This theory shot down in flames

[Die Judicii]

I had a good night last night.
We don't get the big mobs like BLR does,,,, but here they tend to wander in solitude more often than not.
However,,,,,,, I think all the hype about keeping the breeze or wind in your favor,, was shot down in flames last night.
This pic is of what I got in a single night on a small dam,,,,,,,,,, but with a BIG difference to what most people believe.
Because of the layout and position of the dam, there was only one position that was ideal to set up in. (view, access, etc)

The big point is that all last night the breeze/wind was constant,, from directly behind me and toward the dam.

All of what I shot came in from the far side and directly in front of me.
I had seven shots for seven clean and instant kills.
Not a single one of the pigs or foxes shot were skittish, or hanging back being wary.
Not a single one of them were looking in my direction.
And I believe that not a single one of them had any idea that I was there.

I put this down to one singular and simple fact,,,,, Sitting motionless and not making any noise. (obviously apart from the gun shots)

Furthermore,,,, seeing as the wind was 100% in their favor not mine,, I believe the constant efforts by some guys to always
have the wind in your favor, is obviously unwarranted.
Sure,,, if the location allows for it, you may as well do so.
But, as I said this proves to me that wind direction is certainly not the be all and end all.
Especially seeing that all shots taken last night were only at between 60 to 75 meters.

The larger of the two foxes had mange and thus had no bushy tail, and in the thermal,, looked like a feral dog, but disappointingly wasn't.

Before heading out yesterday I re zeroed the rifle as I had run out of Winchester,,, and started on the Remingtons, and the old girl seemed to
like the new diet (as per the paper target)

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[marksman]

well done

"I put this down to one singular and simple fact,,,,, Sitting motionless and not making any noise"

these are very important factors as well as scent, a lot of times animals will want more than one sense to go off before they react
especially if they are not being hounded much
but even though your scent went over the dam you may smell like the farmer that they smell a lot and are not afraid of
brut 33
camo can help hide you but what some dont understand is that there camo can make them look like a big blob that the animal see and runs from

that's a really good job well done

[Die Judicii]

but even though your scent went over the dam you may smell like the farmer that they smell a lot and are not afraid of
brut 33

Your not suggesting the farmer may be sharing his bed with em are you ????

[Oldbloke]

Pigs are not known for their sense of smell.
But well done

[marksman]

Your not suggesting the farmer may be sharing his bed with em are you ????

na mate none of that rule #1 no poofy stuff
its that animals can become accustomed to some things and dont fear them as much, if you can replicate them you can be more successful
eg... a dairy farmer riding his quad around bringing in the cows may not scare deer off but a 4 wheel drive driving around will

[sungazer]

Pigs are not known for their sense of smell.
But well done

They use them for sniffing out Truffles so it cant be that bad.

[Ferrisweil]

Pigs are not known for their sense of smell.
But well done

You’re kidding right? That is THE thing they are known for.

Well done on getting the pigs mate. Pigs have a very acute sense of smell, and whenever possible I’ll ALWAYS try and get downwind of them. I’ve also had plenty of times when the wind is wrong and you’ll get pigs but I put these times down to other factors such as:
- their desire for food/water is more powerful than any possible threat.
- wind swirls and especially at the moment with so many dams being very low, they can create a bowl effect and swirl the wind (not always the case but can happen)
- how much pressure is on the pigs. If you’re shooting at a spot all the time, pigs catch on and get skittish, but if they’re in a routine of rocking up and nothings a threat for days/weeks on end, then happy days.
- good ol “tin ass luck”. Sometimes s$&t just goes contrary to what it should.

That’s what I reckon anyway and I still be wouldn’t getting in the habit of sitting upwind all the time....

[Blr243]

D J , Prior to this u hav had a dry run for a while ... it must feel great to break the drought with such a successful night. Well done

[JimTom]

Great result mate for what looks like a satisfying night of hunting. In my experiences mate, the wind direction has a massive influence on my success. You approach from upwind and the oinkers are off into the scrub. It is my understanding that they have quite an acute sense of smell.
In saying this, your results would indicate otherwise. Always happy to be proven wrong and learn something. Either way mate, well done on a good nights hunt.

