NZ Stag and the .30-06

[rodell]

On my trip to NZ at the end of May we had a chance to chase some stags. One of those we saw was particularly nice and the stalk was on. This young lady's .30-06 Blaser R8 with 180 grain AccuBond handloads resulted in a no chase scenario at a little over 200 yards, the farthest she has ever taken a game animal and the single shot was perfect. I couldn't be more proud. It must be her teacher?

I managed a Tahr, Arapawa Ram, and a Chamois myself. Stepping out of a helicopter onto a steep slope to begin a stalk is quite an adventure in itself. Intense.

 

[DrMike]

Excellent post! Super picture. The smile says it all. Congratulations to the young lady, and to her teacher.

 

[Europe]

Absolutely fantastic! congratulations, well done!

I loved hunting New Zealand. some have in recent years said it has changed and I was curious if all your hunts were still fair chase/open range hunts as they once were. I read somewhere that might have changed ?

Was you also able to squeeze any fishing in ?

You took a trio of great game animals as well rodell, congratulations.

But for me, a lady using, a Blaser rifle, taking a Red Stag----made my day, thanks for the post

 

[rodell]

Quite a bit of NZ is estate hunting, particularly for stags or Rusa. It seems more so on the North Island than the South. My Tahr, Chamois and Ram were all free-range. The stag was on an estate, but it was huge and you had to hunt. It wasn't a case of fenced animals lined up.

I hunted with Lindsay Fraser Safaris and he runs a first class shop. I didn't get to do any fishing, but did manage some touring. Great red wines from the Queenstown area, too.

(I also used a Blaser R8, but in 300 Weatherby. It nearly cut the Chamois in two.)

 

[Guy Miner]

OUTSTANDING!

My goodness, I don't know which I like more; that terrific smile, or the huge antlers! Dang.

Congratulations!

Guy

 

[SJB358]

Awesome picture of what looks like a great hunt. Congrats.

 

[TackDriver284]

That is a beast. Congratulations to your great hunt

 

[6mm Remington]

What a great animal she took with that wonderful 30-06 no less! Way to go! Congratulations to both of you.

David

 

[c. schutte]

What a brute

Sounds like quite an adventure for you guys.

chs

 

[Thankful Otter]

Congratulations to you both

what did/can you take back to Washington with you ? Meat, Hide, Antlers from each of the four animals

30-06/180 ----like the energizer bunny---it just keeps working and working and working

 

[truck driver]

Great looking animal and man what a smile on the Lady hunter.
Who says the 30-06 is boring?
It just plain works with the right ammo and you can't argue with that.

 

[hunternyny]

You will need a high ceiling man cave for those antlers, congratulations

 

[rodell]

You will need a high ceiling man cave for those antlers, congratulations

That's hers, I have a different "wall of death"!

what did/can you take back to Washington with you ? Meat, Hide, Antlers from each of the four animals

Horns/Antlers and hides are all that one can import to the US from almost everywhere. The good news is none of these animals are CITES-listed so it is a relatively painless process. They still have to go through a USDA facility, though.

The stag meat is quite tasty. I ate plenty of it while in country.

 

[rodell]

Here's the others. On the first picture, the camera is angled - it is much steeper than it looks. If I had let go, I would have had to chase him further down the mountainside.

The KUIU lightweight gear was a godsend for this old guy going up and down the mountains.

All in all, a fantastic trip.

 

[SJB358]

Great pictures. Looks like an excellent hunt.

 

[DrMike]

A super bag of game. Congratulations! Beautiful animals.

 

[Cleveland48]

Amazing trophies! Congratulations to both of you


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk