Never did I think I’d be a hunter, let alone a crossbow hunter. I moved to New Zealand in February 2020, after three years of backpacking around Australia and Asia. Soon after arriving I found myself unemployed and in lockdown.
By Ben Carson
I went into the bush near Queenstown until my subsidy came through, at the time only having around $700 to my name. After leaving the bush I started learning about the NZ hunting culture after spending many hours watching Josh James, the Kiwi Bushman on YouTube, primarily for bushcraft tips at the time. But I never thought I’d have it in me to get into hunting, I’ve always been a keen fisherman but that’s as far as it went. Being a backpacker in Queenstown, I got caught up in the binge drinking culture instead. Being British I’ve always been a big binge drinker, as it’s almost a rite of passage in Britain.
That was until April 2022! I started going tramping and seeing the occasional animal so researched ‘hunting in NZ’ on Google and found myself pondering whether I could get a firearms licence whilst on my working holiday visa. Would I be eligible considering my history of self-harm and PTSD diagnosis. The short answer was no! I never even attempted it, as the NZ police already have me on file from a previous crisis since being in the country. It wasn’t even worth filling out the application form.
Then I discovered how many Kiwis hunt with bows. I headed off to Hunting and Fishing to enquire about a compound bow but it turned out they were way out of my budget, so it was back to the drawing board. Maybe I could get a crossbow, but did I need a licence? Apparently not, so scrolling the Gun City website I found my first crossbow - the EK Blade – for the bargain price of only $549. I also bought a $100 rangefinder online and was given some bino’s by a friend who had found them at work. Joining a crossbow hunting page ‘NZ Crossbow Hunters’, members shared advice on what bolts to buy and I was given a box of mechanical broadheads by a top bloke called Rodney. I offered money and to pay for the shipping, but he refused to accept. Kiwis are bloody great like that! I was now set for my first mission.
My first hunt was an overnight trip near Glenorchy, an open permit steep beech forest, where it took me four hours to climb 1.8kms; bush bashing, shouting and swearing. I thought ‘this isn’t for me at all’,’ until I smashed into the clearing I’d been planning on camping at only to find a fallow feeding in the tussock. I dumped my pack and
stalked within 68m before it winded me - but what a buzz! Maybe this hunting malarkey was for me after all? I didn’t see any more animals and left the next day soggy but optimistic for the next hunt.
The following month, Mana Tahuna Trust in Queenstown were hosting a free introduction to hunting course led by Dan McKay. I learnt a heap about ungulates and then we went for a range session with a .223. I already had a heap of firearms experience from my time with the army, but it was so bloody good to get back on the range. This was followed up by a successful goat hunt the next morning when I dropped a goat at 220m. On the way home I bought my first pair of camo pants from Hunting and Fishing as I now considered myself a fully-fledged hunter after shooting my first goat. I was 30 at the time but felt like an excited kid again catching his first fish.
This new hobby was about to become a passion. And an obsessive one at that.
Two months later, after a couple of successful goat hunts, I was in my local block where I used to go tramping quite often and found some stags down in the scrub not far from the carpark.
I ended up spending three hours stalking in on the buggers, but even though I got within 50m I spooked them after kicking a rock. My adrenaline was through the roof, and it was more of a buzz than hooning around on my motorbikes. I found a heap of chamois later the same day and while I didn’t take a shot managed to capture some nice photos and videos, another hobby of mine.
I was learning faster than I realised and six weeks later had a ninepoint five-year-old stag on the deck, with the crossbow of course. A 45m shot through both lungs in heavy snow, 1200m up the mountain. With tears of joy, I carried out the head and meat and strapped it to my motorbike,
to the shock of local motorists, heading home with a grin on my face. I was hooked on hunting!
The binge drinking came to a halt as hunting was my passion now and every spare dollar was spent on new gear, every minute of spare time on searching the topo maps app on my phone or watching every NZ-based hunting video I could find. With every trip I was getting fitter and pushing my body more, on early mornings, late evenings, the routine and being out in nature starting to heal my mind. After all, the wild is where we originally came from right? I am at my happiest when I’m up a mountain or in the bush, usually talking to the birds (the feathery kind).
