November Tahr/Chamois Hunt

Hey guys, so me and my son have decided to set the wheels in motion for a November Tahr/Chamois hunt, then a couple days on a property through HQ for pigs/goats/Wallaby. From the research I have been doing it sounds like the Tahr may still have their winter coats at that time, the weather is generally more stable and they might be a bit lower down. I have reached out to a few Heli outfits to discuss options, and try and gather any intel they may be willing to part with lol......I am just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on a heli company that they have used? i understand google is my friend to find them, but that wont replace first hand experience. Also, have gathered that the best option is to have a plan for both West and East coasts, in case the weather blows in on one side or the other so have started reaching out to providers in both areas.

It seems like there is almost too much information on where to drop, but initial thoughts are somewhere in the Whataroa as a first option....any recent opinions on that area would be awesome!

For what its worth, we're no strangers to the mountains and do alot of sheep hunting and Mtn goats when we were able to here, but I do understand that NZ terrain is a whole different demon. Plan to rent a weather radio, have a sat phone and inreach already, and I think we're kitted up appropriately gear wise (4 season tent, proper bags, proper clothing, etc) and have used our set-up through some fairly nasty stretches in the rockies.

Really appreciate any recommendations, and thank you in advance. If anyone has any questions regarding anything in and around Alberta or BC (I know hunting is a bit different as a guide or host is needed), but travel, good hikes, good fishing, whatever, let me know. Happy to repay any tips with some of my own! Cheers!

I'm your huckleberry. Can u pm me?

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Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

I'm your huckleberry. Can u pm me?

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Hey, thank you sir! I cant seem to be able to PM you. May be that I am too new.....are you able to initiate the messaging by chance? Apologies for the hassle.....

Conversely if your unable to message me, my email is mytrailcam84@gmail.com

If you could shoot me a message there we could connect. Im guessing your a heli provider, would love to chat and get something lined up! Thanks again!

At present live in the land of Oz, here my cphone will not allow me to initiate a pm, therefore I have a wee problem. We can overcome this if you post lots of content and then be able to pm me. I am not a helicopter pilot but do have a vast knowledge of hunting in nz.

Well that is very much appreciated appreciated again, thank you!! I will keep posting away and send you a PM as soon as I can. Cheers and chat soon!!

And while we wait how about some stories and pics.

Absolutely.....i'll do a write up tomorrow with some Alberta focused stuff. Wasnt sure if there would be an appetite for that on a NZ forum, but most certainly! Off to bed for the evening, but tomorrow will get a few up for sure! As a starter, the first picture is my sons Muley from this year, was a fine 2nd muley buck. Lucky little bugger got a "3 horned" one for his first a couple years ago. He's got horseshoes up his arse.

The first muley was his target buck in 2021. We spotted him early in September, and even though we saw plenty larger and better scoring, he had his heart set on that particular buck. We located him the second day of the season, but we kept bumping him, and he ended up taking it at 604yds. We've been shooting since he could walk basically, and he is in a competitive youth shooting league. Wasnt ideal to send one from that distance, but with alot of tags in the area, and it being close to the end of the day and a perfect prone shooting scenario, he let one go with with his 7mm RM and down it went.

Attachment 243762

This years was quite different. He drew a low priority tag in a heavily hunted area, so expectations were quite low. After a week of hunting, this buck was the best we were able to locate, and was left largely alone as it was inside a 10,000ac foot access only area (lots of road hunting here, foot access areas you often have to yourself). We watched him for a couple hours until him and a group of does moved into an area that would allow us to close the distance, and at 171yds he put one in the boiler room with his 6.5PRC and down it went.

Attachment 243763

I also had a tag, and when i saw this heavy old warrior, i couldnt pass him up. Tough to find mass like this, and it was bloody old deer.....the stalk was only about 1km, and shot was 224yds with our 257Wby.

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Here is a whitetail as well to end the evening that I got in 2022. Kind of a cool story on this one.....Me and the family purchased a 140ac piece of land back near where I grew up in late Sept of 2022. The day we got possession I went and hung a few trail cams (cell cams that never ended up working, i hate those things), and me and the boy came back to check them a week later. The VERY FIRST picture I had on the first cam that I checked was of this buck. I couldnt believe my eyes haha. From that moment onward, no other buck was on the hit list, it was this guy or bust. We built a tower blind in a corner where he routinely showed up on cam, and after many days of sitting, he finally showed up with plenty of legal light to spare and I had the first buck off our new property. There are a few up and comers on cam that definitely carry his genetics, so looking forward to the coming years as I think there will be several more similar to him or larger to come along. This guys tines were a bit short, theres a couple younger deer that will carry the similar junk but be taller for sure.



