New Zealand has been on my list for as long as I can remember. The mountains, the country, the stories — and tahr. Specifically, free range bull tahr in the Southern Alps. That was the bucket list hunt. I finally got to go.
I went down with Chase Ryan and we hunted with Tom McKay out of Otago, on the South Island. Two weeks. Free range only. We chased chamois, we chased tahr, we got rained on, we slept in tents above the bushline, and I rode in a helicopter for the first time in my life. This is what actually happened.
Getting There and the Lodge
The flight is the first hurdle. Los Angeles to Auckland, Auckland to Queenstown. By the time you land you’re somewhere on the other side of the planet, the season is flipped, the time zone is exactly opposite Colorado, and your body has no idea what’s going on.
Tom met us at the Queenstown airport and drove us about thirty to forty-five minutes back to the lodge. We spent that first night with Tom’s in-laws hosting us — they cooked for us, sat with us, and made us feel like we’d been there for years. The food was incredible. The hospitality was something I’ll remember as long as I remember the hunt itself. If you ever go and end up under their roof, you’re a lucky hunter.
Across the Lake into Chamois Country
The next morning we loaded up and took a ferry across the lake to access our first hunting area — a private alpine concession in the Southern Alps. From the drop point, Chase and I packed in three to four miles to a backcountry hut. This area is known for chamois, and that was the first target.
The first three days, it rained on us. Steady, cold, soaking rain. Glassing in those conditions is miserable — you’re trying to keep your optics dry, your hands are numb, and you have to fight the urge to call it. We didn’t. Across those three days we glassed up around seventy-five chamois total. The catch: every single one was either a doe, a kid, or a young immature buck. Not one mature buck in three full days of glassing.
That’s free range hunting. The animals are there, but a real trophy buck doesn’t show himself just because you walked in.
Pivot: Helicopter into Tahr Country
We made the call to back out, head back to the lodge, dry our gear, and reset. Tom had a different region in mind — better tahr country, a different concession, and access by helicopter. We had a couple days at the lodge waiting for the weather window to open up. When it did, we loaded up.
That helicopter ride was my first. I’m not sure what I expected, but the country we flew over and into was unlike anything I’d seen on a hunt before. Glaciers, alpine basins, ridgelines that ran for miles. South Island is breathtaking from the ground and another level entirely from a thousand feet up.
The pilot dropped us in. No hut on this side — we set up backpacking tents above the bushline and that was home for the next stretch.
Day Two: The Bull
The weather had finally turned by the time we got into tahr country, and on day two we spotted a mature bull. The stalk came together, the shot came together, and just like that the bucket list bull was on the ground.
What surprised me, walking up to him, was how much bigger and more impressive tahr are in the hand than in any photo I’d seen. The mane drops below the belly, the coat has this almost golden-brown tone running through the dark, the horns curve in a way that doesn’t translate on screen. He was a magnificent animal. Bigger than I’d built him up to be in my head, and I’d built him up plenty.
That moment — sitting next to him on a rocky alpine bench in the Southern Alps — was the entire reason I made the trip.
Final Days and the Pack-Out
With the tahr tagged, the rest of the trip was about chasing chamois again. Tahr country and chamois country overlap, so we kept hunting. We saw more immature tahr and a handful of doe chamois, but we didn’t connect on a mature chamois buck. Time ran out, the helicopter came back in for pickup, and we flew out.
Back at the lodge, we cleaned gear, packed for the long flight home, and ate one more meal that I still think about.
What I Took Away
A few things stuck with me on that flight back to Colorado.
The country is more rugged than I expected. I knew the South Island was steep and remote on paper, but standing on those bluffs in the wet, you realize how much of New Zealand is country only fit for the animals that live there. People assume New Zealand hunting is easy because of all the estate stuff you see online. The free range version is a real, hard mountain hunt — physically demanding in a way that surprised me, and I’ve hunted plenty of mountain country.
Tahr are bigger and more impressive in the hand than on screen. Magnificent animals. If they’re on your list, the South Island in winter coat is the way to do it.
Tom is the real deal. Fifteen-plus years in that country, easy to spend two weeks with, knows his ground, and he’s a fun guy on top of being a sharp guide. Hunting with someone who actually likes being out there matters more than I think people give it credit for.
Going Back
That mature chamois buck is still out there. I’ve already started looking at the next window to go back. If you’re thinking about a New Zealand hunt — tahr, chamois, red stag, fallow, or all four on a slam — here’s what we put together with Tom for Western Obsession hunters:
- Free Range Bull Tahr — the hunt I just came back from
- Free Range Chamois — the one I’m going back for
- Free Range Red Stag — the roar in late March / mid April
- Combo & New Zealand Slam — any two species ($16,500, 10 days) or all four
Get on a call with us and we’ll walk you through the country, the seasons, and which hunt makes the most sense for what you’re after.
