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Tag: rifle

Where to shoot in NZ: Waiuku Pistol Club

Geoff 2 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve written a ‘where to shoot‘ post, possibly because I haven’t really been anywhere too exciting in the last little bit. However, that could be because I’m quite spoiled as a member of Waiuku Pistol Club.

At the beginning of the year I was tossing up joining one of three pistol clubs, to get my B Cat licence and start getting into 3 Gun comps. I was looking at Howick Pistol Club, Auckland Pistol Club and Waiuku Pistol Club.

Not many ranges are set up for rifle, shotgun and pistol use.
Not many ranges are set up for rifle, shotgun and pistol use.

I have shot pistol at Howick and Waiuku, and done an induction at Auckland Pistol Club. I quickly eliminated APC, because even though the facilities were excellent, only pistols or pistol carbines could be shot there. Since I shoot a lot of centrefire rifle, and a smidgen of shotgun, I didn’t want to shell out for a pistol membership and still have to pay range fees when I wanted to shoot long guns.

Howick was eliminated for the same reason, but also because the indoor range with specific target zones means most competitive pistol matches need to be shot in a modified format. This was disappointing as the range is only 5 minutes from my house!

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So in the end, even though it’s the furthest of the three from where I live, I ended up joining WPC so that I could shoot long guns as well as learn pistol. The club was also enticing because it had the best range availability. With shooting allowed between 10 am and 4 pm, Wednesday through Sunday, there’s plenty of time to practice and shoot competitions. If you’re a visitor, don’t just rock up – you will be turned away! Visitors can shoot long guns after 12 pm on Saturday or pistols after 10 am on Sunday.

This ensures there is space on the range for you, and also that there are people around who can unlock the ranges and show you around. If you want to head down for a few hours to try before you buy, or just want to sight in your hunting rifle, make sure to follow the WPC visitor’s instructions for an easier experience.

What’s available?

For the princely sum of $20 (cash), you’ll have access to a couple hundred metre ranges and several smaller ranges. There are steel silhouettes for rimfire, falling plates for pistols and shooting tunnels for you guys with magnumitis or particularly short, noisy, braked or ported barrels. If you want to find out more about the ranges, click here.

The range is in Otaua, just south of Waiuku, and is about 45 – 50 mins drive from Manukau. If you’re anywhere south of the Auckland CBD, it’s a very driveable distance for regular trips. I head down just about every Sunday from East Auckland, stopping at the BP service station before the Drury offramp for a healthy breakfast of a pie and coffee.

You and everyone else around you will be glad for the shooting tunnels when big guns like this .300 WSM are on the range. Also great for when there's a bit of rain!
You and everyone else around you will be glad for the shooting tunnels when big guns like this .300 WSM are on the range. Also great for when there’s a bit of rain!

Once you’re there, the club house is warm and dry, and sheltered from the wind if it’s howling. Unlike some ranges in the wider Auckland region, you don’t have to use a long (or short) drop if you’re busting. The club house has ‘facilities’ as well as a safe area for cleaning/maintaining pistols, a well-equipped first aid area and a large seating area for courses, meetings or just having a bite of lunch.

Whatever you need in terms of food and drink, take with you, as there aren’t any shops nearby. Also, you’ll be juuuuust out of cellphone reception for the duration of your visit to the range. Which – let’s face it – is probably a good thing!

Club culture

I’ve heard some people say that they found Waiuku members a bit stand-offish when they visited. This wasn’t encouraging when I was looking at joining. However, this hasn’t been my experience. At least not any more so than other ranges.

When you’re an unknown person at a shooting event or visitor’s day and have access to some pretty powerful hardware, it’s natural for regulars at any range to treat you with a bit of a keen eye until they’re certain you’re someone who is safe and capable.

This is quickly overcome by being sensible and practical (courteous as well), and also asking questions if you don’t know the procedures.

There are plenty of members around who are keen to help you have a good time, and will share their knowledge with you if you ask (sometimes even if you don’t!).

You’ll also sometimes see groups of scouts or Adventure Girls come through – a further testament to the openness of the club towards education and furthering people’s experience with firearms.

If you’re looking for a spot to spend some hours putting lead down range this summer, I’d highly recommend checking out WPC. Also, as we’ve just started a new quarter, it’s a great time to sign up as a member, as you won’t have to pay a full year’s fees.

If you’ve got any questions, pop them in the comments section below or get in touch with the club via their website or Facebook page.

Meat processing course with The Bloke and Balnagown Hunting

Geoff 1 Comment

I recently heard a quote that went something like ‘if everyone gave more than they took, the world would be at peace.’ Well, while we can’t claim to be tackling world peace, it’s a fact of shooting sports that many take a lot and give very little.

