September 2009

Events

7th Committee Meeting 7.30pm at our Clubrooms, Dey St

4th - 6th Organised hunt to Kiko Road, Kaimanawas.

20th Cock-O-Roost trophy shoot at Taupo.

22nd Indoor .22 Shoot, Small Bore Clubrooms, Dey Street, doors
now open at 6.45pm.

24th Social Night 7.30pm at our Clubrooms.

26th and 27th Sika Show, Outdoor Trade Show and Wild food Festival, Taupo.

The Firearm Safety Code: 1 Treat EVERY firearm as loaded.
2 ALWAYS point firearms in a safe direction. 3 Load a firearm ONLY when ready to fire. 4 IDENTIFY your target. 5 Check your firing zone.
6 Store your firearms and ammunition separately. 7 Alcohol impairs judgment.

Social Evening
Thursday 24th September
at our Clubrooms, 7.30 pm, Dey Street, Hamilton.

Eric from Snapshot is confirmed.

Conference this year has been and gone and unfortunately I was unable to attend, but the Branch was again well represented by our delegate Keith Matthews and also in the running of the AHT competitions with our resident national judges and manager. From all accounts conference ran smoothly and actually finished ahead of schedule, which is something that does not happen very often. The branch's entries into the AHT, photographic and literary sections did extremely well, so will have more on the results later.

Spent an enjoyable day recently helping install bait stations with the operators doing the poisoning operations in the Te Tapui reserve, so all thanks to Bill and Luke for letting me tag along. I intend to hopefully spend another couple of days in the reserves helping them do their work. With all the noise we were making I did actually get to see a doe standing 20 metres away and also heard a number of deer walking about. I am very disappointed, that at this stage, that besides myself, only one other person has actually made an effort to go along and help. They are very keen to get some help with pre feeding, installing bait stations etc and by offering our help will portray our willingness in managing and ensuring the survival of the fallow herd in the reserves. The information with regard to what you need to do to volunteer has been made available in flyers, at social nights, the news letter and via e-mail, so there is no excuse that you have not been informed.

from the 61st National Conference held at Oamaru, July, 2009.

National Antler, Horn and Tusk (AHT)

A11 Dillon shield – Drawn Pig Tusks
1st= Tim Flower Waikato Raglan 28
A16 Z Veronese Cup – Best Antlered Species Taken by a Junior
1st Marc Clinch Waikato Sika Mount Cameron 163
3rd Blake Clinch Waikato Fallow Woodhill 194 ¾
A17 E Veronese Cup – Best Horned Species taken by a Junior
3rd Blake Clinch Waikato Chamois Whataroa 25 ¾

A19 Norman Douglas Trophy - Best Branch Entry – consisting of one set of Antlers,
Horns and Tusks.
3rd Waikato Drawn Tusk 28 288.23
Fallow 194 ¾ 296.35
Chamois 25 ¾ 310.77 Total 895.35
(Note: All Junior Entries)

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you all that we will be looking for volunteers to help out with the poisoning operations in the Te Tapui reserve that is scheduled to start early/mid May. The contractor has asked for volunteer groups when required of approx six people at a time to help carry in bait stations etc and generally help out where we can. We have given our commitment to Environment Waikato to help out where we can, so if you are available and keen to help, please call me to let me know. Will let you all know whats happening as soon as we get the information around the contractors schedule and requirements with regard to when the volunteers are required and when the reserve will be closed to hunting.

Another couple of events coming up is the AGM on Monday the 4th May and Measuring Night on Thursday 28th May. I would like to see a better turn out for the AGM this year, where this is your opportunity to provide feed back, suggestions, etc etc. We are always looking for volunteers to help out at on the committee and if you cant make it and want to be involved give us a call and register your interest.

Measuring Night is always interesting as to what will actually turn up, as reports so far seem to indicate that things have been unusually quiet so far on the "stag" front, which could be attributed to the warm/mild weather we have had so far. Bring on the cold blasts. Last year we won the Norman Douglas Trophy for the best in antler, horn and tusk with an impressive aggregate score so retaining it for another year could be something to aim for. No pressure.

Hopefully you have all had a pleasant and relaxing time over the holiday period filling the freezer with venison and fish, and look forward to reading about these exploits in the newsletter.

For those of you who have not heard, I received word from Environment Waikato late last year that the proposed possum control operations in the Te Tapui reserve scheduled for later this year will be a "GROUND BASED" operation using 1080 in bait stations - so no aerial drops. That's certainly good news for us and I would like to thank all those who have supported us in our endeavors with regard to this proposed operation. I would also like to thank those people within the EW and DoC organisations that were sympathetic to our concerns with regard to the preservation of the fallow herd in the reserve. We will at some stage be having a meeting with EW to go over the planned dates/methods/closure period for the reserve so will let you know the details once this is finalised.

The branch has also sent a submission into DoC, with regard to the draft Waikato Conservation Management Strategy, which is in addition to one submitted by Dr Hugh Barr representing all NZDA members. If anyone is interested in viewing this submission I can forward/email them a copy.