Allan Foot, has been a keen hunter for over 30 years. Now residing in Hamilton, he grew up in the Manawatu with the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges on his doorstep, and spent 6 years working for the New Zealand Forest Service (now known as DOC) as a carpenter, which involved building huts such as Sunrise, Barlow’s and Rangiwahia Huts all in the Ruahine Ranges.
In the early days the main focus for hunting was for wild pigs using dogs. This involved many great, memorable trips with his cousin who introduced him to pig hunting. It took him to many different locations throughout the North Island, from as far north as Cape Reinga to the Southern Haurangis, just east of Wellington. His favorite area for pigs was the Wanganui and the Wairarapa regions.
Allan’s interest for pig hunting grew less and he became more focused on hunting deer. Red deer was the main species hunted, as there were reasonable numbers in the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges.
He then made numerous trips down South to hunt Himalayan Thar and Chamois, which produced nice trophies of both species. In between all this Allan got hooked on hunting Sika deer. This has been his main interest for many years. Having shot many Sika, which has also included numerous 8 pointers.
In more recent times his hunting/filming has taken him outside New Zealand to Australia, Japan and USA.
Filming Experience
Even in the early days of hunting, Allan had a keen interest in filming deer with his video 8 camera. Now his main interest is filming deer rather than shooting. As anyone who has tried to film deer will know, it is far easier to shoot deer than to film deer.
Allan wanted to be able to film animals in their natural environment without the influence of human activity.
This is where the video camera systems come in. These systems use modern electronics that are heat and motion activated, and a digital video as the recording device inside a waterproof case.
The camera systems have recorded some amazing video. Some of this unique footage is included in the DVDs: NZ Hunting Adventures Vol 1 and Vol 2.
