A free range and fair chase hunt combined with crisp mornings and stunning days provided the hunters dream. James and his hunters parked up above the clouds for a four day hunt with the ambition of catching the elusive Himalayan Thar.

James guided three hunters and each were able to successfully harvest some spectacular trophy Bulls.

James’ preferred method to hunt these animals is to helicopter in and set up a tent camp, with a base high in the mountains and relatively central to the game animals and their chosen habitats.

Doug a Bird Hunter from the USA came out to incorporate a week of Bird Hunting with a month of sight seeing around New Zealand.

Doug’s goal was to hunt some of the species that are only available in New Zealand such as Paradise Duck, Black Swan and the Pukeko.

James utilised his large selection of North Canterbury farms to optimise the trips success and combine some outstanding scenery.

Doug enriched his experience by striking up a friendship with the local farmers, so much so that they joined us on our early morning hunts which provided some welcomed banter in the Duck blind.

A chuffed Charlie.

It was pretty special to see this familiar face once again walking towards me at the Christchurch International Airport. Charlie was here again to hunt the special Paradise Duck hunting season (North Canterbury has the longest summer season in New Zealand).

Having hunted the North Canterbury district for over 25 years James has premium access to the best spots.

Most days we captured our quota of Paradise Ducks and then moved onto Canadian Geese and Pigeon hunting. Canadian Geese can be hunted all year in NZ with no daily limit.

The Summer Paradise Duck season coincides with the grain harvest.

With a 5.30 am alarm Charlie would stay in the field all day, returning after dark. This year for the first time James and Charlie spent an evening deer stalking.

A flashback to 2020 with Charlie.

Upon each trip to New Zealand, Charlie hires Benelli Shotguns from James to streamline customs and the challenge of the Australian Gun Laws.

Bill’s patience paid off with this beauty.

James met Bill by one of those magical chance encounters in 2016 at the UK Game Fair, in February 2023 Bill enjoyed an action packed Summer hunt with James as his guide. 

Said patience in action.

Bill’s ability to adapt to New Zealand hunting conditions and his hardy attitude and hunting ability gave us many opportunities to go the extra mile, look around that next corner and stay on the hill all day.

A spectacular stalk through 300m of scrub put us in place for a 100m shot on this unsuspecting Red hind.

Closing out on a very successful days hunting with two Fallow Deer.

James met Gordon while working on a Scottish Grouse Estate. Gordon and his wife Debbie made the trip down under in January 2023 to experience some good free range New Zealand Hunting.

Team work.

We rented a holiday beach house central to some top locations for Hunting and Fishing. The hunt package included Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Wild Boar, Geese, Pigeons, Small Game and Fish.

Gordon with a Boar.

James utilised his contacts with farming friends to provide various different options, breathtaking scenery and locations for this hunt. This great range of options meant that we could work with the weather conditions and experience exceptional hunting on different terrains.

Trout was on the menu that night.

Gordon and Debbie worked as a team as we stalked past sixteen other deer to get into prime position, helped by favourable winds and a drifting fog, to harvest this Red Stag (pictured below).

Highlight of the hunt.

“My wife and I spent 4 fabulous days hunting with James in late January. We were looking for variety in our Kiwi hunting trip and James didn’t disappoint.
Truly professional and a top guide with plenty options for each day, depending on the weather.
From trout fishing and low ground bird shooting, to deer and wild pigs amongst some fantastic scenery!
Will definitely be back!”

— Gordon Peebles

It’s the ultimate reason why we love to hunt, to get outside, clear the mind and relax. Here is James pictured with client Pete’s successful catch, this trip is an annual event in October each year to celebrate the opening of the trout season with some additional hunting and tent camping.

Specialist bird hunters Charlie and Dan travel to New Zealand each year, Charlie has had five trips to take advantage of the New Zealand bird hunting, summer season.

In James’s hunting region they offer a special Paradise Duck hunting season for population control, this coincides with the grain harvest for farmers. A typical day involves early starts for set up then we are ready to shoot at 5am. The Paradise Ducks start arriving at daylight and are often accompanied with Canadian Geese. Please note there is no season for Canadian Geese, they can be hunted all year round.

With a daily limit of 20 Paradise ducks per Hunter, this is achieved most days. At about 9am the pigeons start to arrive and the middle of the day involves a well earned rest at the scenic beach house accomodation after which we set up for an evening Duck and Goose hunt.

An interesting option that can be included is an exhilarating Turkey hunt.

Nearly all of James’s Bird Hunt clients are repeat customers which speaks for itself.

John had an unforgettable experience and a stunning free range hunt - Tahr, Stags, Chamois and some wild goat eradication while heading to the North Island of NZ for a Sika Deer hunt rounded off the perfect trip down under.

Sam and Greg from Australia took this magnificent 15 point stag after an intense stalk to result in yet another successful hunt with James Gray Hunting & Fishing.

Father and son team, George and Gary captured the ultimate package of a Tahr, Chamois and Red Stag on this successful four day hunt.