Thread: Waitomo run ins

You've got it man, advise you dress in lycra and put a takedown rifle in ya pack to avoid the confrontation.

Seriously, there are times a suppressed take down rifle avoids a lot of hassle. I dont mean illegal stuff, just that trampers entering some areas dont cop half the flack that openly carrying a rifle does. No one wants aggressive run ins whether you are the land owner or the hunter. Was thinking of heading in to some of those areas with my 16 yr old son recently, guess i might play it safe.

Are you sure they are not trying to protect the marokopa family hiding up there in the hills?
Sounds a bit over protective to me!

Originally Posted by oneipete

Seriously, there are times a suppressed take down rifle avoids a lot of hassle. I dont mean illegal stuff, just that trampers entering some areas dont cop half the flack that openly carrying a rifle does. No one wants aggressive run ins whether you are the land owner or the hunter. Was thinking of heading in to some of those areas with my 16 yr old son recently, guess i might play it safe.

There was an old guy (probably my age now) That used to come into the workshop I worked at in Florida and make surpressors and shorten rifles. I think he was hunting near property boundrys (or over them) as his surpressors had rubber wiper baffles so that they were almost movie quiet.

Originally Posted by oneipete

Seriously, there are times a suppressed take down rifle avoids a lot of hassle. I dont mean illegal stuff, just that trampers entering some areas dont cop half the flack that openly carrying a rifle does. No one wants aggressive run ins whether you are the land owner or the hunter. Was thinking of heading in to some of those areas with my 16 yr old son recently, guess i might play it safe.

reminds me of a mate many years back that saw a massive goat on a little piece of public land that probably would have sparked an armed offenders call out if he was seen walking in their with a rifle due to its proximity to a city and the number of dog walkers/runners etc that used it.
He dismantled his rifle and put it in a small daypack and headed in there in disguise right on daylight. Found a gorse bush close too the goats previous position and hid in that waiting. Where it showed he assembled rifle, fired one quick shot, disassembled rifle back into pack and walked out again. Came back a couple of days later and got the head. No one ever knew or got upset.

Same thing happened to me when I was Hunting the Tawarau block many years ago.. We were just young fellas back then. Getting out of the car, putting our boots on. Cocky comes along and asks us what we were doing. Told him we were going hunting Goats on the Doc land and we had permits. He asks to see our permits.
Told him he had no authority to inspect our permits and that we had no intention to cross his land or do anything else unlawful.
Car was still in one piece when we came back.

Lived in that area in the 90’s. Looked at getting into pig hunting there but quickly dropped the idea when I learnt how political it is around there.
Went out hunting with a Maori mate and he told me how everyone has their own little area they hunt. Hunt the wrong spot (even on public land) and you’re liable to get a good beating if it’s someone else’s spot.
One local came into the pub one night complaining loudly that someone else had caught a boar he’d been after for months. Seems no one else has a right to chase it until he’d given up.
My mate showed me one area where an old blue sow had been living until some young guys had caught it and bragged about it. They got a visit from the local mobsters…..

I found another hobby.

Maybe organize a forum hunt for the block in question. Might be less inclined to harrass a bunch of guys turning up at the same time.

Originally Posted by avon_7

Same thing happened to me when I was Hunting the Tawarau block many years ago.. We were just young fellas back then. Getting out of the car, putting our boots on. Cocky comes along and asks us what we were doing. Told him we were going hunting Goats on the Doc land and we had permits. He asks to see our permits.
Told him he had no authority to inspect our permits and that we had no intention to cross his land or do anything else unlawful.
Car was still in one piece when we came back.

Which side of the two bridges were you On? Te Anga or Waitomo? Just working out if it was Us or not. It sounds like us except for the asking to see the permit part.

Think Waitomo can stay in the "wild west" category. To much admin (worrying about vehicle safety) only go knock over animals if you have your unregistered lever action dirty 30.
For those suggesting Forum hunt I would love that but then also have a slither of respect for the Local grounds that they proclaim and it's easier for me to drive a extra 45 for zero trouble.

Originally Posted by Roadtripper

Think Waitomo can stay in the "wild west" category. To much admin (worrying about vehicle safety) only go knock over animals if you have your unregistered lever action dirty 30.
For those suggesting Forum hunt I would love that but then also have a slither of respect for the Local grounds that they proclaim and it's easier for me to drive a extra 45 for zero trouble.

I can advise you of a couple of Waitomo areas where you won't get any trouble at all

Originally Posted by Waipuna

I can advise you of a couple of Waitomo areas where you won't get any trouble at all

Sounds great Waipuna, I'm not sure how to initiate a PM tho

Originally Posted by Roadtripper

Sounds great Waipuna, I'm not sure how to initiate a PM tho

Yeah I don't think I have that function yet, once comes through I'll let you know

@ RoadtripperI used to go there a bit as not far from home. It's shit bush and steep but you would catch the odd fallow hopping around. Plenty of goats. Now that Mahoe Rd further up is pretty much all in pines, deer fenced and gets hammered by pest control with thermals, including a buffer zone around it, the deer dried up big time all along the bush bordering TA trail that way. The neighbours on the left and right of the trail had to put up with a bit of poaching so they are a touchy with new faces. People on bikes with guns and dogs, horse riders, mountain bikers, runners, the local cave club looking for caves, hunters on foot with rifles, overseas hikers that are not used to seeing guns, all that creates a bit of tension in there. The lay of the land is complicated as well and I would think it could be difficult to argue where what starts and stops, etc.

No excuse to give you that treatment in the car park though. But the above might explain why. To be honest, there are better, quieter places not too far away. That's where I go now. I go hunting for relaxation and to get away from thing to worry about so not knowing if me car is still in one piece or if someone will give me a growling at any time are not options when exercising my hobby.