Himalayan Tahr
Hemitragus Jemlahicus
Himalayan Tahr are a true alpine goat species originating from Nepal and northern India. They were released in New Zealand in 1904, adapting very well to our climate and terrain and have since spread and multiplied. They’re found in the main Southern Alps of the South Island usually between 3000 and 6500 feet (1000-2000m) above sea level. Tahr inhabit diverse types of terrain from gentle tussock slopes on the east coast to the steep broken cliffs and tight scrubby vegetation of the West coast. The male/Bull is a large stocky goat similar in size to the Rocky Mt Goat of North America. They have short triangular shaped horns 11-14+ inches long and 7-9+ inch bases. The Bull is renowned for his lion like ‘mane’ which at maturity will be 10-12 inches long and extend right down over his knees and down his back. A bull is around twice the size of the much plainer looking female/nanny Tahr.
The rut is May-June and this is the best time to hunt them, with beautiful skins being from mid-April through to August. We specialise in Tahr hunting and we will look over multiple bulls to find you a mature trophy bull. A bull grows in body size, horns and cape quality until they reach full maturity around 7-8 years. During the rut Tahr will be in larger group sizes of 15-50 animals, outside of the rut bulls will be alone or in smaller bachelor groups. We hunt Tahr on both the East and West coast of the South Island and have options to hunt free range private stations/ranches or wilderness areas (public land). Our private land hunts are based from cabins with power, running water and we have 4×4 access over the property making this a more comfortable hunt. Our wilderness hunts will either use a 4×4 or helicopter to access the hunt area where will set up a tent base camp. Our wilderness hunts are more physically demanding and are best suited to hunters with good mountain (sheep and goat) hunting experience. All of our hunts are on foot and being in good physical shape will greatly increase your enjoyment and success during the hunt.
The rut is May-June and this is the best time to hunt them, with beautiful skins being from mid-April through to August. We specialise in Tahr hunting and we will look over multiple bulls to find you a mature trophy bull. A bull grows in body size, horns and cape quality until they reach full maturity around 7-8 years. During the rut Tahr will be in larger group sizes of 15-50 animals, outside of the rut bulls will be alone or in smaller bachelor groups. We hunt Tahr on both the East and West coast of the South Island and have options to hunt free range private stations/ranches or wilderness areas (public land). Our private land hunts are based from cabins with power, running water and we have 4×4 access over the property making this a more comfortable hunt. Our wilderness hunts will either use a 4×4 or helicopter to access the hunt area where will set up a tent base camp. Our wilderness hunts are more physically demanding and are best suited to hunters with good mountain (sheep and goat) hunting experience. All of our hunts are on foot and being in good physical shape will greatly increase your enjoyment and success during the hunt.
Chamois/Gemse
Rupicapra Rupicapra
The Austrian Emperor Franz Josef gifted Alpine Chamois to New Zealand in 1907 and they have since spread throughout most mountain ranges in the South Island. They inhabit a wide variety of terrain and can be found almost from sea level to 6500+(2000m) feet above sea level. Chamois are often seen as a ‘lesser’ trophy than the tahr but they are equally challenging to hunt, and currently securing a good buck is the most difficult of New Zealand’s 3 main species. A chamois is a relatively small animal weighing around 60-90lbs (30-40kg).
Chamois are attractive in both their tussock coloured summer coats and their black winter coats, making them a great animal to hunt regardless of the season. Chamois are an extremely agile and fast-moving animal and they can inhabit some serious mountain terrain, making for some truly exciting hunting, especially during the rut. The Chamois rut generally overlaps with the tahr rut, Late April to June and this is the best time to secure the striking black winter coat. Summer coats are best in January-March. A male/buck and female/doe Chamois look almost identical but the buck’s horns have a ‘heavier’ appearance and a more defined ‘hook’. Chamois are not as gregarious as tahr are and are normally found in smaller groups of 10 or less. As a result, we are often required to cover a lot of country to find a mature buck and good fitness is essential. A good buck will have an ‘upside down J’ hook to his horns and be over 9 inches long. Exceptional bucks can be 10 inches +.
We have a small private area where we take 1-2 Chamois bucks each season and also hunt them across large areas of our wilderness concession (public land). Our private area has 2 nice cabins and 4×4 access. Our wilderness hunts are helicopter drop-off with tent camps. We focus on finding mature bucks over 9 inches but on the odd occasion we do shoot very old and barren does.
