QUESTION: At the current levels of hunter pressure does the FWF see the quality of the Wapiti trophy herd continuing to rise?

In a word NO!

Not unless hunters start to make some smarter choices when shooting an animal. Granted there will be the odd animal that escapes the bullet and lives to grow old enough to become a trophy or the very odd exceptional young animal that has grown a huge set of antlers early in his life.

But all in all we can not keep going down the road we are travelling. We understand its hard coming from other areas in NZ where 30 - 35 inch Red stag heads is the norm. Then seeing these animals that are now consistently pushing over 40 inches must look huge in comparison, but more often than not are only babies. We hope this article will help you make better informed choices. One thing we as hunters forget when it comes to trying to secure a head for the wall is - a real trophy only comes along once in a life time, not every time you step into the bush! I was talking to a couple of hunters in the Greenstone valley recently. One said to me he was scared he was going to make the wrong choice in the Wapiti area and shoot a young animal. This is a good thing, and is pleasing to hear as it means hunters are starting to think about the consequences of their actions. Guys, this is called Game Management. I said to him, this is what it feels like for us every time someone from the FWF flies an animal management mission in the Wapiti area. Join the club!

Things to look for to help you age the animals you see:

• Pedicle length - the thicker hairy bit between the coronet and the skull. On a mature animal this is almost non-existent.
  Length of nose and shape of face.
  Depth of chest.
  Dropped belly.
  Antler development - heavy timber; tops need to at least match the length of the bottom tines and both need to be well over 10 inches; a mature animal's lower main beams come out at a flatter angle up to the trey tines, before angling upwards.