PRESIDENTS REPORT
May 2012
Gidday
Another hunter has lost his life this week to a firearm incident. We as a Hunting Organization continue to enforce safe hunting practices but every year we have these unnecessary tragedies. It all comes back to the one common denominator TARGET IDENTIFCATION
I hope everyone has had an enjoyable and hopefully a successful roar this year. I have seen a couple of good heads come in and heard of a few others and a good number of hard luck stories. Remember this year we are measuring the heads before the official competition night so the social night will run more smoothly. If you have a head for measuring give Mark Sarjeant a call to arrange to have it dropped off. Remember all heads presented must be in a clean, non smelly state.
Our condolences go out to John Voorend and family for the recent loss of Johns father.
Thursday 10th May is AGM time and we need you there. This is your chance to become a committee member and have your say on the direction the branch is to take in the upcoming year.
Kaingaroa is open now for hunting and permits for Big Game and Birds are available from Independent Security in Rotorua at a cost of $50.00
Good luck to all the Duck Shooters out there, the forecast is not looking too good with a big high coming in (typical for opening day) but never the less it will be a day full of anticipation and not to be missed.
Get out there and do it and be safe.
Cheers
Pete
Club PLB’s
These are available to hire. Contact Rodney Smith at coolcar if you’re interested.
February 2012 PRESIDENTS REPORT
Gidday
I hope you all survived the festive season ok and managed to get a bit of time in the bush or on the water and hopefully managed to bring something back for the table.
The latest HUNTs course kicked off last week and it is encouraging to see a good number of new members and existing ones participating. Glen, Gavin and Keith are doing an excellent job in running these courses. Their experience and passion for hunting has been passed on to a number of members over the years now and is a huge benefit to the club.
Whilst on club issues, we have our annual fund raiser, (The killer run) on the 12th of February and we would appreciate some additional help this year. It is a great day out and gives you the opportunity to meet new members and enjoy a bit of hospitality at the end of the day, so if you or any of your family are keen, give me a ring. Remember if it wasn’t for these events and your support our club would cease to function.
Get out there and do it and be safe.
Cheers
Pete
December 2011 PRESIDENTS RAMBLE
Gidday
With only a couple of more weeks until Christmas, the pressure is on to get the presents sorted and get some venison for the xmas barbeque, well that’s a good excuse for a hunting trip.
I have just returned from a few days in the Kiamanawas, just me and the dog and although it rained non stop for most of the trip it was still great to be out there doing it. I didn’t encounter one other hunter so they must have been doing the presents!
A big thanks to Gary and the team from Hunting & Fishing who put on an excellent night for us last month where we had a preview of some new products and an informative presentation of the construction of Stanfields Whare and the hunting opportunities in the Kiamanawas in the 1960s, interesting to see the good quality reds that were around at that time.
On behalf of the committee I would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and look forward to catching up with you in the New Year.
Please note there will be no Newsletter in January.
Get out there and do it and be safe.
Cheers
Pete
November 2011 PRESIDENTS RAMBLE
Gidday
Well we have got the Cup tucked away for 4 years and now we can concentrate on a bit of hunting! The last 10 minutes of the game was a bit like stalking in on a roaring stag,
(One little mistake could blow everything)
I spent a good few hours down at the Sika Show last month and walked away with a lighter wallet. The heads on display were of a high standard along with the trade displays. This show is getting better every year.
Congratulations to John Voorend on obtaining 4th place in the Sika Section and 2nd best representative head shot on public land. Congratulations too, to Mic Bates for his outstanding effort in the taxidermy section. 2nd for his Fellow entry and two1st places for his Sika and Pig entries.
We are making a concerted effort this month to resurrect our monthly 22 shoots (see advertisement later in the newsletter) this is a great nights entertainment and certainly pays dividens when its time to line up on the real thing. So check the date and come along.
Just a heads up that our annual fundraiser, (The Killer Run) will again be held in February so we will be requiring volunteers to help with event. This is a great day and extremely beneficial to your club so keep February 12th free.
Remember the General Election November 26th and vote strategically with your Party vote to ensure your hunting interests are well catered for.
Get out there and do it and be safe.
Cheers
Pete
Club PLB’s
The club has PLB’s for hire. These will be hired out to members at $5 per day. Anyone interested can contact Rodney Smith 021 745031
Social Night
OCTOBER 2011 PRESIDENT'S RAMBLE
Gidday
Hunting has taken 2nd place to the RWC this month for me.
I have been fortunate to have met some great tourists that have managed to fit in a bit of trout fishing between games. It is not until you talk in depth to these people that you really appreciate how fortunate we are in this country. We take our access and availability of fish and game for granted to a large extent. Visitors are astounded to learn that our deer are considered pests and being continually persecuted by heli hunting and 1080. Approval has now been given to use micro encapsulated zinc phosphide (MZP) to control pests This toxin produces a highly volatile gas (ph3) which is extremely toxic.
With the general Elections only a couple of months away it is a timely reminder to ensure your party vote goes to United Future .They are the only party supporting the Game Animal Council.
An interesting social night was held last month with a good turnout of members. Glen Hartstone shared his sausage making skills and recipes and we all had a go on the various machines available. Some pretty good snags were produced along with some that needed a bit more work!!
