I hope the New Year had been treating you all as well as it has us. We finally managed to get away for a real adventure with 15 days in the Hooker/Landsborough Wilderness Area.

What a great break that was! We ran a little short of food and eventually got chased out by that big rain that washed out South Westland again, but the only negative to the trip was seeing so many nanny tahr in places we haven’t seen them before. We definitely have more work to do in Management Unit 6

A lot of people have been asking when the new Hunting and Fishing Minister is going to start doing something, and I have to say be patient. We’ve had preliminary discussions and the poor beggars have only just got their feet under the table. They all have multiple portfolios and are getting pulled every which way at the moment. We will be working steadily through a list of what can be done by when, and we’ll keep you all informed as things progress.

We need to make sure we all support and promote Fish and Game’s ReWild campaign. This initiative is all about showing New Zealanders who don’t hunt and fish, what it is we do and why we are so passionate about it. Fish and Game is not just promoting freshwater fishing and game bird hunting, they are including all forms of hunting and fishing. The campaign highlights all the wonderful mental and physical health benefits from hunting and fishing, and show cases all the great conservation work hunters and fishers do for the wider community. 

For more information see page 50, and join in and support the campaign when the opportunity arises.

With the bugle and roar just around the corner, we ask everyone please to do their bit to promote proper game animal management and to lead by example. If you’re only after a bit of meat, and have the option of a range of animals, please take a hind or yearling if possible. If you’re after a trophy - beg, borrow or steal a spotter to evaluate animals properly, and only pull the trigger if it’s a truly mature animal. If in doubt, let go, let it grow. If we all practice proper management, there will be more than enough trophies to go round for everyone. If not, it just becomes the race to the bottom we see in so many places already…

See the GAC’s education tab on their website https://nzgameanimalcouncil.org.nz/education/ for more information on their “Better Hunting” program to become a more successful hunter, Hunter Safety, Looking After Our Game Animals, and the NZ Red Stag Aging Guide which applies to most species. This will help us all look after the future of hunting in New Zealand.

Wishing you all a safe and successful roar.

In this issue:

• Two For One – Luke and his brother Jake take two great stags
• Jarrod McLauchlan – ‘Good Things Take Time’ in Fiordland
• The Nanny of all Chamois – a big old doe taken by Rachelle Grant
• Glen Pyle’s ‘Amazing Basin’ full of big Sika
• 50 Roar Tips by the NZ Hunter Team
• Tom Mckay’s big West Coast Chamois
• A big Otago Main Divide Red by Angus Borrell
• Billie Mackintosh ‘Our Mission South’ on her first tahr hunt
• More Bowhunting expertise by Cody Weller – ‘Movement at just the Right Time’
• An update on Fish & Game’s ReWild program
• Michael McCormack gives some pre-roar training tips
• Fly Camping on the Tops with Mitch Thorn
• 3D Printing for the Hunter by Luke Care
• Next up in the Remote Huts series by Andrew Buglass is Thomas River Hut in South Westland
• Tahr Ballot blocks – Barlow River, by Points South
• The last in the series of artwork by Francesco Formisano accompanies the latest species overview by Gwyn Thurlow and the NZDA – Feral Goat
• Hunting North America by Joe Fluerty
• Callum Mckenzie tells us to ‘Keep It Simple’ when waterfowling
• Richard Hingston shares his wisdom about bulk catering for hunters

Test Fires: We evaluate...

• Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph
• Ironman Swift 1400 Rooftop Tent
• Infiray FH35R Thermal Viewer