Country Life heads to Pureora Hunting Competition

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A long-serving ranger, Scrimgeour explained the Pureora Forest Park was home to “some of the best podocarp forest left certainly in the North Island” – with many rimu and tōtara trees.

However, like many parts of New Zealand’s native vegetation, the park is also home to a wide variety of pest animals – goats, pigs and deer – which all threaten the native plant life.

The annual competition was started by DOC in 1988 and has been held every year since – minus a few gaps for things like covid-19. Started the year after the department was formed, the competition was designed to improve relations with hunters through an informal setting.

“One of the things that I’ve always valued about it is meeting hunters that spend time out in the bush, sharing information and learning from them,” Scrimgeour said.

“Hunters get out and about and see bits of the countryside that hardly anyone else does.”

Biodiversity ranger Melissa Jessen, who staffed the registration desk at the competion, “lives and breathes” hunting outside work.

She said she got into deer hunting over the past decade or so, having first started as a keen pig hunter taught by her father. Her daughter was now also getting into hunting.

Sophie Juno is another young woman hunter who learned from her father, Allen Juno.

Over 10 days this roar period, she traversed 52km of bush and ridgelines to nab herself a strong entry for the competition.

Like most hunters, she is conscious of the animals she takes and tries to aim for older animals.

She said she thought this year’s stag was older than one she had seen before, but having had its jawbone analysed, thought it was more likely the son of the stag she had sighted earlier.

He was likely the descendant of an escaped farm stag, which might explain the thickness and slightly more gnarled nature of the antlers.

Unfortunately this saw her penalised slightly through the Douglas scoring system which emphasises symmetry.

“It’s the sport. This roar I was trying to get this older one a couple of times and he kept just getting away from me. I didn’t get him but he’s there for next year.”

Sophie was also the competition’s current record holder, having brought in a stag in 2019 with a score of 364 ¼. This was only bettered by the stag brought in by W. Malone in 1953 which scored 379, and that was before the competition began.

This year’s winner was Elle Lamont who took out the top Douglas Score with a 12-pointer stag head which scored 294 ¾ – the highest score out of the 47 heads entered.

In the Junior Deer category, Lucy Waghorn came out on top with a Douglas Score of 249 ½..

Scrimgeour said it was “great to see women doing well once again”, after females won the deer competition in 2024 and 2019.

“We’re seeing more and more women getting into hunting and it’s great this is reflected in the competition results.”

He said the event was a great reason for people to get out in some amazing native bush and also contribute to wild deer management in Pureora Forest.

“A big thanks to everyone involved in the competition this year – not just the hunters who entered, but also those who helped out with measuring or at the recording centres or the prizegiving event, and to all of the sponsors.

“This is a real community event and relies on volunteers helping out, their time and effort is hugely appreciated.”

Learn more:

• You can catch Country Life’s early morning hunt with Allen Juno ahead of the competitionhere.