Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Game hunting and large prey. Deer stalking, hunting with hounds. Boar, pigs etc., large prey, culling, hunting large feral animals.

Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Blr243 » 29 Sep 2018, 2:21 pm

I hunt in Qld. I have heard that 100 per cent of nsw is drought declared. And from memory I think 60 per cent of Qld. Obviously feral pigs breed more often when food is abundant It has entered my mind to not bother with trips out bush at the moment if pigs will be scarce because of the current conditions. My question to those who hunt regularly at the moment Are game sightings down ?
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by albat » 30 Sep 2018, 12:13 pm

Blr243 wrote:I hunt in Qld. I have heard that 100 per cent of nsw is drought declared. And from memory I think 60 per cent of Qld. Obviously feral pigs breed more often when food is abundant It has entered my mind to not bother with trips out bush at the moment if pigs will be scarce because of the current conditions. My question to those who hunt regularly at the moment Are game sightings down ?

been out in south qld recently and shot pigs in a very dry area , with no water in all but one big dam, all we had to do was sit on the dam, so itmade life easier than normal.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Rod_outbak » 30 Sep 2018, 12:34 pm

At the start of a drought, we see pigs do pretty well, as there is usually lots of dead things to eat, as well as some vegetable matter to pad out their diet..

As a drought runs it's course, you find pigs tend to go backwards in this country, as they cant just live on carrion alone. They actually need a fair amount of vegetable matter in their diet to stay healthy.
Last bad drought in this area (2001-2004), we were talking to people who lived along Aramac Creek, which had some semi-permanent waterholes. They were going out each day, and putting a .22 round through the back of the heads of pigs as they lay in the waterholes. The pigs were so weak, they rarely even moved or cared.
The blokes telling us, had lost count of how many pigs they shot like this.

We've seen more pigs around, than we normally do. Mainly along the creek systems. Not sure if this is because food & water options are getting more slim, and maybe they gravitate to the creeks as the country gets drier.. We are seeing a lot of sows with young suckers at present, so the pigs are pretty convinced they have food enough to breed. The last few times I've looked at any of the pigs close up, though (or after we shot them), the older pigs dont look to be in the best condition. I'd guess we are in a similar situation as 2003 - they are on the downhill slide.. Kinda like every other animal at this point.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by T Dog » 30 Sep 2018, 6:37 pm

Over the years of hunting when the water drys up and the feed runs low the game become easier to find and hunt but are in poorer condition. Having spent time working on the rice farms in NSW and grazing properties in QLD these are the time we where really encouraging hunters on to our lands as it was a chance to hit the pest animals hard and fast so that when conditions improved there where fewer of them about to compete with our livestock or raid the rice paddies as the only source of food/water. As for down here in Vic at the moment there is still a fare amount of green pick about but its running out fast so we wont be far behind NSW and QLD.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 30 Sep 2018, 6:58 pm

Hmm all this talk of drought is getting me worried, my feed price has risen 15% just in 4 months... and I doubt it's going to level out here.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by bigfellascott » 30 Sep 2018, 8:21 pm

albat wrote:
Blr243 wrote:I hunt in Qld. I have heard that 100 per cent of nsw is drought declared. And from memory I think 60 per cent of Qld. Obviously feral pigs breed more often when food is abundant It has entered my mind to not bother with trips out bush at the moment if pigs will be scarce because of the current conditions. My question to those who hunt regularly at the moment Are game sightings down ?

been out in south qld recently and shot pigs in a very dry area , with no water in all but one big dam, all we had to do was sit on the dam, so itmade life easier than normal.

No brainer isn't it, if water is scarce sit around where water is abundant and the game will soon work out where it is to. :unknown:

And to the OP I can't speak for all of NSW but the area I live isn't doing too bad at all and some of the places I've been too lately aren't exactly struggling either, Central NSW is looking pretty good in the places I've been lately. :thumbsup:
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by AZZA'S HJ47 » 30 Sep 2018, 8:42 pm

Will be heading down to my block in a few weeks from all reports if i stake out the dams ill do well. I do hope it rains though its bloody dry and everything is suffering.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Daddybang » 01 Oct 2018, 8:05 am

Ziad wrote:Hmm all this talk of drought is getting me worried, my feed price has risen 15% just in 4 months... and I doubt it's going to level out here.


As there's a national shortage of feed at the moment the prices are only going one way. We've started stockin up by buying a couple of extra bales and bags each fortnight as sh@tloads of feed that's produced up here is heading south. :drinks:
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Die Judicii » 01 Oct 2018, 2:31 pm

Rod_outbak wrote: We are seeing a lot of sows with young suckers at present, so the pigs are pretty convinced they have food enough to breed.


