Back in the saddle

[Die Judicii]

Too scared of skinning a fox. Mange. Might transfer it to my dog ,

Two things that I always pack when hunting well away from home,,,,,
1) rubber gloves (saves worrying about stuff like mange)

2) boners gloves (saves having to break camp and head for nearest hospital if I slip badly)

[xDom]

So, I’m not the only shooter that takes a piano keyboard on a trip!? Ha! I knew it!

[Blr243]

I have wanted to take piano and guitar to this place all along But there was never enough space, Glad I did this time.

[Blr243]

Forgot to say about 830 pm a mob of pigs about twenty turned up cruise ing across the paddock faster than normal. Wind was great. I knew I had one in the bag. Took the shot and they all scampered. I could not find the pig at first But was one of those that don’t glow a lot for some reason and he was laying flat. Right where I shot him. He glowed so little during the Preshot that I had trouble focusing on him. I expected him to have a ton of mud on him but he was clean as a whistle. Beats me. Tried to get a fox on carcass on the way back but I’m sure their night vision is so much better than pigs. He wanted to live and was not having a bar of me

[Stix]

Stix if u do remember that other south finding constallation please let us know. I have googled it but not had much luck.

I cant remember...

What i usually do when i enter a property (or hopefully before i get lost...lol...), &/or when i know for sure which direction is which, is pick a constellation i recognise in either south east or Nth East of the sky .

I like something between approx 20 - 40 degrees up from the horizon, & dont pick anything higher than 40/45 degrees up from the horizon in the north/nth east sky (north of the east/west line), because later in the night it could be close to being overhead, & if thats the case its very hard to tell which direction its tracking in the sky, & so you can easily think you're facing Nth when you could be facing West...(I hope you understand what i mean by that)...

...take note of where it is in the sky in relation to the southern cross (or where you know the southern cross is if its just below your horizon..(again, this is early on in the night when you know your directions for sure).
So if you pick one in the north east at 10pm for example, & you know (should know) which way the sky tracks during the night, you'll be able to figure out which direction you're facing...so at 3 or 4am that constellation will likely be in the north west, & the southern cross should be (a hypothetical random wild guess for the sake of this explanation) 90-100 degrees around to your left in the south south west...

The only constellation i can bet my life on is the Southern Cross, so thats why i always use this method of picking another constellation when im actually out on that night/(that trip)..but still to be honest, when i drive in a property the last thing on my mind is the stars...im too pumped to look for other things bright & sparkly things in the paddocks, so i usuallly get lost after working on a fox...& having said that, im in a car & not on foot like you are...

Im lucky where i hunt (well shoot bunnys n foxes)--mostly close to the city (usually always within 3 hours of Adelaide)...with this, if the sky is covered from clouds & no moon, the city lights are a dead giveaway...so if im in the south east, the glow in the clouds will give away N/NW...if im 3 hrs East of Adelaide in the Mallee over near the Vic border & cant see my feet, again the glow in the clouds tells me where west is...

Im not sure how far from the nearest reasonable sized city you are hunting, but id have thought if you can get mobile signal, you'd be able to see the electricity (reflected glow of city lights) in the sky so to speak (if cloudy).

Hope that helps...& hope ive explained myself well enough to understand...

[Blr243]

Excellent stix. Thanks for taking the time. I will take a screenshot of your post

[Blr243]

I ended up getting another three pigs last night. They are becoming very nervous if they turn up at all on my paddocks. Even two hund metres away with no noise from me and no chance of scent they are spooking almost as if they are jumping at shadows .....at about 2 am I decided to chance a big loop and head back to the quad hoping to deal with the wind as best I could along the way. It’s been quite erratic. No pigs for the walk but I saw a sitting cat quite close to me so after looking intently and ensuring it was not a crouched hare I laid the bipod and myself down in the soil, A bit of a focus and bingo. The cat instantly laid back flat without a skerrick of movement. I’m glad I found that cat in that long long walk.

[Blr243]

No more finches and budgies for this cat

[Blr243]

My second last night has just begun. After checking the wind I pulled up on my quad in my usual spot and scanned, nothing as I expected. Checked rifle and filled magazine , scanned , two small pigs arrived early. Because of their numbers, size behaviour and which part of the bush they come from I often get the idea of which ones I’m dealing with. Good to c them so early. I did not even have time to get the dog from his cage walked 200 to the north to improve my wind direction then I cut across to them. Early in the night the winds are great and I’m confident the stalk is just a formality I shot the first and then quickly reloaded o n the slim chance that his brother might run then prop briefly but he reacted startled to the shot walked 2 or three steps then head down with snout in the soil and commenced vigorously feeding again. So I shot him and then had to pinch myself to see if that was real. Thirty something years I been doin this and never seen that before. He can’t have been deaf because I saw him react to the sound ( no 22 subs here This was a factory 243 at 50 metres. ,,, On two other occasions I have tried to get these two and both times they have evaded me with there suspicious nature and cunning. Ocassioally if I soot one the mob might run 2oo yards then start feeding again nervously and I have sneaked in to get more of them but usually they are all just gone from the paddock like lightning ......Nice to have a coupl on the ground so early. A good start to the night. I need to scan again

[duncan61]

good work

[Blr243]

