| Do you start pulling out your gear several months | | | | hunting videos featuring New Zealand hunts. It |
| before you take a hunting trip? If your anything | | | | amazing how much more real the hunt becomes |
| like me, the day after you schedule a hunt, you | | | | when you see the terrain and watch other |
| start preparing for the trip. I spend so much time | | | | hunters taking trophies. There is nothing that |
| researching and preparing for a trip, by the time it | | | | compares to this experience and it helps with any |
| finally arrives, it's almost a little depressing. If you | | | | type of hunt you are taking. This is also one of |
| haven't experienced this part of the hunt your | | | | my favorite hunt preparation routines. Nothing like |
| missing a lot of fun and below are some tips to | | | | a great hunting video to pass those long evenings. |
| living the hunt, not just while your there, but for | | | | My next step was to contact the outfitter. By |
| months beforehand. | | | | this point I had gathered enough information to |
| Let's use my trip to New Zealand with Craigieburn | | | | ask about pricing, hunting gear lists, exact location, |
| Alpine Safaris as an example to illustrate the | | | | how we would be hunting and what kind of |
| process I go through when planning for a hunt. My | | | | physical condition I needed to be in. I soon learned |
| father and brother-in-law had booked the trip in | | | | it was time to get in shape. I also searched the |
| my absence at a hunting convention. I didn't know | | | | internet for additional gear lists and began paging |
| the outfitter, the location, or the animals available, | | | | through Cabela's to fill out my missing gear. I can |
| not to mention the terrain, the type of hunting or | | | | spend hours in a large outdoor store checking out |
| anything else for that matter. | | | | gear and choosing what I want. Most I can't |
| My first step was to track down the outfitter's | | | | afford, but if you don't enjoy this part of the |
| website. I studied it thoroughly learning about the | | | | preparation, you need your head checked. |
| location of the hunt, the species available, | | | | Once I learned the location, it was time to pull up |
| pondering what I wanted to hunt and learning | | | | Google Maps. This software is truly amazing and |
| about what was available. There were beautiful | | | | allows you to literally scout the terrain from your |
| pictures of mountain summits and massive red | | | | computer. I can't think of how many times |
| stags with crowned antlers. I could almost smell | | | | someone has told me about a special hunting spot |
| the mountain air. | | | | that I then checked out on my laptop. You can |
| I next called on a few friends that had hunted for | | | | cruise down the roads, set on top of a hill and |
| stag or had been to New Zealand hunting for | | | | view the surrounding, see all the nooks and |
| chamois, stag, and tahr. It's always best in my | | | | crannie that hide critters, mark your favorites |
| opinion to speak to someone you know first, to | | | | spots, and more. If you haven't tried it, your |
| learn what to ask. I learned many hunts in New | | | | missing the boat! Just remember, those mountains |
| Zealand are fenced rather than free range. The | | | | are a lot bigger in real life. |
| chamois and tahr are often hunted with | | | | Now it was time to start pulling out my hunting |
| helicopters, and the stags are classified by bronze, | | | | gear. I always pull out twice as much gear as I |
| silver, or gold medal depending on the size and | | | | need several months before the hunt and start |
| whether they were taken free range or not. I | | | | whittling it down as the hunt draws near. I pack |
| definitely wanted to hunt free range and I wanted | | | | up my backpack and carry it around as part of |
| to take a chamois by the power of my two legs | | | | my excercise routine (minus the rifle) just to see |
| rather than a helicopter. | | | | how it fits. I also start making trips to the range |
| Next I studied the internet to learn all I could | | | | to knock the dust off the old rifle and make sure |
| about New Zealand and New Zealand hunting. I | | | | that once in a lifetime shot counts. |
| read about the country and learned about the | | | | The closer the time came for the hunt, the more |
| animals and how they are hunted. I discovered | | | | I dreamed of big stags and shaggy tahr. It was |
| their are two islands, the South and the North and | | | | tough to sleep at all the last couple weeks before |
| the terrain is extremely different as well as the | | | | the trip. I had gone over my gear a hundred |
| type of hunting. I was happy to know we would | | | | times, honed my rifle skills, beat my body into |
| be hunting the South Island. | | | | shape, and all that was left was to relax and let |
| I bought a book on hunting New Zealand a relived | | | | the guide do the work. |
| another hunter's experiences. I also bought a few | | | | |