[Blr243]

My take on d J s post is that despite what we mostly think and what dictates the way we approach game , occasionally we will see a situation where we did not get winded in a situation where we thought we were just about to get winded , And sounds like he had a run of it last night ( sort of like 30 reds in a row when you are playing roulette at the casino ) It’s only happened to me a couple of times. If I had to put a lot a lot of walking and effort into a stalk and it gets ruined by a swirling wind at the last minute I have been known to let loose with some quite harsh profanities .....Dj. I know u have seen both foxes and dingoes in your thermal scope , can u please view my post @ pics on dog/fox identification and let me know your thoughts.

[Wapiti]

Depends how much water is about. If a dam is the only one for a long way and someone hasn't been shooting the place up for awhile, animals often come straight in for a drink and get out again. Weve sat on dams where pigs have come in to drink, and ive said to the wife, how has that thing come in with our scent blowing straight towards it. Desperation for survival, in a lot of cases.
Where we are, the only water for critters is at the stock troughs fed by pipelines and everything has to come there, or die.
But for sure, not always. But it's exceptionally bad.

[marksman]

farken hell Blr when you wrote "30 reds in a row" l started to get a chubby till l saw you were not talking about red deer, what a let down

[Die Judicii]

D J , Prior to this u hav had a dry run for a while ... it must feel great to break the drought with such a successful night. Well done

Not really "a dry run" Mate,, more to the point I just haven't been out there.
As you may have read I had to put my best ever Rottie to sleep just before Xmas,,, and my heart hasn't really been into hunting.
Plus, I went to Broome for a short holiday just prior to that.

As for your post on Identity,,,,, I did read it Mate when you 1st posted it.
I refrained from making comment simply because I don't know.
It really appears to be an odd one.

If I didn't know better,,, and was forced to have a guess,,, I would say maybe a X breed between a fox and dingo/dog,,,, but I've never heard
of such a thing happening.

From my viewing of them thermally,,,, a fox with a healthy brush will always show the outline of the brush although sometimes very faint.
And,,,, I see subtle differences in their gait and mannerisms to that of feral dogs.

The mange one in my pic had no brush, was pretty poor in general condition, and at the time of squeezing the trigger,,,,,, I actually thought
that it was a feral dog, but turned out to be otherwise.

I think all feral dogs need to carry a white flag,,,, to avoid confusion.

[Die Judicii]

Great result mate for what looks like a satisfying night of hunting. In my experiences mate, the wind direction has a massive influence on my success. You approach from upwind and the oinkers are off into the scrub. It is my understanding that they have quite an acute sense of smell.
In saying this, your results would indicate otherwise. Always happy to be proven wrong and learn something. Either way mate, well done on a good nights hunt.

[Die Judicii]

farken hell Blr when you wrote "30 reds in a row" l started to get a chubby till l saw you were not talking about red deer, what a let down

[Die Judicii]

Thanks to all you other Blokes.

[Oldbloke]

They use them for sniffing out Truffles so it cant be that bad.

Sounds like Im out voted. But I never seemed to have any trouble stalking them years ago.

[GQshayne]

Well done. Just goes to show that strange things can happen.

Good chance in another location it would have been different. In my experience, pigs have an incredible sense of smell, right from being a piglet. I have seen them small enough to put in one hand, happily digging around until they hit the spot I had marked as "upwind". They reacted instantly and charged off until they were out of sight, flat out.

[Ferrisweil]

We used to walk around any dams on the property looking for wallows, but I’ve seen them skidaddle too many times as soon as they hit the track you walked hours before.....
Use binos these days to scope ahead and def seems to make a difference if we’re gonna sit on a dam for the night...

[Blr243]

On my last trip ( for the first part of the week ) I would walk up to a pig shot on a dam and snap a pic and drag it away from the waters edge if need be. I knew I was gradually adding my scent to the scene but I did it anyway. But later in the week I watched some extremely cautious pigs stop and think and detour and come round to approach from a different spot and just run off and change their mind altogether . So in a couple of weeks when I return the phone pics can be my last priority. I won’t move from my downwind spot after I shoot something. There’s no need. It will still be there ... it’s not like it’s going to get up and walk away. All in the interest of keeping the scene clean so the waterhole appears inviting to all

[Die Judicii]

On my last trip ( for the first part of the week ) I would walk up to a pig shot on a dam and snap a pic and drag it away from the waters edge if need be. I knew I was gradually adding my scent to the scene but I did it anyway. But later in the week I watched some extremely cautious pigs stop and think and detour and come round to approach from a different spot and just run off and change their mind altogether . So in a couple of weeks when I return the phone pics can be my last priority. I won’t move from my downwind spot after I shoot something. There’s no need. It will still be there ... it’s not like it’s going to get up and walk away. All in the interest of keeping the scene clean so the waterhole appears inviting to all

I have noticed that they are definitely not worried about seeing a comrade dead.
The other night, I shot one,,,,,, and 15 mins later another one came in, and actually stepped over the dead ones hind feet to get to the waters edge.

