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The Upper Clutha Deerstalkers' Association is on the hunt for a new rifle range, and is asking farmers in the area for help.
The association has had long-term use of its rifle range on private land in Lagoon Valley, near Lake Hawea but the leaseholder is developing the property, and the range has to be relocated.
The range was established at Lagoon Valley about 20 years ago.
The club later went in to recess for a decade, but when it reformed three years ago, it was able to resume use of the range.
''We were lucky that the skeleton of it was still there,'' club president Dan Orbell said. A new leaseholder had since taken over the property, and while he had been ''incredibly supportive'' of the club and its use of the land, development work was now under way and the club's tenure was month-by-month while it looked for a new location, Mr Orbell said.
''[The leaseholder has] worked his farming responsibilities around our range to a certain degree but it's sitting on prime land ... and he wants to develop it significantly to get a lot more production out of it ... we completely understand it.''
Having a rifle range was pivotal to the success of the club, Mr Orbell said.
''It becomes increasingly difficult to operate a successful branch when you can't take your trainees out on the range ... it's our principal concern at the moment.
''We need to establish another range to give us some sort of security of tenure.''
The range is used regularly for inter-club shoots, monthly shoots for senior and junior members, and as an integral part of the four-week Hunts (Hunter National Training Scheme) course, which the club puts 12 members through each year.
A new range site would ideally be within 15km of Wanaka, with a minimum firing range of 200m, and would require certification by the New Zealand Deerstalkers' Association (NZDA) and New Zealand Police.
Mr Orbell assured farmers considering lending their land the club had extensive insurance cover through NZDA and each shoot would be controlled by a club member who was an NZDA-certified range officer.
Any land-use arrangement could be a ''reciprocal trade'' for some voluntary labour.
''With 128 members, we've got guys with all sorts of skills. The club could offer a variety of support for a landowner.''
