NZDA Hutt Valley Branch

Awesome having our mates from Kapiti Deerstalkers Club and their HUNTS students up at the Kaitoke Range today.

Great to see branches working together, sharing facilities and helping get the next generation of safe, capable hunters into the hills.

That’s what grassroots NZDA is all about — branches backing branches and hunters helping hunters.

Fi****ms Safety Authority NZ

🚲 AUGUST CLUB NIGHT — TOMORROW NIGHT! 🎯

We’ve got a cracking double-header lined up at the HVNZDA Clubrooms tomorrow night, Wednesday 19 August.

Emma and the team from MeloYelo E-Bikes will be onsite with their OffRoade electric bikes. Come along, check them out, ask plenty of questions and take one for a test ride. If you’ve wondered how an e-bike could help you cover more country and get your gear in and out of the bush, this is your chance to find out.

We’ll also have Al from Super Good Enough running a practical session on getting both you and your rifle properly set up and dialled in.

Al will cover rifle fit, shooting technique, reloading fundamentals, common problems and why they happen—plus bust a few of those myths that keep getting repeated around the range.

Got a rifle you’d like Al to use as a practical example? Bring it along and we’ll see if we can get it properly set up to suit you... all rifles in a secured case team, unloaded (obviously) chamber flag... no bolts please!

🏆 LAST CHANCE FOR CLUB COMP ENTRIES!

Tomorrow night is your final chance to enter your heads and photographs in this year’s Hutt Valley Club Competitions.

Michael will be onsite to Douglas score any last-minute heads, and entry forms will be available for the Photography Competition, which has more than $1,000 worth of prizes up for grabs. Prizes will be presented at our October Club Night.

🐐 GOAT COMPETITION ENTRIES

We’re also an official recording point for the 2026 National Wild Goat Hunting Competition, so bring along your goat tails and get them entered. One tail gets you into the draw, and the more tails you enter, the more chances you have to win some seriously good gear. Department of Conservation

Tails must be presented fresh or frozen, clean and secured in a bag. If frozen, please keep them loose rather than frozen together so they can be easily counted.

🎁 DOOR PRIZE

There’ll also be a cracking door prize up for grabs, thanks to Graeme and the team at Hunting & Fishing New Zealand, Hutt Valley—so make sure you’re there to get your name in the draw!

📍 HVNZDA Clubrooms
Te Kupenga o Rongomai Maidstone Sports Hub
11 Railway Avenue, Upper Hutt

🚪 Doors open: 6pm
🍺 Bar opens: 6.30pm
🍕 Pizza: 7pm
🎯 Meeting starts: 7.30pm

E-bikes, rifle set-up, club competitions, goat tails, pizza and a great door prize—there’s plenty happening, team. Public and new members all welcome.... See you there!

Fi****ms Safety Authority NZ

📸 MEMBER SPECIAL – RIDGELINE 4K TRAIL CAMERAS

Here’s a cracking little deal for Hutt Valley members!

Todd and the team at Catchphrase Promotions have offered our members the Ridgeline 4K Digital Trail Camera for just $135 including GST, plus $7 postage.

These are a handy bit of kit — up to 24MP photos, 4K video, fast 0.4-second trigger, 20m night vision, built-in 2" colour screen and up to 8 months standby time.

Perfect for keeping an eye on that game trail, checking what’s wandering around your hunting block, or even a bit of security around home or the bach.

$135 + $7 postage — member special.

If you’re keen, flick Todd an email at [email protected] with your details and order direct.

Cheers to Todd and the Catchphrase team for looking after our members!

🐐 ARE YOU THE GOAT HUNTER FOR 2027?

The National Wild Goat Hunting Competition is back for 2026—and there is a seriously good prize pool up for grabs!

🔥 $3,000 in Hunting & Fishing NZ vouchers
🔥 Nocpix thermal monoculars
🔥 Bushnell rangefinders, riflescopes and binoculars
🔥 Tatonka hunting packs
🔥 Svord knives
🔥 Ledlenser lighting
🔥 Plus plenty more!

Entering through Hutt Valley is easy. Bring your goat tails along to any of our monthly club nights, or bring your heads in to be measured and entered into the trophy categories. You don’t need to be an NZDA member to enter.

Get out with your mates, fill the freezer, help knock back wild goat numbers—and put yourself in the running for some bloody good gear!

Hutt Valley NZDA is proud to be working alongside the Department of Conservation on this great hunter-led conservation initiative.

Full competition details, rules and entry information are available in the link in the comments 👍

The competition runs from 1 August through to 26 November. Get amongst it!

Department of Conservation

Monthly Range Workshop – This Saturday at Kaitoke Range Complex 9am-11am

Good bu**er Al from Super Good Enough Custom Ammunition Services and part of our volunteer range team will be on hand helping members get rifles dialled in, talking loads, sorting out issues, and helping people get the best out of their setups.

Garmin chronographs available and plenty of practical knowledge getting shared around the firing line.

Whether you’re experienced or just starting out, these workshops are a bloody good chance to sharpen things up, learn something new, and spend a few hours with good people.

9am–11am
Kaitoke Range Complex

Don’t forget — you’ll need your range access sorted beforehand as the gates will be locked.

Bloody good effort, Nicole McKee MP We know how much hard work, determination and personal commitment you’ve put into getting this across the line. A huge thank you from all of us at the Hutt Valley Branch for continuing to stand up for New Zealand’s licensed fi****ms community.

The Arms Bill has just passed it's final reading in Parliament. I gave my final speech on this Bill wearing the korowai that was gifted to me by the Council of Licenced Firearm Owners when I first entered Parliament six years ago.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this Bill and supported me all this time.

A good day at the clubrooms on Sunday with the HUNTS team and a bunch of branch members knocking over their First Aid refresher.

One of the best things about being based at Te Kupenga o Rongomai Maidstone Sports Hub is having access to the fantastic training facilities. The training rooms were spot on 👍

A big thanks to the team at Te Kupenga o Rongomai for getting everything set up for us.

You can never have too many people in a hunting party who know what to do when things don't go to plan.

Keep an eye out too. We've got some specialised first aid courses coming up for branch members, so there'll be plenty of chances to sharpen your skills.

There are still limited spaces left for this years HUNTS course. The links in the comments team 👍

Big thanks to our HUNTS 2026 sponsors

Hunting & Fishing New Zealand, Hutt Valley Department of Conservation Fi****ms Safety Authority NZ

Another bloody good monthly club night 👍

A massive thanks to Dave and the team from Garmin for making the trip up and sharing with us all their cool kit. It was a great look at the range of Garmin gear, with plenty of good questions from the floor, some great giveaways, and a few laughs along the way.

It was also great to see another packed clubrooms. It's always good catching up with familiar faces, meeting a few new members, talking hunting, and swapping stories over a slice of pizza.

A big thanks to everyone who came along and helped make it another top night. It's nights like these that remind you what a strong branch we've got.

See you all next month team 👍

Te Kupenga o Rongomai Maidstone Sports Hub Garmin Australia & New Zealand