Most of the time I hunt by myself, as I enjoy just getting away from it all and having that time alone. I truly appreciate the New Zealand landscape so much because where I’m from in the UK, like most of England, we don’t have mountains or open public land. It’s extremely difficult to find a spot in the UK that is untouched by humans. I love the solitude and peace of being away from everyone else and in an area that hasn’t changed much in the last few thousand years, it’s like living inside a computer screensaver. A few months before I started hunting, I secured myself a job that I loved. After many years of doing backpacker work, fruit picking, labouring etc, I finally found a job I was interested in and felt valued.
“I am at my happiest when I’m up a mountain or in the bush, usually talking to the birds (the feathery kind).”
I was running a team of ‘wilderness gardeners’, working for a new company called GSD Workforce set up by AJ Hackett Bungy to keep their staff employed during covid doing local conservation projects with ‘Jobs for Nature’ funding. We had three years, starting in August 2021, to clear 18ha of woody weeds, erect rabbit fencing, and plant 27,000 natives. This ignited my passion for conservation, and I guess it made it easier for me to get
my mind around the whole ‘hunting for meat’ idea which is conservation in its own right. GSD Workforce also operates the Southern Lakes Sanctuary predator control project. After a year running the Tucker Beach regeneration team, I stepped into more of the pest control side of things and now spend most of my time trap building in the workshop, or out checking trap lines in the Queenstown area. We’ve got trap lines across the district; up the Matukituki,
Dart, Rees, Makarora and Greenstone Valleys to name but a few amazing areas. I’m fortunate that some of these trap lines are in my local hunting blocks, so they tie in well with a late afternoon/ evening hunt after work or I can take the bino’s to have a glass on my lunch break.
When it comes to my mental health struggles, having an employer that understands, is empathetic, helpful and flexible, is a God send.
“When it comes to my mental health struggles, having an employer that understands, is empathetic, helpful and flexible, is a God send.”
I’d usually hide it all, pull a sickie or just quit my job entirely. I have a lot to thank them for, including my work visa.
Mental health is a big struggle for a lot of people, but 75% of suicides are male. I think this boils down to not being able to open up, a binge drinking culture, and the stigma around asking for help. I lost two friends to suicide just before I left the UK, but even after that I still didn’t realise how much of a huge issue it was for men everywhere. It didn’t take me long to learn how many others like myself were struggling, the biggest eyeopener being joining the ambulance service and seeing the endless amount of calls from men in crisis, or sadly men being found after a crisis.
I often wonder how many hunters, like myself, are also avoiding asking for help not just due to the stigma and fear of being judged, but also in fear of losing their firearms licence or being denied one in the first place. Every time I’ve been told to go and see my GP I’ve refused because I didn’t need any-
thing else on my medical record that could jeopardise my chances of getting a firearms licence in the future. I understand the reason to deny certain people the privilege of a firearms licence, but every case is different and should be assessed as such. These men need hunting, as do I, and losing their licence just isn’t an option.
Hunting has helped me massively. The constant exercise, the progress, the pride of getting my first stag, my first chamois, time out in the wild, meeting likeminded people, making new mates. It has given me a purpose and something to focus on. When I’m out hunting I forget the stresses of everyday life, all the anxiety and crap, and it’s just so peaceful regardless of whether it’s a successful hunt or not.
I’ve struggled with anxiety and PTSD for years now but there have been three big changes in my life recently that have helped me the most; hunting, staying sober, and talking to people (mates, strangers, anyone). One man a day will die from
suicide in NZ and if we don’t encourage them to talk, this won’t change.
A few years ago I would have never admitted to struggling, putting on a brave face for months until it all came crashing down. I’ve had 14 stitches in my arm from self-harm, been arrested and sectioned more than once usually after a crisis fuelled by binge drinking. I cry more often than I would like to admit, as I’m sure many other men do, because we’re only human. But I accept it now for what it is, a normal human reaction and a chemical imbalance in my brain. It doesn’t make you any less of a man for showing emotion, it’s quite the opposite.
I welcome any man, hunter or not, to drop me a message on Instagram if you ever need a yarn, or if you’re in the area and are keen for a hunt. We’ve all got to have each other’s backs. <<<
YOUTUBE: @crossbow-nz
INSTAGRAM: @lifevsben & @crossbow.nz
When I’m out hunting I forget the stresses of everyday life, all the anxiety and crap, and it’s just so peaceful regardless of whether it’s a successful hunt or not.