GuidefitterStaff

Leasing a hunting property can have its challenges. There are advantages and disadvantages with leasing ground as opposed to going on an outfitted hunting trip.

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GF TV Ep. 7 Leasing Gone Wrong

The pros and cons of leasing a hunting property

For some, getting the opportunity to harvest a bull elk in New Mexico can be a life long dream come true. LOH Outfitters was able to put a unique hunter on a bull he was extremely happy with.

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GF TV Ep. 6 Dreams Can Come True

A life long dream come true can be as simple as a New Mexico elk hunt

Guidefitter TV producer, Tyler Hock hunts at Ducks n Bucks in Oklahoma during five of the best days of the entire year. Giant whitetails are cruising and the weather is perfect.

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GF TV Ep. 5 A Whitetail Guide's Way of Life

The Oklahoma rut kicks into full swing while Tyler's in the tree

Guidefitter's spring turkey tour kicks of in Kentucky at King's Country Outfitters and ends in Missouri at Hickory Hill Hunts with some long beard action along the way

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GF TV Ep. 10 Turkey Tour

A few successful hunts and a lot of memories made

This Ohio Spring turkey hunt is phenomenal. Three birds killed and two missed in 4 days of hunting

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GF TV Ep. 9 Like Father Like Son Pt. 2

The Ohio turkey hunt continues with more turkeys floppin' and more misses

<div class="article"> <meta itemprop="name" content="GF TV Ep. 11 New Zealand's High Country "/> <meta itemprop="duration" content="T21M08S" /> <meta itemprop="description" content="Four Seasons Safari’s hunter Hank Seale has traveled with his family to New Zealand to hunt Tahr, Chamois, and Red Stag"/> <meta itemprop="transcript" content="Man 1: Here at Guidefitter, we're all about fair chase hunting. The outfitting business is a worldwide industry. And oftentimes in other countries, outfitting is done a lot different than it is here in the U.S. This week we're going over to New Zealand with Four Seasons Safaris and Shane Johnson to take a look at how they do things. Special thanks to Hank and Lyssa Seale and their family for inviting us along on their once in a lifetime New Zealand hunting adventure. [music] Hank: I am a huge proponent of hunting and I've been divorced and remarried so we've got a merged family. My kids came up hunting...every kind of hunting, my step kids not as much. So this is an effort for us to be able to take a family vacation together and do an introduction into hunting. Shane: We're very in tune to dealing with all walks of life in the operation, right from complete beginners to the most experienced trophy hunters all over the world, from individuals, to a group of guys, to a group of girls, to archery hunters, muzzle loaders, into large family groups as well as VIPs and corporations as well. So who here hasn't shot a rifle before? Or have you all shot a rifle? Lyssa: We've all shot a rifle. Shane: Okay so I'm gonna treat you all as if you haven't shot a rifle. So the most important thing with any firearm is you always treat it like it's loaded, even if it's not. One of the first things you need to make sure you do is always point the muzzle, end of the barrel, in a safe direction. And a safe direction is obviously anywhere away from other people, up, down, behind you, but just make sure it's never pointing at anybody. When I get you to shoot from here, it's about 100 yards to the target. And what I'd like to see you do is once you've shot, eject that round out of there, put another round in, put your safety on, keep your eye on the scope. Don't look around, don't think about have I got it or have I not got it because if you can do that here, it's great practice to do it here so when you're out on field you can do it on the animals as well. Hank: We were shooting guns that Shane had provided for us. It was great that we had the opportunity to sight them in, get comfortable with them before we went out. Shane: Okay, so when you're ready. Okay, fire in the hole, everyone. Slowly squeeze. Reload. Back in your scope. Couldn't have done a better shot myself. That's bang, smack, right in the middle of the target. Reload. Reload. Good job, mate. Garrett: Oh dang! On the white! Shane: That's how I love to see all my hunters shoot, just like that, 100 yards [inaudible 00:03:37]. Love it. Growing up in New Zealand being a hunter, I love the mountains and as a young fella we used to drive up in these valleys and