Edition 07, April 2021

THANE YOUNG BRANCH OFFICERS

On Long Range Hunting Rob Howey
President
12 May, 2021 7:30pm m: 027 4972672
NZDA Inc Headquarters
3 Collina Terrace Graeme Blanchard
Thorndon, Wellington Vice-President
m: 027 4285843
Join us for our first branch meeting after the Roar as we
host Thane Young as our guest speaker for the night. David Roache
Secretary
Thane Young grew up in the days of venison recovery and m: 027 6718143
in a family that relied heavily on deer recovery to supple-
ment their income so hunting is the blood. And 35 years Jaymi Singson
later he is still chasing game around the hills and harvest- Treasurer
ing food from the rivers and sea.
m: 022 1560893
He is an adventurer by nature with his two main passions
being hunting and fly-fishing. Thanes' focus in the hunt-
ing space is long-range shooting and with this comes COMMITTEE MEMBERS
hefty treks into shooting positions and some very chal-
lenging animal recoveries.  Dave Roache

Staying fit and healthy to enjoy these two passions is a  Dan Driscoll
huge focus for him. He normally pack-trains 3-4 times a  Jun Hernandez
week on hilly terrain and stairs with a pack weight of up  Nick Collins
to 30kg to maintain his fitness for the hills!  Patrick Harsvelt
Thane is constantly planning for the next adventure and
is always keen to share his experiences with the people
who accompany him or ones that enjoy his social media. In This Issue
-@ blurb taken from LOWA.co.nz Thane Young
This photo is a teas-
er to those who An Epic Hunt
missed to join in the
Branch’s Annual
South Island Hunt. A Gal’s First Solo
Hunt
Details on the next
page how this exer-
cise became An Epic Scheduled Club
Hunt Hunts
An Epic Hunt
By Graeme Blanchard

