Editor’s Letter – May/June 2023
This time of year is filled with much anticipation and excitement with the build-up to the tahr and deer rutting seasons, duck Opening Day and trout spawning runs.
Read MoreVolume 44 Issue 3
Summer Wandering
With summer starting to wind up, I can look back on a rewarding couple of months. I’d embarked on a series of adventures, mostly with the theme of scouting for the Roar and rut season ahead and pushing farther back into the hills to open up new country.
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A Full Heart
The powers of social media struck again when I came across a post from Bre Lewis gauging interest for a second women’s tahr hunt.
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Hunting Dogs – A Training Journey – Part One
In this three-part series, I’ll share my personal journey and experience with hunting and working dogs, the training skills that I’ve been gifted and the lessons I’ve learnt along the way.
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Twenty-Five Years in the Making
It’s strange how some things can seem like they take a lifetime, and then in the same breath, they can seem like no time at all.
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Basic Waterfowl Set-Up 101
As I consider all the things that I’ve done over the years that I wish I could’ve done differently, it’s a good list. The nature of bird hunting is that it’s everchanging – the birds don’t always do what you think they’re going to do. Even now, if I try something different, I can still get it wrong!
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Waxing Your Quacks – Duck Plucking with Wax for Beginners by a Beginner
Following a catch-up phone call during one of the country’s many lockdowns, Phil from NZRod&Rifle managed to talk me into writing an article on wax-based feather plucking!
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Surprise on a Stalk
The light patter on the tent as the drizzling rain continued lulled me to sleep. I awoke to silence and stillness, hopeful of a day offering clear glassing.
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Crossing the Tasman – Three Aussie Mates Hit NZ in Search of Adventure
It was 2021 when Peter Richards asked me if I wanted to hunt in New Zealand. I answered with no hesitation, “When are we going?”
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Maximising Wetland Stewardship and Social Licence …
Back in the days when I was a boy scout, we had it drummed into us when we ventured out and about in this beautiful country that we call home that we should ‘take only pictures and leave only footprints’.
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Thinking Outside the Square
I see so many people who put all the work in to find a great spot and get everything set up with elaborate decoy spreads complete with the latest gizmos … but fail at the last hurdle of concealment.
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Hunting Legends – Further Along the Track with Bill Axbey – Part One
The tough, hard life of a government shooter sorted individuals out in a swift and unforgiving way, being a combination of battling against the wilderness, the solitude and the weather.
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