Numerous countries have been called the utopia of waterfowl; the greatest place in which to hunt. Immense populations of birds, liberal limits and regulations, friendly farmers or local hunters, inexpensive license fees are some of the criteria by which great wing shooting regions are described. In years past Canada was the Mecca for duck and goose hunting. Recent years have lent credence that South America may be taking the top honors, but after hearing about New Zealand and the hunting opportunities that lay there, well the top honors may rest with the Kiwis.

I had the opportunity to chat with Buck Gardner about his recent trip to the New Zealand islands. As many know, Buck is a lifelong duck hunter and caller. A previous Champion of Champions, and the founder of Buck Gardner Calls, he resides in Memphis, Tennessee. Buck has had a business relationship in New Zealand for four or five years, shipping and selling his calls to dealers there. After much fanfare and pressure from one of his dealers, Dead Eye Dick’s, and a Kiwi cohort, Tracy Short, Buck made plans to travel nearly all the way around the globe to New Zealand for a business and pleasure trip.

Since New Zealand falls into another hemisphere, their winter (hunting) season is opposite that found in North America. This also helped create an opportunity since it is a slower season for Buck’s company and would allow him to be “AWOL”. Thus Buck and his son Brad, finalized plans for the trip which would take place the first part of May, 2010. Air travel can be expensive and time consuming at best. The Gardners flew from Memphis to Los Angles then spent thirteen hours on a plane flying from LA to Auckland, New Zealand. Once customs was cleared they were picked up by Tracy Short, Buck’s New Zealand contact.

As mentioned above this was to be a business trip which would allow for hunting as well. After greetings, Buck and Brad were off on the seminar tour. In seventeen days they managed to visit thirty sporting goods stores. Buck explained that there are no large “outdoor chains” as we have in the U.S. Instead there is merely a general sporting goods store in the larger towns that carries hunting and fishing items among its stock.

The local hunters were very interested in the information Buck presented at his seminars. Crowds ranged from a small group of one hundred attendees to a capacity crowd of four hundred hunters. Of course, the local TV news carried information about Buck’s travel further adding to the promotion(s). In typical Buck manner, he gave instruction on calling, hunting set ups, call choice and maintenance. Buck was impressed with the hospitality offered by the locals as well as their skills.

“What made the trip interesting was the country itself, “stated Buck. It seems there are no interstate highways and very few stretches of four lane roadways in New Zealand. “We traveled everywhere on two lane roads, which made traveling between cities for shows tough,” admitted Gardner. Incredible scenery and friendly, lively folks made up for the inconvenience of travel though.

“What I found out about New Zealand was amazing,” quipped Buck. “There are no natural predators there, (i.e. fox, coyote, skunks) so the animals have very little to control them,” he explained. Apparently, the common Mallard Duck and Canada goose were imported to New Zealand approximately five decades ago. Since there is no predation on them, the imported waterfowl began to thrive and flourish. Current populations are incredible and the corresponding bag limit is unbelievable! Hunters may take fifty (yes 50) Mallards daily and there is no limit on Canada Geese! In addition Buck mentioned that the local duck, Paradise Ducks, were plentiful as well and there was a liberal limit on them as well.

Of course, the craziness doesn’t end with the “super sized” limits. Apparently the means to take waterfowl are also ridiculous. “Baiting is allowed anywhere, as is multi (extra) capacity firearms and electric calling machines,” laughed Buck. Lead shot was legal in most regions, although some areas had a restriction specifying twelve gauge guns must shot steel shot. Buck stated that hunters then simply shot twenty gauge shotguns which were legal with lead! “Makes no sense to me” laughed Gardner, “but that’s the way it is.”

Now should those regulations appear liberal to us, then read further. In New Zealand, Canada Geese have no closed season PERIOD! Day or night, anywhere, anytime, it is legal to hunt geese. Heck it is even legal to hunt/shoot them from aircraft should the hunter choose to do so! Should the hunter have an automatic weapon; fine, that is legal for geese as well! Pretty much anything goes in New Zealand. In fact Buck stated that waterfowl do so much damage; there are areas where the farmers will occasionally pay hunters to kill them.

Once the seminars were done, the Gardners were able to finally partake in some of the exceptional duck hunting they had heard about. On the initial trip, Buck, Brad and another local hunter were the first hunters able to hunt an incredible area for the first time. “I think we had something like one hundred and sixty one ducks between the three of us,” exclaimed Buck. “It was insane,” he added. Great calling, being on the right spot and having a high capacity shotgun makes all the difference!

In addition to that duck hunt, the pair also sampled some fantastic Canada Goose hunting and Buck was invited on a unique privilege of a driven pheasant hunt. A driven pheasant hunt is apparently something of a gentleman’s sport. In fact, according to the dress code, Buck had to wear a jacket and tie and be accompanied by a pair of assistants. One fellow was the designated “loader” whose job was to ensure the hunter had a freshly loaded shotgun at all times. The other young man was the “spotter” who kept track of incoming roosters and called them out to the hunter. During the course of the hunt, which involved numerous paying hunters, there were a total of fourteen thousand pheasants released! “It was unreal,” quipped Buck, “how classy it was. Heck, we even ate fresh lobster that one of the hunters caught in the ocean after a morning hunt!”

Once the hunt ended, it was back on the road for another seminar in another town. Even though gear was expensive according to American standards, the residents began to appreciate the lure of waterfowl hunting and flocked to meet the American guests. Prior to their trip Buck stated that the Double Nasty and Canada Hammer were the top selling calls in the country. Once the shows ended, orders were placed for Spit Tech calls, the new Brad’s Reactor, and the Working Man series of duck and goose calls.

“We were treated very well,” admitted Buck. “The people were fantastic and enthusiastic to get tips and tricks of how we hunt ducks and geese back home. New Zealand was unique because in an hour or so, you could travel to the beach or into the mountains, depending on what direction you drove.” Apparently, the country and its citizens made quite an impact, as Buck told me, “next time I go back, I’ll take my wife and stay for several weeks!” Obviously, it will be during hunting season!!