Hunt report tues and we’d night

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

Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 29 Aug 2019, 10:40 am

The dog and I are back in the pig paddocks on the first night I was surprised to see a couple of mobs already on the crop at dusk I ignored my thermal outfit and grabbed my old blr 243 This turned out to be a mistake. Despite the good light transmission on my vortex 56 mm I could not see properly because the pigs were moving across the field quite fast and I lost light before I could shoot. I returned to the Ute to pat my dog and grab my thermal fitted 450 bm Then for the next 3 or 4 hours I walked all over the place stalking mobs of all different sizes here and there Normally this paddock has just mobs but this time there was a couple of solo boars so I shot them. I returned to the Ute pretty buggered and a bit disappointed that I only got two pigs Then the next night there was not so many around but I managed to get 4 of them and again I returned to the Ute pretty buggered. The black soil on this place is unusually soft and crumbly. It’s like walking soft sand at the beach. In all of my hunting life I have never seen this before but I put up with it because there’s pigs here ... I waked back nd forth for a while doing as best as I could with the wind I had two sellier and bellot primers fail and one of the boars stopped and listened when he heard the click I think I might have been 40 m from him. Fortunately I was able to work the bolt again and get another shot before he took off ......on the first night I was walking with my red head torch and the walking the last 150 m in the dark just in case they saw my light. But I was breaking dead dry stubble and they were hearing it.... some mobs spooked and ran off never to be caught up with. The next night I tried something different. Despite no moon there was a ton of light in the paddock so I’m nervous of any noise that might make them look my way. They know they get shot at in these paddocks. On the second night During the last 100 m of the stalk I used my walking red light right up to the point maybe 30 m from the mob just before I took the shot. This enabled me to avoid the stubble stalks and make no noise. ( these very little crunchy stuff to step on it’s when I break the vertical stalks that does it ) At no time did I notice my red light was spooking anything and every shot was taken at a feeding relaxed pig. So I will do the same again tonight and see how I go
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Member-Deleted » 29 Aug 2019, 11:40 am

Good stuff Blr243, keep your reports coming mate... when I'm stuck behind this desk, reading about it is the next best thing
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 29 Aug 2019, 6:52 pm

Greetings from the edge of the paddock. The sun been gone about an hour. An initial conventional bino check from left to right revealed I had no keen customers pre dark. Now it looks like a mob and a couple of solo boars have entered the top end of the paddock. The wind is as predicted on the elders app. I shall wait for a bit to see if more turn up before I get into a perfect wind position and start the ball rolling .....other than the cicadas in the scrub to my right it’s eerie quiet
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 29 Aug 2019, 10:28 pm

I was wrong. Those two solo boars turned out to b tree stumps. But I did shoot the biggest pig from the mob and it turned out to be a sow. Then I saw mediocre mobs here and there but only managed to shoot another real small pig. It was tiny and must have accidentally got separated from a mob at one stage. But it was happily feeding away just the same. I had a bit of equipment failure to deal with so I eventually found time to get back to the Ute and drive back to camp. Now that’s sorted I’m back on the edge of the paddock waiting for things to settle down again. If no pigs turn up in the next 30 mins I will have to make my way over to paddock numb 2 to check the action. The wind is still blowing the same as before so I don’t have to change my base location.
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by AZZA'S HJ47 » 29 Aug 2019, 10:37 pm

Sounds like a good time trying to sought out a trip for a forced holiday on less than 2 weeks notice.
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 1:21 am

I find the first part of a 2 week wait difficult but after that the second week is fine knowing a trip is just round the corner .....115 pm. Time flies. I been chasing a mob around for a bit got one then they took off for the scrub. I thought they might relax when they hit the safety of the bush line so I took off after them and sure enough there they were nervously poking their snouts out from behind the shrubbery , grunting, thinking about it. I sat downwind until all of them including the stragglers made their way out into the open paddocks again. Then I pushed my way past some Roos and took another boar from the mob. Now Planning my next move as I rest up a bit.
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 4:24 am

415 am. Just got a big sow. Set up camp on the edge of the paddock. A bit tired. Prob no more pigs for us tonight can’t seemyself getting up early
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 6:57 pm

