Close encounters of the ?? kind

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

Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Die Judicii » 20 Sep 2019, 3:34 pm

On Wednesday night I was set up waiting and hoping for more feral dogs.
I was parked on a very narrow bridge of earth with a dam on one side, and an extremely steep drop off into a dry gully on the other side.
Overlooking this large and very deep dam where I had seen fresh paw prints on a ledge near the waters edge.
I'd been there for quite a few hours, and seen nothing but roos and wallabys drinking, so I rested back and shut my eyes for about 5 minutes.

I was jerked back to reality by a very loud "flap flap flapping" noise, right alongside my ute, and at the same time my ute started rocking.
I flipped on my red head torch and looked down over the side,, and there was a bloody big boar rubbing its backside on the rear wheel.
Then it just stopped and disappeared down over the embankment into the thick bushes.
The flapping noise was its ears as it shook its head.
It all happened so quickly I never had a chance to try and bring the rifle around and down.

Ahh well,,,,,, maybe tonite.
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: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Blr243 » 20 Sep 2019, 4:31 pm

That’s a very bold cheeky boar messing with with a 22250
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Die Judicii » 20 Sep 2019, 4:36 pm

:lol: :lol:
Hey, at least I don't have to go chase em like you do.
They come to me. :thumbsup:
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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: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by sungazer » 20 Sep 2019, 4:59 pm

Lucky you weren't on guard duty in the armed forces what the penalty fall falling asleep of guard duty? Honestly I should go out late at night for some of the feral s around here I just like my sleep too much.
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by GQshayne » 20 Sep 2019, 7:23 pm

Funny. The things you see in the bush eh.
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Blr243 » 20 Sep 2019, 8:03 pm

Hopefully this topic will encourage others to share their unusual but memorable moments with game in the bush. All I can think of for the moment is a brief encounter many yrs ago bow hunting creeks up the cape. I used to do two day walks checking water holes all the way. I would sleep in the sand like a dog in the night and hunt again at dawn. But despite the oppressive October heat during the day the night s used to get a bit chilly about two am. That’s when I would light a little fire to keep me warm. I was just sitting there upright in the sand slowly pushing more dry sticks into the fire when a big boar turned up out of nowhere and walked right up to the edge of my fire to check it out. For a moment I thought he was going to sit down and start telling me how his day was but My smelly companion hung around for probably only two seconds before he smelt me and bolted off into the safety of the darkness ...our cape York is a very amazing special place
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Harrynsw » 20 Sep 2019, 8:41 pm

That was a fun read.
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by duncan61 » 20 Sep 2019, 9:52 pm

Not super weird but I was culling Wooramel and had the local sheriff with me as he enjoyed shooting and The country had a few large bushes around and I spotted some red behind a bush up close so I turned to the left and stopped and this very large red male hopped out and was just about leaning on the bonnet.I still brag about the long shot I took.It was about 2 metres,All I did was sight down the barrel of my .222 and bingo
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Peter988 » 21 Sep 2019, 7:33 am

Got a big fright one day while squatted, half way through a crap, when a bloody great goanna took off a couple feet away. Fortunately it went in the other direction but you could say it scared the s**t out of me lol. Biggest fright though was in the boat on a quiet night in pitch dark at Jumpinpin when a dolphin blew next to the boat. That lifts you off the seat!!
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by deanp100 » 21 Sep 2019, 9:30 am

Shot at a pig in the spotlight once at about 2-300 yards. Speculator shot only. Pig took off and we followed it with the light. It turned at the next fence and ran toward the gravel road we were on. Turned again and sprinted up the road into the light for a couple of hundred yards, kept coming , kept coming and then ran straight into the bull bar of the ute. One shot with a shotgun to finish it. My first shot had knicked it balls which I assume was the only explanation for what it did.
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Die Judicii » 21 Sep 2019, 10:00 am

Well,,,, I got the boar that was rubbing its backside on my ute.
He is the big ginger/grey/black fella.
Also got the other two at differing times during the night (all from the same vantage point)
The black one only had one ear that must have been ripped off by a pig dog when it was younger (certainly well healed)
The other littler one (leaning up against the log) was shot just after sun up.
He rolled all the way down the dam wall and came to rest in a wallow right at the waters edge.
I made the mistake of grabbing a hoof to drag him out for a pic.
I've now washed my hands countless times with pineOclean in the water and I can still smell him.

The big feral cat was walking along a ridge leading down to the water when I clobbered it with the .308
It blew him clean off the ridge and down into the water where he floated till I dragged him out just after dawn.

Disappointingly,, the big fella seemed to have had his tusks smashed off somehow.


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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: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Blr243 » 21 Sep 2019, 10:56 am

Interesting ginger/ black colour combo on the boar .....cat does not look happy , Glad to hear you had a good night
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by duncan61 » 21 Sep 2019, 6:10 pm

That is how I like my cats to look.I was spotting back to base one night and I had my .243 out and I spied a feral creeping up on some finches in a low branch about 20 feet away and I turned it in to a 20 foot puddle of cat
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by on_one_wheel » 21 Sep 2019, 8:21 pm

This comes to mind :lol:
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At least you woke up :thumbsup:
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by TassieTiger » 21 Sep 2019, 10:23 pm

Stories? My dear old departed granmpa gave me so many storeys and adventures...

