Event Recap: Venture Huntfest 2026

Event Recap

Venture Hunt Fest 2026

Paddock to Plate

9 and 10 August, 9am to 5pm, in store

Venture Hunt Fest 2026 was a two-day in-store event on 9 and 10 August, 9am to 5pm. Hunters, shooters and survival people through the doors both days. Industry displays out the front and in the car park. The floor stayed busy from open to close.

We built the weekend around the full job, not just the gear wall. A week out, Tim hunted a red spiker for the kitchen. Then he and Liam went after Liam's first rusa. Those animals came back into the store so the crowd could watch the cape, the butcher's block, and a cook-up with Offgrid.

This recap follows that paddock-to-plate film. If you were there, you will recognise the floor, the marquee and the plate. If you missed it, this is what the two days were for.

Down Under Taxidermy wall packed with stag, buffalo, kudu and ram mounts, two men standing in front viewing the display — Down Under Taxidermy on the Huntfest floor. Mounts floor to ceiling, and two visitors taking a closer look.

Two-storey Huntfest store floor with mezzanine taxidermy including a zebra skin, Stoney Creek clothing racks, and a crowd browsing — The two-storey floor both days. Mezzanine taxidermy, Stoney Creek, and a crowd that did not thin out.

Introduction
The pre-hunt: Tim chases a spiker for the festival
A father-son mission: Liam's first rusa
Respecting the animal: cape, carcass, cold room
Caping for taxidermy with Marcus from Down Under Taxidermy
Paddock to butcher's block: Lawson from Nature's Perks
Wild food on the plate: James Vials from Offgrid Provisions
Field photos

Black inflatable Offgrid dome tent outside with a Home Butchery Gear banner in the Huntfest yard — Offgrid black dome outside, Home Butchery Gear on the banner. The kitchen end of the paddock-to-plate story, already on site.

Stacks of THE REPORT magazine on a black-cloth table — THE REPORT on the table. Stacks of it, covers readable, ready for the weekend crowd.

Wooden Tikka rifle racks with shoppers examining a black rifle and ammo boxes on the bench — Tikka racks and shoppers on the rifle wall. Great Deals on the signage, ammo on the bench.

Optics counter demonstration with Leupold cases, a compact optic on the bench, and faces around the table — Optics demo at the counter. Leupold cases, a compact glass on the bench, and faces locked in.

Indoor archery lane with a man at full draw toward yellow and green targets under green LED walls — Indoor lane, full draw. Yellow and green targets downrange, green lights on the walls.

The Pre-Hunt

A week out from Huntfest, Tim, founder of Venture, headed to a property that holds wild red deer and a solid population of rusa stags. The job was practical. Huntfest needed venison. The animals needed to be the right size for a kitchen, not wall-hangers for their own sake.

In the late afternoon, a lone red deer was spotted out on the flat. Tim settled in and made the shot. The recovery came next. He found the deer down the slope and dragged him up. A perfect little spiker. Good eating size for Huntfest.

Camouflage UTV in tall golden grass at last light with the driver looking forward — Camo UTV in the gold grass at last light. Out onto the property to find a deer for the festival kitchen.

Two hunters glassing a treeline with binoculars, rifle slung, chest harness on the adult — Glassing the treeline. Binoculars up, rifle slung, reading the country before anyone settles in for a shot.

Tim taking the shot from cover — Tim's shot.

Low-angle dusk silhouette of two hunters standing over a downed antlered stag on a ridge — Dusk on the ridge. Two hunters over a downed stag after Tim's hunt. Meat on the ground, pressure off.

The ride back out of the paddock had the usual mix of relief and good-natured rubbish talk. Someone offered the passenger a comfy seat. Someone else said he got to cuddle. Then the gear that had been sitting in a pack for a decade finally earned its place. "See this paracord? You buy that from Venture. You carry it around your bag for 10 years, never use it, and then all of a sudden it comes in handy."

Pressure off. Meat on the ground. With the festival venison secured, it was time to focus on the next mission. It was time to find Liam a deer.

Liam's first rusa

There is no bond like the one between hunting fathers and sons. Liam was keen to shoot his first rusa stag, and this property had the numbers to make that happen if they put the kilometres in. They went for a drive to read the country, then got out and walked.

The father-son duo set out through dry grass and scrub, working the wind and staying patient. The property's rusa stag population made the search promising, but the animals were not going to hand themselves over. The hunt made them earn it.

Mentor over a youth on a scoped bench rifle — On the bench before they walk.

Adult hunter and teenage boy in camouflage lacing boots on a wooden deck before the hunt — Boots on the deck. Adult and teen in camo, lacing up before they walk.

Two camouflage hunters walking through waist-high golden grass with a rifle on the youth — Tim and Liam on foot through waist-high gold grass, rifle on the youth. The stalking made them work for every step.

A live rusa in profile, alert in the dry grass. This is the animal they were looking for.

Young hunter aiming a scoped rifle off a sapling rest in golden grass, knife on the hip — Liam steadies up off a sapling rest. Scoped rifle, knife on the hip, gold grass and gums behind him.

Liam taking the shot from a tree rest, muzzle puff in the clearing — Liam's shot. Tree for a rest, and the puff as it breaks.

Liam made the shot. His first rusa stag, taken on his own terms after a hunt that asked something of him. Tim said it plainly: "First rooster. That was a good hunt, Liam." Liam's reply was just as straight: "Made us work for it."

Young hunter Liam kneeling in tall golden grass holding the antlers of his harvested rusa stag, adult hunter in camouflage standing alongside — Liam with his first rusa. Antlers in both hands, Tim standing alongside.