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Mighty fine Mule deer, the three antler one is a classic head alright.

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Originally Posted by CanuckHunterAB

Here is a whitetail as well to end the evening that I got in 2022. Kind of a cool story on this one.....Me and the family purchased a 140ac piece of land back near where I grew up in late Sept of 2022. The day we got possession I went and hung a few trail cams, and me and the boy came back to check them a week later. The VERY FIRST picture I had on the first cam that I checked was of this buck. I couldnt believe my eyes haha. From that moment onward, no other buck was on the hit list, it was this guy or bust. We built a tower blind in a corner where he routinely showed up on cam, and after many days of sitting, he finally showed up with plenty of legal light to spare and I had the first buck off our new property. There are a few up and comers on cam that definitely carry his genetics, so looking forward to the coming years as I think there will be several more similar to him or larger to come along. This guys tines were a bit short, theres a couple younger deer that will carry the similar junk but be taller for sure.



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Here is the first pic of him, as well as the half arsed tower blind we threw together lol.

https://i.imgur.com/qW3MduE.png

https://i.imgur.com/dHWnIvf.jpg

Give Malcolm a call at Mesopotamia station. Station air I think his business is called . He flys in tahr hunters on a daily basis and will sort you out . Good to deal with and a ton of knowledge .

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Originally Posted by Rendogg

Give Malcolm a call at Mesopotamia station. Station air I think his business is called . He flys in tahr hunters on a daily basis and will sort you out . Good to deal with and a ton of knowledge .

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Thats a name that keeps popping up when im searching through here as a definite go-to guy. The more im looking the more it seems like maybe Lawerence Bivvy or Lyall is a better bet for plan#1. Thank you for the advice, much appreciated!

Plus one for Malcom. Give St Winifreds a look, nice hut or push up up to Veil bivouac. Solid hut well looked after by the local NZDA. In November the Thar are easy to spot with the distinct golden coats - early afternoon usually down lower. Check out NZ Hunter program when the fathers and daughters go for a hunt - season 8? they are in the Rangitata area.

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Originally Posted by Steven708

Plus one for Malcom. Give St Winifreds a look, nice hut or push up up to Veil bivouac. Solid hut well looked after by the local NZDA. In November the Thar are easy to spot with the distinct golden coats - early afternoon usually down lower. Check out NZ Hunter program when the fathers and daughters go for a hunt - season 8? they are in the Rangitata area.

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Thank you for the info sir and I will look into the NZ Hunter program! As for the tahr being easier to spot, i have heard that in and around November......its funny when a guy doesnt have eyes for something new. Seems I can spot a group of bighorn no problem a drainage over almost with the naked eye if they're on their feet lol, but I went Auodad hunting in Texas with a buddy from there, and I had a bugger of a time finding them in the binos even with someone telling me where they were haha! Another reason Nov is appealing! Thanks again!

good hunting up the rangitata. the bulls can stick out like dogs balls. will flick you a pm w some ideas later on. are you set on having a hut or happy to camp ?Attachment 243827 a few years ago, nothing huge in the mob but were low down the hill , 900mish . Attachment 243828 there were 2 or 3 worth looking at but were on the private .

I tell you what, the entire trip would be a smashing success just to be able to see one group like that man!! And 900m seems super low based on the vids and reading ive been doing.....and sure wouldnt complain about that lol! And by no means are we set on having a hut at all......honestly, the huts just seem super cool to experience a night in, but that could be done after the guns are put away on a hike before leaving. We've spent many a night in the mountains here chasing sheep, and theres no huts even if we wanted them!

I really appreciate everything everyone is offering, thank you all and thank you IamHackmeat for the offer to connect! Im not sure if you are able to PM me or not (I know I cant send one at this point), but if that offer still stands and you arent able to, my email is mytrailcam84@gmail.com or we just wait until I can send/receive PM's and hopefully the offer is still there. Again, hell of a group of guys here and thank you!

will be intouch . your planning on going roo shooting also ? its some of the best fun you can have with your pants on .

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Originally Posted by IamHackmeat

will be intouch . your planning on going roo shooting also ? its some of the best fun you can have with your pants on .

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Absolutely!! The plan is for heading in for Tahr/Chamois for 4 days, and then shooting some goats and roo's on some private off hunt HQ for a couple days! Thank you!

