Sunday arv session local watering hole all welcome

[Blr243]

Except one

[Blr243]

Sunday

[Blr243]

Sunday

[Blr243]

Beyond first lot of Roos is crow eating fox I shot yesterday. Beyond that sow is leading her young back to the scrub

[Blr243]

Three separate occasions suckers came in for a drink and a swim here they are wandering around They actually accidentally scared s cat away from where he was sitting hidden from view. I got the cat as a result of this

[Stix]

Nice little set of pics BLR...

You either get around a lot BLR, or you make lots of different threads for one hunting trip...

I assume you didnt shoot the pigs to let the roos relax...?

Why dont you toss the fox away from the water so the isnt all stunk'n'ed up with rancid fox...?

[Stix]

Cool...!!

Show the cat...!!

[Blr243]

I did not actually move the fox the first time because I had my dog close at hand and did not want to go too close because of mange possibilities. There’s no stock watering at this hole ever. But I did drag the pig out the other day. Your right. I should move it I’m probably back there tonight. I did not want to shoot baby pigs or Roos so was content to snap pics. Until I saw the cat. Then my mindset changed and my finger was drawn to the trigger like a magnet

[8x57]

Cool pictures mate thanks for sharing

[Blr243]

I chose a different topic because this was not about pig shooting this was everybody meeting up for a drink. Saw all sorts of birds and spoon bill too. First time I ever saw pouched joeys drinking from hole same time as mum. The pork pages is not about my trip either it’s just a start so we can all add to it as it happens. Just like the fox pages. I should not be typing. I should be back in the paddock but I had a nice visual afternoon and slamming a cat is always magic. I’ll prob just hit that remote hole on dark and wait there for an hour it won’t matter if I miss a few dusk pigs. Perhaps a monster boar may not visit until 45 min after dark. I’ll find out I suppose then I’ll just do my usual rounds

[Stix]

No worries BLR... ....wasnt meaning to have a go....

Did that roo know you were so close...?...looks like you were only couple of metres away...

Its good to sit back & watch whst happens around water...
Can be very grounding taking it all in...

And where is the cat, & how far from you was it sitting...?

[Die Judicii]

Fckn Hell BLR,,,,,,,,,,, I thought you was inviting everyone to the local pub,,,, and you had an open tab.

Now I'm really disappointed,,,,,,,,,

[Blr243]

It’s late. Just got back to camp. Had a beer. Thank god for good fridges. Hope this makes sense Sitting still helped so much on the dam. The grey came past at 3.5 metres looked and couldn’t care less. I suspect the colour blindness and the “oh hell I just need a bloody drink thinking “ saw them a bit blasaie.... if the dog had lunged or I moved my arms they would have been off. The cat wandered down but only briefly drank and then off up and over the bank and away. I took the rifle for a little walk to locate him but I ran into the piglets instead. So was spending some time filming them and temporarily forgot the cat. I couldn’t believe my luck when they were ambling along and spooked the cat from his sitting position. I quickly folded the bipod into position and laid down waiting for the cat to pause Mounds of earth in the way causing me a shade of grief but then came the moment he stood still in the clear. I touched the trigger and the cat was knocked down Then I left the waterhole and had a bludge back at camp

[Blr243]

I never been that close to a roo before. I think the cat would have been 30 m max when I took the shot

[marksman]

its real hunting being able to conceal yourself so that animals have no fear of you, its like they know your there but you are not a threat
quite a few years ago l tested myself in camo with homemade scent blocker and while being watched by a mate l nearly got to pat a roo in front of me
l could take a step, the roo would turn around. stop until it got back to its business and take another step, the roo would turn around, l kept this up until l had my hand reaching out and the poor roo realised l was a walking tree or something it turn and jumped straight into a tree fell over got up and was off
very funny time

good onya for dropping a feral cat

[Blr243]

Marksman. Your first sentence is spot on and indicative of a deeper level of thinking. Weather stake out or bowhunting or rifle stalking I have always strove for a situation where my targets were oblivious to my presence. But yesterday’s close encounters made me aware that despite man and dog usually being a danger to wildlife , we could be part of the group of a variety of animals sharing a common essential resource There were birds and a cat there at the same time. But with awareness of the cat and monitoring its actions and distance the Birds can still chill out and enjoy the atmosphere ....the Roos looked at us a fair bit .. a sitting dog with head and ears visible is a shape they can process. I was aware that most of them were aware of us and that our relaxed actions gave them some peace of mind despite our close proximity ...... a caretaker of a grazing property told me that once he wandered over to his shed to find two feral pigs laying down enjoying the shade .....he also noticed that his old border collie was laying down asleep with the pigs ..... this was in an area where dingoes are very common .... despite dingoes and dogs usually being a serious threat these pigs must have noticed the friendly nature and body language of the dog and been completely at ease if they could all just crash out together