Chamois are attractive in both their tussock coloured summer coats and their black winter coats, making them a great animal to hunt regardless of the season. Chamois are an extremely agile and fast-moving animal and they can inhabit some serious mountain terrain, making for some truly exciting hunting, especially during the rut. The Chamois rut generally overlaps with the tahr rut, Late April to June and this is the best time to secure the striking black winter coat. Summer coats are best in January-March. A male/buck and female/doe Chamois look almost identical but the buck’s horns have a ‘heavier’ appearance and a more defined ‘hook’. Chamois are not as gregarious as tahr are and are normally found in smaller groups of 10 or less. As a result, we are often required to cover a lot of country to find a mature buck and good fitness is essential. A good buck will have an ‘upside down J’ hook to his horns and be over 9 inches long. Exceptional bucks can be 10 inches +.
We have a small private area where we take 1-2 Chamois bucks each season and also hunt them across large areas of our wilderness concession (public land). Our private area has 2 nice cabins and 4×4 access. Our wilderness hunts are helicopter drop-off with tent camps. We focus on finding mature bucks over 9 inches but on the odd occasion we do shoot very old and barren does.
Red stag
Cervus elaphus
New Zealand is famous for its’ Red Stags and for good reason. Red deer were released throughout the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s from premier herds in Scotland and England. These animals flourished, producing some amazing trophies. Red deer are found throughout New Zealand and live in low forest country all the way up to and above the timber line. New Zealand has a reputation for the ‘biggest stags’ in the world, and New Zealand does offer some of the best ‘estate’ stags in the world. The reality is if it’s really big it’s either from a hunting estate/game park/deer farm, or once was. We do not believe in ‘hunting’ high fenced or farm bred animals. Free range red stags generally have antlers in the 250-300-inch bracket sporting 10-16 points with a few exceptional trophies going 300+ inches. Generally, if it’s bigger than that it is not a genuine free-range animal.
We differ from most New Zealand outfitters in that we ONLY hunt real free-range wild Red stags. Due to the unrestricted hunting on public land/wilderness areas we hunt Stags on several large private areas. We have areas in the top of the South Island(Marlborough) which have a large number of deer usually in the 200-250″ class. We also have premier hunting blocks in South Canterbury where the stags are generally larger in the 250-300″ class.Our Stag hunting areas are relatively open and mountainous and this can be a physically demanding hunt. These areas are completely free range and stags can come and go as they please. For the real hunter, chasing wild red stags is an exciting and challenging hunt. Stags can be hunted from February (hard velvet/stripping) through into the winter, June/July. The most popular time to hunt stags is during the Rut or ‘Roar’. The Roar is generally from mid-March-late April with the peak of the rut normally around the first 2 weeks of April. If you are looking for a genuine challenge with a trophy to be proud of, come and hunt Red Stags with us.
We differ from most New Zealand outfitters in that we ONLY hunt real free-range wild Red stags. Due to the unrestricted hunting on public land/wilderness areas we hunt Stags on several large private areas. We have areas in the top of the South Island(Marlborough) which have a large number of deer usually in the 200-250″ class. We also have premier hunting blocks in South Canterbury where the stags are generally larger in the 250-300″ class.Our Stag hunting areas are relatively open and mountainous and this can be a physically demanding hunt. These areas are completely free range and stags can come and go as they please. For the real hunter, chasing wild red stags is an exciting and challenging hunt. Stags can be hunted from February (hard velvet/stripping) through into the winter, June/July. The most popular time to hunt stags is during the Rut or ‘Roar’. The Roar is generally from mid-March-late April with the peak of the rut normally around the first 2 weeks of April. If you are looking for a genuine challenge with a trophy to be proud of, come and hunt Red Stags with us.
other game we hunt
We have access to a diverse range of private properties and they each hold various small game animals. Wild goats are found in high numbers in our private Chamois and northern Stag areas and are a great add on to these hunts. Feral pigs/wild boars are found across our private areas and are exciting to hunt with either dogs or rifle. We also have a large property that has a huge number of Red Neck/Bennets wallabies. These a problem pest and are great fun to hunt either on foot with dogs or spotlighting them at night. We offer these small game free of charge on our private land packages which means you can shoot as much or as little as you like after your main species have been hunted.
