Both Barrels July - Eastern

The dabbling duck and paradise shelduck seasons have now finished in the Eastern region. Pukeko can still be hunted throughout the region and black swan in area management A1. Like pukeko, you can hunt upland game until the last weekend in August.

The Eastern Region provides a lot of opportunity for upland game hunters with good populations of pheasant in coastal and lowland areas. Kaingaroa and Rotoehu forests provide plenty of hunting area but have been quite challenging over the last couple of years. You can obtain a permit to hunt in these forests here: https://www.tll.co.nz/recreational_access_permits. Your dog will love you for it.  Great for your fitness too.

For those that haven’t tried hunting the production forests there are a couple of pointers. Finding an area where the trees aren’t too tall, has grass underneath, and not too much blackberry is the first task. Sometimes you need to hunt a block a few times to see where the birds hang out and which way they tend to fly once flushed. They will often run to a high point and then break cover (fly). Having a couple of other hunters and dogs along helps too. Not just for flushing the birds but covering the possible escape routes.  Remember to hunt into the wind where you can.

Quail hunting is exciting, and I find easier with a smaller gun such as a 20G. Mainly because they are lighter and easier to get on target quickly. An excuse to purchase another firearm? As Homer Simpson said when trying to convince Marge that he needed a gun: "A gun is not a weapon, Marge. It's a tool. Like a butcher knife, or a harpoon, or... uh, a... an alligator. You just need more education on the subject."