[Blr243]

Marksman. Your first sentence is spot on and indicative of a deeper level of thinking. Weather stake out or bowhunting or rifle stalking I have always strove for a situation where my targets were oblivious to my presence. But yesterday’s close encounters made me aware that despite man and dog usually being a danger to wildlife , we could be part of the group of a variety of animals sharing a common essential resource There were birds and a cat there at the same time. But with awareness of the cat and monitoring its actions and distance the Birds can still chill out and enjoy the atmosphere ....the Roos looked at us a fair bit .. a sitting dog with head and ears visible is a shape they can process. I was aware that most of them were aware of us and that our relaxed actions gave them some peace of mind despite our close proximity ...... a caretaker of a grazing property told me that once he wandered over to his shed to find two feral pigs laying down enjoying the shade .....he also noticed that his old border collie was laying down asleep with the pigs ..... this was in an area where dingoes are very common .... despite dingoes and dogs usually being a serious threat these pigs must have noticed the friendly nature and body language of the dog and been completely at ease if they could all just crash out together

[Blr243]

Is it legal in Australia to use feral pigs to flush out but not hold feral cats? (Post unusual because today I have 2 much time on my hands )

[Blr243]

Shot cat

[Blr243]

Peak shaped earth mound

[Blr243]

Yesterday when the cat left the long trench shaped dam I saw him go up over the bank but was unsure of whether he stayed on top of the bank or continue into the bushes. So I took the rifle for a slow walk along the bank hoping he might still be crouched there. That’s when I ran into the piglets and snapped pics of them. If u zoom in u can see a peak shaped mind of earth between the two pigs. The left side has the sun on it ( thermal pic) the right side is shaded and darker. U can see a half round of the cats head and his right ear he is faceing away from me. That’s when he freaked at the noise of piglets trotting up behind him. I was stoked and quickly moved into position near the very same mound he was behind . He ran down into the dried mud of the trench and paused at the other side because of the steep bank . That’s how I got him

[Blr243]

Mob having drink and bath after dark

[Blr243]

I was a bit excited and couldn’t get my act together on this mob. They winded me and took off before I could take a shot

[Blr243]

I saw a video posted on YouTube via AHN forum. It showed quite a few pigs shot in a short space of time ... in the comments or in the replies I saw “ those pigs need water no matter what “. It seemed to be so hot that they were returning to the scene of the shooting very soon after shots fired. It got me thinking about modifying my plan. In the heat I will usually wait until the mob is drinking bathing and relaxed .. then I shoot. But after watching the vid I thought I should shoot the first decent pig at first opportunity and then wait for the scattering pigs to return. If there’s no water for miles and it’s 2pm they will return like it or not. So that’s my new thing.

[Blr243]

I found a new website when u type in GOONDIWINDI TEMPERATURE. And it displays the temperature forecast for every hour through the day. And typically the temps lately here constant and highest between 3 and 7 pm. My visits to the hole and my trail cam footage reveals surprisingly there’s bugger all or only a little pig visits between 11 am and 230 pm when we would expect that’s when they will b there ......even though I have been doing this a long time I reckon Last night I have learnt more about night time visits to holes in summer .... previously I had thought that pigs will drink in the arv as they have left their bed prior to feeding all night and then drink again roughly dawn on their way back to their bed. ( also midday drinks in summer of course but Im mainly talking bout their night time drinking habits at the moment ). But now I’m learning that the water hole is a great place to stake out all night during summer ..... I found good regular activity there 12 midnight and 2 pm roughly. In areas where all of the local pigs are bedding in roughly the same area , feeding on one crop and drinking at one hole I think there’s a chance of most drinking being dusk and dawn ....but if pigs are more geographically dispersed, and they have more than one hole to drink at , and they are feeding in different areas all over the shop then I think it becomes harder to predict when to wait at a hole in the dark because they could get thirsty at any random time during their feeding. Also during the last 30 years and more hunters have been staking out holes morning and night and getting pigs drinking then ,so we have all come to the conclusion that it works But nowadays with rifle mounted torches , portable lighting, thermal and NV, we are equipped to hunt holes any time of the night ......I have three more nights so tonight I’m going to try to spend 70 per cent of my time on the hole and 30 per cent in my fav cultivation paddocks.... it’s hard for me to abstain from my cult paddock because I have had a ton of fun There this year. I also think it’s good not to hammer the waterhole all night. It might force them to another hole I don’t know about ...... I should also mention that I have seen pigs feeding on my dead pigs near the hole so the drought must be forcing them to do what they perhaps might not otherwise .... there’s at least three more foxes on the main waterhole and they are young so not wary and they are definitely on my radar.