One night I was lighting with him and he shot a rabbit and went to pick it up. I held the light on him and he started dancing like Daisy Duck...he then started screaming for someone to bring the 12g and looked like he had the rabbit but it was stuck...
I was only 11 - but I’ll never forget it...I jumped down and walked over and here he is in a tug of wAr with the rabbit and the biggest black tiger snake I’ve ever seen in my life...it had bitten into the rabbit and either couldn’t or wouldn’t let go...I told grampa to let the bloody thing go but he was stubborn as lead...fuken snake visits me some nights in my horrors.

30 years ago now (s**t I’m old) My uncle bought a new hilux and set to building a shooting rack on the back, a buzzer to alert the driver, 2 12voutlets for spotters.
First night out and to celebrate, he bought a new Remington .22magnum with Stirling scope mounted from memory - a little high.
So to Deloraine we headed and wallaby were thick...
I was on a light, uncle decided he wanted first few shots, granmpa on other light, and a driver in cab.

Soon enough, I picked up a wallaby only 25m away and my uncle lined him up - bang! Wallaby gently hopped away...clean miss.
2 minutes later, granmpa spotted same scenario and bang...another clean miss.
This started a bit of an argument - and sure enough, next wallaby was a clean miss as well...and all hell broke loose - useless bastard, can’t shoot, blah blah...uncle was blaming new rifle, grampa was blaming skill, etc.

Next morning I jumped up into back of hilux and found 3 grooves in the roof - turns out his shooting rest bar was a bit low...I laughed, uncle cried. Grampa called him every name under the sun. Good times lol.
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Die Judicii » 24 Sep 2019, 11:00 am

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Well, another night at one of the properties that I've been asked to hunt on a regular basis (paid)
But very slim pickings last night.
This place seems to be hot or cold,,, with nothing in between.
It's either lots of varied victims, or very little.

This young fox was all that presented last night.
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: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Blr243 » 26 Sep 2019, 10:14 am

I had a boaring close encounter last night
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Blr243 » 26 Sep 2019, 10:18 am

And before anyone complains about the slightly skewed reticle or poor focus, I just can’t do that fumbling with buttons in the dark laying down in the dirt prone with a boar trotting straight at me inside 30 metres
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Die Judicii » 26 Sep 2019, 5:01 pm

BLR,,,,,,,,,,, and why not ?????
:lol:

Normally (apart from piggies) that woulda been a damm good angle.

So did you get him ???
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: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Blr243 » 26 Sep 2019, 5:14 pm

I noticed that he was walking between the stubble rows directly towards me , initially feeding but i accidentally left my red head torch on while laying prone so he has seen it , or the glow from my scope screen on my face , As soon as he saw something of interest he started trotting real fast towards me ... I did not want to risk the bullet being defected of the forehead angle and at 30 m I had no time to stuff up so I stopped him with a whistle . At that moment he propped and tilted his head to swivel an ear in my direction That’s when I got him Not a big pig just close and six times zoom ..... I will learn how to post on YouTube because it’s a pretty good vid from start to finish
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Die Judicii » 26 Sep 2019, 5:25 pm

The dogs must be on the move again.
Tuesday afternoon I called in to the property where I shot the yellow dog.
As I pulled up, the owner was standing looking at me, and shaking his head.
He told me that only 2 minutes before he heard my ute coming,, he saw a grey dog with a black muzzle running out of a dry creek bed.
It had disappeared up a hill into thick cover. (in broad daylight)

Less than an hour later I was on my way home, and saw a roo shooter I know parked off the side of the bitumin.
He was staring intently into a lightly timbered paddock.
He told me that a large yellow/orange colored dog had just run across in front of him,,,,, and yes, it was still broad daylight.

I got my gear and headed back out to the property, and stayed till 1-30am, and never heard or saw a dog at all. :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:
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: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Blr243 » 26 Sep 2019, 7:16 pm

I don’t have the patience to be a full on dog man. It’s such hard work. Cape York is an awesome spot if you want to shoot dingoes. There everywhere, anyone can shoot them skilled or not I shot three with my bow up there. And they have to be in numbers for me to be able to get them with my bow tie bow ,
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Re: Close encounters of the ?? kind

Post by Die Judicii » 26 Sep 2019, 7:45 pm

Blr243 wrote:I don’t have the patience to be a full on dog man. It’s such hard work. Cape York is an awesome spot if you want to shoot dingoes. There everywhere, anyone can shoot them skilled or not I shot three with my bow up there. And they have to be in numbers for me to be able to get them with my bow tie bow ,


You'll have to maybe grow some (patience) in the garden maybe.
The feeling of satisfaction is second to none.

I shot a few when I was up around Kowanyama.
Big piggies up there too, and with big hooks to boot.
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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