New Zealand 2024 Red Stag Hunt Report

Outfitter: Leithen Valley Hunts

Experiencing New Zealand has been at the top of my wife’s bucket list ever since Peter Jackson brought JRR Tolkien’s books to the big screen, and I, of course, would jump at an opportunity to hunt there. In 2019 at the Dallas Safari Club convention, we spent several days as booth neighbors with Rachel Stewart of Leithen Valley Hunts. After seeing the steady stream of past clients come by her booth raving about their experiences, we were sold and booked a hunt for the following year. Then Covid threw a wrench into the works and our other hunts got in the way, but we were finally able to make it happen this past June.

Leithen Valley offers tahr, chamois, fallow, and red stag hunts. I was most interested in hunting stag, and these hunts are conducted from Rachel’s family's 10k acre fenced ranch. I, like many, have mixed feelings when it comes to hunting behind a fence. I can say in hindsight though that between the precipitous terrain, areas of dense cover, and overall size of the ranch, it can be a very challenging hunt. Not completely understanding this beforehand, I opted to hunt with a bow to even up the odds a bit. I’ve also only ever bow hunted whitetail from a treestand, so I was pretty excited to do a spot-and-stalk hunt for such a majestic animal. I was warned ahead of time to expect longer shots so I spent the months leading up to the hunt shooting dozens of arrows daily until I felt comfortable out to 70 yards.

We flew out of Boston with Air New Zealand on the 13th of June to Houston, then Auckland, to finally arrive in Queenstown on the 15th. Though long, the flights were uneventful and everyone was great to deal with. Flying with a bow takes a lot of the stress out of international hunting. No permits or extra hassles. We deboarded on the tarmac in Queenstown and were absolutely stunned by the beauty of the surrounding mountains. The town itself is the epitome of a tourist town. I’ve never seen so many outlets, pubs, and high end restaurants packed into one place. It’s not typically our vibe, but we really enjoyed ourselves there. Like everywhere we visited in NZ, the people were incredibly friendly. If you like a good steak I would highly recommend the Botswana Butchery.



Stephan, one of the guides who we’d met several years prior at DSC, picked us up from our hotel on the morning of the 16th and then we picked up another hunter from the airport before making the two hour drive to the ranch. Stunning views the entire way there. It had been raining heavily for several days prior. It made a nice contrast with the lush green valleys and the snow covered peaks. The farms we passed on the way were the most pristine I’ve ever seen. Hedgerows were perfectly manicured. There wasn’t a piece of garbage or broken down equipment to be seen. Apparently this is part of the farming culture there. As someone who grew up on a farm and has dabbled in it since, I was a little ashamed of the lack of tidiness around our own place.

The lodge was perfect. Incredible 360 degree views, outdoor stone fireplace, mounts from around the world (Rachel and her dad are avid hunters), hot tub, etc. We met our guide Jake upon arriving, a friendly, hard working guide that we thoroughly enjoyed our time with.
He’s been guiding there for seven years and has spent quite a bit of time guiding in Canada as well. Before heading out for the first evening hunt I took a few shots at a 30 yard target. Arrows were touching but a few inches left. I adjust the sight and send another one further left into the dirt. After another adjustment I’m really missing now and Jake looks worried. I’m sure everyone reading this knows what went wrong, but I’m a little dense and it took one more arrow into the dirt before I realized I was adjusting the sight in the wrong direction. Not off to a good start! After getting it back in the center we were off in the Toyota Hilux outfitted with some seriously aggressive mud tires. That first evening was spent just covering ground trying to spot a stag worth pursuing the next day. We saw a few stags but decided to try a new area the next day.




Evenings were spent in the lodge with Rachel, Stephan, Jake, Maggie (the cook), Kim (the other hunter), and ourselves. Rachel has fostered a true family-like atmosphere that was joy to be a part of. The food and fellowship was always fantastic.

For the next several days we’d drive a few miles from camp and embark on foot for the remainder of the day. Up and down the steep ravines, then glass an area. My wife and I spent quite a bit of time hiking in preparation for the hunt along with a routine of running several times a week. In spite of this, we were quite winded keeping up with the long-legged 20 something year old guide who seemed to just glide up the hills. If we found a decent stag Jake and my wife would hang back and I would attempt a stalk. I absolutely loved this type of hunting. Lots of exciting moments trying to get within range and either having the wind swirl or not having the needed cover to close the distance.




On day three, we bumped a nice stag in thick cover. We attempted to circle wide around and get in front of him, only to spook him back into the direction he came. Jake suggested that I find a place to hide out along the path he had taken and he’d circle back and push the thicket. There wasn’t much for cover along the beaten path, but I did find a slight impression on the side of the hill that I could lay down in with just enough grass in front of it to obscure my view from the trail. If fortune was to favor us and the stag chose this route, I would be able to see him briefly at 60 yards through a window to my right then he would pass behind the cover in front then be clear again at just over 30 yards to my left.

