Welcome to jacks and bucks!

Welcome to the first article of Jacks and Bucks! I ran an Instagram page for a year- it got a bit of a following but it became pretty apparent that a lot of other people were doing the same as me. I was trying to find a point of difference, and I ran a few ideas in my head, but it all seemed generic. Now I think I have figured out something, and I feel it will be of benefit to all kiwi outdoorspeople. A lot of people will agree that the hunting and fishing community can be quite divided- partly because of the diverse range of different kinds of hunting or fishing that can be undertaken. The other reason is we are all a little defensive of our favourite spots- as we are all acting to harvest a public resource, this can create rivalry. Everyone knows this and while favourite spots are better left a secret, we can all help each other out in other ways. What I am trying to do with Jacks and Bucks is to create an online presence of hunters and fisherman where people can read stories, how to’s and anything outdoors related. There are some amazing people that love our way of life and I would like to showcase them as well. Contributors are always welcome. You don’t have to be a talented writer; we can always proofread and edit. If you have something you think is of interest contact me.
Now I may bore you with my background- a way of introducing myself, I guess. I’m James Kinsman, and I’m an Agricultural Science student at Lincoln University, Canterbury. I was born into a modest farming family in South Canterbury and was introduced to hunting from a very young age. I had it in my blood- my father is a keen hunter, as well as my great uncle. I was lucky enough to have my father as a mentor from a young age. My first memory was probably before I hit double digits- dad gave me his old slug gun from when he was a young fella. It didn’t work, it couldn’t fire any shots. That meant it could not harm anything or anyone. He gave it to me to get familiar with and he never let me point it at any person, or anything I was not intending to shoot. He drummed it into me pretty well. While at the time, I imagined shooting big stags with it, it was teaching me valuable lessons. Its pretty built into me now, and I do not take any chances with firearms safety. If I think someone’s being careless, I’ll let them know about it. This progressed onto shooting tin cans with dad’s BSA .22. It had open sights, and I started off shooting tin cans with it. My mother always reminds me of the time she had a go for the first time and hit way more than me. Apparently, I wasn’t happy! I then shot my first hares on the farm and I was pretty interested by then. It helped we had my great uncle’s trophies all around the house and I took an interest in them. The first thing I wanted to shoot was a bull Tahr, I thought the coats on them were amazing. While we never had much growing up, a farm with hunting was all that was needed. Things really took off for me when my sister did the NZDA HUNTS course (Hunter National Training Scheme). Dad brought a .223 and told me we could shoot deer and what not with it. I was wrapped! My sister did the HUNTS course but never really showed any interest after that. I shot my first deer when I was eleven (we also had Fallow deer on our farm, something I am very privileged to). A while later I enrolled in the NZDA HUNTS course myself and was hooked on it. I was always doing little jobs around the house to save up for some hunting gear, and we went on numerous hunting trips. We never had much growing up, but my parents did all they could to make sure we had the best upbringing, putting us before themselves. I am very grateful for that. I learnt the value of hard work from a young age and as my old man was always busy working on the farm or taking me hunting, that became the only way to spend time with him. At around age 14 I went to boarding school, which cut down on my hunting time.
A lot changed when I had started high school. I’ll never forget the morning I got called to go to the office and talk to my parents. I thought I was in big trouble, but no it was something way worse. “The house has burnt down. We’ve lost everything”. All our gear, deer heads and the lot. Gone in an instant. It was tough mentally to get through, but it makes you realize what is important in life. While possessions are nice to have, they’re not really important. Looking back, I don’t miss my old hunting gear, but I do miss the sentimental things. Things like my first buck, all that sort of thing, but the main one was my great uncle’s trophy collection. It had a trophy of every game animal in the South Island- a particularly good Whitetail, and heads which by today’s standards are phenomenal. He died before I was born so I never got to meet him, but I’d hear stories about him all the time. A lot of old photographs as well from the previous hunting generation, as well as my dad’s trophies. Then again that’s not even important, people are what’s important. My dad and sister who were in the house at the time were damn lucky to get out alive, and that’s more important than anything else lost. Its one of those things in the family that’s bottled up and not talked about too much, but shit happens. We did bounce back and built a new and better house, and replenished our hunting gear, and I even got a couple trophies now.
In my gap year (between high school and university) I was lucky enough to go to Canada and do a hunting guide course in the Yukon, and work for a season as a guide in British Columbia. This was a fantastic experience and a big learning curve, something I might talk about in subsequent articles.
I’ve always had an interest in fly fishing; however, I’ve lacked a mentor. Dad has always been keen on it but hasn’t had the spare time to get good at it. A lot of the battle is sussing out spots and keep going back to them, and I’ve caught a few fish over my time but never been much good at it. What I love about fly fishing is that you’re always learning, always things fish do where you learn a little more. The day I stop learning is the day I’ll stop fishing. I like the tranquility of it as well, I like having time to myself every now and then. On Jacks and Bucks I hope to get a fishing aspect of it going, with experienced and knowledgeable fisherman contributing. This is one area I see a lack of online presence, in New Zealand Political issues have shadowed this sport for a while, so the more people doing it the more of a voice we get.
Thanks for reading this (hopefully you’re still reading, and I haven’t bored you!). I hope to get a range of content going from different contributors, showcasing a range of topics. As said previously, if you’ve got something you’d like to contribute, don’t hesitate to contact me. Content from people like yourselves is what will keep this website going. I see it very useful for in times when we can’t get into the outdoors ourselves. Come to Jacks and Bucks and you can read up on a range of outdoors related topics! Thanks for the support.

He aha te mea nui o tea ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tanagata, He tangata, He tangata
It is people, it is people, it is people. Maori Proverb. 

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