Been spending most our lives hunting, and for it to pay off two weekends in a row--WOW!
There are many differences between hunting in Alaska and NZ. Mac has worked very hard to try to figure out "bush hunting" and it seems to be paying off.
For almost all species in NZ, there is no closed season and no bag limit. This means you can go hiking every weekend with a gun looking for deer, pigs, and goats if you are so inclined. This is great if you want a lot of practice! But, the same attitude that treats these animals as "pests" (thus, yearlong open season & no limits) unfortunately means that a lot of meat is wasted in NZ. I've seen a beautiful carcass of a red stag with most of the meat still on. A typical hunter in NZ will go out with a daypack and might handcarry out the best cuts and whatever else can be carried. You just don't see hunters with overnight packs or external frames. There's a lot of waste, and that's a shame because the meat is really excellent. On Mac's last hunt, when he sawed out the ribs his fellow hunter said, "What are you doing?"
There are no meat salvage requirements here.
There are many differences between hunting in Alaska and NZ. Mac has worked very hard to try to figure out "bush hunting" and it seems to be paying off.
For almost all species in NZ, there is no closed season and no bag limit. This means you can go hiking every weekend with a gun looking for deer, pigs, and goats if you are so inclined. This is great if you want a lot of practice! But, the same attitude that treats these animals as "pests" (thus, yearlong open season & no limits) unfortunately means that a lot of meat is wasted in NZ. I've seen a beautiful carcass of a red stag with most of the meat still on. A typical hunter in NZ will go out with a daypack and might handcarry out the best cuts and whatever else can be carried. You just don't see hunters with overnight packs or external frames. There's a lot of waste, and that's a shame because the meat is really excellent. On Mac's last hunt, when he sawed out the ribs his fellow hunter said, "What are you doing?"
There are no meat salvage requirements here.
So a bit more about our hunt last weekend. About five hours into a hike in the nearby mountain range, Mac spots a hind and decides to go for it. He kills the deer at 250 yds and then the fun begins. A couple months ago we had an appreciation for bushwhacking through leatherwood on our Longview Hut trip. Leatherwood is thicker than the thickest alder or willow, and you have to go through it like a rugby player. Our legs were covered in bruises by the end, but Mac's were by far the worst because he didn't have pants on. |
I'd like to quote a funny excerpt from a conversation with a Kiwi hunter talking about going through leatherwood: "When you come out you are NOT user-friendly." Well, the wind decided all of sudden to increase to gale-force, and the fog rolled in in a matter of minutes. All of sudden we couldn't see the deer, didn't know where we were, and were going through the thickest crap imaginable. Fortunately Mac had waypointed the trail so we were confident we could make it back.
We managed to find the deer and processed it as quickly as possible in sideways rain, overpacked both of our backpacks until they were completely maxed out, and then spent the next several hours packing out down the mountain. It was one of those days where you just have to think about the next step--just get to the trail, just get down this ridge, just get to the car, through the dark. It's good for us to push this hard every once in a while, but also scary, because I had every piece of clothing that I'd brought. Here we are in "summer", but in the mountains there's still snow and the temperature is below zero with wind chill. If we didn't have great raingear and warm layers, it could have been a different and much scarier story, because we were both being physically pushed way beyond the normal tramping trip.
I know I talk a lot about similarities/differences between NZ and AK. One similarity I've realized is that in NZ, like AK, you have to be prepared for all kinds of weather in the mountains during the entire year, and NZ weather can kick your butt. I'm glad I could learn the lesson without risking too much.
We managed to find the deer and processed it as quickly as possible in sideways rain, overpacked both of our backpacks until they were completely maxed out, and then spent the next several hours packing out down the mountain. It was one of those days where you just have to think about the next step--just get to the trail, just get down this ridge, just get to the car, through the dark. It's good for us to push this hard every once in a while, but also scary, because I had every piece of clothing that I'd brought. Here we are in "summer", but in the mountains there's still snow and the temperature is below zero with wind chill. If we didn't have great raingear and warm layers, it could have been a different and much scarier story, because we were both being physically pushed way beyond the normal tramping trip.
I know I talk a lot about similarities/differences between NZ and AK. One similarity I've realized is that in NZ, like AK, you have to be prepared for all kinds of weather in the mountains during the entire year, and NZ weather can kick your butt. I'm glad I could learn the lesson without risking too much.