Backcountry New Zealand Brings Its Private, One-Party Hunting Experience to SCI Nashville 2027
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Family-owned Canterbury outfitter to exhibit at Booth 3130 and showcase a US$37,000 New Zealand Red Stag experience in SCI’s prestigious Wednesday Night Auction
CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND — November 2026 — Backcountry New Zealand Outfitters will bring its highly personal approach to New Zealand trophy hunting to the 55th Safari Club International Annual Hunters’ Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, January 20–23, 2027.
Owned and operated by Nigel and Myriam Birt, Backcountry New Zealand has been hosting international hunters in Canterbury on New Zealand’s South Island since 1998. At the heart of the operation is a deliberately different model: one hunting party at a time.
Rather than rotating multiple groups through guides, lodges and hunting areas, Backcountry builds each week around the people who have travelled to New Zealand to hunt with them. The guides, vehicles, accommodation and daily hunting plan are shaped around that party, the conditions and the experience they have come to New Zealand to enjoy.
Visitors to the SCI Convention can meet Nigel and Myriam at Booth 3130.
“New Zealand already has an outstanding reputation with American hunters, so we don’t believe our job is simply to offer another red stag hunt,” said owner and outfitter Nigel Birt. “What we want hunters to understand is how we hunt and how we look after people when they get here. Your party is the party. We have the flexibility to slow things down, change the plan when the conditions change, spend time looking at animals and make the week genuinely personal.”
Where Giant Red Stags Roam
Red stag hunting remains the flagship Backcountry experience.
The Birts have spent decades developing and managing their hunting country with long-term trophy quality in mind, creating opportunities for hunters seeking mature New Zealand red stags across a range of trophy classes, including exceptional high-end animals.
Backcountry’s red stag hunting is complemented by genuine South Island alpine hunting for Himalayan tahr and chamois, together with opportunities for fallow buck, Arapawa ram and other New Zealand species. Hunts can be built around a single trophy, combined into multi-species itineraries or tailored for couples and private groups wanting to experience more of New Zealand.
For Nigel and Myriam, however, the animal is only part of the reason clients return.
“A successful hunt matters enormously, but so does everything around it,” said Myriam Birt. “The landscape, the meals around the table, having time with our guests and showing them our part of New Zealand are all part of the experience. Many of the people who arrive as clients leave as friends.”
That philosophy is reflected in the company’s positioning:
Private Land. One Hunting Party at a Time.
It is an approach built over decades, not seasons.
A New Level of New Zealand Hunting
At SCI Nashville, Backcountry will also showcase its expanding premium offering for hunters and companions looking to combine private hunting with some of New Zealand’s finest accommodation and aviation experiences.
Working with Flockhill and GCH Aviation, Backcountry can create tailored itineraries combining trophy hunting with luxury accommodation in the Southern Alps and selected helicopter access.
That experience will receive particular attention at SCI in 2027.
Backcountry New Zealand’s US$37,000, 100%-donated hunt has been selected by Safari Club International for its prestigious Wednesday Night Auction.
The auction package provides one hunter and one non-hunting companion with a 5-day/5-night private New Zealand Red Stag hunt for a stag up to 500 SCI. The experience includes 1x1 professional guiding, four nights of luxury accommodation at Flockhill, one night in Christchurch, specified helicopter flights with GCH Aviation, meals and standard beverages during the Flockhill stay, airport and ground transfers, hunting permits, use of an outfitter rifle and field preparation.
The hunt is scheduled for mutually agreeable dates in May 2027 or May 2028, with opportunities for the successful bidder to extend the experience, upgrade to a larger Red Stag or add additional New Zealand species.
The donation will appear as Auction Item 51404, Wednesday Night Auction Slot 22, and will receive additional exposure through SCI’s Evening Auction programme and live and online auction channels.
“We wanted our SCI donation to represent what New Zealand can offer at its very best,” Nigel said. “A world-class stag is obviously central to it, but combining the hunt with Flockhill, helicopter access and the privacy of having the experience shaped around one hunting party creates something very special. We are proud to donate it to SCI and support the work the organisation does for hunters and hunting.”
New Zealand, Personally Hosted
Backcountry New Zealand’s appearance at SCI Nashville comes as the outfitter expands its presence in the United States while retaining the deliberately small and personal operating model that has defined the business since 1998.
Nigel and Myriam remain closely involved with clients before they leave home, throughout their hunt and after they return. For an American hunter planning what may be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand, that direct relationship is an important part of removing uncertainty.
From airport arrival in Christchurch to trophy selection, accommodation, meals, rifles, additional species, non-hunting companions and post-hunt travel, the objective is simple: make New Zealand easy to experience without making the hunt feel packaged or impersonal.
“We are not trying to become the biggest hunting operation in New Zealand,” Nigel said. “We want to be one of the most personal. We want to know the people who are coming, understand what they want from their hunt and have the freedom to build the experience around them.”
Hunters attending the 2027 SCI Convention are invited to meet Nigel and Myriam Birt at Backcountry New Zealand Outfitters, Booth 3130, to discuss Red Stag, Himalayan Tahr, Chamois, combination hunts and private luxury hunting experiences in Canterbury.
Private Land. One Party. World-Class Trophy Hunting.
About Backcountry New Zealand Outfitters
Backcountry New Zealand Outfitters is a family-owned hunting outfitter based in Canterbury on New Zealand’s South Island. Owned and operated by Nigel and Myriam Birt, the business has hosted international hunters since 1998 and specialises in private, fully guided Red Stag and alpine hunting. Backcountry hosts only one hunting party at a time, providing personally tailored hunts, private accommodation, genuine New Zealand hospitality and trophy opportunities including Red Stag, Himalayan Tahr, Chamois, Fallow Buck and Arapawa Ram.
Backcountry New Zealand Outfitters Canterbury, New Zealand Website: www.backcountry.co.nz Email: mail@backcountry.co.nz Phone/WhatsApp: +64 21 644 507 SCI Nashville 2027: Booth 3130
Media enquiries:Nigel & Myriam Birt Backcountry New Zealand Outfitters
+64 21 644 507
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