In Australia or New Zealand? Trying to use a vacation

Thanks!

In NZ, this is mid Summer. Long days, warm to hot, Feb. is the hotter month generally. You can hunt any available species, no closed seasons here but anything with antlers will be in velvet and capes are not prime Autumn / Winter stage. Sika and Fallow though have attractive Summer coats. Tahr and Chamois carry their horns year round so hunting them is an option. Some inland areas become quite hot mid Summer which some find uncomfortable. And blowflies peak mid Summer. Annoyingly by the millions. Other than that it should be fine.
It is a great time of year for fishing if you're into that type of hunting.

As 30,06 said. Will just add that best option is a summer chamois. They look cool in summer coat.
best option in Nz at that time is fishing, if thats something you enjoy.

Where about will you be? Can take you for a wander for a pig or shoot some possums etc if you are in the north island.

possums are always good for overseas visitors .

quote:

And blowflies peak mid Summer. Annoyingly by the millions.

Come on, only millions? Fark we have BILLIONS.
Jan/Feb in Aus? 100F daily.
I suggest coastal holiday time as you can get in the water with the sharks ha ha.

Very difficult, challenging buffalo hunting due to dispersal and access problems caused by the wet season. Safari hunting is usually suspended, except for Carmour Plains (if they are still hunting there since the sale).

January and February were always hell in Canberra. The 4th of July embassy party I froze my ass off every year.

The worst part about Oz in summer is the stinking snakes. A friend of mine had a summer sambar hunt in the Snowy River country and a mate of mine got bit on the foot by a brown snake. Said it felt like getting hit in the leg by a cricket bat.

It was a dry bite. He was really lucky.

summer sambar hunt in the Snowy River country

Thats quite foolish even thinking about it in an Ozzie summer. Our bush is no place to be at those times.

As others have said you can shoot whatever game animal, sex and numbers you want here in NZ all year round and chamois and tahr of course have their horns all year round and their summer coats are nice enough. Our Department of Conservation encourage cull shooting of tahr in particular during the summer months, so nothing wrong with getting up into the Alps and having a good shoot up of some mobs if you you want to get some practice in.

Summer in our Southern Alps is great, can be very hot in fact during the day with cool nights, most pleasant.

We don't have snakes in NZ, or anything for that matter that bites or attacks, maybe a just a randy possum if you get lucky

Wasps can be a problem down in our Beech forests although chemical baiting and biological measures seem to have knocked these pests back but if you are hunting lower down in our forests and are allergic to stings it pays to carry antihistamenes and epipens.

We don't have snakes in NZ, or anything for that matter that bites or attacks,

What about that mob with the facial tatts ha ha

Alright heat no problem. I live in Arizona. I like the idea of culling tahr. Anyhow keep the idea going most interesting especially the randy possums

quote:

Originally posted by gunslinger55:
Alright heat no problem. I live in Arizona. I like the idea of culling tahr. Anyhow keep the idea going most interesting especially the randy possums

Our heat, and snow for that matter, are different than yours. NZ has one of the highest UV ratings in sunlight than anywhere else in the populated world. You actually can cook in it if not covering up and using sunscreen, we have a high incidence of skin cancers because of this. The higher the altitude i.e. in our Alps, the worse it is.

Likewise if caught out in our snow, it is very wet and even if temperatures are not as low as other places around the World, you can die quite quickly if snowed in and unable to get shelter.
Many people have died in our outdoors when they have underestimated the climate.

Not all doom and gloom though, suitably equipped, careful not to exceed your capabilities, and you have a great freedom of hunting. Get up into an area in the Alps and you will have it all to yourself. Have a look on UTube, there are some good videos of tahr culling in NZ. Winter hunting for these animals is for the hardy and 'foolish', me being one of these, but summer in the Alps is perfect.

South Island for Chamois and trout would be my plan

Interesting. I’ll look into it thanks

New Zealand sounds dangerous If Sun and Snow don’t kill you the Snakes will.

Wish they had tigers there....

Sean:

I hunted chamois and tahr in Dec one year due to having to go to Christchurch for a two hour meeting for work. Had a great time. After i shot both animals MsAZW and I got dropped off by helicopter in one of the natl parks. Took a fishing rod and my 300 SAUM. Did not shoot or catch anything but it was a marvelous 25 mile hike to where caught a jet boat back to the highway, then hitched back to the pilots house. After showering we killed a bottle of wine sitting on a picnic table looking at the spectacular Alps, followed by a fantastic dinner of lamb chops. Will never forget that meal. We then rented a car and toured about the South Island, then flew to the North Island and stayed with one of her friends who had moved from OZ.

The one thing I remember is how weird it was to see Christmas decorations out when the sun didn't set until 11 pm or so.

Hey John that sounds like an awesome adventure. I know who to talk to now if I go that route !