4WD and camping set ups

[Homer]

G'Day Fella's,

How about showing us, related images of your 4WD and camping set ups.
Here are some of mine.

Well, first you need to get there. Here's the Battle Cruiser in transit ......

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Nearly there, just had to stop for a Hot Shower.

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Finally, at one Winter time camping sites, in Sambar country.

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The easily accessible part, of the Battle Cruiser.

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Here you can see how I have camp set up, but I can still drive off for the day, to other hunting locations.

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Here is a Summer time, overnight stop set up (note rechargable LED lighting).

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Different tarp, and for a Wet Camp.

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You know your in Deer Hunting country, when there are Rub Trees, in sight of camp.

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As you maybe able to see, I like to travel Light but I don't go without the essentials.
It would be interesting, to see how you blokes do it?

D'oh!
Homer

[Potatoes]

I don’t have pics but packing all those essentials in a lightweight setup is the go. One of the best hing i made was a solar powered battery box. Runs leds, charges phones, cameras, Etc. and i even use it to run a little fan in the tent in summer. A cheap pop up 3x3 gazebo is pretty nifty too for shade a camp kitchen. Another handy thing that weighs f all is square bit of shade cloth from bunnings as a ground matt. The water, sand and dirt falls back though it. But by far the best investment i have made is the reclining lounge chair for that all important arvo nap when the day drinks catch up with you.

[Oldbloke]

Just took this pic. Lol
Solar only 40w. So just helps to keep the fridge going.
I like KISS.

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[Homer]

G'Day Fella's,

Good to hear/see Potatoes and Old Bloke.

Yes traveling lite is a No-Brainer, it also helps to simplify things, and makes it easier to remember, all the essential thing you really need to take.

D'oh!
Homer

[Blr243]

MOBILE HUNTING AND LIVING

[Blr243]

Front box contains a massive battery linked to the quad battery this will run chargers for my thermal equipment batteries and iPad It will run my fridge too if I needed to do an extended stay somewhere... on first day of hunt I can use my quad to drop fuel and water to central locations if the property is huge. But mostly I just do all nighters. So pre frozen drinks and food are easily stored in front rack or top rack. Top rack is just an old bow case ... ally rack on back contains mattress pillow bedding and tarp in case of rain ... front rack also contains a tyre pump that is already set up so I just have to pull out the retractable air hose and flick a button to turn it on ... front and side rifle rests allow 180 degree shooting . No windscreen means I can scan 180 degrees with thermal Binos. No windscreen also means I winge and cry like a girl in winter time

[Blr243]

Ammo , empty cases and other random stuff sit in milk bottle rack near my right hand steering lever. Custom fitted led light bars at the front. One is bright white light for fast track travel. The other is soft red glow angled down to illuminate only the part of the track I need to see. (for slow hunting and scanning ). Both these light bars are independently switched. No bugs ever hit my face when only the red light is on. This is a huge benefit. The door to my dog cage folds down at 45 degrees and is lined with carpet so my dogs access is easier and prevents slipping and injury. I carry tons of water in the summer months in case I ever break down. For our safety There s a good amount of very visible highly reflective tape on all four surfaces of my quad to make me easily seen by other spotlighters that may be in the area Best thing of all ...... it starts first go any time of year. Super reliable. Winch is on the front. Only had to use it once. I can climb on top of the bow case if I ever need more height while scanning Can carry quite a few animals on front and back racks bespite only 250 cc. Small motor also keeps the speed travelling to sensible 40 k levels minimising likelihood of accident. I’m too old to be flung thru the air

[JimTom]

Well that is quite the set up you have there mate. Sounds like it has everything you need, that’s what matters. Looks like something off Mad Max me thinks.

I just run my Ute, a tarp, swag, small table, fridge, and a box containing cooking, cleaning gear etc. have water tank and tool box on my Ute. Will prob thin this out now and become more mobile as I start to get onto my thermal rig.

[Blr243]

JT. Made a move yet towards another scope purchase ?

[Blr243]

I should also add that on my quad I have a safe secure iPad mount so I can see the screen as I’m driving hands free. Usually it’s on google earth so I can see exactly where I am in the middle of the night when operating with no lights. .....I did try mounting my thermal binos on top of the dog cage pointing fwd and I had a lever so I could use my left hand to slide the binos left and right for more thorough scanning. It sent a vi fi signal to my iPad for easy on the move viewing ,,,,, but I ended up finding a more flexible thorough method by having the binos slung around my neck and just grabbing them for a quick scan whenever and wherever. Super important to do this intermittent ly and carefully and slowly when driving at night without lights. Good tracks and care a must. Too many water filled irrigation ditches to drive into So far I have been doing it for more than fifty nights without incident

[JimTom]

JT. Made a move yet towards another scope purchase ?

Hey mate I ended up with a Pulsar Thermion XP38. Ended up upgrading mate to a better model. Haven’t had a chance to use it yet. Looking forward to getting back from work so I can try it out.

[Blr243]

Awesome , glad u have it sorted. Hopefully some game will play the game and you can use the scope on your first hunt with success .....I can still rem my first thermal pig. If you get super trained up with practice on the buttons you might actually remember to film your first pig. Can’t rem if I did or not ......

[JimTom]

Haha yeah I will see how I go. I think the Thermion has recoil activates video. Will have to read up when I get back.

