New Zealand Deerstalkers Wellington Branch

13/09/2026

Great turnout for Antler, Horn & Tusk Night. Some seriously nice heads measured and a stack of amazing photos entered — the kind of results you only get from a year of patience, passion and hard graft in the hills.

A top night celebrating the result of huge effort put in by our members.

06/09/2026

SEPTEMBER CLUB NIGHT — TUESDAY 8TH
Antler, Horn & Tusk Night is back. Bring in your clean (and not‑smelly) heads, plus any photos from this year’s adventures, and enter the comps.

Doors open 7:00pm, kick-off at 7:30pm.
Get your entries in and come support the club.

06/09/2026

We’re stoked to announce that prizes are back for getting involved in club activities — working bees, shooting comps, club hunts, HUNTS courses, volunteering at Conference and more. (Club nights not included.)

And speaking of club night… you can jump in this week by entering the AHT, Photo, Literacy and Video competitions.

Prizes up for grabs include:

A Blowhard experience

R5 25 Laser Rangefinder

NeoAir XTherm NXT

Hubba Hubba HD 2 tent

Plus heaps more gear

Get amongst it! — good times and good prizes on offer.
This Tuesday 8th September . Doors open 7pm. 7:30pm Start.

28/07/2026

Great to be involved in this initiative and to work alongside the Wild Game Recovery Trust, NZ Game Animal Council and Cameron Harrison Butchery & Delicatessen to provide high-quality venison to support local communities.

A big thank you to all Wellington Branch members who helped with the donation.

"Often food banks are stuck having to hand out cans of beans and pasta, so adding some protein into the mix is amazing," Wild Game Recovery Trust founder Wayne Langford said.

25/07/2026

🦌 From Bush to Plate – Approx 100kg of Venison Mince Donated to Local Families ❤️

This week we're incredibly proud to have played a part in something truly special.

Thanks to several local wild game recovery hunts led by Mark Heath (Game Animal Council and the Wellington NZDA Branch) an incredible amount, of fresh venison (approx 100kg worth) was dropped off to our butchery and donated through the new Game Changer NZ initiative.

Our team then got to work, carefully processing every shoulder, leg and back steak, into convenient 500g packs of premium venison mince.

This week, those packs were delivered to six local charities, including branches of the Salvation Army, Wellington City Mission, and Waikanae Food Share, helping provide healthy, high-quality protein to people and families who need it most.

What makes this initiative even more unique is that every single pack is individually labelled with the ID number of the donated animal, allowing the journey of that meat to be traced from the bush right through to the dinner plate.

This is exactly what Game Changer NZ is all about - ensuring ethically harvested wild game doesn't go to waste while giving hunters the opportunity to give back to their communities.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this first donation such a success. Together we're proving that hunting can make a real difference.

If you'd like to learn more about Game Changer NZ, or chat about our Wild Game & Home Kill processing services, come and see us this weekend at the NZDA Hunting & Wildlife Expo!

📍 Find us at Stand #8 in the Game Animal Council stand.
We'd love to tell you more about this exciting initiative.
See you there!

24/07/2026

New Zealand Deerstalkers Association Inc AGM is ready to kick off!

If your not at thr AGM make sure you head down to the Lower Hutt Events Centre and check out the Hunting and Wildlife Expo! Tickets selling fast

https://www.deerstalkers.org.nz/hunting-and-wildlife-expo-2026

24/07/2026

The NZDA Hunting & Wildlife Expo and Conference is officially open!

Doors open at 9am tomorrow at the Lower Hutt Events Centre, with the Expo running throughout the weekend.

There are heaps of awesome exhibitors, displays and bargains, come along and check it out!

21/07/2026

The NZDA Hunting & Wildlife Expo is on this weekend at the Lower Hutt Events Centre.

There will be plenty to see across the two days, with exhibitors, hunting gear, demonstrations and organisations from across the hunting sector.

Wellington Branch members have also donated venison for the free salami samples available at the Cameron Harrison stand.

Come along, support the Expo and say hello.

📍 Lower Hutt Events Centre
📅 Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July

16/07/2026

What a week for New Zealand’s deerstalkers!

In a single historic week, Minister for Hunting and Fishing Hon James Meager designated Fiordland wapiti as New Zealand’s first Herd of Special Interest, followed by Central North Island sika as the second.

This is a major milestone for New Zealand’s hunting sector. For the first time, two of our most highly valued game animal herds have formal recognition and a framework that allows them to be actively managed for their hunting values, rather than simply being subjected to a search-and-destroy approach, while continuing to protect conservation values.

These designations recognise that sustainable game animal management requires balance, and that hunters, science, policy and conservation can work together to achieve better outcomes.

They did not happen overnight.

A huge congratulations and thank you to the entire Fiordland Wapiti Foundation team, the entire Sika Foundation team, the NZ Game Animal Council team and everyone else who put in a huge amount of work behind the scenes.

Thank you also to Minister James Meager MP for having the commitment to see New Zealand’s first two Herds of Special Interest through.

12/06/2026

On Saturday 8th August we will be hosting PracMed at Collina Terrace who will provide their full day, Remote Areas First Aid course which includes the Stop The Bleed course. This is a practical hands on course that provides the knowledge and skills to save lives in the back country. Contact the committee to book your spot.