One of the most iconic hunts New Zealand offers is the Himalayan Tahr Rut. The sight of big, shaggy Bull Tahr, sidling across a snowy bluff is unrivaled. Add to this, the isolation that comes with being in the prehistoric feeling Southern Alps, a sense of exploration and freedom is truly vivid.
We’ve got some tips and a gear list picked by the experts to help make it a success.
You spend the majority of your time during the tahr rut climbing steep, mountain faces, as well as hours of glassing from frozen valley floors. This creates an extremely challenging scenario for regulating your body’s temperature. If you are not prepared for this, it can be fatal.
It is absolutely essential here, more than any other time, to set yourself up with a quality layering system. In snowy conditions, you will need 4 layers of quality high wicking fabrics and quality insulation to keep the cold off you. As the heat from the climb comes on you will need to strip layers back into your pack and wick (dry) away the sweat as quickly as possible so when you sit down again, your perspiration won’t stick to you and leave you frozen.
“If you're looking for an old bull with big horns, don't be fooled by first impressions.
During the rut period, the bulls have big impressive winter coats and they can puff themselves up to look like grizzly bears. This is as true for a 4 or 5-year-old bull just as much as 12-year-old. It is not uncommon to find giant looking young bulls, holding big mobs of nannies, strutting around like the biggest alpha on the mountain.
If age and big horns are your driving motivation, you quite simply need to be patient and get close. The easiest way to do this is with a quality spotting scope or at the very least some good binos. Don't be sucked in by body size and presence, take your time, get close, and inspect the horns before shooting. Sometimes the big 13", 10-year-old bull is the smaller looking guy hanging around the outside.”
ANDREW STURT | HUNTERS ELEMENT TEAM
The Core+ is a premium cold-weather base layer built for these specific conditions. This thicker base layer offers high-value weight to warmth which is so crucial, however, its most important job is to wick sweat, and this fabric is very, very good at this. In below zero temperatures, moving sweat away from direct contact with your skin is a lifesaver. This new synthetic fiber technology in the Core+ drives sweat rapidly from the inside to the outer and starts the process of moving the moisture through the subsequent layers.
A feature-packed hybrid that blocks 90% of the wind like an outer layer combined with the insulation and breathability of a mid-layer. The Legacy jacket will play a vital role in the Tahr Rut layering system. It can be worn directly over the base layer and help with quick-wicking while adding traditional mid-layer warmth. Typical softshell jackets have a windproof membrane in them, the Legacy does not. This means that it is able to breathe much faster. During the heat of the climb or midday in the sun, you can strip down to just the Core+ and Legacy jacket.
A “puffer jacket” is essential in winter Tahr country. Temperatures can live in the negatives and wind chill can be deadly. The Razor Elite Jacket utilizes the incredible warmth and lightweight insulation that down fill offers, with a durable and water-resistant outer to keep you warm and safe in the nastiest conditions. This jacket will be worn instead of, or in addition to the Legacy Jacket in the cold parts of the day as your primary source of warmth.
All this warmth and breathability will be useless without protection when the wind, rain, and snow drive-in. The Odyssey is ultra waterproof, durable, and packed with all the very best features to make the ‘shitty’ more comfortable. The long cut and articulated design are immensely useful while wearing multiple thick layers underneath, helping with freedom of movement and keeping your ass dry on snowy seats.
A continuation from the Core+ Top as discussed above, the leggings are form-fitted to hug tight to the skin so they can absorb sweat immediately and start drawing it away from the body. The long leg cut allows you to pull your socks up and over them to negate a cold spot.
Although your legs are closer to the ground than your upper body and spend more time wading through snow and wet scrub, they do not need as much insulation as the core of your body where your vital organs are housed. The Legacy trousers are the only mid-layer needed on your legs and will be worn all day in Tahr country. They provide premium warmth and breathability and have the added benefit of giant thigh zips to rapidly dump heat during the climb.
As with the Odyssey Jacket, the Odyssey trousers will be with you all day, every day during the Tahr Rut. They will be worn over your Legacy trousers in the morning to keep the wind out and the heat in. The full-length side zips mean that as the day warms up they can be quickly pulled off over your boots and stuffed in your pack. When the blizzard rolls in they can easily be pulled back on over the top. This is so important as undoing and taking boots and gaiters off on a snowy hill face is so impractical that you’ll put it off, and suffer the consequences once you’re wet.
The Southern Alps are in essence an enormous pile of broken stone, driven up from the earth’s crust and crumbling back down to the sea. This means you spend your days walking on hard, large, jagged rocks. You simply cannot do this with soft footwear. The Element boots are purpose-built alpine footwear for hunting in this terrain. The stiff footbed, thick leather and rand, high ankle support, and a heavy duty sole are only some of the necessary features required in such challenging terrain.
You need insulated, waterproof gloves on a Tahr Rut hunt, there are no two ways about it. Fingers are the first thing to freeze in hunting scenarios where they’re exposed to so much, all day they will be used as climbing aids, grabbing on to snow-covered grass and branches, and exposed to bitter wind while holding up bions and positioning spotting scopes. The Blizzards are hardened for the extremes that hunters will put them through and provide maximum warmth and dexterity.