Late February, four of us headed south to the Hopkins Valley, just south of Mt Cook. We had
sighted in rifles the week before, although we still had one rifle that wasn’t doing what it was
supposed to by dropping 200mm between 100 and 200m. We bought more ammo with the
hope of sorting it out once we got to the first hut.
Catching a 2am ferry on a Saturday morning is always challenging, but it meant we arrived at
Monument Hut by 5pm. Just before the hut we bumped into a local identity who informed us
how the next day he was going to hunt one of the same spots we were. Our plan was to split
up and hunt two areas, regrouping at the end of the week. He also told us that the rain was
coming in on Wednesday. After our last experience having to swim across the Hopkins after
heavy rain, we weren’t about to risk that again. So, we decided the four of us would stay to-
gether at the higher altitude spot then head back to Monument Hut Tuesday night, giving us
only three days hunting instead of six.
Monument Hut is a small one, so when we found it full plus another 3 parties camped near-by,
we were pleased we had fine weather and our own tents. They were mostly fishermen which
meant they weren’t planning to climb 1000+m to
where we were going. Because our chosen area was
new to us, we weren’t sure if we would be able to
access drinking water, so we took a bunch of water
bottles to get us through until we found water. Half-
way through the climb we found a well-used hu-
man trail to follow. Clearly, we weren’t the first hunt-
ers in that spot. Just before the tree-line we found
what we were looking for. Well-use tent sites. So, we
set up camp then headed off for a look around. The
boys found they could see most of our hunting area
from a couple of spots only five minutes from camp
and they could see good water only 120m below us.
What a neat place.
Within 10 minutes sharp young eyes had found our
first Chamois resting in a dark rock cave across the
valley. After half an hour that turned into two ani-
mals, resplendent in their yellow summer coats, both
carrying horns. Then a couple of Tahr nannies were
spotted further along the cliffs and 3 red hinds 2km
away . Two of our intrepid hunters made the deci-
sion to go after the Chamois. It meant dropping
120m to the creek, then climbing 400m to get above
the chamois to hopefully shoot down on them. An
hour and a half later we were in position. A minute
was taken to rest, wipe the sweat away, and settle the pulse for the shot. Peering over the cliff
was interesting. Reaching your whole upper torso out over nothing to allow you to sight your
gun on an animal almost directly below still makes my feel tingle thinking about it. And yes,
they do look up sometimes. Two shots later we then had to figure out how to get down to
them and, better still, how to get them down the cliffs. The coat was so interesting we skinned
one to take back to camp for salting, along with the heads, back-steaks and a couple of back-
legs. Before the trip we had agreed to focus on trophies rather than our usual meat hunt -
(con’t) simply because we were not able to keep the meat safe for a week in the summer heat.
But as regular meat hunters we found it very difficult to waste the chance to collect clean lean
meat.
Getting down off the cliff was interesting. The way we chose is not the way we would go
again. While holding onto scrub as you climb down over it stops you falling, when that scrub is
1.5m high and you can’t see what is or isn’t underneath made it more interesting than if we
had simply climbed back up and headed down a nearby scree slope instead. Seeing another
Chamois pop out from the scrub and then disappear again provided a brief interlude in our
challenging descent.
Arriving back at camp we started planning the next day’s hunting. Our weather was still good
with only the occasional light shower coming through and the surrounding peaks. The hills
way above us beckoned, requiring another 450m climb from camp. Three of us hunted our
way up, moving quietly and peering over and around
any obstacle we came across. At 5pm we reached a
great vantage point and took the binos out to see what
we could see. Once again, young eyes found animals.
This time 2 good stags 600+m away. Both carrying seri-
ous head gear. Likely 10pts. Just what our 2 young
hunters were hoping for. Seeing the excitement
amongst the guys was priceless. Next, we set about
planning how we could get around the cliffs to them
without being seen or scented. It would require an
hour long traverse then sneaking down 300m to the
beasts. We didn’t think we could climb down to the val-
ley floor after shooting the stags so left our pack and dinner up high at the vantage point. A de-
cision we were to regret later.
We were certain that we would only be able to see one of the stags as we dropped down, so
we discussed who would shoot the one we could see. It meant the second, and bigger, stag
would likely be running by the time we saw it reducing our chance of securing him. Once de-
cided we moved into position. A shot was fired. The
first stag dropped then rose to his feet. The bigger
stag raced out from his hiding position and stopped,
trying to figure out where the threat was. As he
started off down the slope, another shot was fired.
He went down. The two shooters focused on the
first stag again. Emptying their magazines until it
went down again. Elated, we moved down to our
magnificent beats. The big fella got up and down a
few times then settled. One hunter creeped down to
him, prepared to jump on top, but wisely decided
not to as it got up and staggered off down the hill.
He followed it for 20 minutes, seeing it drop right
down to the valley floor, making a note of where it
collapsed for next day’s recovery. And so, we re-
turned to the first stag, still moving its head around
as we got closer. Two hunters moved forward, lay
on top of the beast, then finished him off before re-
moving the back-steaks and impressive head. The
three of us regrouped then started off up the moun-
tain as dark descended upon us. We arrived at our
food and gear after 9.30pm, well after dark after an impressive climbing effort, had a snack and
drink and headed off back down to camp, aware that we had a recovery job to do the next
day. We figured he would be heading down the valley hoping to make it to safety below the
treeline.
Three of us were up early the next day, our last one before heading back down, had a coffee
and headed down to the basin to collect the bigger stag. Eight hours later 2 of us made it back
to camp, having peered into every gap in the native grass on the valley floor and having
climbed 500m up to look down into the valley and even searched through the first 300m of
bush, we hadn’t found him. Having never spent that much energy searching for a downed ani-
mal, we were devastated. We shared the bad news with the others while they cooked up some
fresh back steak dipped in flour, salt and pepper, plus a hint of onion flakes and fried in real but-
ter. Wow.
We told them where we had been. How hard we had searched but, ultimately, we had failed. It
was the best fresh steak we had ever had. Maybe because we were so hungry. Maybe because
of the emotion of the moment. It was delicious.
Looking around camp after our feed, we noticed two sets of antlers where there was only one
when we left for our search. What? Where did they come from? An explanation was required.
We heard how just before mid-day, our third searcher was returning towards camp along the
valley floor and noticed an unusual stick in the long grass. They were still 100m away so he was
amazed to see antlers. Approaching the big fella he realised that, once again, he would need to
jump on a stag and finish it off. Job done though, he then set about removing the mighty head
and back steaks. He had found the stag, 2km from where he had been shot, and only 40m
from the safety of the bush. Amazing.
With hugs all round, 2 hunters were sent
back down to retrieve more meat while
the other two packed up camp and
cleaned up the stag heads to save
weight. Carrying 80kg of meat plus 2
good heads down 1000m was our next
task, so at 4pm off we went, hoping to
get back to Monument Hut before dark
and before the rain really settled in.
It was four tired bodies that snuggled in-
to their sleeping bags in the safety of the
hut that night, lulled to sleep by the rain
on the roof, looking forward to a sleep-in
the next day.