climb way up into these tops to hunt the tahr and chamois. Once I got into my guiding, a lot of my clients didn't have the ability or the time to be able to endure these mountains, so we're very fortunate to be able to utilize a helicopter to take us into these areas to locate where the animals are and then get dropped out. Always make sure it's very safe for my clients. And it is a very fast-paced, high action, rodeo-type, adrenaline, fun, exciting journey. It's something that's very difficult for me to even express or try to explain to somebody what the experience is like. But what I do know, is that people that have done it have absolutely been mind blown. Several things, one is how the helicopter maneuvers in the mountains. Secondly is finding where these animals inhabit and how these animals go with ease through this very steep, rugged terrain. And third, where we get put out in certain places to actually have a chance at hunting these particular animals. Man 2: Hank decided to let his step-son, Garrett, on first. Hank: The way it works is you get on a helicopter and you're looking for tahr and you do see lots of tahr, the helicopter will drop the hunter down below the tahr because that's where the tahr usually run. But you never know which way the thar's gonna go and it's luck of the draw whether the tahr goes your way or not. Man 2: The copter dropped Garrett and Shane down. They quickly got set up and were in perfect position to take a shot. Shane: Reload, reload. Got him. It's awesome, right? All right Tim, you can come on in, mate. And he's out of our sight. We've shot him and he's come down so you'll just [inaudible 00:05:58] where he is. Tim: Very good. Hank: Half of the rush is the hunting, half the rush is the helicopter. Shane: Safety is obviously my primary concern for everybody that's involved with what we do. I know myself, personally, I can break barriers that some would probably never got to, but that's because myself and my boys are very experienced with what we do and we've been doing this for a number of years. And at times it can be very daunting for us too. You know, it can be treacherous terrain, it can be very trying conditions and a lot of times where these animals end up, it's very steep and unforgiving country. And of course we have to get in there and recover those animals. So at times we are actually putting our lives at risk. Hank: Congratulations buddy. I'm proud of ya! Garrett's done, got a tahr. Now I'm up for the chamois. Did have no idea what these things were like. Imagine trying to shoot a dog, on the side of a cliff, going mach ten with its hair on fire. That's tough. Shane: Based on the south horn here right at the base of the mountains, which is the backdrop of where we live, on Terrace Downs here is where we conduct our tahr and chamois hunts. So very, very fortunate to have grown up here. This is where I went to school, this is what I did as a young fella, on the weekends and holidays was to go tahr and chamois hunting. It's my passion and it takes a lot of endurance, a lot of willpower, a lot of patience and understanding the mountain environment where these animals live. There's no shooting from the helicopter. We do locate animals with the helicopter and we can hunt and fly on the same day. And as you'll see in some of the footage that the scenery is absolutely mind blowing. I mean these are the biggest mountains in New Zealand. It's only 280 kilometers from one coast to the other. We have the Pacific coast on one side and the Tasman coast on the other. And of course, the backbone of New Zealand is the Southern Alps, which is where we conduct our tahr and chamois hunts. Hank: You got the pilot that can get in anywhere, but Shane is telling him where to go based on time of the day, the weather, what's been the hot area, not. And we were able to cover a huge amount of area. Not just one side of the mountain, for example, both sides of the range. Shane: He's likely a shooter. Hank: We'd been hunting for quite a while. We'd seen several chamois, we'd even got down on a few hunts, didn't work out. We see a chamois, I drop down... How far are we? Shane: Two hundred yards, mate. Stay on him. He'll probably come back here now, mate. So just be ready. Hank: [Inaudible 00:09:46] Shane: Right from the start. Hank: [Inaudible00:09:49] Shane: He's 250 yards, mate. No, no. If you're on him, mate...sorry, if you're on him, have a crack, mate. Reload, reload. There he goes again. Now when he stops, just keep an eye on him. That's 300 yards there, mate. Right on the top of his back when he stops. Wait for him to stop. When he stops, mate, just