Sun evening field report

[Blr243]

Quick couple of light Australia Day beers with the owner ,then 45 mins on a water point , no luck. Rode the 4 wheeler to the intercept point and was relived to see no action had started prior to my arrival After a while a couple of solo pigs way of in the distance looked like they might come ova to me but they didn’t. Good to see A few more foxes getting around tonight most likely on the scene due to the smell of some dead pigs. Eventually a mob of 8 or ten wandered over to me and I made my way over to get in a perfect position and took one. The rest scampered probably very annoyed they they were only 50 m from their favourite tucker paddock after travelling all the way to get here .........prior to me getting onto those I was aware of what looked like 3 solo boars in the Paddo behind me. I had a feint wind blowing there way but for some reason they did not get wind and hung around But I knew as I took the shot at the 8/10 mob it would alert them. I guessed that they wood be standing still head up ears pricked and licking there noses in an effort to check for potential danger. By the time I got in position to check them out only one remained. He was now a long way off and walking out of the paddock stopping and listening now and then he looked like a really good sized boar. Hoping he would relax when he got close to the scrub and would continue to feed on the edge. This would make me doo the long walk over to him but it was not to b.... he melted into the safety of the bush. Shortly after a mob of 15 ran out onto the same boar paddock but I could tell by the movement that they woul soon be down wind ov me and it would be all over with no chance of me getting there in time .. so I let them be. A little while later I watched as they winded me and did a beeline for the scrub. More scanning to do now I reckon

[Blr243]

I’m still having a lot of trouble getting pigs. I normally get 6 per night. I got one last night I pulled an all nighter and covered a lot of ground. Five foxes all mange

[Blr243]

And a fox not real careful where he chooses to drink

[marksman]

you are definitely an inspiration Blr

[Blr243]

Glad you are enjoying the show marksman. I worked hard last night and was bringing the 4 wheeler home in the daylight Now it’s snooze time, food time to get some energy back into my body and Maybe a super chilled light beer while listening to “comfortably numb “

[GQshayne]

Pigs are smart, and you are giving them a fair pasting. They will be trying to avoid you I would think. I saw this on a property I hunted on where the pigs were always a target. But the property was well managed so it had the best feed. We soon learned the pigs would feed in the night and go back to neighbouring properties to camp up. They will change their habits if you bother them.

[Blr243]

Most of the hunters here are spotlighters in vehicles so the pigs can see or hear them coming I’m the only one who sneaks up on them in the dark with no lights and surprise them with no warning at all. I do this most months in the darkest part of the month. And I have been wondering if they are twigging to my monthly excursions

[Blr243]

I just glassed and they are coming d is sniffing too I gotta go

[Stix]

Ah wait up man...!!

hey...!!

Oi...!!

Na dont worry...

What...?

Nope im not telling you...!!

Nope...

[Ferrisweil]

They’ll totally work you out over time mate.
The same thing has happened at one of my spots.
Don’t get me wrong, we still get a lot of pigs and the odds are heavily stacked in my favor, but I’ve noticed a def change in their behavior over the last 6-12 months.
Your approach in the dark has to perfect and they afford you less mistakes than they used to. It’s like they know “once or twice a fortnight, there’s a thing out there in the dark that shoots at us, so let’s just switch on to even the slightest noise”.
They’re cagey little buggers who occasionally do dumb s**t that surprises you haha

[Blr243]

I stuffed up. In the scrub of course they are folloing their own pads because it’s less scrub they have to fight thru. I have been noticing that they are also following their own pads for navigation across these ploughed fields. They wander and are definitely in no straight direct route to their fav feed paddocks but they get their in the end. So I have just got onto the end of the pad and they are walking up to me and I’m thinking I’m not going to shoot until I can smell their breaths. But like I said. I stuffed up and bolt was not down properly ( damn safety procedure ). And in my haste I accidentally turned on my white light instead of my red and then next time I looked they were all bolting away But I kept it together and I watched them. They ended up milling around about 250 m away nervous about coming back but keen for a feed just the same. I put in a stalk with no red light and my hand covering the lit eye cups of my binos. Got close and sealed the deal. Got it on film. Took my first pip boar.

[Blr243]

I stuffed up. In the scrub of course they are folloing their own pads because it’s less scrub they have to fight thru. I have been noticing that they are also following their own pads for navigation across these ploughed fields. They wander and are definitely in no straight direct route to their fav feed paddocks but they get their in the end. So I have just got onto the end of the pad and they are walking up to me and I’m thinking I’m not going to shoot until I can smell their breaths. But like I said. I stuffed up and bolt was not down properly ( damn safety procedure ). And in my haste I accidentally turned on my white light instead of my red and then next time I looked they were all bolting away But I kept it together and I watched them. They ended up milling around about 250 m away nervous about coming back but keen for a feed just the same. I put in a stalk with no red light and my hand covering the lit eye cups of my binos. Got close and sealed the deal. Got it on film. Took my first pip boar.

