A classic combination of the timing of hunting's ''roar'', Easter Weekend and expected near-perfect weather for hunting in the Central North Island mountain ranges has placed hunters on danger watch as they head for the hills during the next few days.
Easter Sunday last fell on April 1 in 1956, and with the last days of March and first days of April and Easter weekends figuring prominently in deerstalking mishaps over the years and with both coinciding this year, large numbers are expected be on the hunt in such areas as the Kaweka, Ruahine and Tararua ranges, and Te Urewera.
The warning was loudest from Firearms Safety Council chairman and Kapiti Coast hunter Joe Green, who says the numbers of incidents in which hunters have shot fellow hunters, including their own mates, highlights the need for utmost precaution, including clearly identifying the target before firing.
About half the deer-hunting shootings in recent years have involved hunters shooting their own hunting companions and Mr Green said: ''If you're hunting with a mate and you become separated, stop hunting until you know where your mate is.''
In the 10 years from 2007 to 2016, 41 people were killed in hunting mishaps in New Zealand, 22 of them involving firearms. They included the March 31, 2016, Ruahine Range shooting of soldier Daniel Jordan by another hunter, later reported to have himself been concerned about the number of hunters in the area.