squeeze away. Reload, reload. Hank: Is that over [inaudible 00:10:46]? Shane: You're on the very top. See him up there? He's just going over. Hank: Missed the chamois and then from outta nowhere, another one popped out. Shane: You see him running down? He's gonna come onto the shingles slope [inaudible 00:11:02]. He's not that far, mate. When he stops, you give it to him. He is 240 yards there. Just down him when he stops. It's all right, he'll stop again. Got him. Hank: Got him. Shane: He's still going, mate. He's still going, reload. Do we got any bullets left in there? You got him, keep an eye on him. Hank Seale, I think you might be done. I think you might have your chamois. Hey, put her there, brother. Eh? Good stuff, mate. Hank: [Inaudible 00:11:57] Shane: How did that work out, mate? Eh? We give that one... Isn't it amazing how it works out, mate? I mean we didn't even know that that chamois was there. Hank: Right. Shane: We had a crack at that one there and...well we had a couple cracks at him, actually. Hey mate, that's what happens, mate. It makes us better, doesn't it? Hank: Freaking awesome. Shane: Look where you are, mate. Hank: Oh, amazing. Shane: Here you are on the west coast of the south horn of New Zealand and you have just shot yourself a very nice chamois, mate. Hank: Man, it doesn't... Shane: Eh? Hank: There's no prettier country. This is just amazing. Shane: I know. Isn't it, mate? Hank: That's sure. That puts grizzly bear hunting to shame. Shane: Eh? Fantastic, mate. Hank: Awesome. Shane: Awesome, mate. Very, very proud of you, mate. Very, very proud of you, mate. Hank: That beats grizzly bear hunting all to hell. Shane: Pretty amazing, isn't it? Hank: That's...I mean, you've got the prettiest country. An unbelievable experience getting in and finding them. Shane: Yeah. Hank: And then, you know, you take the shot, he rolls down the mountain. And then picking him up is just exciting as getting him. It's just incredible. Shane: Can you imagine walking into that country, you know? Hank: No. Shane: Here we are using a helicopter, we're using a helicopter as a taxi to locate where the animals are and then we drops out and then we've gotta go after a chamois or have a shot from where we are. And we were very fortunate to get this guy, weren't we? Hank: Yeah, we've got a hell of a copter driver, I tell ya. Shane: The thing is, the chamois, they were introduced to New Zealand from Austria. This is a buck chamois. The bucks and the nannies are very, very similar. But this one's an exceptional chamois, very thick bases and very long horns with a good long curl on them. They got the glands behind the horns there too because they've just come out of the rut. Yeah, beautiful [inaudible 00:13:48]. Hank: Beautiful coat on it, this is just incredible. The coloring is amazing. It's just...that's awesome. Shane: Yeah. Hank: What a fantastic experience. Shane: And what a day to do it on, mate, you Know? Hank: I mean if, I'm not just saying this, if all you did was come to New Zealand to do this, it would be worth the 17 hour plane ride or whatever takes. Unbelievable. Shane: And now you can see why it's hard for me to explain to you how this experience is, mate. You know, it's one of those things you just have to do. Hank: It's like Apocalypse Now meets the Alps. I mean, it's fantastic. What a beautiful animal. Thank you so much. Shane: It really is, mate. Congratulations. And 'm very proud of you, mate. And what an exceptional animal to take home. Well mate, we've gotta go and look for a tahr so we better keep going, eh? Hank: Yeah, absolutely. Man 2: One of Hank's bucket list items is a tahr. So he made sure to get an opportunity at this while he was here in New Zealand. Shane: So it started out as a most magnificent morning this morning, and we flew right over the Southern Alps, which is the backbone of the south island of New Zealand from the east to the west coast. Picture perfect day. Clear skies, no wind, fresh snow on the mountain tops. So all was actually bearing to be a good day for hunting. Man 2: When Shane utilizes the helicopter, it has to be a clear day. The pilot weaves into places that almost seem impossible, so clear visibility is crucial to staying safe. Shane: It took us a while to find where the animals were. We were finding the tracks in the snow but, of course, the animals hear the helicopter and that's the predator. So they're doing everything they can to avoid the helicopter by hiding in crevices and caves and under bushes. Once we found a few tahr, we knew that there had to be some bulls here because this is one of the areas that we do