Fri night, Here goes. Every day I check the likely wind direction on my elders site. I have taken up position. It’s nearly fully dark now. There’s a mob of 6-10 pigs a fair way of and then maybe closer 600 metres there is what I hope to be 3 lumpy solo boars. A closer inspection and a with a bit more study of their behaviour will confirm if I’m right. .. I’ll wait at least 30 minutes to let them settle and allow more mobs to turn up prior to me scooting round into a perfect downwind position .....for a bit of a change I’m going to try for at leastvpart of the night my 300 blk with a red rifle mounted torch,,,,,,, off a bush rest when sighting in this arv I got moa groups with just handloads ( no load dev whatsoever). How much I use it tonight will depend on the first session I’m useing 130 Speer hollow points I forget the velocity will post that later
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 7:00 pm

Fri night, Here goes. Every day I check the likely wind direction on my elders site. I have taken up position. It’s nearly fully dark now. There’s a mob of 6-10 pigs a fair way of and then maybe closer 600 metres there is what I hope to be 3 lumpy solo boars. A closer inspection and a with a bit more study of their behaviour will confirm if I’m right. .. I’ll wait at least 30 minutes to let them settle and allow more mobs to turn up prior to me scooting round into a perfect downwind position .....for a bit of a change I’m going to try for at leastvpart of the night my 300 blk with a red rifle mounted torch,,,,,,, off a bush rest when sighting in this arv I got moa groups with just handloads ( no load dev whatsoever). How much I use it tonight will depend on the first session I’m useing 130 Speer hollow points I forget the velocity will post that later
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 7:01 pm

Proj was 130/135 Cant rem. Vel 1900 FPS
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 7:06 pm

I just checked again with the thermal binos now there is another good mob and a couple of solo boars coming in from the scrub to the north. The more I see it makes me anxious. Does anybody else get like that.?
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by marksman » 30 Aug 2019, 8:02 pm

you bet ya :drinks:
“If you do not read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers you are misinformed”. Mark Twain
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 8:29 pm

A very casual relaxed mob of 25 ambling over towards me was the perfect no stress situation to try my different set up I had to hurry they were closeing in so fast I could here them munching and once I dropped my binos I had no idea where they were as I prepped my bipod. I thought they were going to walk over the top of me as a lay prone trying to get My act together safety off and I flicked on the red light ... I could see nothing. But I could here them coming. What a joke. So I flicked the switch to green and it was as if I had let loose with an sks. Pigs were bolting everywhere. After they settled again I tried to get real close with the red. It had no effect on them at all it’s as if they were oblivious to the red. But there was no way I was going to be able to see a dark pig in a dark paddock on a dark night. And. The light was not an eBay cheapy. The pigs were still unspooked so I upd and walked back to the Ute to get my 243 and thermal scope It took me so long to try to get a shot with the red light that if I had chosen the thermal 243 in the first place I could have shot/ dressed hung cooked and eaten the pig in the time it took me to shoot one pig with the red light. Once in position with the thermal scope I lay waiting for the biggest pig to turn broadside. But as I did I could hear more pigs on my right munching It turns out the mob was bigger than I thought. As I lay in darkness I could here sniffing as some were winding me but others were so close I thought anytime soon if I don’t get this shot away I’m going to have a pig come up and chew on my ear. ..... I fired and the first pig dropped. But they hung around and I got two more before they departed. Does anyone here want to buy a selectable white / green/ red light for their rifle? ( very little use. ) Oh well at least I don’t have to decide what rifle to use for the rest of the night. Time for more paddock scanning
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 8:42 pm

Scanning has revealed it looks like I have upset the occupants in the northern end of paddock one but I can see some action in the middle off the paddock and in the northern end of paddock two. But both are a bit of a way off so a swig of water and a couple of muesli bars should get me over there. Psyching myself up for the walk. It’s just gotta be done.
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 30 Aug 2019, 10:34 pm

Across the paddock I found a lone boar, a mob of 25 and another mob of four. I easily got the solo boar which turned out to be b and w but on the way to the boar for some reason the 25 strong mob spooked and ran flat out for the safety of the scrub without stopping. There were no other hunters in the area. The wind was consistently strong in my face I have not seen that before. It was a shame to see so many of my potential pigs hightailing it away esp when I had not made a mistake. After the b and w boar I moved in on the mob of four and took out the large sow and a small boar. That makes 6 for the night so far. Last night I worked my guts out for 8.5 hours and got home at 430 pm all for 6 pigs .... I’m temporarily back at the hut but only to feed the dog and stock up my drinks / ammo check. I dare not crawl into my swag in case I’m too lazy to get out of it again. I’m feeling well so will rest for an hour then plan how best to approach the paddocks for the best success rate
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Die Judicii » 30 Aug 2019, 11:03 pm

