Both Barrels May 2026 - Hawke's Bay

Wow what an awesome day, Opening Day turned out be – If you were wanting to have a BBQ or to go fishing!!

With hardly a breath of wind, not a cloud in the sky and sunblock needed all round, it was hardly the conditions most hardcore duck hunters were hoping for, and just to rub salt in the wound we had a full moon, with some hunters suggesting ducks might leave flying back out to feed until well after close of shooting time, rather than turning up in the evening flight . Most hunters our ranging team met had managed a few ducks early on but the general consensus was the weather conditions favoured the ducks, after the first few shots many of the ducks flew high and straight to the nearest sanctuary. Those that had good decoys and well-hidden maimais seemed to be doing better with many complimenting their bag of mallards with paradise ducks and Canada geese.

Image above - A mixed bag for a couple of generations and lots of old mates.

As I said earlier the weather conditions made bags lower in some areas than in previous years, and there seemed to be some areas with incredibly high numbers of ducks and others with relatively low numbers. Some areas on or near, recently harvested maize crops had massive numbers of mallards and parys, and hunters there had some great hunting, yet other areas such as Lake Hatuma and the Ahuriri Lagoon the hunting was more difficult, that said “big water areas” such as Hatuma and Lagoon generally shoot better in rough windy and ideally, wet conditions. We heard of one hunter limiting out in 32 minutes on opening morning for mallards and parys on a maize field and reports of other hunters having great success on some of our larger rivers, whilst many on recently refilled ponds found the hunting a bit slow.

On a positive note, it was great to see the very pleasant conditions being enjoyed by family groups who had the BBQ going for lunch and were enjoying quality time with old friends and family something the calm warm conditions were more conducive to. Some of the big ponds we visited in Central Hawkes Bay had several generations of hunters on them, some of them had been shooting together every opening for the last 50 years, with many returning from throughout the country or even travelling internationally to make their annual pilgrimage. The camaraderie, leg pulling and good times these guys have, and the stories they can tell of each other, is something that makes opening day so special and so valued for those lucky enough to be part of it.

The rain a couple of weeks prior to opening day had filled up many ponds that were low or even dry, so many hunters found they actually had some water to shoot on, with many hurriedly patching up their maimais when they realised they would in fact have an opening day this year after all.

Two well camouflaged HB hunters with 2 nice green heads.

It was surprising the number of ponds we saw ranging, that weren’t being shot that had good numbers of mallards parked on them, in several cases they flushed and the shots from nearby ponds suggested we had provided opportunities for other hunters. Some of the hunters we talked to had made the wise decision to leave some of their team at the maimai, while others went and stalked other nearby ponds, creating opportunities for both themselves and those back in the maimai when the birds they had disturbed came in. 

With such calm conditions the ducks can hear so much better, whether it’s your gunshots, you calling the dog or your good or possibly not quite so good calling, and they can take their time checking if your piece of water is “safe” to approach from high above.

One of the key things to remember in calm conditions is that you need to create some water movement to increase your chances of success, a bunch of decoys sitting on a dead calm pond looks false, so creating movement in that decoy spread will really help, whilst all the time keeping yourself hidden and avoiding movement. Motorised decoys that create their own ripples are great, but even a decoy or decoys moved by a pull string will definitely help, anything that creates ripples on the water around your decoy spread will make it look more natural and bring the birds in closer.

Clear skies and calm ponds - note the quiver decoy sending nice ripples across the pond.

A mixed bag from the pond above.

As we said in our April preseason newsletter, the local gun clubs that held pre- season gamebird hunters shoots had high attendances, they are  great opportunity to get ones ‘”eye in” and catch up with other local gamebird hunters, as well as possibly trying a new gun and check to see what ammunition patterns the best for your gun.  The Patangata Clay Target Club will be running further open days on the 14 June and 9 August intended as a fun, non -competition day for the more casual shooter to come along and have a go, with DTL trap, skeet and compact sporting clays options available for a minimal cost to non-members, so there is a chance for some more practice before the end of waterfowl and upland season.

We saw and heard plenty of pheasants over the last couple of weeks so remind hunters we have good pheasant and quail numbers in the bay, and if you do shoot a pheasant, please check to see if they are banded and let us know the band number if you are lucky enough to collect one. 

Our Pukeko counts showed very strong numbers again this year, so we remind the experienced hunters out there, that pukekos are a great opportunity for novice hunters – they don’t fly quite as fast as our other game birds, nor do they duck and dive like pheasants or quail through the trees making them easier for novices to hit. As we all know the best way to learn to shoot moving game with a shotgun is to start with the easier targets and progress to faster, more challenging targets from there, whether they are clay targets or game.

Many growers have issues with pukeko on crops, so approaching growers for permission to hunt Pukeko with your junior is recommended, and who knows what opportunities it might lead to. There will no doubt be good duck and goose hunting opportunities on maize stubble throughout the bay this season, but please do the right thing and ask for landowner permission first.

Compliance

Our Ranging teams checked 92 hunters over opening weekend, it was great to see many wives, and children out enjoying quality time with friends and family. Many hunters we spoke to travel in from out of the district for their annual pilgrimage to meet up with old friends or return to the family farm to continue the great kiwi tradition of gathering wild game to grace their tables.

Of the 92 Hunters we checked we only found 3 relatively minor non compliances, Our ranging teams were very happy with the high level of compliance and the positive, accommodating attitude of the landowners and hunters we met, many of whom were hunting on private land.

On a very positive note, our team were very happy not finding anyone using lead shot ammunition, within 200 meters of open water. It was also very positive not to find any hunters with protected waterfowl or exceeding bag limits, suggesting most hunters realise how important it is for all of us protect our image as safe and responsible hunters; to maintain our Social License; and our right to hunt and fish individually and collectively.

Please continue to make a point of carefully checking your ammunition prior to going waterfowl hunting this season, our ranging teams found far too many hunters who had a mix of steel and lead ammunition at their duck ponds last year, where they had mistakenly taken lead ammunition. As a general rule, non - toxic ammunition will have what it is – eg Steel or Bismuth printed on both the box and each cartridge, lead shot doesn’t normally have the shot type printed on each cartridge, so our advice is if it hasn’t got a non - toxic shot type printed on it assume it is lead

Junior Opportunities 

Driven Pheasant Hunt

Juniors are reminded of the wonderful opportunity they have of getting a day’s driven pheasant shooting on Hawkes Bays newest preserve; by simply buying a full season junior Gamebird Licence, you have the opportunity to go in the draw – keep an eye on our website for further information.  

A 2025 junior event - Photo John Lumsden

Fish and Game Hawkes Bay “Hunt Ready Sim Studio”

Many locals particularly our Junior Fin and Feather members have had the opportunity to try out our new shooting simulator – think movie screen with a variety of hunting/ shooting options projected onto it. The new technology allows shooters, young and old to practise a variety of hunting/shooting scenarios from clay targets; DTL trap, skeet, simulated field, through to duck hunting on a lake, driven pheasant hunting and even running boar. The moving target is projected onto a lifelike background, and the hunter shoots a laser beam from a model gun at the chosen moving target, successful shots are displayed dramatically, and the fall of the missed shots are displayed with an image of the shot pattern or bullet relative to the target, so the shooter can  adjust and learn.  

Rewild this Winter