Issue 30 - Aug Sept 2012

Don’t you just love these beautiful mid-winter mornings after a good frost? That incredible crispness in the air that slowly gives way to a glorious day - one where you just can’t get enough of the sun’s rays!

And the deer are the same; they just can’t help but malinger in the open on the clay pans and less dense sunny faces. Mid-winter hunting is all about picking the weather, but when you get it right, there’s no better place to be! We’ve seen a few Sika, Sambar, Rusa and of course tahr on our mid-winter wanderings so far, but nothing quite up to the standards we’ve set ourselves yet. If you want to shoot a big one, then you can’t keep shooting the middle sized ones!

Mike Spray’s article on page 58 this issue is a must read for all firearms users. In it my mate Dave recounts the story of how he had his firearms licence revoked, and the huge trauma this has caused. Dave was just trying to help a young fella out who didn’t have a father around to take him hunting and fishing, something many of us would do. One thing led to another and before he knew it, he had the police knocking at the door. Believe me, this could so easily happen to any of us, so read the story and take heed of the warnings within!

This issue we have:

• Gwyn returns to Glacier Country
• The Back Ridge Butcher gets involved with collared Sika
• Steve has his “Best roar ever!”
• Massive Whitetails on the prairie
• Matt “Gets Close” for photography
• Jack Shuttleworth, one the great NZ deerstalkers
• Travis and Amanda go tahr hunting for a wedding pressie
• Indicating dogs Part 2
• Developing Marksmanship Part 2
• Roy tells a yarn about doing too many things at once
• Mike introduces Dave’s firearms license tale
• So you want to be a trophy hunter Part 2
• Annabel’s first Red roar
• A new column by “Mutz” and Hunting Aotearoa
• Buzzy’s winter Sika by bow
• Carol’s daypack bow hints
• Greig goes “Feral” in unpacking the hunt
• Dan gives us a GPS Sika Tracking summary
• Teresa talks Good Dog – Bad Dog
• Paul shoots some Gentleman’s hours mallards
• Game and Forest gives us an update on the GAC select committee
• Richard’s “Spring Hunt” venison stroganoff