[Blr243]

Jt. U may or may not have heard of TAP, RACK BANG , it’s an auto pistol malfunction technique that is basically repetiouus training if done often enough allows you to function fast and effective in auto pilot mode when under stress. Basically you function automatically without having to think about each step ..... I have made up my own terms of sequence to help me stuff up less esp if I have to operate fast or under stress. I call mine LEGS, DOWN MAG RECORD SAFETY ......I don’t have to physically practice all the moves but if I just say it over and over plenty of times that is enough to ensure I stick to the plan. So if I stuff up and I have a ton of pigs running right at me or if a big boar looks like he’s about to bolt and I panic , or if one is circling around and about to wind me these are times when I start to lose my cool and I might malfunction. Mostly In these exciting situations I will realise later that I did not record something special ... and that’s a big disappointment...... Hunting with conventional old fashioned glass scope needs no planning it’s just point and shoot. So if I’m in the final stage of a stalk and my scope is turned on and I have one in the chamber , it’s LEGS fold down bipod legs /DOWN lay down /MAG. Use buttons to adjust magnification to suit current situation /RECORD remember to hit the record button/ SAFETY quietly ease the safety off .... so in the heat of the moment , as long as I remember LEGS DOWN MAG RECORD SAFETY , the pig will not escape and I can be confident that I have filmed it for later viewing no matter how exciting or fast or stressful the situation. And you can obviously make up your own word plan for the type of hunting environments you hunt in I had a boar run at me in the dark once because he saw the scope light glow on my face and he wanted to come see what I was , another time after I fired a shot another boar ran straight my way and ran into the end of my barrel as I was trying to reload, Another time this real huge boar wandered out in front of me real close and he was walking real slow but just his size rattled me so much I become a wobbling mas of jelly struggling to operate my rifle ......I love not knowing what might happen on a hunt , Every night is always going to b different

[JimTom]

Nice one mate. I know what you mean with those drills. Spent quite a number of years in the military and they do work for sure. I remember reading your post about the boar running into the end of your rifle. That would get the hackles up and adrenaline pumping for sure. Really looking forward to the transition into night hunting. I do however wish I had someone who was also into thermal to teach me a bit and someone to hunt at night with.

[Blr243]

I don’t think adjusting to or beginning thermal hunting will pose any issues. I think you will slip into it like croc into a mangrove creek on a hot day ........ back when I was bowhunting I mostly always had mates on a trip. I was not concerned that when we split up into diff areas they might shoot me or embarrass me by accidentally shooting stock . So we just hunted without issues for many years. As soon as firearms comes into it I seriously up the care and caution. I need solid people that can function safely and keep it together if it gets hectic and they need the same in me ..... and then doing the same with more than one hunter with thermal when nobody has head torches on and there’s a real potential for pigs running left or right in the dark and no peripheral vision around the outside of the scope. the level or care, communication and planning goes absolutely thru the roof. I actually love the fact that I hunt solo it’s so stress free. None of my thinking , or care , communication and planning involves another party. I think that I can hunt much more efficiently when it’s just me vs the pigs and foxes ....I love being out in a dark paddock by myself at night I’m able to fully immerse myself and connect with the wild and become a natural part of it with nothing upwind of me being aware of my presence if I keep movement and noise to a minimum.... I can give the pigs and foxes 100 per cent of my attention .....hunting solo for a while I think will arm you with the best possible ideas about how to make it a safe enjoyable activity for more than one person and it also gives your mates a chance to save up to buy their own thermal gear.

[JimTom]

Fair enough mate, I certainly do understand what you’re saying regarding the limited field of view coupled with night etc. take the wrong bloke hunting anytime and it can get a bit unsafe.

[Blr243]

I wouldn’t normally take people but I have two related family members with no hunting experience that I will take one day. I have already thought of a paddock method to keep it safe in the dark ......it’s when out in the open pigs are 50 m away or less no head torches are on Inexperienced Shooter in the middle lays down with rifle on bipod pointing fwd. I immediately move ten feet behind and I’m useing my thermal binos to watch the bloke on the ground. ( I completely ignore the mob of pigs. They are not my concern ). For some reason the mobs on this place are never walking towards or away from me they are always goin to my left or right. The shooters father is standing on my right with his left hand gripping my right elbow so I always know where he is and vice versa As the shooter on the ground is shuffling around moving his bipod to the left or right I keep an eye on him and I adjust my own position to ensure we are both directly behind the shooter on the ground... after the first shot the shooter may have to aim in a wide arc left or right to follow the mob. So I’m moving too and if ever I can’t move fast enough to stay out of his potential line of fire I yell the single word STOP ...... and the bloke on the ground knows to stop instantly ..... we might not shoot many pigs but we all come home in one piece.

[Blr243]

I have a carprnty customer at Redcliffe and another one in cent q. They both know people who have been accidentally shot dead on hunting trips. Thinking about it gives me creeps. Now that I think about it I know of two kiwis who collected shrapnel from ricochets ........ one of them had a little bit of lead in his forehead under the skin. It sealed over and gave him headaches for years. Then one day they worked out why he had headaches so they cut his head open to take away the lead now he is all good with no more head aches and he prob don’t hunt with the same friends

[JoshR77]

I don’t have pics but packing all those essentials in a lightweight setup is the go. One of the best hing i made was a solar powered battery box. Runs leds, charges phones, cameras, Etc. and i even use it to run a little fan in the tent in summer. A cheap pop up 3x3 gazebo is pretty nifty too for shade a camp kitchen. Another handy thing that weighs f all is square bit of shade cloth from bunnings as a ground matt. The water, sand and dirt falls back though it. But by far the best investment i have made is the reclining lounge chair for that all important arvo nap when the day drinks catch up with you.

Nice addition!

[on_one_wheel]

I'm glad to see everyone's camps are looking tidy rather than a nest of beer cans and rubbish.
Take only photos
Leave only footprints

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[idiomatically]

This is our favourite swag setup, if we take the kids we take the Cub Camper also depends a bit on how long we're gone and where we are going.