We left DFW about 4 hours late due to thunderstorms. Missed the flight to New Zealand had to overnight in LA. Lost a day of hunting because of it.

We Arrived in New Zealand, a bit late, drove into camp.

Here are some photos of the view from the lodge. Not too bad. We hunted with Shane Quinn. He owns his 5000 acre hunting area, lodge and all. There are no cross fences, all the deer run together in the huge area.





We went out hunting that evening with a couple friends. I didn't bring a gun that day, just wanted to watch that day. Saw some dang good Stags. Good thing I didn't have a gun! My Stag hunt would have been over!

Saw the weather report that night. Weather does not look good for the entire week, but there may be a clearing tomorrow and the next day. This is our only real opportunity to go to the South Island and hunt in the Southern Alps for Chamois and Tahr. So, the next morning we fly to South Island to try to hunt before the weather gets too bad.

One day I would love to hunt the Chamois and Tahr again, on foot. Time constraints did not allow us to do a hunt this way. We did the helicopter hunt. Finding the animals by helicopter then getting out for the shot. This is nothing like a foot hunt, but exciting in it's own way. I can highly recommend it to anyone.

The first day out we saw quite a few Tahr and a couple Chamois. We found this Tahr close to dark and decided to try for him. As you can see, I got him. These things are incredible. To see them sail down the side of a mountain full speed, completely in control, their hair flowing in the wind. They are a magnificent animal.



The next day we went out at first light to try for the Chamois. We found quite a few Chamois, eventually, we saw the one we wanted. Brian the helicopter Pilot dropped me and Shane off and we went after him. This little guy was not going to stand around and wait to see what we wanted. He went bounding down one of the drainages, and disappeared into the canyon below. All the while dodging my bullets.

I watched in the canyon below and saw a Chamois appear on the other side of the canyon about 180 yards away. I kept the crosshairs just in front of him as he sped up the hill. Just as the shot broke I heard Shane yell "Wait!"

Too late. He fell over dead.

"I am not sure that is the right one" He said.

Luckily, it was the right one.



We flew over to the other side where Shane got out and tied a rope onto the Chamois, all while Brian skillfully hovered the helicopter over him. We took the Chamois to a flat surface where we could land the helicopter and take photos. The weather was closing in on us fast (as you can see, just to the right of the Chamois nose!) We had time for about two photos, then it was back into the helicopter and let's get out of here!

The outfitter owns his own Cessna 206 and a Hughes 500 helicopter, so we did not have to wait in line, or schedule the use of the helicopter around anyone else. This proved to be the saving grace of this hunt. I believe had we been with another outfitter, there is a good chance that we would not have gotten into the air to hunt Chamois and Tahr. The weather literally gave us the exact amount of time that we needed to get into the mountains and hunt. Had I missed the Chamois, I probably would not have had another chance.

Since these guys want to find the worst possible place to die, sometimes it is a bit difficult to retrieve them. The Tahr was shot as he was perched on the edge of a small outcropping about 1500 feet above the valley floor. No possible way to get it on foot so the outfitter hooked a rope to the bottom of the helicopter and had him fly him to the ledge where he tied another rope onto the Tahr.

I was scared just watching it.

Here is a bad photo of them as they landed from getting the Tahr. The ridge in the background is not where he was recovered. You could hardly even see them as they recovered the Tahr they were so high.



The next day we took a commercial flight back to the North Island. The weather was so bad we couldn't take the outfitters plane.

No luck that evening on Stag, so we went out the next morning.

After a couple hours of hunting the next morning, we spot three stags about 400 yards from us. Unfortunately they spot us too and run across one of the canyons and up the next hill. Now they are about a half a mile away. The Stag that I wanted never did settle down. He was wary and nervous. The other two were a lot calmer.

The stalk was long and hilly, and difficult because we were trying to approach a Stag that knew we were hunting him.

We managed to close the gap. Unfortunately, due to the roll of the terrain, the only place we could get a shot was about 30 yards from where they were feeding. We literally could not shoot from farther away! So we stalked right up the ridge that they were feeding beside.

I stood on my tip toes and saw the Stag about 30 yards away. In order to shoot I had to crouch down and back up about 10 feet and then stand up and shoot. When I stood up, they saw me immediately and started to run. I shot my Stag through the shoulder with the 30-06. I was fairly confident that I had hit it, but as I always do, I chambered another round and shot at him again as he crossed the top of the ridge. That shot hit him high in the side and probably clipped his spine since I was shooting upward. He dropped at that shot and that was all she wrote.

If you look at the horizon on the left side of the picture (by my right shoulder) That is where we were when we spotted the stags, that is where the stalk started.



I had asked my wife a few times if she wanted to hunt one of their management Stags. Each time she said "no". She didn't want to hunt.