Blr243 wrote:I flicked on the red light ... I could see nothing. But I could here them coming. What a joke. So I flicked the switch to green and it was as if I had let loose with an sks. Pigs were bolting everywhere. Does anyone here want to buy a selectable white / green/ red light for their rifle? ( very little use. ) Oh well at least I don’t have to decide what rifle to use for the rest of the night. Time for more paddock scanning


:lol: :lol: That'll learn ya.

Stick to the thermal Mate.

I had a similar experience with a fox a fortnight ago.
I do not fear death itself... Only its inopportune timing!
I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 31 Aug 2019, 4:42 am

After my rest where i very nearly fell asleep and missed the rest of my hunt. I returned to the paddocks hoping to be get onto a few more mobs ,,, but there was a vehicle driving around and I was concerned it might be spotting my paddocks. When we looked like running into each other at a junction it did a u bolt and left. Excellent.... I set up position and found some likely looking white lumps with the binos. I saw a cat lying down on the way but did not want my shot upsetting the pigs. I was able to get another 2 pigs from a mob and then another two from another bigger mob as well. That took my tally up to ten for the night. I was keen to get back to my car and I felt I had enough but a twenty strong mob came into view. Unfortunately the wind was blowing the wrong way and my attempts to circle round out of the way were not enough. Last I saw of them they were single file disappearing into the scrub .....another big night for me it’s now 430am as I crawl into the swag but I’m thrilled I had to put less effort in tonight to get more pigs than I did yesterday
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 31 Aug 2019, 7:09 pm

It’s now just gone 7 pm and I have about 40/50 white objects in the first two paddocks. Approximately one quarter are def pigs but the rest are too far away to be worried about for the moment they could just be Roos. Time will tell. I try to wait another 15 if I can before I start but the one mob that’s ambling over towards me I may have to get onto sooner in case they get down wind of me
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 31 Aug 2019, 9:01 pm

Went out into paddock one. Not a great deal around tonight. Shot an ok solo boar a a small one from another mob of a dozen. Wind is not it’s usual self tonight. It has been very reliable other nights. I’m going to take the Ute and the dog over to another semi open grazing paddock for a look around Then I’ll scan the cultivation paddocks again
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 01 Sep 2019, 8:42 am

Had a bad night. Shot an ok solo boar and two smaller pigs from different mobs I think the pigs in these paddocks are getting wise to my activities. I got to stop taking my swag into the field for a temporary lay down rest in between pig mobs. It’ was so comfortable that my temporary rest ended up being a very long rest ... I awoke an hour before sun up. Saw one mob hightailing it for hills and I put a stalk in on a solo boar but he must have heard me and took off as well. Then after dawn in desperation to keep the tally up after last nights stuff up I went for a couple of bush daytime walks but no luck. I need to try to do as little as possible today so I can stay awake all night in the pig paddocks
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 01 Sep 2019, 6:22 pm

Good narrative mate... almost feels like we are there with you.

Dumb question but do you does all the pigs you shoot or you just let them become fertilizer?

And good luck with trying to start awake tonight
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Blr243 » 01 Sep 2019, 6:34 pm

Pigs here are generally good attractants to foxes out into the open so we can get a shot at them. Then they are hawk and crow tucker. Then they are fertiliser. I did bring a baking pan with me this time so I can put a sucker in the oven Maybe. I’m feeling good. Hope I can go the distance. I have a deck to build for somebody when I get back to work so will have to change the body clock somehow
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 01 Sep 2019, 6:39 pm

Lol yeah I understand ya..sailing that I am ready for bed by 10/10.30 now a days
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Re: Hunt report tues and we’d night

Post by Die Judicii » 01 Sep 2019, 10:10 pm

Ziad wrote:Good narrative mate... almost feels like we are there with you.

Dumb question but do you does all the pigs you shoot or you just let them become fertilizer?

And good luck with trying to start awake tonight


Don't forget,,,,,,,
Pigs will eat anything including their own.
So nothing much will be left.
I do not fear death itself... Only its inopportune timing!
I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
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