hunt, and first time we've actually hunted it this season, so I knew we needed to spend a bit more time here. Hank: Those tahr were running down sheer frickin' ice. I mean, cliffs. Shane spots this big bull up at the very top of this crag. And sure enough, the bull starts working his way down. And so Shane...we set down to set up a stalk on this, to see if the bull comes our way or not. Shane: Just hold tight and just squeeze slow, mate. Let us see it come around, mate. When he stops, you just give it to him. Good shot, mate! Good on you, mate. Oh man, look at where we are, eh? Well Hank, what a fantastic animal, mate. Hank: Absolutely. Damn. It's amazing where they were. That was a sheer cliff they were running up and down. Shane: Yeah. Imagine how fast they could run on the flat. Hank: What'd we see? Probably six or eight kind of in a group with a bunch of nannies and then didn't see one small guy and then this big, bad mother came over the top. Shane: Yeah, that's right, yeah. Yep. So he's a big ol' bull tahr, introduced to New Zealand in the early 1900s and from the Himalayas. And obviously, the mountains we hunt here in New Zealand not as high as the Himalayas, but the habitat's very similar, very steep, very rugged. And obviously it's winter here, so there's a lotta snow and ice about. But they love to be up high so they can survey their domain. And the big bulls, they love to get up on those rock pinnacles and let that wind blow through their mane because obviously, there's a lotta warmth in the skin [SP] here, which they need it in the winter time. But he's a beautiful animal, mate, and... Hank: Thank you very much. It was fantastic. Shane: ...it was a real pleasure to have you here with us, mate, and I know you've enjoyed it and we certainly enjoyed you and your family being with us. Hank: Put together a heck of a team. Shane: We love what we do, mate. We really do. Hank: Everybody we've dealt with has just been fantastic. Shane Johnson, they did a great job with us, kind of accommodating our family hunt, which was a vacation. I got my bucket list item. My kids got some really exciting hunts. Shane: Reload, reload. Good girl, you've hit him. Reload. Good girl, set. Okay, see him there again? You see him? Man 3: Got blood coming up on his shoulders, good shot. Taylor: Where'd he go? Man 3: Just keep going. Keep going. Shane: He's gonna go down just keep an eye on him. Can you see it? He's gonna go...look at that! See [inaudible 00:18:58]. Callan: Good job, Taylor. Shane: One shot. Gave the bullet the kiss of death. Taylor: Kiss of death. Shane: And it rang true. Can you shoot him from here? Callan: Yeah. Shane: Yeah? Okay, so when you're ready, you just take that safety off. Safety switch. Okay and hopefully you've already done it? Callan: Yeah. Shane: Okay, so when you're ready, you just hold him tight, squeeze and keep it behind his shoulder. Reload, reload. Good girl, stay on him. Callan: I can't find him. Shane: He's ran silly for [SP]. He's gonna go down, just keep an eye on him. I think you got him pretty good. Look at that! Look at that. Hank: One of my daughters has now picked up shooting, is on a shooting team. I get the argument about high fences versus, you know, no fences. Fact of the matter is, is that we don't want to be exclusionary to any hunters, we want all hunters to be involved in this sport. So what I'm a proponent of is let the market decide. So have hunts that are good for entry level hunters and let them be successful. Have hunts for, you know, the uber...you know, the 18 to 25-year-old, testosterone charge, charge up the mountain and, you know, blood and gut and gore and veins hanging from their teeth, those guys. But we need opportunities for other people. You know, the 50, 65-year-old lady that wants to go shoot something with her husband and have that experience. Everybody needs to be able to do that." /> <div class="row"> <div class="col-xs-12"> <p>Four Seasons Safari’s hunter Hank Seale has traveled with his family to New Zealand to hunt Tahr, Chamois, and Red Stag</p> </div> </div> </div>

Four Seasons Safaris offers an incredible hunt for Red Stag, Tahr and Chamois. This episode takes place in some of the most beautiful country NZ has to offer.

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GF TV Ep. 11 New Zealand's High Country

An incredible New Zealand hunt for Tahr, Chamois, and Red Stag

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GF TV Ep. 11 New Zealand's High Country

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GF TV Ep. 11 New Zealand's High Country

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