Liam leaning over the harvested rusa stag in the grass with his hands at the antler base — Liam leaning over the stag in the grass after the pose. Hands at the antler base, the work about to start.

Respecting the Animal

Taking an animal is only the beginning. To truly respect what you have taken, knowing how to look after the cape, break down the carcass, and make the most of the meat is just as much a part of hunting as pulling the trigger. Every step after the shot matters, and doing it well is how you honour the animal.

Both deer were field dressed on the property, carefully and without shortcuts. Cut the weasand out. Try not to puncture anything. You do not have to force the knife into the gut. Then the animals hung in a cold room for a few days before the festival so the meat would be in top condition for the kitchen and the demonstrations. Nothing from either deer was going to be wasted.

Camp that night was firelight, a young hunter in full camo, and the quiet that settles in once the work is done.

Open fridge trailer with a dressed deer hanging on the hook and two staff in orange caps standing beside it — Fridge trailer open, dressed deer on the hook. Orange-cap staff keeping the meat cold for the festival kitchen.

Night campfire with a young hunter in full camouflage and sparks lifting into a dark treeline — Night fire. A young hunter in full camo, sparks lifting into the dark once the work is done.

Night scene of hunters facing a tree hung with multiple stag racks and a hoist — Trophy tree at night. Racks hung, hoist in place, firelight on the timber.

Caping for Taxidermy

Back at Huntfest, the same animals became the teaching aid. First up was Marcus McCullawitz from Down Under Taxidermy, in front of a packed gallery under the marquee.

"I'm Marcus McCullawitz from Down Under Taxidermy. We're here showing people how to skin a deer for taxidermy. Hopefully this will give some of the hunters a bit of an insight into what they can do in the field and don't have to rely on a taxidermist and pay the extra money, and that they can sort of save a skin in the field a lot easier than they thought."

It is a lot to take in when you see a proper caping done for the first time. Marcus walked through every cut and explained the common mistakes hunters make in the field. By the time he wrapped up, the crowd was leaving with a clearer picture of how to save a trophy-class cape themselves, without having to hand the work off.

Demonstrator pulling the hide off a full antlered stag under a white marquee for a seated Huntfest crowd — Hide coming off a stag under the marquee. Marcus working the cape in front of a packed gallery.

Bloodied hands spreading coarse white salt on the flesh side of a deer cape — Hands salting a cape. Coarse salt on the flesh side, the work that saves the skin in the field.

Paddock to Butcher's Block

The butchering demonstration was delivered by Lawson from Nature's Perks, a hunter and butcher by trade who runs an education business centred on ethical hunting and full animal utilisation.

"We're an education business. It's what we focus on mainly is the education side of things. And we go on a meat hunt or a stag hunt and then we talk about how to hunt ethically. On top of that, we show you how to butcher, how to process, how to cape. I'm a butcher by trade."

Following Marcus's caping demo, Lawson took over with the carcass and processed the whole rusa stag on the bench. He showed every cut and explained how each one would be used in the kitchen. Shoulder, backstrap, silverside, trim. The whole animal accounted for, nothing left on the bones that did not need to be.

Between presentations, the trim from both deer went through a Carnivore Collective mincer on the festival floor. The crowd watched fresh wild venison mince fall into the bin, ready to be turned into sausages. None of this deer was being wasted.

Butcher in a Carnivore Collective apron with a knife, standing over a partially skinned carcass on a silver tarp under a tent — Carnivore Collective apron, knife in hand, carcass on the tarp under the tent. Every cut explained, nothing wasted.

Close-up of a stainless mincer extruding fresh wild venison mince into a white bin — Stainless mincer pushing fresh wild venison mince into the bin. From the paddock to the mince tray.

Wild Food on the Plate

The final chapter of the paddock-to-plate story belonged to James Vials, CEO and founder of Offgrid Provisions and an acclaimed chef with a deep commitment to wild and locally grown food. James took the venison from the butcher's block through the kitchen and onto plates shared with the Huntfest crowd.

"My name is James Vials and I'm the CEO and founder of Offgrid. We've been doing some recipes and lots of good cook-ups. We did a dumpling with a chilli crunch, and the dumpling had some wild venison through it. Local is best, wild is better. And we are big advocates for local food."

All of Offgrid is made locally with local farmers and growers, and the business is a massive advocate for wild harvested ingredients, meats, and plants. The wild venison dumplings with chilli crunch were a genuine hit with the crowd. For many people at Huntfest, it was the first time they had eaten wild game prepared by a professional chef.

Over the course of the weekend, those two deer went from the paddock to the butcher's block, through the mincer, into the kitchen, and onto plates shared by the community.

Rows of sausages on a flat-top grill with tongs and steam — Sausages on the flat-top. Steam off the grill, wild venison going onto plates.

Hands plating venison crostini with white sauce and chopped spring onion on toasted bread — Hands plating venison crostini. Dark meat, white sauce, spring onion going on last.

Close-up of hands pinching a pale dumpling closed — Hands pinching a dumpling shut. Wild venison in the filling, chilli crunch still to come.

Single dumpling in a paper bowl with chilli oil being finished from a spoon — Dumpling in a paper bowl, chilli oil on the spoon. The paddock-to-plate journey, finished.

Huntfest is about something bigger than any single hunt or any single meal. It is about bringing hunters together to learn, to share knowledge, to meet people who live the same lifestyle, and to celebrate everything that comes with the pursuit. The hunt in the field, the knowledge shared under the marquee, the community gathered around the plate. All of it sits in the same story.

Thank you to everyone who joined Venture for Huntfest 2026. We are already working on the next one.