A Great Opportunity

Highly disagree with the reasoning behind the hunting ban over the last 4 weeks. Regardless, have stayed home and tried to make the most of the situation:

-Donated to COLFO (Council of Licenced Firearms Owners). They are constantly fighting for our rights as hunters.

-Signed up with ACT (they may not be your cup of tea, but David Seymour has been the lone voice of reason in the firearms debates and now with Covid, as far as I can tell).

-Made new gear checklists: Day Hunts, Overnight Hunts, First Aid Kit Contents (with expiration dates), all on the same spreadsheet with a section for notes to be completed after each hunt, for indicating gear needing to be replaced or repaired, etc.

-Identified some hunting gear for eventual replacement, in order of priority: lighter tent, better sleeping mat, etc.

-Revisited a few of my favorite reads: Lentle & Saxton (the best explanation of what actually happens during the roar that I've ever read, not just a bunch of random tips), and James Passmore (If you haven't read NZ Wilderness Hunter, it's fantastic).

-Increased fitness by running daily, and long walks with a weighted pack.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome. Likewize did the research on tents. Ordered this one, $208 delivered to NZ. https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-dan-...-tent#overview - under 1 kg. I do already have "bulletproof" one and two man "winter" tents but they run to nearly double that weight.

I've spent my time working on fitness. Its an easy time to go for a decent run or to put a pack on and do a decent walk

Welcome.

Nice handle , I bet it goes over a lot of heads .:thumbsup:

Thanks, on the Interest.co.nz site, it's Farce Majeur!

Hi and Thanks. Dunedin based, usually hunt Catlins, Blue Mtns, Te Papa Nui, Fiordland and a few other spots. Really enjoy the forum!

Thanks for sharing. Tents, what a rabbit hole! Comparing cost vs. durability vs. weatherproof vs. weight! Seems like you need a darned quiver of 'em!

I like your idea of the checklists for various hunts and content of first aid kit, I may have to produce a spreadsheet myself now. Welcome to the forum buddy

Welcome to the forum.
Your checklists sound interesting, want to share them with the group, I am running out of reading material.

Welcome aboard.

I obviously don't take all the gear on most hunts, but it's a full list of everything I have, including batter types and spares, etc., so I can at least put eyeballs on what I have before taking off and decide what to actually bring.

Attachment 137290

Do you realise the cost is US dollars not $NZ ?

Yea, I have a spreadsheet checklist with the weights of each item already set up. I can then tick what I'm taking on a trip and total it and depending on if is a walk in, chopper trip or boat trip, I know if I'm getting close to max and have to ditch things, or if the hip flask and teddy bear can stay.

I've also been taking some time to do a bit of prep over lockdown. Last weekend I spent a bit of time stripping down a couple of rifles for a deep clean and oil. Couple days ago I lined all the knives up in a row for a proper sharpen and oil. Re-organised the gear drawers. Tied a few fishing flies.

Pulled everything out of the freezer and re-organised that according to cuts/species and how long things have been in there- moved all the oldest stuff to the top to cycle things through (running low on the game front now, but thanks to a couple of good sessions in Welly Harbour right before lockdown have still got a bit of vac-packed kingi to keep us going for a bit).

Have spent more time in the kitchen honing a few recipes and experimenting with a few new ones. Also been virtually exploring- having just moved from way down south to Welly I'm now hunting in unknown territory, so making the most of this time to do some research, consult google earth, trawl (not to be confused with troll :D) the forum etc.

& like many of us no doubt, been getting my weekly hunting fill vicariously through NZ Hunters Club on telly. Also purchased the online version of Hunters Clubs new season too, and been rewatching eps from the old seasons I've bought too.

The gear spreadsheets are a great idea. Learnt the hard way a few times. I have several as well- one for my old mans boat, one for my freshwater fishing trips, and one for hunting trips. I don't bother with one for my dive trips as that gear is basically used for dive trips and nothing else, whereas a lot of stuff I'd pack for fly fishing trips also goes on hunting trips.
@wekaman Weight is always a consideration, but I'd never thought to put my gear weight into the spreadsheet and simply tally. That's a great idea and one I'll definitely steal :thumbsup: