Hunt Reports

Varminting and vertebrate pest control. Small game, hunting feral goats, foxes, dogs, cats, rabbits etc.

Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Bent Arrow » 03 Jul 2018, 6:35 pm

Here you go Stix. Neighbour was very happy to let me on, rabbits are smashing his garden. First walk on the new property, took the young fella with me, he missed a couple with the 22 but made up for it with the .410

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Gun is a savage model 42, 22WMR over . 410
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 03 Jul 2018, 7:05 pm

Excellent...!!! :thumbsup:

You roll your own .410's BA...?
And they look the 3" shells...yes...?
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Bent Arrow » 04 Jul 2018, 7:52 am

Stix wrote:Excellent...!!! :thumbsup:

You roll your own .410's BA...?
And they look the 3" shells...yes...?


Yeah 3" chamber. I'm not reloading for it yet but I'll probably need to, they're not cheap rounds but the smile on the boys face is a pretty darn good return value!

I know a lot of people bag the. 410, and with good reason, but it's just about perfect for this location. Rabbits are often within just meters and it opens up shots that I wouldn't take with the 22 because of the greatly reduced distance any missed shot might travel.
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 04 Jul 2018, 9:56 am

Bent Arrow wrote:
Stix wrote:Excellent...!!! :thumbsup:

You roll your own .410's BA...?
And they look the 3" shells...yes...?


Yeah 3" chamber. I'm not reloading for it yet but I'll probably need to, they're not cheap rounds but the smile on the boys face is a pretty darn good return value!

I know a lot of people bag the. 410, and with good reason, but it's just about perfect for this location. Rabbits are often within just meters and it opens up shots that I wouldn't take with the 22 because of the greatly reduced distance any missed shot might travel.


I grew up on a single barrel 410... great gun for bunnies... :thumbsup:
I dont understand bagging the 410...it has its place, & teaching young boys on bunnies is one of them...!!
I used to out shoot all my ol mans mates with 12g semi auto's with a single barrel 410 in my arms...the 410 on bunnies teaches you to be super quick & get very good with shot placement on moving bunnies...
I did get a LOT of practice in the day though, because the ol man had ferrets & as you probably know there was NO shortage of rabbits back then (pre Calici).
So i was out atleast every month my entire childhood stuffing ferrets down warrens, learning to read which direction they will run & bowling them over from gun down position...good times...your lad will be a crack shot in no time...!
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Jon79 » 30 Aug 2018, 5:08 pm

Took the daughter out to the state forest yesterday and gave up on the pines after the first trek after getting sick of black berries and gullies that were uncrossable due to massive amount of fallen pines we headed out the back blocks and she managed to shoot her first goat and ended up with 3 by the end of the day

The old Billie was dog tucker and we brought the meat back off the other two... thought we might try a curry or something?
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 30 Aug 2018, 5:55 pm

Thats great stuff Jon79... :thumbsup:
Good on you & good on your girl for getting out there & into it...!! :clap:
Let us know how the curry goes...!!!
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by ClaytonT88 » 30 Aug 2018, 9:39 pm

Great thread guys, looking forward to getting out their and doing my bit for the fox and rabbit population. I'm a big fan of venison pie so hopefully I'll get a chance at some deer once I get a bit of practice in.
Easy come, easy go.

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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Jon79 » 29 Sep 2018, 12:55 pm

went for a shot yesterday afternoon looking to pick off a fox or two, ended up picking up a fallow for the freezer instead....only had the 223 but luckily it walked in close enough for a head shot

Anyway finished dividing up the meat last night and notice the poor bugger had been blasted with a shot gun at some stage, why someone would shoot a deer with a shot gun I have no idea, under the skin and in the joints of its rear leg was riddled with BB shot...….gotta wonder sometimes
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 07 Oct 2018, 1:11 am

So i went up to a property on the long weekend, the one i bowl most of my foxes over on.

Over the last 3 years the bunny population directly around the farm infrastructure (houses, sheds, sheep yards, rubbish tip & old car bodies etc etc--say a guess of half to 3/4's of a square kilometre)has built up to a healthy head count but was largely knocked over by the calici virus a couple of years ago.

But even after the calici virus has done its bit, there were still signs of bunnies around, & it didnt tske too long for the population to get some numbers back...enough that id see them around when i teturn to base from a night out chasing foxes, & always see a few white fluffy tails bobbing around when id go for an early morning stroll with the shotty.