Then, as never seems to happen to me when hunting, the events happened exactly as envisioned. I could see the stag briefly to my right at a full run, I drew while on the ground obscured by the grass in front, popped up to one knee as he cleared the grass, he stopped when I grunted, and the arrow passed right through the vitals. Then just silence. I’m used to whitetails bolting after being hit and don’t normally witness them dying. Here in the open terrain he just paused for a moment then slowly continued on the path with blood pouring out both sides making it only another 30 yards before keeling over. It was a very surreal moment. Eventually Katie and Jake made their way over the hill to find me and the stag. Lots of pictures and congratulations. After breaking down the animal Jake hiked back to get the truck while Katie and I sat there and soaked it all in. A nice fallow buck worked his way down the mountain in front of us as we were waiting, seemingly unaware of our presence.



And then that evening we decided to target fallow with a rifle, knowing with the amount of time left that chances were slim with a bow, and I was more than happy to have accomplished the goal of hunting stag with one. There were lots of fallow around and we found a giant with about a half hour left of daylight. He was high on the face of a slope to our right while we were on a road down in the valley. There wasn’t enough cover to approach him directly so we worked our way up the opposing hill side on our left. After a fast scramble up the hill we were able to get within 300 yards from across the valley of the buck. Jake has the perfect setup for shooting long range. Custom Rem 700 rifle with a solid bipod, suppressor, and a spotting scope with attachment to film with his phone. We get settled in and wait for the broadside shot. With the crosshairs midway up his chest I slowly squeezed the trigger until it broke. Expecting the fallow down, I didn’t reload and just tried to find him down in the scope. He was gone. Jake played back the video and I had hit him very low. It looked like I just grazed the brisket. We quickly scrambled down the mountain to try and get another shot on him, then to our surprise, we bumped him out of a thicket from mere feet away on our side of the hill with no shot opportunity. There was blood, but not much. We decided to come back the following day with a dog and ended up spending the whole next day looking to no avail.



Disappointed to say the least. That sickening feeling to have wounded an animal that will likely die a slow death from infection. To make matters worse, I checked the rifle at the range after and it’s hitting the 300 yard plate dead center, taking away any excuses on my part. It’s a shot that continues to haunt me as I don’t know how I buggered it up. But buggered it up I did, and Jake and Rachel couldn’t have been more gracious about the ordeal.

We had a wonderful last night in camp with fresh backstrap on the barbie and cigars around the outdoor fireplace. Rachel had a masseuse friend of hers come by who treated my wife to, in her words, “the best massage I’ve ever had.” Our entire experience at Leithen Valley was incredible and we’re already planning a trip back.

Before leaving that part of the country we got to visit a red deer and fallow farm operated by friends of Rachel’s. They actually milk the fallow and sell it to high end restaurants and markets. The deer were quite socialized. It’s a good thing we didn’t visit there before the hunt or Katie might have had a harder time with the hunt




From there we rented a car and spent the next week traveling around the South Island. Lots of hikes, hot springs, art galleries, wineries, gift shops, etc. It was the honeymoon we never took that happened to fall on our 16th anniversary.



Then we flew up to Auckland and spent a couple days traveling down to the working sheep farm where the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies filmed scenes from Hobbiton. It was a great way to cap off an already magnificent trip.


Everyone I spoke to that’s been to New Zealand before the trip told me it’s the most beautiful place on earth. I would echo that sentiment and would add that the people there are also some of the nicest.

Thanks for the trip report and congratulations on the red stag! New Zealand is indeed a fabulous place.

Excellent report and the success with the stag made all the more rewarding with archery gear.
Thank you for sharing your adventure!

JCHB

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Nice report plus pictures and congrats on a NZ archery stag. Thanks for sharing.

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Congrats to you, Matt, on your success with that beautiful red stag. As you know, I always burn gun powder, but I have nothing but the highest respect for your ability to pull off a spot and stalk bow hunt as well as you did.

Tough luck on the fallow buck, but that kind of thing has happened to all of us who've been doing this hunting thing long enough. None of us is perfect.

It's great that you guys were able to spend significant time not just hunting but also touring the country.

We really appreciated your detailed report and excellent photos. What a spectacular place! We may have to take a trip down under ourselves before too much longer.

Thanks Guys!

I'm glad you stick with gun powder Mike. Keeps guys like me in business

I hope you and Lindy do get to make that trip happen. Our pictures don't do the place justice.

I meant to mention in the report that we hit the tale end of their season, going into winter. I enjoyed that there wasn't as many tourist around and the colder temperatures were great when a heat wave was going on back home. But most people would probably enjoy it a little earlier in the year with nicer weather. Especially when it comes to touring the country.