Call of the Wapiti By Ray Tinsley.

Publisher: AH & AW Reed, Wellington, 1979, First Edition.

Good hardback with jacket, no inscriptions. Brown cloth boards have some rubbing to edges and a couple of dints to bottom edge. Pages are very good with foxing to closed edge and minor marks. Jacket has some chipping and fading to spine. 146 pages, illustrated.

Deer are an introduced species to New Zealand, the first of the Wapiti breed being released in wild, wet and rugged Fiordland. at the south-west extremity of the South Islands, in 1905. As the herd grew so did the expectations of deer stalkers ambitious to add a Wapiti head to their trophies. The author caught the hunting bug early and soon graduated from an air gun to a borrowed single barrel shotgun before up-gunning to a "ladies" single-shot 22 rifle while later came a 303 rifle and serious deer stalking could begin. At first this was in the hills and bush near his home at Upper Hutt. With an easy and enjoyable writing style the author covers his early hunting exploits before visiting Fiordland in search of the Wapiti. This was to become his favourite hunting ground, often spending several weeks in this wilderness area. Gradually he lost some of his zest for the hunt, moderating his kills and spending more time studying the wild environment and the creatures inhabiting it. This transition is recorded as well as his many experiences on the hunt, his thoughts on conservation, of maintaining the Wapiti herd when there were those who sought to exterminate it. His stalking recollections and viewpoints are of value and interest as they cover the period when deer stalking evolved dramatically --- for instance reaching the hunting ground with light aircraft replacing foot-slogging and the advent of professional deer hunting from helicopters. Ray Tinsley presents a well-rounded story of hunting while also expressing doubts about the future of the sport in NZ.

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