Thanks dunc. Unfortunately I fell asleep after those last two and woke about ten to find a nice fat sow at 400 m and in good wind position so off I went. She went down with no fuss. Good things come to those who wait ( or fall asleep) ....In the process of laying my binos across her body for a steady scan of some long distance objects further out I got a fair bit of herb scent on me , so hoping Deisel does not firmly attach himself to my ear when I lay down beside him. It’s a quiet night here but I’m still getting a few

[Blr243]

My scent and tithe sound s from My rifle had scared game away from paddock one so I packed up the swag and drove slowly on the top edge of number two looking for some pigs or a better camp spot and I found a couple maybe 25o from the edge but they were slightly spooked by the sound of my quad. I cut the engine asap and watched them with binos hoping for them to stop an relax . Even though they were still moving I was hopefull they would stop and feed so I gather d my gear and walked the edge of the paddock until I could catch up with them and enterd the paddock in a more favourable wind position , they had by now relaxed and were feeding well , But most nights here some of the surrounding properties have shooters driving them for most of the night. I can see.the glows and hear the pops of their rifleshots ,,,unfortunately this time they were closer nd the shots sounded a little louder than pops My pigs were propped alert and listening to determine the location......I could not quite get the bipod on the ground quick enough before they started to run in the opposite direction of the gunfire. Bugger it. But I used my left hand to drag one leg of the bipod around to the left as they continued to motor. I was waiting for a STOP. AND CHECK and I took the shot when one did that. He went down and I continued to prep for a shot on the second. He propped too so I did not muck around and I got him ,, feeling stoked to be able to get a second I waked back to my quad.

[Blr243]

After that episode I found a good location to camp , scan and snooze for the remainder of the evening. As I set up I was getting food and water ready for my dog but he was intently sniffing the ground and air. At first I thought , just dead pigs but realised I should probably check. A quick scan revealed a broadside standing fox near a carcass. Deisel was on a long lead and I did not want him wandering in front of my bipod as I was about to shoot so I franticly But silently secured him closer to my quad. I had the rifle ready turned on focused and I think vid cam on as well ,,, initially he was watching me but then he turned away and looked fwd as if he was going to start walking off. That’s when I used a whistle to temporarily distract him so I would have enough time to make a good shot It worked ,, I touched the trigger. Heard the bullet singing through the air and was rewarded by the sound of a solid hit he lay still. I think I had the video turned on too,,,',,a good way to end the night. On inspection his back end was mangy so I kept my distance. I counted out 130 metres on my walk back to the quad. I camped and set alarms and scanned but there was no more action for the next 1 1/2 hours pre dawn. ......back to my accommodation for some coffee and bacon and eggs

[Blr243]

Check out the beautiful coat on this fox the rump condition has nothing to do with mr hornady. This is mange. There are different types of mange Sarcoptic mange is a Seroius contagious skin infection caused my burrowing mites. It can be caught by horses pigs dogs etc. BEWARE !

[Sergeant Hartman]

As usual nice reading your stories mate

[Sergeant Hartman]

As usual nice reading your stories mate

[Blr243]

tonight will be my last nights hunting after that there will be no more stories for a while unlesss I start makeing them up but I’m not that pathetic. So somebody from here is going to have to take over

[Wm.Traynor]

It's been a pleasure to hear from you, BLR

[Blr243]

Good to hear you are enjoying the adventure , Despite the winds giving me a hard time in the middle of the night I have always enjoyed great strong consistent winds from the south west for about the first 3 hrs of the night. The internet said otherwise for tonight and it was right I had to start my hunt from the southwest of the paddock s but it’s been working for me I have seen a couple of mobs, shot two from a mob and then shot a fox. And it’s only 830 pm. My goal was 36 pigs for the trip and have 35 pigs I think three foxes and a cat. I have tried very hard under difficult circumstances sometimes and done well considering the pigs aren’t in the numbers they were here a month ago and they are so much more nervous this time. .....just planning for the moment if I stay temp camped here or if I gradually and quietly work my quad into the wind across towards my usual numb 1 paddock

[Blr243]

I ended up shooting another pig and two mote foxes that night , I sort of lost my mojo when I reached my goal of 36 pigs. It seemed that I no longer needed or cared to try. Viscious cold winds assaulted me after midnight despite several layers and enough jackets to start my own clothing store I simply could not stand up in the wind to scan with binos without cringing and shaking ....it did not feel like October in Qld. ...I felt like I was stuck in a murderous blizzard on the South Pole.... I lay down on my mattress and covered us in a sleeping bag to try to protect us from the wind I curled my body around my dog to shield him. He was in heaven getting all this attention but it did not stop him from farting I ignored all further alarms and woke to full daylight and no more wind. 36 pigs , five foxes and one cat , And we both hade it home to bris in one piece, Now we continue on with a boring lack lustre city existence

[Wm.Traynor]

Ah but you've done some excellent shooting mate and you will have some great memories.

ps where in heck in Qld was that? Musta bin right out west eh? not looking forward to that weather coming here

[Blr243]

Good ol Gundy Weather wise I will be able to handle the nights from now on surely in a months time the cold will be gone. During the day s I will have my small portable air con and hunting during the nights the temps will b perfection. With a bit of luck my pta will come soon and I can have my new shotgun on my next adventure

[Wm.Traynor]

Good ol Gundy Weather wise I will be able to handle the nights from now on surely in a months time the cold will be gone. During the day s I will have my small portable air con and hunting during the nights the temps will b perfection. With a bit of luck my pta will come soon and I can have my new shotgun on my next adventure

Makes sense. It was 7C in Ipswich last night.