Earlier this year when i was frequenting the property every month, i had accidentally shot 2 feral cats-(one ginger one i thought was a fox, & a black one i wasnt sure was a fox or a cat due to spotlight flare off the stainless barrel & damp/moist air making it impossible to make out anything but the eyes.)

I say accidentally because the farmer doesnt wsnt cats shot as he believes they keep the mice down (sigh--yea i know...!!!).

So ive obviously got these 2 cats just as they've moved in to the area, & before they've done any damage to my little bunny population.

So this trip, i was a bit miffed as to why i saw no bunnies around the farm....
Calici virus doesnt apoear to have been through, so at first i just figured that mr & mrs fox have been shopping more often due to extra mouths to feed this time of the year...

But the second night i came back from spotlighting another block, i drove around & through the farm yard & saw a dam black cat shoot across the track & head through mallee scrub & headed towards the old car & steel rubbish tip, which is where the greatest population of bunnies were.

My ol' man was also uo there trapping, & so i got up with him at 6 the next morning to go check his traps with him.
He was swearing & carrying on about having seen 3 cats, & having had half eaten bunnies in his traps that were buried...'eff' cats' he cursing.

So look what was in one of the traps i checked with him...(yes i posted these pics earlier in another thread)
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Healthier than a house cat...!!
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Beautiful fur to touch.
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So...it would appear that 2 or 3 cats have moved in to the area & have completely decimated the rabbit population...& im pissed off...!!!

Ive only shot 2 rabbits around the yards in the last year to let them get up in numbers, & i actually use the bunny population as they bring foxes into to yard, & the farm.dogs let me know when a fox os around....

Fukn cats...!!!

The painful thing is the farmer doesnt want them shot...but they do so much damage...!!

There was a couple of bearded dragons around, but my guess is they'll be toast by now.

Serves me right for not getting there for 3 months...

Anyway...that cat now looks a bit flatter, & tomorrow ill be taking it off the salt & fleshing it out...
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Flat Cat
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I also saw the eyes of another cat on the other property that i was too slow to get a shot off..

I also prefer to leave foxes alone this time of year, but i was eyeing off a couple of young tender bunnies when this old boy made his prescence clear to me...so he took off from only about 20yds from the car.
So i poked the 204 out the window & stuck the whidtle in my mouth & figured if it pulls up real easy ill think about popping it...
Well it was too easy to pull it up at around 100 with the whistle so i slung a 32 grainer into the middle of his engine bay...thankfully it was an old boy so i didnt need to worry about young not being weined for some next summer & autum activity.
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Grandpa Fox
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He was so hard to find--only 110 odd yards & barely 50 yds from a fence line but it still took 20 mins to find him, & given i was on my way back to the shack to hit the sack, i wasnt happy i had another body to skin.
But thankfully i didnt have to skin him as he was suffering bad from mange...
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Poor fella
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He appeared pretty healthy apart from the mange...his teeth were big for a fox, but he was a big boy with a big head...

You can tell he's got a few years behind him from his teeth...
Young ones, certainly in their first year or 2 of being have super sharp needle point teeth...but you can see this fellas teeth are well rounded over.
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Good teeth
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So when i looked up i noticed the moonrise--its a shame these pics on my mobile couldnt capure the view, it really was a beautiful sight seeing that big orange moon rise up the otherwise invisible horizon...
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Moonrise
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by YoungBuck » 08 Oct 2018, 10:04 am

N1 Stix, you seem to have a great success rate.
I went out yesterday morning to one of regular forests for a bit of an armed bushwalk with the .243. Managed to call this chap in to about 10 meters with the tenterfield.
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It'll shoot the fleas off a dog's back at five hundred yards, Tannen, and it's pointed straight at your head!
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by southwest shooter » 08 Oct 2018, 12:41 pm

Nice work , going whistling this afternoon , just me and the 12 guage .
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 08 Oct 2018, 8:02 pm

Nice one youngBuck...!!!

I dont always have great sucess actually...driving spotting & shooting by myself is a task, & one that usually leaves me with up to half the amount of foxes i could knock over in a night (during what i call fox season)...but i dont know anyone who can drive & spot, or who can shoot well enough to take along with me... :thumbsdown:
Earlier in the year on a night when lambs were droppiing out left right n centre, i couldve had a count of between 9-12...but i only got 4, as by the time i position the car, poke the rifle out the window & get settled enough to take a shot the darn things move... :evil:

Anyway,
Is that the exit hole in your pic i assume...? or is it entry...?

