NZ Chamois

JP100

WKR
Joined
Dec 20, 2013
Messages
1,230
Location
South Island New Zealand
Hey guys
My names Joseph and Im from New Zealand. Im currently a glacier guide in south westland(the wettest place on earth haha 200 days of rain a year)
Here in NZ we have 7 deer species,Tahr and Chamois all with unrestricted hunting(no seasons,tags,limits) as they are regarded as pests by the Govt.
Just thought id share a good Chamois hunt I had last month. We dont have mountain goat here but Chamois are pretty similar from what I can tell.(please tell me if im in the wrong). Chamois are a mountain antelope introduced to New Zealand in 1907 from Austria.


My partner and I just recently moved to area where there are tons on Chamois! Normally they are found at high altitude but here on the west coast they are found right down to sea level in some areas.
I had being seeing alot of animals while at work(Im a glacier guide at the moment) and decided we needed some meat. Im normally after a trophy when I hunt chamois but decided I would shoot the first animal we saw for meat.

So we headed off and pretty much straight away I spotted a good looking buck about a km away. as we were making a plan to stalk on him we spotted a nanny and a yearling about 200m away starting to run up a bluff. I quickly got into a average rest over a rock and proceeded to miss two shots at a very steep uphill angle.
I was abit annoyed at myself for rushing the shots but that happens.
Just as we were about to head off my missus spotted a Chamois buck that we had startled about 150m away. He was running at a fair rate of knots but I gave out a yell and he stopped(as they do about 90% of the time).
I managed a quick shot with the .243 and he hit the deck. I didnt really have time to get much of a look at him but his hooks seemed all right to me.
This all happened in about 10mins. Chamois are allways very exciting to hunt.
When we got over to him his horns were looking pretty good!
After a easy carry back to the car I got the measure tape out and he turned out to be 9.5 inches with good 4inch bases. My best Buck to date!

This is why enjoying hunting Chamois so much. they always have a few more surprises up their sleeves than what you could expect. Cheers to Mirella my partner for her keen eye sight haha
9.5 inch Chamois.jpg

Heres another younger buck I got in the same area not long after.
young chamois buck.jpg

Cheers guys
 
Thanks for sharing. I have explored some of the westland around Fox and Frans Joseph glaciers. It is some really awesome looking (and wet) country. You live in a great place!
 
Looks like you had a great afternoon on the hill. A little shooting and a little hitting. You had your mate along to help pack. Perfect! Are Tahr also unregulated like the chamois?
 
Looks like you had a great afternoon on the hill. A little shooting and a little hitting. You had your mate along to help pack. Perfect! Are Tahr also unregulated like the chamois?

Thanks. Yea all out big game(7 deer species,Tahr,Chamois,pigs and goats if you count em) is un restricted. No season, limits,tags ect..
Only thing that has some restriction is water fowl(season,daily limits),our Elk/Wapiti herd(ballot type deal) and Helicopter access into some wilderness areas(Tahr country)
 
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