Another epic hunt.

A Gal’s First Solo Hunt

By Wendy Symes
In 2020 I was successful in the east harbour hunting ballot! Woohoo!!!. . . But
then we all know how 2020 turned out, COVID19 struck and the pandemic
seemed to put a temporary end to one of our passions. The GWRC at that time,
had no choice but to cancel all the permits it drew for the year, including the
one I’d won.
A year had passed and in 2021, I received a notice with a shred of
hope from the GWRC. They had decided to honour the permits that -
(con’t) were drawn from the ballot of 2020 for 2021! Certainly this was the best news I have re-
ceived for a while. I was one happy girl again.
Life goes on and takes over, but in the back of my head I am thinking, I need to have my hunt-
ing buddy sorted. I message him and this is the reply I get, “Hey Wendy, I’ve torn a muscle I
won’t be able to make it"
A week or so later, he informed me it was healing well and hoped that he would still be able to
make the trip. But a few days prior to the hunt dates and due to a few unavoidable circum-
stances he wasn't going to be able to go hunting with me. The dates for the hunt were for two
weekdays and Saturday thus not giving enough time for anyone to organise time off work.
I had to work Wednesday until 8:30pm so I figured I wouldn't be home till 9pm. I still haven’t
managed to get packed for the hunt on Thursday morning. I figured that I would have to be up
at 4:30am to get organised and be at the hunt zone in time for first light. I went to bed thinking
I won’t push through, I was really tired and the prospect of going alone wasn’t my cup of tea. In
spite of these heavy thoughts, I still set my alarm for 5:30am, thinking, what the heck, I probably
won't go.
Like clockwork, I rose to my alarm at 5:30 and the first thing that comes to mind is, sort yourself
out girl! I wasn't even sure exactly where I'd be going but eventually decided on a route and set
out.
I arrived at the hunt zone at around 7am. Scoped out the place, did all the things a Deerstalker
would normally do, then set out. I was about 100 meters down the ridge I'd planned to explore
and I noticed it was quiet and still. Too quiet I thought, so I decided to sit down, have a quick
rest and get my electronic roarer out of my pack so I parked up near a tree.
Got to get ready, I thought. I slid the bolt in and clipped the magazine - locked and loaded. Time
to let off a roar. Straight away a roar came back! I quickly used my windrift wind indicator to see
what direction the air around me was moving. It indicated a very slight breeze coming from the
east. So I let another roar go, he roared back again! The roar was coming from the east and a
just a bit louder now! What luck! I was downwind from him, but was still hopeful he wouldn't
pick up my scent. I sat there almost motionless and waited a bit more and was just looking in-
tently when straight down the ridge in front of me looking in my direction was a Stag!!! I was so
ecstatic that I forgot I didn't have a face mask on, so I tried to keep my head down so my camo
cap would hide my white face. Slowly, I reached down for my rifle and loaded a round. I was
expecting him to bolt but he didn't! I lined him up with my scope, got him within my sights,
held my breath and squeezed the trigger. BOOM!
Now, I was sure I’d hit him, but he bolted. I could still hear him crashing into the bush for a few
seconds and then once again dead silence. For safety reasons, I waited a bit more and gently
made my way to where I thought he'd be. As usual, the deer was nowhere to be found.
Thoughts started to race in my head, “Did I really make the shot? Maybe I missed and just star-
tled him. Fortunately, I packed a thermal spotter and after a quick scan around me, I found him.
Man was I buzzing! My first Solo Public Land
Hunt and Kill! And he was even a nice 10ptr. I
enjoyed some time with him then caped him
and took his backstraps. I proceeded to load
my pack with the meat and then strapped the
head and cape to my pack, and tried to stand
up but I just couldn’t. I lay there with my trophy
like a turtle on its back. The only way I thought
I could get everything out was to unstrap the
head and cape and just drag it up the ridge.
This was the hardest 100m of my life, it was a
hard carry out but wow! I was well worth it.
 Over the next couple of days, the weather
turned. A mate joined me on the Saturday, but
the wind was against us from the start, but it
was still good to be out there doing what we
are most passionate about.

Scheduled Branch Hunts

Dates Location
May 29—30, 2021 Tauanui Hut
June 12—13, 2021 Waipakahi Valley, Desert Road
June 26—27, 2021 Ruahines

Spaces available for the above mentioned hunts. A shorter version of the Ohau/
Hopkins hunt maybe in the works. For more information phone Graeme at 027-
4825843