly camp and then we

decided to head back to Granddad at

our base camp.

That evening we walked up the

river and had a crack at a goat, but

unfortunately it got away from us. The

next morning was our final one, so

once again we headed off in the dark.

We managed to roar in another

young stag, which we thought

was a scrubby 6 pointer, but the

distance was too great. We went

back and collected the meat from the

17 pointer, and headed back to base

camp to pack up.

Around 3pm, the chopper turned

up for us. Instead of the red R44, this

time we were flying in a Eurocopter.

Granddad flew out first (with some

other hunters) and Dad, Will and I flew

out on the second trip. We struggled to

fit the antlers into the chopper but we

finally got everything in. On the way

out I saw five deer in a mob, plus what I

thought were a few chamois. The deer

were awesome to see in a big tussock

basin out in the open – especially when

Willie the pilot banked the chopper

around for a second look.

All too soon, we had landed back

at the chopper pad with the stag

of a lifetime and some great

memories of my first roar

FUELING HUNTING

ADVENTURES FOR

21 YEARS

Wherever your next adventure is

about to lead you, we’ve got the

goods to keep you going.

Est. 1998 Back Country Cuisine

specialises in a range of freeze-

dried products, from tasty meals to

snacks and everything in between, to

keep your energy levels up and your

adventures wild.

backcountrycuisine.co.nz

30 NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE ~ August / September 2019

scent down to the mature stag that we

thought was the owner of the wallow.

The following morning after a rocky

sleep, we heard what we thought must

be the 10 pointer roaring over the ridge.

Dad roared and it replied from some

distance away. The mature stag from the

wallow also started roaring, but it must

have winded us during the night as it

was now a whole gully system away from

us – too far for us to hunt.

As we glassed

and roared, I

spotted the 10

pointer trotting

around the head

of the gully

we were in,

responding to our

roars.

Dad offered for Will and me to

have a crack, with a shot at around

150 metres. Will took the first shot and

regrettably missed and I couldn’t get

a back-up shot away. We were pretty

disappointed, but that’s hunting. We

went back to our fly camp and then we

decided to head back to Granddad at

our base camp.

That evening we walked up the

river and had a crack at a goat, but

unfortunately it got away from us. The

next morning was our final one, so

once again we headed off in the dark.

We managed to roar in another

young stag, which we thought

was a scrubby 6 pointer, but the

distance was too great. We went

back and collected the meat from the

17 pointer, and headed back to base

camp to pack up.

Around 3pm, the chopper turned

up for us. Instead of the red R44, this

time we were flying in a Eurocopter.

Granddad flew out first (with some

other hunters) and Dad, Will and I flew

out on the second trip. We struggled to

fit the antlers into the chopper but we

finally got everything in. On the way

out I saw five deer in a mob, plus what I

thought were a few chamois. The deer

were awesome to see in a big tussock

basin out in the open – especially when

Willie the pilot banked the chopper

around for a second look.

All too soon, we had landed back

at the chopper pad with the stag

of a lifetime and some great

memories of my first roar

FUELING HUNTING

ADVENTURES FOR

21 YEARS

Wherever your next adventure is

about to lead you, we’ve got the

goods to keep you going.

Est. 1998 Back Country Cuisine

specialises in a range of freeze-

dried products, from tasty meals to

snacks and everything in between, to

keep your energy levels up and your

adventures wild.

backcountrycuisine.co.nz

30 NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE ~ August / September 2019