Recent content by forrestleitch

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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Probably the neatest part of the trip for me, here is a photo of my dad in the same area 30+ years ago, before I was born. He passed in June and I spread some of his ashes on a rock next to my tahr.
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Ha! I wasn’t sure what my expectations were going in, as far as numbers of animals I’d see, difficulty, etc., but I’d say it was just as difficult as I’d like a hunt to be! Definitely need to earn it out there on doc land, just how I like it. Jealous of you Kiwis! What an awesome place.
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    YouTube video of the tahr portion of the trip
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 10 (4/25) Last day in country, first travel day back. Wiped any last bits of blood and dirt from my luggage and got everything loaded into the rental car, checked out of the motel and tried to find a few things to kill some time in Christchurch before returning the car. It was a holiday so...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 9 (4/24) People across the hall at the hotel were being noisy all night and so I left around midnight instead of sitting around until 2:00am. Plan was to meet up at the trailhead at 6am, about a 3 and a half hour drive so I drove slow. I only had the morning to hunt so he told me about an...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 8 (4/23) Up at 7:30 for hotel breakfast, had toast, coffee, yogurt, an apple, and some sort of apple pastry. Filled the car up with gas, took it through a quick car wash, and stopped at the grocery store for some chocolate milk. Drove over to the next town over (Ashburton) and checked out...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 7 (4/22) Up early, around 6:30 or so. Chilly in the hut, I could see my breath so it was tough getting out of the sleeping bag. Stuffed a few little twigs and cardboard into the stove to try to get a little warmth going but didn’t help much. Got everything all packed up, double checked...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 6 (4/21) Rain quit overnight, but temps went down a bit. Got out of bed late morning and packed everything up, then hiked downriver to the DoC hut. Took a little longer than anticipated and got fairly wet in the process but made it to the hut around noon. No firewood unfortunately, but lots...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 5 (4/20) Rain all night, woke up to more rain and stayed in the sleeping bag. Got my clothes hanging up and laid out as best as possible to try to dry, but still mostly damp, so no plans of leaving the tent today. Got a hold of the heli pilot on my inReach to see if they could come in a day...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 4 (4/19) Best weather yet, woke up to blue sky with just some occasional rain clouds. Hiked into a drainage the opposite direction from yesterday, climbed up to a good vantage point to sit and glass for a while with the sun at my back. Glassed for 45 minutes or so and spotted a pair of tahr...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 3 (4/18) Woke up to rain, decided to wait it out in the tent for a bit. Didn’t last long, got out mid morning. Hiked up to the same drainage where I saw the tahr yesterday, glassed around a bit and relocated them after a while. No bulls, thought about shooting a nanny for some camp meat but...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Day 2 (4/17): Hotel breakfast at 7:30 and then checked out, drove to the meeting spot for helicopter pickup. Rough gravel road most of the way there. Lots of paradise ducks and black swans in the lakes and ponds on the way. Waited at the meeting spot for an hour, decided to climb a hill to try...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    First full day (4/16): Had some hotel breakfast at 7:30, then went to the hardware store in town again and found a torx bit set and loctite for my gun. Got back to the hotel and tightened down the pic rail, then packed the backpack for a quick day trip. Drove to a public land spot not too far...
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    New Zealand DIY tahr/deer journal

    Travel: Drove to MSP early on Sunday morning, flight at 8am to Houston. Landed in Houston around 11:30am. Long layover, next flight out of Houston 10pm to Auckland (north island). 14 hour flight from Houston to Auckland, once I landed had a couple hours to get all checked in through customs and...
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    My best whitetail in a few years

    Great buck, bumped to get my posts in so I can finally post!
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