This is why I was very impressed with an initiative by Kerry Adams of The Bloke to implement a hunter education and deer processing course. It’s something that our community is increasingly missing – those that give back, and also those that know what they’re doing.

For many hunters in their 20s and 30s, they didn’t grow up in a hunting family, or their dad or uncle didn’t pass on what they had learnt from their dad. And with an increasingly globalised Aotearoa, many come from countries where they either didn’t have access to hunting environments, or had very different sorts of hunting available to them.

Two at a time makes the day go quicker. And yup, that's your's truly elbow deep in a deer carcass. Photo credit - Kerry Adams
Two at a time makes the day go quicker. And yup, that’s yours truly elbow deep in a deer carcass.
Photo credit – Kerry Adams

The 6th deer processing course

So the course I attended was Kerry’s 6th, and you can see that all the kinks have been worked out of the event, as everything ran as smoothly as you could want. No doubt Kerry will aim to continuously improve the experience, but I certainly enjoyed my time at Balnagown Hunting and learnt a lot from Richard, the land owner and proprietor.

I heard rumours on the day of the next course being in October, so keep an eye on The Bloke’s FB page, or check out updates at The Gearlocker website.

The format of the day

Even though we had spots of heavy rain, sideways rain, and even frozen rain, the afternoon was well coordinated and followed a pretty good timeline to get you back on track with your weekend by just after lunchtime.

After arriving and parking up near the main house and sheds, we carpooled in a few 4-wheel drives to get to the hunting hut and Richard’s new meat-hanging ‘gallows’ and barbecue area.

Equipment

We started out with some basics on equipment, having a look at a few different rifles and their various accessories. Hunter and writer Dougie kindly provided us with some of our fresh meet for the day, and we got to check out her rifle as well.

After looking at things that go bang for a while, we looked at small, sharp, pointy bits. The knives in Kerry’s box of toys were awesome, but also told a story of trying everything under the sun to come to the conclusion that, generally speaking, less is more. If you’re wondering what knife to buy for your first hunt, I’d wait a sec and hop on this course and actually have a go with some different knives on an animal. So, armed with an insight into which knives to avoid and which ones are suited to small game such as fallow, we commenced with the processing part of the day.

Richard was great at explaining what he wanted us to do, but also let us make some mistakes along the way.
Richard was great at explaining what he wanted us to do, but also let us make some mistakes along the way.

Dressing

First up, Richard gave us a very good introduction to his land and what he does. After that it was all pretty hands on as Richard took us through skinning and gutting a deer. Most people volunteered at some point and had a crack. With my lack of experience, I took all the opportunity I could to be the guy with the knife. Speaking of knives, there were a couple giveaways too, so a fair few us walked away with a new knife as well.

After the first dear was completely skinned and gutted, we tackled another, but this time field dressed it.

Getting me some backstrap. Photo credit - Kerry Adams
Getting me some backstrap.
Photo credit – Kerry Adams

Breaking the animal down

The two fresh animals were taken away and a couple that were a a few days old and already dressed came back on the quad. This is where the lads from Country Meat Processors jumped in, showing us how to cut off backstrap, spare ribs, etc.

After breaking down the animal we wondered over to the bench and everyone had a crack at butchering a bit of deer, producing their own steaks for the bbq. It was amazing to figure out the different cuts and what really goes on if you usually just send a carcass to the butcher for processing.

Overall impression

After we’d all cleaned up and enjoyed a healthy bbq of venison steak sammies, accompanied by warm coffee, everyone stuck around for a bit of a yarn. There was a vast range of experience among the attendees, with a couple never having put a deer down, to experienced hunters looking to learn some new tricks (like punching out the skin – you’ll find out what that means!).

The banter was good and there was plenty of food. To be honest there was plenty of time to talk and have a cuppa throughout the day as well, it wasn’t like a classroom setting. It was a very relaxed atmosphere in which it was okay to learn and even make mistakes.

Richard was an absolute master at communicating the skills he’s picked up over the years, and if you’re ever in the market for a fallow meat hunt, or even your first ever hunt, a trip to Balnagown may be in order. Kerry was the consummate host, ensuring everyone benefited from the event, and again, it was great to see someone giving back to the hunting/shooting community by taking on such a big task and organising a day that many people benefited from.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Whether you’re trying to figure out what to do after you shoot your first game animal, or you’re experienced and trying to find out better ways to do what you’re already doing, there’s plenty to take in throughout the day, and it’s a perfect excuse to spend some time outdoors, talking crap and enjoying the company of fellow shooters.

For a reasonable cost of $80 per person for just over half a day of education, food, great bush scenery and good mates, you really can’t pass it up! I’m even thinking of going again just to cement what I learned the first time.