Hunting mates will be exploring the great outdoors in the Western Bay of Plenty this week, with the Polaris 2015 Big Four Hunting and Fishing Competition starting today.

The ultimate hunting week will see men and women don boots and camo gear, with teams of four targeting a wild stag, wild boar, cock ring-neck pheasant and a trout from today through to Friday for Te Puna Hunting and Fishing Club's largest annual competition.

Deer hunters in the Polaris 2015 Big Four Hunting and Fishing Competition will be out to beat the tallies achieved at last year's event.

Organiser Shane Paterson says the competition is a great way for friends and family to spend time together in the great outdoors, with teams from NZ and Australia prepping for the big event.

'A lot of the guys will take the whole week off as part of their annual holidays and get together with their mates, hanging out and trying to bag the four species.

It's also a good way for the district's new rural residents to explore the lay of the land, make new friends and bag some fresh wild game.

'Although there are great prizes on offer, most teams are stoked to just get all four species.”

Individuals receive prizes for first, second, and third for the heaviest stag, heaviest boar, best pheasant and heaviest trout.

Teams which bag all four species are eligible for major team prizes, and could win a share of the $95,000 prize pool.

The first major team prize is $32,000 worth of Polaris 2014 4x4 quad bikes and second prize is more than $2500 worth of hunting gear for each team member from the suppliers of Tauranga Hunting and Fishing.

With a competition briefing this afternoon at 3pm at Te Puna's Top Shot Bar, hunting starts 6am today and runs to Friday, June 26, with weigh-in at Top Shot Bar on Saturday, June 27 from 11am-3pm followed by prizegiving.

The competition's base at the Top Shot Bar will have activities this Saturday, June 27 for the whole family, plus spot prizes and raffles. 'So head down and make a day of it,” says Shane.

To enter, visit www.tepunahuntingfishingclub.co.nz