The biggest problem (in my area at least) of leaving them till dawn for taking pics is,,,, by then they are covered in ants.

[Blr243]

DJ. As I was driving thru your area on the way home from my last trip I noticed prickly pear bushes with areas that had yellowed. Is this a disease in the plant or just the drought knocking it around? I have not seen it before

[Die Judicii]

DJ. As I was driving thru your area on the way home from my last trip I noticed prickly pear bushes with areas that had yellowed. Is this a disease in the plant or just the drought knocking it around? I have not seen it before

Yeah Mate,, they have either been sprayed or basal bark injected with poison.
Which turns them yellow.
Usually with a herbicide called "Access"
It is mixed with diesel and sprayed or injected.

The Southern Downs Regional Council have (in all their wisdom) declared war on all invasive pests and weeds,,, at the worst possible time.

The most common one is the "Velvety Tree Pear" and they are doing all the roadsides,,,,, and land owners have to declare any such pest/plant each
and every year that is on their land.
They then have to destroy them,,, and show proof of destruction.
If not done within a specified time, Council engage contractors to do so, and charge the landowner.
They will also add (I think it is $500) to their rates if they are non compliant.

The BIG ISSUE/PROBLEM,,,,, is that in this drought where there is no other feed,,,,,,,,,,, the Velvety Tree Pear can and is being used as stock feed.
It is apparently very high in natural sugars, which is a valued commodity,,,,,,,, whereas big round or big square bales of decent hay are fetching between $500 and $700 each.

So,,,,,,,, very poor timing on the councils behalf in my opinion.

Adding to that,,,,,, the ludicrous situation exists whereas the neighboring councils have NOT adopted this policy.
I have a friend whose property straddles the councils boundary,,,,, and by letter of the introduced measures has to totally destroy what is growing on
one half of his property,,,,,,,, but can leave what is growing on the other half of his property.

[Ferrisweil]

That’s interesting DJ. Always enjoy learning something new. Shame they won’t declare war on brigalow lol

[Blr243]

Thanks for the info. I nearly had a heart attack at the 600 dollar hay bale price That’s thru the roof The neighbour on my favourite hunting place is buying lots of hay at the moment. His cattle actually look real good He try’s to keep the hay in big feeder drums that only the cattle can reach otherwise the pigs are getting stuck into it. Any hay that gets spilled onto the ground the pigs are into it. It actually draws the pigs out of the bush and into the open so I can get a crack at them ..... the droughts bad when pigs have nothing to graze on and are turning to hay ..... we have all had cattle go mental on us while stalking and ruin everything but these cattle are awesome. When I wander into their paddock at any random time of night they slowly approach me and never go chaos. As soon as they realise I have no food for them they casually wander off. I can shoot amongst them and close to them and they don’t batter an eyelid ... they know me now. I’m the bloke who turns up in the middle of the night with a head torch and shoots some pigs and foxes. ....it’s just so easy to have calm attle instead of the nutters that they can be sometimes

[GQshayne]

Not sure exactly of the district you blokes are talking about, but have you seen the "Cactoblastis Memorial Hall"?

[Die Judicii]

Not sure exactly of the district you blokes are talking about, but have you seen the "Cactoblastis Memorial Hall"?

No,,,, and whereabouts is it ?
Sounds interesting.

[GQshayne]

Here is a bit of info. I remembered it because it was such an unusual name for a hall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactoblas ... orial_Hall

[Ferrisweil]

Heading Moonie way next week. Will give you guys a report upon return.
Had a good night last night. 5 pigs at the honey hole.
Good fun...

[Blr243]

Ferris what projectiles are u useing in your creed more and what weight please? I ask because I have only ever shot pigs broadside and with 223 and 243. In about ten days I’m heading out with my 303 to my best spot I was going to load 150 Speer soft points but might grab some 180 as well. And when u are shooting them from behind are most or all of them dropping on the spot. ? I don’t want to be just slowing them down and having to finish them off Do u think 150 weight is ok or will the 180 weight be more reliable at ensureing full destruction of vitals. Any one else feel free to pitch in too. I never used big cals before