This is my story
Born and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales Australia, Dave Byrnes came to hunting relatively late at the age of 22. This started with meeting Matt Hanson when they served their time together as apprentice electrical fitters. Two months in they had obtained their Firearms licenses and commenced a continuing journey of building skills in hunting, marksmanship, reloading and mateship. Two years later Dave’s brother Buster joined the duo and many adventures where shared. Initially it was shooting and spotlighting rabbits and foxes and progressed to chasing feral pigs and goats in the ranges of Sou-Eastern Australia.The drive and passion grew to hunting deer and dreaming to hunt in the mountains of New Zealand. With the advent and wide spread penetration of the internet and social media still over decade away New Zealand would wait till time, finances and opportunity intersected. In the mid 2000’s State Forests of New South Wales opened to limited public hunting thanks to extended efforts of a number of dedicated individuals – a long awaited triple bottom line win for hunters, the environment and taxpayers of the state. Like many others keen hunters Dave made forays into the public lands exploring the opportunities.
How a hunting podcast was born
In 2011, a chance conversation with a forum member on Australian Hunting Net, lead to an invite to head south to Victoria to hunt the mighty Sambar. Dave was successful in getting a year old spiker providing many kilos of prime free range venison on his first trip. The spoils of this hunt only reinforced the early thoughts of the benefits of wild harvested meat that had been taken from feral goats and a few young pigs in preceding years.
Hunting is about spending quality time in the bush, enjoying the solitude, sights, great food and a campfire with his closest friends and family. It is both a personal challenge and a means to cook with wild sourced meat.
In 2017 Dave reached another milestone, Bull Tahr (discover Dave's journey in his e-book “The Furnace”).
Since 2018, Hunting Arete has been working to improve the passion, the image and opinions of hunting by all those who participate and portray it.