The wapiti in NZ are the American elk, not to be confused with what the native American's call moose. Moose were released in Fiordland early in the 1900's but did not survive ---unlike the Red deer and Wapiti.
Fiordland is the area known as the South West coast of NZ.
You will need extremely good wet weather gear as Fiordland measures it's annual rainfall in feet----not inches. It rains 340 days of the year on average and rainfall averages 36 feet. This is not a misprint--------- rainfall 36ft or 12 meters. Don't let the wet conditions put you off, NZ is a hunters paradise. The biggest cast antler measured from Fiordland is 63 inches long. The New Zealanders are doing all they can to keep a pure strain of Wapiti----well the hunters and associated clubs are------ The European Red Deer released in NZ about the same time as the Wap's are much more aggressive during breeding and as a result the pure breed Waps are a little hard to find. I'm talking "free range" here. If hunting behind wire is your thing you will not be disappointed in NZ. Either way, which ever way you choose to hunt, you will not be disappointed with New Zealand. Whilst on the West coast, make sure you include a Thar/ Chamois hunt. A helicopter ride, either in or out of your hunting area is an absolute must. I have yet to visit Nth America but I would say New Zealand is the ultimate, and I'm not even Kiwi. If you want to PM me I'll resurect some photos of my early hunts over there and I'll sort out several book titles you should look up Believe me you will love NZ hunting.
Malcolm

Malcolm & Muzza



Thank you for responding and for the information. I have looked at a map and can see how the area was named..



Is there is a season, and if so in what months??



Brett

No hunting seasons on deer here Brett , all year round . No Tag System , no licences either . My guess at the best time to hunt would be in the mating season , April or thereabouts but that would depend on climatic conditions at the time .

My suggestion for a non-resident to hunt Wapiti here would be to find a guide company and follow their suggestions to the letter - the type of country you would do a free range hunt in is extremely difficult , access is mostly by boat or helicopter and not reliable due to the weather.This is not country for the inexperienced to try their hand on .

Hi Brett,



I'm a keen Wapiti hunter from NZ.

I'm also a proffessional hunting guide.



I have been hunting Wapiti for about 12 years, with 10 trips into the Fiordland area and 5 trips into Wapiti Ballot blocks. I am very pasionate about hunting this species.

All above comments are quite true. The country is hard and very steep, the animal population is very low and the Wapiti are highly hybridized with Red Deer. Over all this period of time, I have only taken two representative Wapiti type trophies, the best a 13 point (6X7) shot in 2003.

The biggest scored 288 Douglas score (Shot in 1997)

So don't come with big expecations on trophy quality.

To compensate, the hunting experience is unique and has a habit of drawing you back, once you're hooked.

We usually base camp near the sea and heli in a zodiac type boat with 25HP motor.

The fishing and diving in this area are also incredible.

We "Fly-Camp" the tops for 2-4 day stints.



The most awesome experience I had was last year, when after a long 12 hour climb up into the Pitt River, we arrived at Lake Beddoes, as we caught our breaths on a high ridge overlooking the remote lake, a Wapiti Bull let out a bugling scream that echoed up the canyon breaking the silence. From a mile or so up the valley came a full blooded reply...wheeiiiooohhhh!!!!!

Man it makes your hair stand on end.

I hunted those two bulls for 4 days and didn't even see them, although we exchanged calls constantly. (I use a sceery elk cow call.)Often I came within 400 yards. But it was like a cat and mouse game. Played on near vertical steep faces.

All the difficulty, just adds to the mistique of these animals.

I will go back so long as I am physically capable.



If you need any information, or if you'd like to join us on one of these hunts. E-mail me.



The game Ranch Elk we have are superb specimens.



Huge 450SCI+ are available.

These hunts are accessible to all hunters,and the trophy quality is great. I can also price these hunts for you.



Regards



Tim

Tim,

Is that 6x7 the one we saw at the taxidermist? -TONY

Yes that was the one Tony. You'll agree the Wild Elk trophy quality is nothing real special here in NZ.
(I'm sure those Arizona Bulls are twice the size.)
However the hunting experience is unique, extremely tough and physical. The trophies are very hard-won, any representative Bull taken fair-chase in NZ has a worthy placement in one's trophy collection.
I collect that specimen from the Taxidermist this week.

By the way, Tony, any word on the arrival of your trophies from O'Rourkes. I expect by now they will have landed in the USA. If they haven't then I'd suspect it's because O'Rourkes have a huge backload of work.
I took those Czech guys in to see the world record hard antler Red Stag head, they were "Flabbergasted" 20.9 Kilograms of antler. Took photos. No doubt a stream of eastern europeons will be out here soon to find the big one.
The Europeons don't seem real interested in scoring systems, they tend to judge their Antlers on weight, heavier the better, regardless of what they look like.
They also like to shoot old animals. Older the better.
So I guess their optimum animal (Red Stag)is 10-12 years old, after this age antler weight declines.

In what circumstances was the world record shot? Was it a free ranging stag on private land?
What is the policy of the record books in Oz/Nz regarding fenced hunting?

You are indeed correct. The bull you killed there, though very nice for a wild elk, wouldn't get a second glance by the dedicated trophy hunters in this country. Most of them are looking for bulls more akin to the ones sold on some of NZ's private ranches. You know the ones I mean.

I haven't heard a word from O'Rourke's yet. In fact, I plan on sending an email to Nevin today. I had sent one two weeks ago and never received a reply. I doubt very much that anything is on its way, though because I have been asked for any money yet.

That set of stag antlers was incredible, to say the least. If I recall, though, hadn't they been sawn off a live stag?

That weight thingie on antlers is quite confusing to me. I had a discussion about hunting roe deer in the UK a few weeks ago and received a price list with various trophy fees -- all based on weight. So, having no idea of what a set of trophy antlers for a roe deer even look like, I certainly had no idea what that set would weigh. It would like you telling me that a good tahr would have horns weighing 28 ounces. My reply would be, "Duh." I can visualize inches; not so with ounces. -TONY

That hard antler record was from a breeding stag that is owned by a syndicate of two guys.

I can not see him getting shot, without an extremely high price tag.

The antlers were sawn off the sedated animal, so as he wouldn't get injured in a fight. This is common practise in NZ where deer are farmed.

They also have competitions here, based on hard antler weight that has been sawn from live animals.

Soooo he lives to produce again.

It will be interesting to see what antlers he puts up next season, as he is far from "Past his prime"



Anyway, they are having a duplicate made of the antlers, so that the two owners will have a set each.

They are most impressive, if somewhat ugly to look at.

If I can retreive a photo from one of Czech clients I'll post it for all to admire.



On the question above, regarding policy on scoring "Game Ranch" versus "Fair Chase"

To my knowlege there is no defined difference, it is up to the hunter to disclose his method of hunting, if appropriate.

I think SCI does have a rule to say that they will not enter in the record book, any Red Stag trophy that was shot within 24 hours of a helicoptor landing.

However they do not have this rule on Chamois and Tahr.

The local Deer Stalkers Association holds annual trophy competitions for "Fair Chase" animals. I guess honesty is all important, as it is very difficult to tell the difference.

Maybe a NZDA member could add some light on this one.

In some areas of New Zealand, wild genetics are improving imensely through escape of well bred farmed animals.