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Southern police are warning hunters to identify their targets and bring locator beacons as they search for stags this roar season.
Inspector James Ure was based in Te Anau for seven years and said Fiordland and the Southern Alps posed different challenges to the rest of the country, and a locator beacon and emergency shelter were vitak due to the high-risk terrain.
The most common callouts were for hunters being bluffed, campsites getting flooded, rising river levels and injuries.
Insp Ure encouraged hunters to think before they pulled the trigger in steep country.
“Generally, when going into alpine environments, extra research of the surrounding terrain is needed. Hunters need to think about how they will recover the animal - they might shoot it and then it can become problematic."
Fiordland weather had caught a lot of hunters off-guard over the years, especially when their choice of campsite was flooded, Insp Ure said.
Constable Nayland Smith, of Omarama, has been heavily involved in local Search and Rescue efforts for the past 11 years.
“From a search and rescue perspective, if you don’t own a personal locator beacon yet, then go and buy one,’’ he advised.
Having a locator beacon took much of the search out of the equation, so helpers could focus on rescuing - meaning anyone who needed help wound up spending a lot less time sitting around waiting for it.
With the technology available today there was no excuse for not knowing your hunting area, he said. Because the roar was a busy time of year, it was important to take extra safety measures - including being highly visible to other hunters.
If people were unfit and short of breath when they suddenly came across an animal, there was a good chance that oxygen had not got to the brain as well as it could have, meaning a person was prone to poor decision-making, such as not identifying your target well, Const Smith said.
Hunters should assess the weather forecast and plan accordingly, another spokesman for police said. Everyone should have the right clothing, food and equipment for all possible conditions, and the fitness and experience of all people in a group should be considered while laying plans.
‘‘Know where you are going, make sure you carry a map, know how to read it and leave detailed intentions with friends and whānau."
While out hunting everyone in a group should be involved in decision-making to make sure everyone is comfortable with plans being made.
Every firearm needed to be treated as loaded, and people should check up on the seven firearms safety rules.
‘‘Identify your target beyond all doubt,’’ he said.
This year, the roar was being held from Sunday, March 19 until Saturday, April 15, the Department of Conservation said.
The 7 firearms safety rules
1. TREAT EVERY FIREARM AS LOADED
- Check every firearm yourself
- Pass or accept only an open or unloaded firearm
2. ALWAYS POINT FIREARMS IN A SAFE DIRECTION
- Loaded or unloaded, always point the muzzle in a safe direction
3. CHAMBER A CARTRIDGE ONLY WHEN READY TO FIRE
- Load the magazine only after you reach your shooting area
- Load a cartridge into the chamber only when ready to shoot
- Completely unload before leaving the shooting area
4. IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET BEYOND ALL DOUBT
- Movement, colour, sound and shape can all deceive you
- Assume colour, shape, sound, and shape to be human until proven otherwise
5. CHECK YOUR FIRING ZONE
- THINK! What may happen if you miss your target? What might you hit between you and the target or beyond?
- Do not fire if you know others are in your firing zone
6. STORE FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION SAFELY
- When not in use, lock away the bolt, firearm and ammunition separately.
- Check the latest firearms storage requirements here.
7. AVOID ALCOHOL AND DRUGS WHEN HANDLING FIREARMS
- Good judgement is the key to the safe use of firearms
- Staff reporter
