Hawke’s Bay: Duck shooting competition still high between father and son after 35 years

As an eight-year-old, Jared Hartstone went to a secluded spot with his dad Mark on the first weekend of May, and learned a skill for life.

Duck shooting for the Hartstones is not just good
fun, good eating and good pest control – it’s reached the heights of family tradition.

Thirty-five years later, Jared was back in the maimai again on Saturday with dad Mark, now 66 but still a keen shot.

Jared, a Central Hawke’s Bay farmer and owner of Pure Sports and Leisure in Waipukurau, said it was a much-anticipated time of the year.

The pair were accompanied in Flemington by two other father-and-son duos – 15-year-old Gus and Ben Percival and Simon and Tony Coddington – all determined to keep the tradition alive and duck numbers down.

“We all have a bit of banter and yell out to each other across the dam,” Jared said.

“If someone does a terrible shot we let them know.”

Duck shooting season runs from May 4 to June 30 this year and allows hunters to shoot a variety of duck species on public and private land.

Eastern Fish and Game Officer Anthony van Dorp said the harvest had started in with relatively average numbers, with some doing better than others due to the fine weather.

“Over 65 hunters were spoken to with only one individual without a licence. There was a large number of family groups with a mix of all ages.”

The Hartstones did pretty well though. They shot 19 mallards, 20 paradise ducks and four spoonbills on their dam as well as having a good “catch up”.

They were situated on a dam in three hides (maimai) with a clear view of the ducks and each other.

Hartstone said he was hopeful for some rainfall rather than sunshine to entice birds on upcoming weekends.

Tom Winlove, a third-generation duck shooter, said preparations had started long before the big annual weekend.

The builder spoke to Hawke’s Bay Today on the eve of duck shooting from his hide east of Waipukurau.

He was set to spend the weekend with “two lots of third generation” duck hunters and said it was something he had loved to do since he was a child.

The 38-year-old targeted all waterfowl species, including mallards and paradise ducks and took a “co-ordinated approach” to the season.

“Usually we come here around Easter weekend and scrub up all the duck hides, and get them tidy, ready and camouflaged three weeks before opening.”

He said the key to a good duck hide (maimai) was a “comfy seat”, good visibility for shooting and something to hide any movement that may frighten the ducks away.

Winlove said duck shooting was an important part of New Zealand culture, and “it has carried on as a good way for us to get together.

“It’s one of those days you know you can go off into a wetland and enjoy that camaraderie with your mates and family away from all the stresses of life.”

Game bird licences and permits can be purchased online from Fish and Game.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.