HUNTS
Hunts courses underway for 2017
130 new hunters trained last year
by Jim Peffers , HUNTS National Co-ordinator
Well , summer is almost over , already . Wild , wet and windy weather seemed to be the norm for a lot of places over the holidays . Despite that , I managed to get out for a tahr hunt and a wallaby shoot , so can ’ t complain . I hope other HUNTS instructors managed to get out as well . Most of the figures for 2016 have come in , which saw around 130 people graduate from HUNTS courses around the country . That ’ s 130 more trained members of our organisation .
The “ HUNTS season ” of courses for 2017 is already starting for some branches , to get their trainees ready for the red deer Roar in March / April . In conjunction with basic HUNTS courses , there will be more regional induction courses coming up for provisional HUNTS instructors , the on-going review of the HUNTS manual , and website development .
One of the things I am reminded of each time I visit a HUNTS course , or run one for our branch , is the wide range of people who undergo HUNTS training . At one end of the spectrum , we have the young ones ( 1218 years ) just getting started ( often with Mum or Dad alongside ); at the other end of the spectrum we sometimes have trainees in their 60s . Some of the latter are wanting to “ get back into it ” after some years of “ life ” got in the way . The Thames Valley branch even had a tetraplegic trainee on its last course ( see page 24 ), demonstrating the “ can-do ” attitude of that branch . This wide variety of trainees , I believe , shows how valuable the HUNTS programme is to New Zealand . It is open to anyone , subject to some criteria set out on the HUNTS tab of the national website .
Regardless of what demographic people come from , they all have one thing in common : a thirst for knowledge about hunting . It may be that they are just after one or two pieces of the hunting jig-saw that they are missing ( e . g . river safety , bushcraft and survival ), or they may need comprehensive training . Whatever it may be , the best thing about knowledge is that it doesn ’ t weigh anything . Hunters can take it with them wherever they hunt , and adapt it to their situation .
One of the foundations of the programme is hunter ethics . I have covered this subject in a previous article , and why ethics are important to the NZDA in general and HUNTS in particular .
Another foundation of the programme is safety – in particular , adherence to the seven basic firearms safety rules . Safety is one reason why each trainee is supervised on their final hunt during the course : to ensure they are safe , make safe decisions , observe the rules ; and to increase their chances of ethically shooting and recovering a game animal .
During the Roar this year I implore all HUNTS graduates ( and other hunters too ) to take heed of the lessons learned during their course , in particular the seven basic rules , and most of all rule number 4 : Identify your target beyond all doubt . Stay safe , hunt safe , return safe . Keep your powder dry . Jim
22 NZ Hunting & Wildlife 196 - Autumn 2017