What proj are you using...?
(243 very big round for foxes, but i guess you got deer around too...? :thumbsup: )
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 08 Oct 2018, 8:02 pm

By the way YoungBuck...you should stick that one in fox pages mate... :thumbsup:
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by YoungBuck » 04 Nov 2018, 8:12 pm

Stix wrote:Nice one youngBuck...!!!
Anyway,
Is that the exit hole in your pic i assume...? or is it entry...?

What proj are you using...?
(243 very big round for foxes, but i guess you got deer around too...? :thumbsup: )

Sry Stix been a while since I visited this thread.
Exit hole in the pic above. Made with 87gr Hornady SP. They are too heavy for foxes but it's all I've got loaded at the moment. I've got a box of Hornady 65gr V-Max that I need to load up and test which would be much better on foxes.


On topic, I've acquired access to some new land to help a farmer out. Ended up with 5 hares for the day and nearly a dozen rabbits. No shortage of them that's for sure. The bottom three were all taken within 60 seconds.
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 04 Nov 2018, 9:58 pm

Hey YoungBuck.
What about a light load using 55's with the 243 for foxes...?

Nice going on the little hoppy thingy critters... :thumbsup:

You eating them mate...?

Im gonna have to try one thats been slowly bubbled away in pasta sauce-i hear its great...!!

Ive left the hares alone the last couple years since i learned they mate for life & as i ve almost always seen them in pairs, & i cant be bothered skinning n dressing em out...but seeing yours laying there & knowing i havnt tried to tan & i dont have a hare fur, i think the next one i see might headbut a bullet.... (that is if i dont give away shooting all together after some hugely deflating results today).

Those hares look very orange/ginger...they not like that in the parts i wander...

:drinks:
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by YoungBuck » 05 Nov 2018, 2:01 pm

Those ones stayed on the ground mate, I didn't have the right tools with me on the day for cleaning them up out there. I will be more prepared next time though. I don't bother eating them, but the dog loves a bit of fresh rabbit.
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by bigpete » 05 Nov 2018, 8:47 pm

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You could say I've been doing a bit of hunting now that the wife has left...
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Nov 2018, 8:54 pm

Goodonya. Giving the foxes heaps, nice to see. Was the fallow good eating?
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by bigpete » 05 Nov 2018, 8:56 pm

Very good eating
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Nov 2018, 9:01 pm

What did you shoot him with?
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by bigpete » 05 Nov 2018, 9:05 pm

A cz 550 American in 308 left me by my best mate,firing 170gn rnfp sierra 3030 pills at around 2600,topped with an excalibur 2.5x crossbow scope....
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Nov 2018, 9:21 pm

bigpete wrote:A cz 550 American in 308 left me by my best mate,firing 170gn rnfp sierra 3030 pills at around 2600,topped with an excalibur 2.5x crossbow scope....


Sorry to hear about your mates passing. Bet He would be happy with u putting it to good use. Bloody nice looking rifle. 308 is a great all round deer cartridge. Just not quite as good as 30-06 ;)
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by bigpete » 05 Nov 2018, 9:23 pm

Your opinion only
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Oldbloke » 05 Nov 2018, 9:26 pm

bigpete wrote:Your opinion only


It was a joke
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 05 Nov 2018, 9:46 pm

Nice pics BigPete...!

I particularly like the first pic...thats a fine looking mature fox there, & thats a bludy nice looking rifle-i really like that timber.. :thumbsup:

Since starting my tanning fur fettish its interesting seeing the different markings on foxes & wish i could have one or 2 from down your way...!!
(Not a hint, just a statement :) )

There is a blood line on a farm.i bowl them over on that has some great black markings, & another with some slate grey colour around the neck...
Yet on another farm the fur pattern is quite subtle & non interesting.

Yea i know...simple things/simple minds... :lol:

I never really noticed the subtle differences until tanning the furs.

Nice pics... :thumbsup:
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by bigpete » 05 Nov 2018, 9:50 pm

That's funny you say that Stix...
The first one had the worst pelt of all of them,and was probably the youngest....
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 05 Nov 2018, 10:03 pm

Fair enuf...
I can only see the pics...you held it in real life.

So your saying the first fox is younger than the second one (in order of your pics)...?
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by bigpete » 05 Nov 2018, 10:21 pm

Yep. The second one was a vixen though...
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by Stix » 05 Nov 2018, 10:35 pm

Yea righto...!

You should send it to the authorities, you might have super genetic fox species down there...mite mske yourself famous for descovering a new species.
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Re: Hunt Reports

Post by bigpete » 05 Nov 2018, 10:40 pm

He really wasnt that big hey. Must just be the photo ?
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