Bump

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Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

Bump

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Hey SmokeyJason, thank you for the email.....I sent you a response, much appreciated sir!

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Originally Posted by CanuckHunterAB

Hey SmokeyJason, thank you for the email.....I sent you a response, much appreciated sir!

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Unfortunately I was hacked before I could retrieve the info and now I can't get back in, so will wait till you are able to pm me. Sigh, such is life.

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Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

Unfortunately I was hacked before I could retrieve the info and now I can't get back in, so will wait till you are able to pm me. Sigh, such is life.

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Haha, gotta love technology sometimes eh! I will PM you as soon as I can, thanks again for bearing with me!

So a little update.....I have spoken to and booked a lift in with Station Air the first week of November.....the plan is to hunt for 4 days in the bush creek area, then come out and drive to Whataroa and head in with Heliservices NZ on the west coast for another 4 days with Chamois as the focus. Not sure if thats the best plan, or if we should have just committed a week on the west coast up the Whataroa looking for both. Either way, this lets us see both sides of the island, cover some ground for a day in between and take a full day driving through Arthurs Pass and such and soaking it all in. Thoughts are also that if the weather goes to heck, then we can stay in longer on the East instead of being stormed in on the West. I appreciate the pointers offered, and if you guys think this plan is goofy or there is a smarter way to go about things, Im all ears. Committed to the station air side though, ive booked my slot and not the type to go on back on my commitment, especially after Malcom and Deb have been so helpful. Have a bit of flexibility on the west coast side of things though, havent made any solid commitment on that yet, just know we'd like to chase Chamois and that seemed as a good an area as my research lead me to. Cheers guys

Ah you had me there on a previous post, re four days to hunt both.
Crooked spur hut or next upstream? No chamois up there for a long time now. I have shot them in Alma and black birch,, the saddle between them is good. There is a bit of a dog box in black birch, but livable. The second hut up bush stream is old style, a Shepard's hut full of character.
You might be better to fly into the heads as chamois are great travellers and no big deal for them to come over from the coast, also more scrub up there which chamois favour.
But in reality to do both easily the coast is the place. Doesn't help your booking, but with a bit of patience you could have had this expert knowledge to make a better decision, .
Never mind there's always next yr.

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Originally Posted by CanuckHunterAB

So a little update.....I have spoken to and booked a lift in with Station Air the first week of November.....the plan is to hunt for 4 days in the bush creek area, then come out and drive to Whataroa and head in with Heliservices NZ on the west coast for another 4 days with Chamois as the focus. Not sure if thats the best plan, or if we should have just committed a week on the west coast up the Whataroa looking for both. Either way, this lets us see both sides of the island, cover some ground for a day in between and take a full day driving through Arthurs Pass and such and soaking it all in. Thoughts are also that if the weather goes to heck, then we can stay in longer on the East instead of being stormed in on the West. I appreciate the pointers offered, and if you guys think this plan is goofy or there is a smarter way to go about things, Im all ears. Committed to the station air side though, ive booked my slot and not the type to go on back on my commitment, especially after Malcom and Deb have been so helpful. Have a bit of flexibility on the west coast side of things though, havent made any solid commitment on that yet, just know we'd like to chase Chamois and that seemed as a good an area as my research lead me to. Cheers guys

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Nice U will love it , can't wait for your hunting stories [emoji106]

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If the weather does pack in on the West Coast then it is likely to be extremely windy in the mountains on the East Coast. Might not be a very good place to be in those conditions either.

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Originally Posted by Sauer

If the weather does pack in on the West Coast then it is likely to be extremely windy in the mountains on the East Coast. Might not be a very good place to be in those conditions either.

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I’ve seen some vids of the winds on the east, definitely no joke. I have an area in mind that in theory (at least it would work here in the Rockies I’m familiar with) where there is what appears to be a quite steep drainage oriented cross wind, at least according to what Malcom has told me is prevailing winds). Don’t plan to hunt it persay, but near so we can set camp in there if needed and maybe still get a hunt in. Thats the plan B that makes sense based on what I know from here lol.

Good handle by the way……one of my faithful go-to’s is 100 Cherokee in 6.5PRC. Dollar for dollar, pretty tough to compete with the 100’s.

.25-06 202 Elegance for me although also have a .270 Blaser R8 that gets used more nowadays.

Oh wow!! Here I am talking about 100’s and you have those in your safe haha! Beautiful rifles, I had the pleasure of being lent a 202 classic for a hunt several years ago. One can dream, I hope to one day have one in my safe. Cheers!!