:lol: Hey Rod, let's put things in perspective,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

When you were a teenager, and had an opportunity to "throw your leg",, were you thinking about where yer next meal was coming from ????

:lol: :lol:
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Die Judicii » 01 Oct 2018, 2:37 pm

Relax fellas,,,,, it'll probably start with heavy rains very shortly here.

I just bought and installed solar pumping equipment to get water out of a deep bore that thus far I have never needed.
My dams are all but dry.

So with my luck now that I've committed and forked out the cash,,,, it's bound to start raining big time. :thumbsup:
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I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Rod_outbak » 01 Oct 2018, 6:14 pm

[quote="Die Judicii"]
[quote="Rod_outbak"]
We are seeing a lot of sows with young suckers at present, so the pigs are pretty convinced they have food enough to breed.
[/quote]

:lol: Hey Rod, let's put things in perspective,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

When you were a teenager, and had an opportunity to "throw your leg",, were you thinking about where yer next meal was coming from ????

:lol: :lol:
[/quote]

You make a good point....
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Blr243 » 01 Oct 2018, 8:07 pm

Interesting replies. Thank you. Better I think to just get out there and have a go ......... just workin every day in the city Is as far away from mobs of pigs as I can ever be
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Daddybang » 02 Oct 2018, 6:34 am

Blr243 wrote:Better I think to just get out there and have a go


Yep :drinks:
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Gaznazdiak » 02 Oct 2018, 9:50 am

Blr243 wrote:.. just workin every day in the city Is as far away from mobs of pigs as I can ever be


Mate, every time I have to go into town I feel like I'm surround by mobs of pigs.

Or brainless sheep at best, sheep maybe stupid, but at least they're predictable. :)
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Die Judicii » 02 Oct 2018, 7:14 pm

Blr243 wrote:Interesting replies. ......... just workin every day in the city Is as far away from mobs of pigs as I can ever be


Dunno bout that,,,,,,,,,,, there's plenty in the city, :silent:
I do not fear death itself... Only its inopportune timing!
I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 02 Oct 2018, 7:21 pm

Hey some of them are good decent ppl too...
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by RoginaJack » 05 Oct 2018, 4:26 pm

i've noticed over the last month or two, the feral cats are turning up in more numbers around the place and there are some big old Toms too!
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Gaznazdiak » 05 Oct 2018, 4:40 pm

Things are scarce here in SE NSW, but the little bits of rain we've been getting have things looking up. I saw the first rabbit in nearly 3 months yesterday, about 10km up the road.
Still nothing at home.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Archie » 05 Oct 2018, 7:45 pm

Sitting in upper hunter with the power failing due to thunderstorms, tell you one thing, there’s water somewhere in NSW. About time though.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by RoginaJack » 05 Oct 2018, 8:40 pm

Hey, Archie, Glad to see you're getting some rain at long last. Not too happy about your blackouts though.
I have a sister down that way and feed is very scarce and water non existent - river dry, well not much better and hand feeding stock..
.We had a storm pass through here last arvo and only got 6mm.I think we're in a rain shadow, can see the rain clouds coming but always seems to be on the other side of the hills....
Don't worry about the blackout, nothing on TV tonight anyways...now the footy finished.
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Daddybang » 06 Oct 2018, 6:13 am

Archie wrote:Sitting in upper hunter with the power failing due to thunderstorms, tell you one thing, there’s water somewhere in NSW. About time though.


Great to see that NSW and southwest qld were getting a bit of water.....let's hope it continues!! :thumbsup: :drinks:
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Gaznazdiak » 09 Oct 2018, 6:02 pm

Nature is amazing, eh.

Not the slightest sign of a rabbit here since March, all the warrens were ghost towns, no new frigging scratch holes to turn your ankles.

Then this morning, walking the dog around to sniff down them as she likes every morning, there was signs of renovations going on at 4 out of 6 that we visited, an invasion of Tony Rabbots, and bugger me I'm at the front yard right now, shooting off the bonnet and collected 4 in 15 minutes, I've got a cuppa, and I can smell the porterhouse I'm hot smoking for dinner.

Does it get much better?
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by Daddybang » 10 Oct 2018, 6:37 am

Its nice when the countryside comes "alive" again!!
Nice work Gaz! :drinks:
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Re: Drought affecting success of hunting trips

Post by RoginaJack » 10 Oct 2018, 3:02 pm

Ah, life's sweet ,eh?
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