If you’re not using binos all day long in Tahr country, you’re going to struggle. You’ll be pulling them up every five minutes which means they will have to travel on your chest. Add crappy weather to the equation and you’ll need to keep them protected. The Bino Defender is the cut to give you maximum protection for your glass, while being rapid to use and as slim-lined as possible to give you every millimeter of extra view for foot placement in dodgy terrain.
The open nature of Tahr country means you are continually doing internal maths and estimations on distances. The Rangefinder Defender works in conjunction with the Bino Defender to keep your rangefinder close at hand. A strong and quiet magnetic closure makes grabbing your rangefinder out and putting it away an easy, one-handed, no-look process.
Good gaiters are invaluable in this country. They serve a multitude of functions all at once. The Pinnacle gaiters are our premium gaiters made for high country hunting. They’re light and extremely tough while remaining quiet for stalking. They offer a layer of grunty protection against spear grass, scrub, shingle, and snow. This will protect your lower legs and boots and save you the absolute nightmare of having to undo your boots to empty them out.
Place the tape measure around the large part of your chest, usually just below the arm pits. Don't stretch the tape too tight. Align this measurement with the table below to help select your size. Outer layers are made larger to accommodate layers underneath.
SIZE
|
CHEST CM
|
CHEST INCHES
|
XXS
|
85-90
|
33-35
|
XS
|
90-95
|
35-37
|
S
|
95-100
|
37-39
|
M
|
100-105
|
39-41
|
L
|
105-110
|
41-43
|
XL
|
110-115
|
43-45
|
2XL
|
115-120
|
45-47
|
3XL
|
120-125
|
47-49
|
4XL
|
125-130
|
49-51
|
5XL
|
130-135
|
51-53
|
SIZE
|
CHEST CM | CHEST INCHES |
XXS | 85-90 | 33-35 |
XS | 90-95 | 35-37 |
S | 95-100 | 37-39 |
M | 100-105 | 39-41 |
L | 105-110 | 41-43 |
XL | 110-115 | 43-45 |
2XL | 115-120 | 45-47 |
3XL | 120-125 | 47-49 |
4XL | 125-130 | 49-51 |
5XL | 130-135 | 51-53 |
SIZE
|
WAIST CM | WAIST INCHES | INSEAM CM |
XXS | 71-74 | 28-29 | 78 |
XS | 75-79 | 30-31 | 79 |
S | 80-84 | 32-33 | 80 |
M | 85-89 | 34-35 | 81 |
L | 90-94 | 36-37 | 82 |
XL | 95-99 | 38-39 | 83 |
2XL | 100-104 | 40-41 | 84 |
3XL | 105-109 | 42-43 | 84 |
4XL | 110-114 | 44-45 | 85 |
5XL | 115-120 | 46-47 | 85 |
SIZE
|
WAIST CM | WAIST INCHES | INSEAM CM |
XS | 83-86 | 33-34 | 79 |
S | 87-90 | 34-35 | 80 |
M | 91-94 | 36-37 | 81 |
L | 95-98 | 37-38 | 82 |
XL | 99-102 | 39-40 | 83 |
2XL | 103-106 | 41-42 | 84 |
3XL | 107-110 | 42-43 | 84 |
4XL | 111-114 | 44-45 | 85 |
Place the tape measure around the largest part of your chest, the narrowest point on your waist and the just above where your pants normally sit on your waist. Don't stretch the tape too tight. Align these measurement with the table below to help select your size. Outer layers are made larger to accommodate layers underneath.
SIZE
|
CHEST
|
WAIST
|
HIPS
|
6 | 79cm / 31" | 70cm / 27.5" | 102cm / 40.2" |
8
|
84cm / 33"
|
74cm / 29.1"
|
106cm / 41.7"
|
10
|
89cm / 35"
|
78cm / 30.7"
|
110cm / 43.3"
|
12
|
94cm / 37"
|
82cm / 32.3"
|
114cm / 44.9"
|
14
|
99cm / 39"
|
86cm / 33.9"
|
118cm / 46.4"
|
16
|
104cm / 41"
|
90cm / 35.4"
|
122cm / 48"
|
18
|
109cm / 43"
|
94cm / 37"
|
126cm / 49.6"
|
20
|
114cm / 45"
|
98cm / 38.6"
|
130cm / 51.2"
|
All sizes are US men's sizing. Measure from the from the back of your heel to the end of your longest toe. Use your foot measurement to select the closest boot size.
US
|
FOOT LENGTH (approximate)
|
6 | 9.3 in / 23.6 cm |
7 | 9.6 in / 24.4 cm |
8 | 9.9 in / 25.2 cm |
9 | 10.25 in / 26 cm |
10 | 10.6 in / 26.8 cm |
11 | 10.9 in / 27.8 cm |
12 | 11.25 in / 28.6 cm |
13 | 11.6 in / 29.4 cm |
Measure the circumference of calves at the thickest point. The size on the chart is the largest measurement that will fit in the gaiter. Gaiters can be tightened, but cannot be stretched to fit legs larger than the measurements shown on the chart.
SIZE
|
CALF SIZE | GAITER LENGTH |
S
|
380mm | 415mm |
M
|
410mm | 415mm |
L
|
440mm | 445mm |
XL
|
470mm | 445mm |
2XL
|
500mm | 445mm |
SIZE
|
LENGTH CM | WIDTH CM |
S | 18 | 9 |
M | 19 | 9.5 |
L | 20 | 10 |
XL | 21 | 10.5 |