The morning that I shot my Stag, she said. "I think I want to hunt one of their Stags." I was a little shocked, but happy to hear it since she has never hunted anything before!

We borrowed the outfitters .308 and took her to the range for a bit of practice. She asked "Why are we shooting from the bench? I am not going to have a bench in the field to shoot from! I want to use the sticks." So use the sticks we did.

She shot wonderfully.

There was a particular Stag in a canyon on the east side of the ranch that had broken a leg a couple years prior. He was fine now, but walked with a limp. He had a genetic trait that was not favorable to growing a great Stag, so he was labeled a "Management Stag". I never could figure out what was wrong with him. He looked like a trophy to me!

This particular Stag had been spotted late in the evening and early in the morning in one are of the ranch. He had good antlers and was an old Deer, a perfect management animal.

We tried in the evening, with no luck. We tried the next morning and saw him but we were too far for a shot. By the time we stalked closer, he had retreated into the brush. I volunteered to walk the brush to see if we could push him out.

As I walked, I could hear him run in front of me. The brush was so thinck, you could hear his antlers on the trees. ... no luck, he would not come out for a shot.

We went back to the lodge for lunch and a quick nap, but the nap was cut short as one of the guides saw a good Management Stag from the deck about a half mile away. We put the spotting scope on him and decided he was a good one, so we were off again.

To make a long story short, we got close, but thick brush prevented a good shot. As he moved, we would move with him, but in the end a Sika Deer chirped and scared him away. (The Sika have a loud warning "chirp" that they use to warn of danger, kind of like a Whitetails snort) The last we saw of him was crossing a ridge, two valleys away. Oh well. Back to the broken leg Stag.

We hunted the canyon again for the broken leg Stag but got a call on the radio from the lodge. Someone had spotted the other Stag feeding in a valley not far from us.

We made our way back to the valley where the Stag had been seen. There were Sika Deer everywhere. but somehow we managed to get around them without being "chirped".

The end of a long stalk found Anne crawling up to the edge of a hill and shooting her Stag perfectly without any rest. Needles to say, I was very proud of her.



Ok, no comments. I know, her Stag is bigger than mine. That is fine with me

This is a management Stag. Trophy fee - $1500 ... not too bad.

Since we had one more morning to hunt, I decided to try for a management Sika Deer. Ironically the management Sika deer there are bigger than any trophy Sika I have ever seen here in the states.

We had about 2 hours to hunt before we had to get in the car to drive to the airport. We hunted an area that we knew held a good old Sika Deer that was past his prime and had one point missing. He would never grow this point, so he was classified as a management deer.

These guys are sneaky and smart, kind of like Whitetail. We still hunted slowly around a small meadow in hopes of catching a glimpse of this deer. We didn't see a single one. There was a small "island" of very thick brush in the middle of this meadow. We crossed slowly through it. As we were walking a deer broke about 10 yards from me. I knew the direction he was headed would give me a brief opportunity as he crossed a small opening. I ran like hell to get there before he did. We both broke into the clearing at the same time. I asked the guide "Is that him?" as I threw up the gun. As soon as he said "yes" the deer was on the run again. I led him quickly and squeezed off a shot before he disappeared into the bush. At the shot, I was off running again, just trying to possibly get a second shot. I could see him running through the brush and saw a brief window of opportunity just ahead of him.

I brought the gun up and focused on the small open area, but he never came through it. As I walked closer, I saw his antlers in the brush just as he fell over. My first shot had done the trick.

He wasn't the one we were after, the one we wanted was a 4x3 and he was a 3x3. However, this one was just fine. The guides did not recognize him, they figured he had gone completely nocturnal and it was just luck that we had busted him out of his hiding place. Good luck for me and bad for him.



Great end to a wonderful hunt. I can not say enough good about the outfitter or his staff. The food was spectacular. Our guide, Mike Moss, was a true professional. I enjoyed his company and his stories. He was very patient and helpful with my wife on her first hunt. He made the hunt an enjoyable experience for her.

Great hunt report, photos & trophies. Welcome back. I spoke with Vaughan today and everything is in order for our hunt.

Wonderful stories and nice trophies for the both of you. I imagine you were just as excited about your wifes trophy as your own. Congrats!

Used a Remington 700 mtn. rifle in 30-06 topped with a Zeiss 3x-9x x 40 for the Stag and Sika. Shooting 180 nosler partitions. The first shot on the Stag was a good one, but he showed no signs of a hit (at 30 yards) I stuck a second one in him as insurance. That one knocked him out.

The Sika took one round (a bit far back ... hey it was the last hour and he was running!) He fell within 30 yards.

The Tahr and Chamois - I used the outfitters BAR in 308. Not sure of the loads. Whatever it was, worked just fine.

Wife used a 308. Not sure of the loads, but it may have been Remington Core-loc. Not sure.