A FILM CREATED BY THE HUNTERS JOURNAL
Behind The Film
We’ll do our best to introduce you to a man called Khan Adam. He’s been with The Hunters Journal from the start, so naturally we decided to bring the camera along on a couple of his adventures to show the start of his bow hunting career. This is just one small part we’re showing of Khan since he’s also a businessman, conservationist, hunter, husband and father. Like most hunters will understand, there’s a real balancing act when it comes to hunting because you’ve got your days at work, you’ve got to make quality time for the family, but you’re also trying to carefully use up those brownie points with the wife to lock in those big hunting adventures you spend every other week dreaming about. Khan has been hunting from a young age and he’s made a lot of incredible memories. Now with three young kids – two of them being hardy young boys showing a real interest in hunting – Khan is looking to inspire them.
There are always two sides when creating a hunting film: the hunter, and the cameraman. For me (Cam Henderson – the cameraman) I want to create a film for other hunters to enjoy, relate to and be inspired from. So I’m not worried about filming a trip that always shows a big trophy being shot – although that is what we’re always searching for. I find real value in a hunter taking an animal that’s a trophy in their eyes and on these particular trips, it’s one hell of a trophy for Khan to kill his first stag with a bow. But for Khan, filming these adventures is not just about him challenging himself, it’s also to inspire his kids to explore this lifestyle of being a hunter. And so here’s our film: made during the 2019 roar, and released during the nationwide lockdown from Covid 19. Enjoy.
Supported By
Khan and I went into this project with no sponsorship. We wore and used the equipment we wanted.
There wasn’t any compromise on gear for sponsorship dollars, and that’s really unique for a project like this.
One Planet
Khan and his One Planet McMillian pack… there really isn’t another pack that he would want to use. For Khan, what he wants in a hunting pack is comfort, simplicity and durability with no compromise. The McMillian is made from Waterloc canvas fabric with canvas bindings. This is where One Planet have made no compromise on the durability and strength of the pack while keeping it all water resistant. The Exact Fit Harness gives comfort and adjustability, and the design is simple yet thoughtful making it easy to strap a couple of stag heads on the back while holding 7 days’ worth of gear.
Crispi
Khans journey with Crispi actually started straight after this film. He was inspired to start wearing Crispi boots after hearing his brother Clay Adam rave on about his Crispi Titans the whole time we were hunting sika deer.
In the film you’ll see Khan in a pair of hard wearing Andrew Antelao boots, but since this film he’s been on many big adventures in his Crispi boots. What he prefers with the Crispi Hunter GTX is the fit and comfort straight from the box that has proven to keep over the past year. The test of time has proven to Khan that these are his ideal adventure boots: from the miles they’ve done in the alpine and the wet and rugged Fiordland, to the slow and steady bush stalks with the bow.
Wanaka Helicopters
We’ve gotten to know the crew at Wanaka Helicopters pretty well over the years. For me, when it comes to selecting a helicopter company to fly with I want to have complete trust in the pilots when it comes to their skills and experience but also their knowledge in what us hunters need. Wanaka Helicopters understand what us as hunters need and they offer great insight and knowledge into hunting areas and ballot blocks. For any adventures around Wanaka and South Westland, make sure you reach out to Wanaka Helicopters.
Go Native
If you haven’t tried the Go Native meals, order some right now and you can thanks us later. Before we found these we were having to eat dehydrated meals and getting back to the tent for dinner honestly felt like a chore. But with the Go Native meals you’ll find yourself tearing open the packet at the end and licking it clean.
Go Native meals are ready to eat and it just takes a couple of minutes to heat them up in boiling water. The biggest advantage with this is that you don’t need to carry extra water. The meals are slightly heavier than a dehydrated meal but you honestly save a lot of weight not having to carry an extra 400-500ml of water around.
