As 2023 began with the shock resignation of our former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, many within the firearms community rejoiced. The bombardment over the last few years, both legislative and media-led, has left many cynical and worried for our long-term future – and rightly so. The latest proposed hike in licensing fees is seen as the last straw by many, and being at a time when many Kiwi families are struggling, the timing couldn’t be worse.

At heart though, personally I’m an optimist, and I propose that we keep up the good work of the last few years – we keep building relationships with the Department of Conservation, we keep working within parliament to make our voices heard, we keep supporting the organisations that speak on our behalf at the top levels of government, and we keep being a positive force within our own communities by volunteering, sharing our game meat and teaching new hunters. By doing this, no matter which government is in power, we’ll always be doing the best we can to safeguard our way of life.

Hunting and firearms use in New Zealand is part of our culture; it’s a way of life handed down to us by our forebears and one that provides fitness, health and wellbeing benefits as well as clean meat for families. It’s never been a better time to be a hunter in terms of our ability to fill our freezers for far less cost than the equivalent store-bought meat. Let’s promote those benefits and share our time and our harvest for the betterment of New Zealanders – it’ll pay off in the long run.

From NZRod&Rifle’s point of view, we’re lucky to have a great team of writers; we love showcasing readers’ adventures as well as spreading knowledge and information through our ‘how-to’ articles and product reviews. We’ll not only continue to do what we do, but we’ll also keep improving and honing our craft so when anyone picks up our magazine, they’ll see the best of what the Kiwi hunting community has to offer. We encourage you to get in touch if you’re keen to have a hunt showcased in print, have any article ideas or simply want to chat.