Auckland / Waikato >Hunting News> June 07

Upland Game.

Some are claiming this to be one of the best upland game seasons in 20 years with pheasants popping up everywhere. This seems quite plausible, as there were plenty of birds around before the season, but the real test is to get out and see for yourself. Upland game can be hunted with or without steel shot and fast handling double guns are preferred by many upland enthusiasts - often in 20 gauge.The brown quail is pretty much a thing of the past in this region. However it's still holding it's own in suitable habitat, (for instance, waste scrubby land adjoining orchards), for traveling hunters visiting nearby Northland or Eastern regions. Cali quail are still holding up in this region in forestry areas - particularly where broom thrives, for instance or in gorse filled paddocks. From what we've seen, quail production has been good this year andlight # 7,1/2 shot loads should be kept handy. Some people call back Cali singles from flushed flocks with special quail calls. If you didn't get a result while you're waiting, just be prepared for a surprise flush when you get up to move on. Another trick, if you can find a hawk call such as Faulks make, is to blow it a few times to stop quail flushing wild ahead of the pointer. However you hunt quail, they're delicious.

End of duck season.

Having one of the driest May's in 150 years, coupled with fine, calm weather doesn't do too much for duck prospects. But Field Officer John Dyer reminds hunters that such slow openings have unfolded in the past. However persistent hunters who capitalized on the improving weather situation later in the season were the ones with full freezers. As winter winds whip up coastal waters, ducks head inland early for shelter and a feed. Hunters that know this and lie in wait often get some hot action. Anyone out in the calm the day before or after probably wondered where all the birds were. Ducks aren't stupid and the one's that insist on flying into standard type duck ponds with large water-side sheds are probably mostly plucked and frozen early. But wiser birds soon learn to look for quieter spots. Sometimes, it's enough for them to move operations just 50 meters or so, into cover and away from those faded decoys left out all season. The smart hunter who dons waders and checks out less readily accessible areas of the swamp, is the one who'll likely score. Similarly, the out of the way ponds on the back of lightly hunted farms are often teaming by now as birds sort out, usually through trial and error, where to get some peace. Expect some hot action on these. Late season ducks will be where the hunters aren't so it's just a case of working out where that is. In summary, persistent hunters make their own luck.The harder you hunt, the luckier you'll get.

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