DIY hunt for red stagg in NZ

[tonganjord]

I am trying to plan a DIY hunt for red stagg in New Zealand in the next year or so, but I am trying to get everything lined out before it is too late. I am just wondering if anybody has any information on price tags for non-residents, season dates, regulations on rifle calibers, documents to bring a rifle into the country, where in new Zealand is best to get a decent sized stagg. I plan to give the meat to my in-laws who live in New Zealand, but would also like info on a possible taxidermist or info on how to export the head. Any info on this would be great.

 

[JP100]

Feel free to send me a PM
Thanks

 

[tonganjord]

I may be interested in having you guide me. Can stagg be taken off of either island? If so which island has bigger stagg? Is there a way to get permission to hunt private land with bigger staggs?

 

[JP100]

Red deer are found on both islands and on private land big stags can be found on both islands as well. depends what you are after as a "big Stag"? there are a lot of trophy parks/ranches that will have HUGE stags.
In terms of truly wild stags they vary in size a lot and are smaller than private game ranch stags.

 

[gphil]

So is there no limit on the amount of stags you can shoot in a year?
When is the stag rut? I have always been interested in trying to hunt these!

 

[JP100]

So is there no limit on the amount of stags you can shoot in a year?
When is the stag rut? I have always been interested in trying to hunt these!

The Roar/rut is mid March till mid/late April roughly depending on the season and location. So youve just missed this years roar.

Most good stags are taken on private land where there is less hunting pressure or are taken in remote public land where there is little hunting pressure. there are exceptions and good stags are taken on popular public land but there is alot of luck involved.

Were you after a "trophy of a lifetime " stag or just a nice red stag??

 

[gphil]

that is pretty cool! If I ever got the money to go down there I would rather shoot a wild one than a fenced in one. Tahr hunting looks awesome too! You gies shoot goats like ground squirrels down there dont you?

 

[JP100]

that is pretty cool! If I ever got the money to go down there I would rather shoot a wild one than a fenced in one. Tahr hunting looks awesome too! You gies shoot goats like ground squirrels down there dont you?

wilds the only way to go. Yea tahr are my favourite game animal. awesome scenery and hunting. yea in places there a real big problems with goats which means you can get heapsa long range practice in. not unusual to shoot 20-30 animals a day if you do your part behind the gun. awesome fun getting big tallies. defintly worth the trip to NZ we have alot of game species here

 

[gphil]

so if you can hunt everything year around do people shoot stag year around for sport or meat? is the meat always kept or how does that work there if there is no limit on how many you can shoot?

 

[JP100]

so if you can hunt everything year around do people shoot stag year around for sport or meat? is the meat always kept or how does that work there if there is no limit on how many you can shoot?

Stags and all game in NZ is shot for sport/trophys and shot for meat and also shot purely for pest control. Some people will shoot animals just for pest control and leave them. this happens alot in rugged country with no access and the Goverment has shooters it employs to do this both on foot and from helicopters.

 

[gphil]

Thats kind of the drift I was catching from the reading ive done on New Zealand. So the game population is so dense that their considered pests?

One of These Days I will hopefully be able to make it down there. How do the North and South Islands compare as far as terrain and game population and public access?

 

[JP100]

Thats kind of the drift I was catching from the reading ive done on New Zealand. So the game population is so dense that their considered pests?

One of These Days I will hopefully be able to make it down there. How do the North and South Islands compare as far as terrain and game population and public access?

It depends a lot on what area you are in. In the past yes the deer populations have been very high and the government has had to take action. But at the moment the deer numbers are sustainable in most areas and the govt doesn't do much control for deer. But the spend a lot of money on goats and possums and in areas pigs are a real problem.
The North Island is generally a lot more bush(very thick, like a jungle for people who haven't seen it.) style hunting and the South Island has more open country and some higher open tops tussock country. This is just a general over view.

 

[etisll40]

Sounds awesome. What's the weather like in March there?

 

[JP100]

Sounds awesome. What's the weather like in March there?

Still pretty warm in March. It is just the start of autumn. so you can expect cooler mornings and nights but it still warm during the day(around 20 degrees C)
New Zealands weather in general is very mild.