[Blr243]

Stix mate. There’s no hunting for you tonight. Take a Xanax and go to bed

[Blr243]

After that rifle shot I thought it might be a while before I saw more , so while I was typing my usual random rubbish I did a quick scan and shut, there’s a small mob on my right that somehow I missed in my last scan. I grabbed the rifle and ran down the track quite fast to get in front so they did not wind me. I was real worried that they may be moving too fast but I got there and laid down prone with the bipod and after catching my breath got a young boar on the edge of the mob. After the rest took of I continually wriggled around in the soil and useing my left hand to drag the left bipod leg around I followed the mob but this time none stopped for a brief listen so I packed up and walked bac to the 4 wheeler and my dog

[Ferrisweil]

Well done mate. So you got one? A few?
I’m just curious why you approach them with a red light even? Why not walk in without any lights?

[marksman]

Stix mate. There’s no hunting for you tonight. Take a Xanax and go to bed

[Stix]

Stix mate. There’s no hunting for you tonight. Take a Xanax and go to bed

I never wouldve thought that would be spelt with an "X"...huh...

[Blr243]

Ferris, re red light. Mostly I use it to see a bit of uneven ground and avoid the noisy stubble stalks. After many walks with the red light vs walks without the red light I worked out that I would make noisy mistakes with no light and I ended up being more confident in the last closeting metres if I was red lighting and not once have they ever busted me red light But , tonight even without moon I could see tons better and I chose to go no light for one or two of my stalks , And doing that I felt confident that it was impossible for me to get busted on the stalking close up ( no dry stubble in that paddock.). And I kept a firm eye on the light glow from my devices ... one pig busted me and looked my way for a bit. With no lights at all for him to see perhaps my sillohette caught his attention ( I was moving fwd not side to side. ) my guess is that their night vision is about 20 per cent better than ours ... I knew that he may alert the others so I slowly lowered myself into the prone position hit record button and moved the safety off.

[Blr243]

I realised after a while that my current position worked well for all the paddocks in front of me but my scent was ruining one of my favourite paddocks behind me. Occasionally glassing behind me always drew a blank. So I moved the 4 wheeler south , knowing that I would still b in position to deal with any pigs coming towards me and that my scent would not continue to destroy my chances in the paddock behind me. ... half hour later the plan worked and there was a solo boar feeding away. I moved in and took the boar no fuss ......then while sitting down glassing another shooter came by the fence line and sung out how ya goin , same back. Then he circled around and I walked over for a yarn. We clicked.

[Blr243]

My third boar for the night. Not huge but better than what I had been getting lately.

[Blr243]

530 am no sleep. Limited brain function likely

[Blr243]

Anyway , shooter was interested in my gear , reckons he had heard about it but not experienced it. So I jumped in his Ute and off we went for a cruise in his paddocks I showed him how to adjust focus and magnification and pointed. Out a few things about easier identification of foxes Roos and pigs at long range , within 30 mins he had it sorted and was finding on his own without me having to check and verify for him. and he was seriously thinking about getting the same to help him with his job. We exchanged numbers and in the next couple of months he’s taking me to a place wher I can get some good footage and have a run with his dogs too , So , if you ever have the chance to sit in a Ute with a pro , DO IT ! 30 yrs of ametuter hunting and I’m only a greenhorn compared to this young 30 yr full time shooter Two shots at pigs were standing still the other four were on the run flat out and the pigs were tiny. ( rabbit sized ) I can hit a pig in the head at 100 m if it’s average size and standing still but this bloke never missed and he took four pigs in the head all one the run at 150 metres They just cleanly stopped in their tracks and no misses or follow up shots were required. .and we wasn’t even proud of himself he was just working.....and just by talking I learned lots of things. He was only intending to shoot Roos tonight so he had his roo gun. A Sako 85 fluted bull barrel 204 ruger in perfect condition, not a spec of dust on it. 40 grain v max and it worked a treat .....

[Blr243]

My black and white boar thermal image

[Wm.Traynor]

Did a bloke a good turn and got one back!

[Blr243]

Yes WT, I’m looking fwd to it. Tonight is my last night so wish me luck , I need I think a great looking boar or half doz pigs and a cat and a fox. Not seen a cat on this trip I always see at least one , maybe all the foxes cleaned em up

[8x57]

This has been a great thread very enjoyable reading thanks for posting it

[Blr243]

8 by 57. Good to hear you are getting it. Are you same bloke on AHN we discussing hunting with military rifles ?

[Wm.Traynor]

Good luck Blr and thanks for the posts

[Ferrisweil]

Good luck BLR. Keep us posted

[8x57]

8 by 57. Good to hear you are getting it. Are you same bloke on AHN we discussing hunting with military rifles ?

That’s me, I call it retro hunting