Big thanks to John Voorend; we now have the Secretary position filled.
Paddy still wants hunting stories and photos to keep this newsletter interesting. I know a few of you have been out lately with some success so how about putting it in writing.
Remember the Sika Show in Taupo this month 15th and 16th
Get out there and do it and be safe.
Cheers
Pete
August 2011 PRESIDENTS RAMBLE
Gidday
Well I have seen my fair share of snow for this year. The Fiordland Mountains were covered when we arrived in Tuatapere for our annual conference and descended to cover our venue on the last day preventing many delegates from flying out of Invercargill.
I was fortunate to get out with a break in conditions only to be snowed in again in Canterbury the next day.
The conference was well attended and the two major topics for debate were once again 1080 and the latest threat, heli hunting. There was total support to fight both issues with a concerted effort over the next 12 months.
Congratulations to our local branch members who competed with distinction in the Antler and Photographic sections (see results later in newsletter)
As mentioned last month we hosted a DoC arranged meeting in our clubrooms with other hunting groups. The aim was to foster better communication and outcomes on an ongoing basis. I believe this is a step in the right direction and I look forward to positive results.
Apologies in having to postpone our Pot Luck dinner and Prize Giving however we have set a new date (August 27th see details in Newsletter)
Be safe out there and I will see you on the 27th
Cheers
Pete
JUNE 2011 PRESIDENTS RAMBLE
Gidday
It was pleasing to see a good turnout of members and heads at our competition night.
The standard of entries in both the photographic and antler, horn and tusk sections was again high with a couple of record book heads that will be making their way down to Nationals. It is great to see our younger members obtaining quality heads too.
I met up with a hard case Aussie in the bush last month. He was over with a couple of mates to hunt Sika and had shot a nice 8 pointer. Not having any salt for the cape he called into our camp to see if we had any to spare. Jacko was a passionate Sambar hunter and had some great stories. All the hunting he did was with dogs. The regulations over there are quite stringent. There are maximum height restrictions on your dogs, only certain breeds are permitted and they can only bail not hold. Jacko is writing an article about his NZ trip in Wild Deer so look out for it.
Well June is going to be a busy month, the stags are feeding up after the roar, there are still a few cagey ducks around, the pines are producing good pigs and the rainbows are moving up stream, so see you out there.
Cheers
Pete
March 2011 - President's Ramble
Presidents Ramble
Firstly many thanks to all those volunteers who helped out doing the marshalling and parking duties at the "Killer Run" recently. It was good to see the enthusiasm and commitment both to the organisers of the run and also to the branch and is for us a very worthwhile fundraising effort.
Coming up in May is the branch's AGM and as in previous years I will again "harp" on about getting as many members to attend. I'll also go on about getting more branch members involved on the committee, as it seems to be the same "old" faces turning up at the AGM and continually being re-lected. This year I will be standing down as President, as I have done 4 years at this job and feel that its now time for a new "face" with new idea's. So get you're a's into g and help us out on the committee.
Also coming up is the roar and we all know what that means, so plenty of heads, photo's, and stories for the various Branch competitions. Don't forget measuring night and to help make things go quicker and smoother on the night we will be having a pre-measure night.
Remember during this time to think "safety" and obey the basic firearm's rules.
Good luck during the roar and look forward to hearing all about it.
Hot Barrels and Tight Lines.
John.
Club PLB’s
The club has PLB’s for hire now. These will be hired out to members at $5 per day. Anyone interested can contact Pete Evans.
February 2011 PRESIDENTS RAMBLE
Hopefully everyone has had a good break and got to do some hunting and fishing, so should be hearing lots of "stories" of your successes and also the usual "one that got away" yarns that also seem to crop up.
Couple of things for this month and the one that we will be pushing hard is that as previously mentioned a number of times in last years newsletters is that we will be requiring up to 30 volunteers (wives, friends, teenage children etc all welcome) to help out with the "Killer Run" on Sunday Feb 13th, which is an extremely beneficial fund raising effort for the branch. So help us out and get in and volunteer asap and save us some time in ringing round to get you members motivated.
The other event for this month is the advertised social night/evening with the Graf boys, which is being hosted at the Hunting & Fishing store on Feb 22nd and will be a pre-roar tips on hunting reds. It will also allow us to make the last minute purchases for the forth coming roar trips so support us and Gary at Hunting and Fishing and get along to this evening.
Hot Barrels and Tight Lines.
John
Club PLB’s
The club has PLB’s for hire now. These will be hired out to members at $5 per day. Anyone interested can contact Pete Evans.
DECEMBER 2010 Predidents Ramble
Many thanks to those that volunteered to help hand out flyers for the "Killer Run" recently and on that note please alll remember to set aside February 13th, 2011 for volunteer work at the "Killer Run". We will be needing at least about 30 people to help out with this fundraising effort so if you can "rope" in your wife, teenage kids etc it would all be very much appreciated. We don't ask too much of our members, but I'm sure you can all set aside one day of the year to help out, so give me a call and I'll put you down on the volunteer's list.
Stories from and rumours about those that have been getting out for the spring hunts seems to indicate that there are plenty of animals out there and most are getting meat for the freezer. Also with this weather being so good, a lot of people have been getting out fishing and have also been doing well.
Take care and enjoy the Christmas/New Year break.