Some of the 56 juniors who received prizes on the day.
Some of the 56 juniors who received prizes on the day.
With 137 hunters registered from as far away as Pukekohe, Turangi, Hawke's Bay and Wellington, the owners of Merrylees Hotel in Dannevirke, Nicola McLean and Dan Phillips, were delighted with the response to their inaugural "Wild Buck Hunt".
Hunters were invited to shoot from Thursday to Saturday and taketheir trophies to the weigh-in by the Merrylees Hotel on Saturday from 1pm-3pm.
There were up to $9000 of prizes at stake, cash and goods for the trophy winners and sponsored spot prizes, including a rifle which was won by Kenny Smyth.
The 52 children who entered were all rewarded for their rabbits, possums and hares, as well as winning spot prizes.
Many, like the Walker and Fleming children, had gone out with their dads.
Owahanga Station's Crew brought in an impressive four stags, five boars, numerous goats' heads and too many possums to count.
A large and curious crowd collected to watch the entries being delivered by the ute-load and after the prize-giving those who did not want their deer and boars back had them processed into sausages by John Shannon of Dannevirke Meats and donated to the St Vincent de Paul Foodbank for distribution.
"Those animals gave up their lives," said Mr Shannon.
