About
Deerstalkers in Sika Country
With our location in the centre of North Island hunting and our rifle range as our greatest asset, we promote safe, responsible use of firearms and respect for native flora and fauna. The Taupō region is the home of Sika in New Zealand and the popularity of the blocks in the Kaimanawas offers locals fantastic hunting opportunities and brings hunters from all over the country and beyond to visit this part of the country.
The Tūrangi/Taupō hunting area covers the Central North Island, taking in Tongariro National Park, Erua and Tongariro forests and the Kaimanawa Mountains. The sika herd in the Kaimanawa Forest Park is internationally renowned and regarded by hunters as a valuable recreational resource. Sika deer can be found throughout the Kaimanawa Forest Park, with the greatest concentrations in the north and east from the Mohaka river to the Tauranga Taupō river. Red and fallow deer, goats and pigs are also hunted in the region.
The Taupō Deerstalkers’ Club was established on 20th May 1957. We are a local branch of the NZDA, the national body that represents and speaks for recreational hunters and aims to protect hunting for future generations. The NZDA has made important contributions to hunting at a personal as well as at a policy-making level.
Ever since 1930, the big game animals of New Zealand have been classed as pests by Government. Deer culling, the use of aerial 1080 poison and commercial hunting, often from helicopters to ensure wholesale slaughter, were promoted by public authorities.
The switch in recent years from an extermination policy to big-game management, the creation of recreational hunting areas, and the formation of the Game Animal Council are due in a large part to the work of NZDA Members.
As a club, our members stand for responsible firearm use and approach the sport of recreational hunting from the highest possible level of ethics. We strive to foster interest in native flora and fauna and the conservation of the same. We promote safe practices and work to minimise risk by ensuring we and others are suitably trained to hunt safely and responsibly in the outdoors.
