NZ Hunter

New Zealand’s premier hunting and outdoor magazine . For everything hunting - adventures, tips, how-tos, and reviews of the latest products. A great read with something for everyone.

NZ Hunter

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Q&A

TWO VIKINGS AND AN ICE AXE • Per and I have known each other for around ten years. We're both Danish, both very keen hunters, and he's one of my best mates

ANZAC STAG • The stag stood broadside, the morning sun lighting up his antlers as he stared straight into the scope

THE BIGGEST BADDEST 30 CAL Part 3 - TESTING CONTINUES • You may have all been wondering where we got to with the big 300 series, as we’ve missed a couple of installments since issue 111

STEWART ISLAND SERIES TIN RANGE TRAVERSE • THE TIN RANGE IS NEW ZEALAND’S SOUTHERNMOST MOUNTAIN RANGE, WHICH RUNS DOWN THE MIDDLE OF STEWART ISLAND. THERE ARE NO GLACIERS OR SCREES, NO SCARY SCRAMBLES OR DEADLY DROPS

BOARS AND CHAMOIS FROM THE NORTH AND SOUTH • FIVE SHORT MONTHS AFTER LAST ISSUE’S ARTICLE, WE WERE WINGING OUR WAY INTO A REMOTE CORNER OF THE SOUTH WESTLAND WITH A PRIMARY TARGET OF GIANT CHAMOIS BUCKS

BROADHEAD Failure or Not • A term I come across often talking to bowhunters is “broadhead failure”

WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE HUNTING 4X4? Part 4 - Suspension • I always start any 4WD build with tyres and suspension

Hunters and their 'Luxury' Camps Part 2 • In Part I we saw examples of camps where kiwi hunters endured sodden, windblown and wrecked disasters

Donald Shepherd Wild Game Meets Urban Markets • Donald Shepherd isn't a hunter. He came to New Zealand's wild venison story from an entirely different direction through food, marketing, and a long-held conviction that the way we produce and value what we eat is due for a rethink

THE FOXHOUND • Hunting with hounds is nothing new. In ancient Egypt, Greece and Roman-influenced countries, people used dogs with a keen sense of smell to track and contain prey

Hunt and Share Supporting meat donations from hill to table

ONE OF A KIND BIRTHDAY • Hunting came into my life after my parents split up, but before that, a birthday would maybe be going to the trampoline park, having the family over for tea, getting your presents, and that’s it

THE WILD EDGE #5 YOU'VE GOT THIS: HOW TO TALK TO YOURSELF WHEN IT ALL TURNS TO CUSTARD • THERE'S THE TIME A QUICK DESCENT THROUGH THE BUSH TURNED INTO A FOUR-HOUR FRUSTRATION FEST THROUGH WINDFALL. OR THE TIME THE LIKELY RETURN ROUTE DOWNRIVER TURNED INTO AN IMPASSABLE GORGE, AND THE ONLY OPTION BACK TO THE CAR PARK WAS A 1000M CLIMB BACK OVER THE HILL.

GOOD NEWS STORIES • Mentors, of a different sort

MT GREENLAND HUT • Mt Greenland Hut is located at 650m on the mountain of the same name

GAME ANIMAL COUNCIL NEWS

THE APPRENTICE • Life can be a funny old thing. You can wake up in the morning to find that your life can be totally and irrevocably changed

SURRON ULTRA BEE ELECTRIC DIRT BIKE • I thoroughly enjoyed testing the 2025 Surron Light Bee, so when Surron reached out to test the big brother – the 2026 Ultra Bee – it was a swift ‘yes!'

GARMIN XERO L60I LASER RANGEFINDER • Garmin have been coming out with some really innovative products over the last few years

RUGER 77/44 WITH LEUPOLD DELTAPOINT PRO • The Ruger 77 series has been around for a long time now, nearly 60 years, and I was very pleased Ruger retained it when they launched the American line

WHAT’S NEW: OCT NOV

Simpler, smarter, safer

SEARED STEWART ISLAND WHITETAIL LOIN ON TOMATO HERB PASTA • This dish is what we call going light and fast, not at all like me! This is the gospel from the “Man from Mangamahu”, or so I was told …