Deer hunting veteran Allan Jackson is keen to see some new faces at this year's Pureora Hunting Competition prizegiving.
The free annual hunting competition has been run by DOC's Maniapoto team, with support from the NZ Deerstalkers Association (NZDA), for more than 30 years.
Allan – who's been a part of the NZDA for 30 years – has been involved in for the competition numerous times, collecting the jaws, summarizing the results and relaying the information to the hunters. He was recently made an association life member.
He believes there's scope for the competition to grow if more newcomers are willing to join in.
"We need wider involvement," Allan says. "The prizegiving is a very family-friendly event – we see the same faces every year, and some have been coming for generations."
The Pureora Hunting Competition includes a junior category, for hunters less than 15 years old. Young hunters can enter goat tails, rat tails and mustelids.
The fact the competition focusses on Pureora and is run by DOC makes it unique. DOC also runs the National Goat Hunting Competition, which has a broader nationwide focus and launched in 2023.
Allan says the consistent hosting of the competition – apart from 2020 and 2022 when the country was under COVID-19 restrictions – means there's now 12 years of data and 580 hunted deer to glean information from.
"After COVID-19 lockdowns effectively banned hunting, I expected to see an influx of young deer into the competition when it restarted," Allan says.
That wasn't the case.
"Young jaws were rather sparse at the competition. Bored locked down locals were hunting hard - they really kept the freezer topped up."
Allan believes the competition has the potential to become a significant contributor to wild deer management for the Pureora Forest, and as it's run by DOC it has the potential to expand further.
DOC Principal Ranger Maniapoto Kina Tweedale says the competition gives participants a chance to hunt competitively during the Roar – rather than recreationally - in lush native forest and potentially claim prizes for their efforts.
"If your kind of naturing is a good hunt in the forest or you think it could be, then we're keen to see you involved. The competition has a great sense of camaraderie, and we know it's important to the local hunting community."
The competition will open on 14 March and culminate with prizegiving at DOC's Pureora Field Base workshop on Sunday 26 April.
