New Zealand - Oregon Hunt Swap

Kiwi

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
1,916
Location
New Zealand
I'm planning to visit Oregon within the next few years to do a DIY hunt elk. While there I also plan to visit friends in Portland and also spend a few days in Corvallis / OSU.

If anyone from Oregon is visiting New Zealand for a DIY hunt and the timing works I can take you for a hunt with the idea of a hunt swap if I make it to Oregon.

I hunt deer, chamois and tahr. I hunt only public land and don't see any monster stags that are advertised by the outfitters, but I normally see shootable animals every trip. I hunt both bow and rifle, but mostly bow.

As always happy to provide info on hunting New Zealand to anyone.
 
Thats a gracious offer Kiwi. Certainly a dream of mine to head down that way to chase Chamois & Tahr.

Hopefully your trip to Oregon is a GREAT one for you!
 
Are you looking to hunt on the west side of the state? Or willing to travel east and hunt for a week or so?
 
Reeltime, I'm happy to hunt anywhere in Oregon. I like the coast and also the dry eastern areas. My trip would be about 2.5 weeks and most of that time would be hunting.
 
I have lived in Oregon all my life and I SOOOO wish I could take you up on that offer!! Unfortunately though I am finishing up college in Portland and I'm broke :mad:
I probably will not make my annual Oregon Cascades elk hunt this fall because of school. Otherwise that would be a great trade for both of us.
 
I should add that I won't be hunting OR this year (going to idaho and WY), so the soonist I would be there is 2017. But anyone coming here can join me anytime this year or next.
 
Kiwi, I'm happy to help anyway that I can. I generally hunt Eastern Oregon but have hunted the Western side as well. My wife and I have been talking about a New Zealand trip sometime in the next few years. Maybe we could work something out. Regardless, I'm happy to help here in Oregon anyway that I can.
 
Thanks ashersdad, appreciate the offer of help. Keep in touch, I'm also happy to help with your NZ trip.
 
I don't expect to make it to NZ anytime soon but if there is anything I can do to help out with an elk hunt here in the coast range let me know Kiwi.
 
I would be happy to help you out with an Oregon hunt Kiwi. I hunt both eastern and western sides of the state. Also, there is a very real possibility of me heading to NZ in the next year or so. Are you on the north or south island? We have friends in Auckland but I was planning to go to Christ Church while there.

Edit: You may consider putting in for a preference point now if you want to increase odds on getting a limited draw tag. Oregon has plenty of over the counter opportunities for tags. But the most coveted and highest success ratio hunts typically require accumulated preference points. However, many great Oregon hunters are nearly always successful on the over the counter tags. Nearly all of it is backcountry public land hunters.
 
Last edited:
Is it true that to hunt NZ for Stag it's free and no license is needed? So all I have to do is buy a plane ticket and find a place to stay and come shoot one during the roar? :)
 
Hi Pdx, thanks for the offer to help. I am based in Wellington (north island) but hunt the south Island about four times year, actually heading there tonight to hunt stags and chamois :) Christchurch is a good place to fly into and a lot of great hunting is within a few hours drive. This weekend I will be two hours North of there.
 
Is it true that to hunt NZ for Stag it's free and no license is needed? So all I have to do is buy a plane ticket and find a place to stay and come shoot one during the roar? :)

Correct, no tags, no limits, no seasons :) get a place ticket for the price of a MT tag :)

We also have 100s of public huts in the mountians for about $10 a night.

The big difference between hunting in the US and NZ is that all our game species get hunted 24/7 so they are always on alert. You almost never see deer unless you are activity hunting them (or on a farm).
 
Last edited:
Correct, no tags, no limits, no seasons :) get a place ticket for the price of a MT tag :)

We also have 100s of public huts in the mountians for about $10 a night.

Well it's about $2000 for a plane ticket, but very tempting. I can't help for your hunting here as I live in the midwest, but would love to see some stag you have taken to temp me more :)
 
hunt the south Island about four times year, actually heading there tonight to hunt stags and chamois :)

I am admittedly jealous of you for that entire statement. :) Make sure to snap a few pics to share with us. Are the deer you refer to Columbia blacktail or stags? I have heard of blacktail and even Roosevelt elk being on the south island.
 
You should be able to get cheaper flights. My sept flight where about $US1000, Wellington - Salt Lake City return with 2 bags. American Airlines.

I'm not the best at photographing my trips but I have put a few reports in the Other Locations section.
 
I am admittedly jealous of you for that entire statement. :) Make sure to snap a few pics to share with us. Are the deer you refer to Columbia blacktail or stags? I have heard of blacktail and even Roosevelt elk being on the south island.

I'll post a report next week for you. The deer I normally hunt are red deer. We also have elk, whitetail, rusa, sika, fallow and samba. The elk are in Fiordland and are from WY I think. I have hunted them 3 times here and once in WY.
 
You should be able to get cheaper flights. My sept flight where about $US1000, Wellington - Salt Lake City return with 2 bags. American Airlines.

I'm not the best at photographing my trips but I have put a few reports in the Other Locations section.

I think the issue is I'm looking in Mar-Apr of this year so only a few weeks out and if I looked for next year it might be cheaper. I'll check out the Other locations area, thanks !
 
That would make them Rocky Mountain Elk. When you do your elk hunt in Oregon, you can also probably hunt bear (fall bear season). Also, I would generally say that eastern Oregon is the more traditional elk hunt that most people have experienced. Wide open big country. Western Oregon is a whole different ball game. Smaller mountains, that are made of mud. Visibility is typically 50 yds or less. Hunting clear cuts is a common strategy. As cross country trekking involves endless ferns/shrubs/branches. The canopy makes it somewhat darker. I feel safe saying that a lot of hunters swear off western Oregon due to its dense foliage/mud/rain/creek crossing/etc. Its hard to get to a "lookiut" point so it requires a lot of hiking. I love it on the other hand. It's hunting in a dense "rainforest" like environment. Everything around you is alive. Also, you are hunting Roosevelt elk instead of Rocky Mountain. The difference isn't worth describing here. But I can say, bagging a Roosevelt is no small feat for any hunter.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
110,812
Messages
1,935,340
Members
34,888
Latest member
Jack the bear
Back
Top