I have an invite to cull some Tahr nannies, and their may be an extra bull or two... A friend wants to try his hand with his bow. I know he is accomplished string shooter. How hard to sneak a tahr with a bow? Just need to explain the odds to my host, and to my friend.

I know when we snuck Tahr with a rifle, it was one look and a whistle and they were all off and running pretty fast.

Jamie

He might get one or two but they arnent stupid and often cannot be approached easily for a bow shot. Taking a bow on a culling trip simply does not make sense to me.

A bow on a cull may not be the best thing to do,a cull is not really hunting you are just there to kill as many as you can or need too.And if he does take a bow it would be a very good idea to have a rifle there for back up.

I have sucessfully guided Bow on Bull Tahr.
You need to put time in, be lucky with the weather, and get into an area where there is a high and undisturbed population.
Our method was to watch the animals for 2-3 days and work out their pattern of movement. (If undisturbed they become quite methodical.) We then ambushed the animals as they made their way to their evening feeding area. With one large Bull we worked out where he was bedding during the day, and climbed down through the bluffs to take him from above. The shots were 33-57 yards. (We took three bulls over 5 days.)
The Bow Hunter was very experienced and admitted the 57 yard shot was very lucky.
It was very impressive for me to watch i.e. I could see the arrows sail through the air and hit the animal. Very effective kills.
I'll email a photo to someone, if they're prepared to attach it to this post. Unfortunately I still haven't got the pcture posting figured.

I'm sure you'll have a great time and a great opportunity to practise for a Trophy Bull.

For those who wander what the culling is all about:
Quite large numbers of Tahr are held on private land and governmet leases, Tahr are classified as a Noxious Pest by the NZ government. When numbers start to climb, the government puts pressure on land managers/owners/lessee's to control numbers, otherwise they step in and indiscriminitely kill all Tahr. Usually by Aerial Shooting (From helicoptor)
First pass of an aerial culling operation will usually take out 37% of the population.
Aerial culling is usally done in late spring when tahr are more visable (Especialy Bulls) as they moult to their summer coats.
I beleive the Culls are now starting in the Mt Cook region. The government has decided to cull heavily on land adjoining the Mt Cook national park, to reduce populations that are drifting into the park.

If landholders take their own action, they get the opportunity to be more selective i.e. remove nannies and retain bulls with trophy potential.

You nailed the reason for the cull. Not sure if a baw and arrow are as efficient for removing two dozen nannies as crack shot with a HP rifle, but maybe I can give my buddy an area to stalk in, and we can otherwise go to reduce numbers.

thanks for the info: it is useful.

Jameister

Heres Tims alpine bowhunting photo...

[IMG] [/IMG]

NEANDERTHAR MAN.

In the background you can see the nature of the country where the Big Bulls live. They do however feed down into the valley floor on dusk.
I consider a Bull Tahr with a bow, to be one of the world's greatest hunting challenges.

here is the pic in bigger size - any starters for bow-hunting tahr?

Bugger that for a game of soldiers.I'll stick to a nice warm beach thank you very much.

Did I mention the chap in the photo is an Aussie!! Fair Dinkum!!!

quote:

Originally posted by TrackersNZ:
Did I mention the chap in the photo is an Aussie!! Fair Dinkum!!!

A Tahr skin is traditional attire for Aussie as a shoulder wrap in the mountains.

Bow hunting tahr sounds like a hunt for the very determined and dedicated!

quote:

A Tahr skin is traditional attire for Aussie as a shoulder wrap in the mountains.

That's strange, up till now I always thought it was a live sheep.

Now Tim - dont pick on the Aussies!

You know they are a little fragile just now - having been thrashed at all the sports that are important to them is a new experience , and one they arent handling at all well ...

Dont push them too hard please - seeing grown men cry in public isnt pleasant ( although Bob Hawke did it on tv a while back )

quote:

I support two teams - New Zealand and anyone playing Australia

Muzza: I was just in our environmental lab for lunch today, with an aussie and a kiwi, and tried out your quote above... seems that it is not all that original?.. the aussie did not like it and the kiwi did not understand it...

And I was not able to explain it either, showing my lack of skills to speak while standing upside down., or at least I must have been upside down, how else could they both have thought my head was inverted?

Ah well, we all have our way of having fun.

quote:

Originally posted by TrackersNZ:

quote:

A Tahr skin is traditional attire for Aussie as a shoulder wrap in the mountains.

That's strange, up till now I always thought it was a live sheep.

Ha ha. You are thinking of a woolly jumper.

Jameister - the qoute comes from a T-shirt I purchased at Auckland airport on my way to Aussie a couple of years ago. I wore it to a convention in the middle of New South Wales and endured ridicule all weekend due to it being considered "offensive" to the Aussies .

Seemed so good I just had to borrow the line for here .

Talkin Tee Shirts this is quite a good one!

http://www.ozjokes.com/funnypics/image.php?pid=123

quote:

Originally posted by muzza:
I wore it to a convention in the middle of New South Wales and endured ridicule all weekend

I've heard that about Kiwis, ie personal hygiene, same T-shirt for the whole weekend.

The ridicule when people said "What a stinker!" was not about what was written on the shirt.

Guess it made a change from the usual mint-sauce aftershave and the eau-de-ewe that the other guys were familiar with from their day to day lives....

You forgot the pleasant aroma of sheep dip ..... on a Kiwi's breath.

Your Honour , I rest my case.....

Tahr hunt successful with rifle, not with bow. pics to follow.

Jameister