Friendly hunting comp

[Blr243]

Shortly after setting up on the paddock edge I spies what I thought could be an ok solo boar but he was out there so the first three hund metres was going to reveal a boar or a roo ( waste of time). At some stage I remember saying to myself yep I’m 100 per cent conf that’s a pig. I carried on making ground and assessing the wind as I did so ...I was anxious..... After . eventually getting within 50 m he was facing me but I had to prepare. I unfolded the bipod and quietly laid down in the dirt. Focus , video on , safety of and then wait for the right moment. I knew when he turned broadside that he was mine. I strode up to the boar and all was fine Took a photo and headed back to my quad and dog. The gps tracker said it was 1200 m away. I caught the reflection of eyes from my red head torch on the walk back. Real close. A quick scan with the binos revealed a nervous feral cat. By the time I got the rifle ready he had moved about 75 m and the potential for a miss was lining up roughly with general Direction managers house so I thought stuff it and I shouldered the rifle. Hopefully I will catch up with that cat aagain before the trip is done

[Blr243]

The 1200 m boar

[bigpete]

Nice boar

[Blr243]

The night started well but roughly midnight I fell asleep and I did not have my alarms set. I did not even see it coming. Woke at 415 and was disappointed in myself. Very slowly circled the rest of the paddocks in the quad stoppping to thoroughly scan every 400 m. But all was quiet ....now quiet content on a thick mattress with bacon and coffee

[Oldbloke]

I reckon anything shot during the daylight hours is worth any 10 shot under light

[Blr243]

Old bloke please rephrase. I don’t understand. Maybe I’m tired already. Or I’m still buzzing from the tabby cat I just shot. Picked up his eyes while slowly quadding along. Same spot as last night. Same cat but this time the shot was super safe. Vmax knocked him down. First cat for the trip. And it’s always nice to get the one that got away last time. Just arrived at my pig paddocks. Looking bare other than a stack of Roos. But the night is young

[Stix]

I reckon anything shot during the daylight hours is worth any 10 shot under light

I assume you referring to spotlighting being easy Old Bloke...

Gotta tell ya, Ive clobbered many a piss easy fox thats stopped half way across a track in broad daylight standing broad side on looking at me within 40 yds, & yet had untold amounts of them outsmart everyone they come across at night...

Yes spotlighting is an opportunistic way of shooting things, & many think its an "unfair advantage"...usually those haven't experienced, &/or dont have the patience to truly enjoy the challenge of foxing at night...

Using a light to locate them--they may be 400-500 yds, 4 paddocks & 5 gates away--, then with tools such as whistles lights & cars, try to outsmart them, keep down wind of them often circling through the same 4 or 5 paddocks, constantly loosing them & trying to think where they would go, then second guessing yourself only to have them pop up right where you first thought they would be--having this happen 3-4-5 times over 30 mins with the same fox, having to work gates & dodge flocks of some of the most stupid animals God ever made that somehow do what they can to stampede & scare off their only enemy.. ..., all when Foxes have free access to cut across seeded/cropped paddocks in any direction, know every blade of grass for miles, can go through ANY fence at ANY point, launch 2 feet over the boundary on a complaining disjointed neighbour's land & stand & smile at you, &/or learn how to not look at a light & go to ground & know how to literally vanish before your eyes when they are 2 metres from the front wheel of the car...

Not all spotlighting is opportunistic...some of it is modern, well edumacated hunting...( )...and very addictive ta-boot...!!

Come to think of it...Ive heard the occasional "expert fox hunter" that only does fox drives...spaced 20 metres apart driving through creek beds to flush them out & him & 2 of his mates having to off-load half dozen full field loads of BB's to bring one down at 15 paces, suggest that hunting them by spotlight across paddocks is "cheating"... ..

[Oldbloke]

"I assume you referring to spotlighting being easy Old Bloke.."

Well,, easier. IMHO

[Blr243]

Old bloke. If you want ten times more points for daytime work that’s fine by me ....I’m actually giving myself 200 points instead of 5 for the cat I shot last night to make up for the fact that I did not get to shoot any pigs last night ........stix. Are you getting out soon or has that weather totally screwed you? I have had a few opportunities on foxes last couple of nights that could have worked out if I had not already lost my whistle. It’s a tube type. The other night when I called up my first fox I spent al least a minute on the tube type whistle frantically trying to clear it. Dirt had blocked it up. Eventually it came good and I got the fox. I have found two home made slightly less than ideal tin whistles. Today I shall improve them or make a new one

[Blr243]

When I was looking for challenge I did many years crawling around the hills chaseing deer useing a bow without success I’m sure the deer are still laughing at me. But now I’m just having fun

[Oldbloke]

" Old bloke. If you want ten times more points for daytime work that’s fine by me ...."

No, just making a point. Would be fairer to differentiate

[Blr243]

6 am Sun is edging above the horizon, sitting on the porch in a comfy recliner , listening to J j cale with a nice cold bundy winding down after a long night ....a couple of the farmers ever keen wild eyed kelpies are sniffing at the smell of pigs on my boots and looking intently at me like they want me to tell them how it all went down .... I spent some time on my waterhole firstly last night but the only thing that arrived was a fox that came close but in a bad wind location so after getting a whiff he kept trotting on as if he knew of another waterhole further on down the road that might not smell like man .. I watched all this through my binos. I uped and left when I had had enough but on the way to my cultivation paddocks noticed that someone else was already driving and spotting them I parked up at the other end and made a point of pointing my quad lights in his direction to assist him in at least being aware of my presence.... after shooting a few Roos He moved up the end , I fell asleep and never saw him again perhaps he exited the paddocks while I was snoozing. After much waiting , some sleeping and a lot of swearing at my alarm clock I ended up doing a non eventful lap of the paddocks. I still had some dark to kill so I headed up to my other bush block. Briefly stopped at my waterhole for a Squizz and saw a good boar ambling away. I quickly dismounted grabbed the rifle and followed him into the bush hoping for a chance but he was quickly swallowed up by the night and he escaped to live another day ........I then moved up to the cattle feeding station and dismounted....wandered over to the big mob of cattle hoping to find them accompanied by pigs ...I was in luck. A mob of about ten was amongst the bedded cattle to escape the cold wind ....amongst the cattle and yards I had to be very careful that bullets or their fragments would not hit any cattle or equipment......after getting ito position it took me at least 15 mins to stay down wind and carefully negotiate all the fences and equipment and avoiding spooking the cattle two ... I ended up taking two pigs in tricky spots then made my way back to my quad. Some interesting pics to follow soon

[Blr243]

Pigs under old truck

[Blr243]

Sow on right with piglets laying down

[Blr243]

After I shot a pig on the right most of them took off. I was shooting prone from a bipod only ten m away so they def heard the shot ....but the sow walked over to the dead pig and tried lifting him with her snout as if to say come on get up. But after thirty secs she just laid back down in her original location and fully rolled onto her side so her piglets could suckle She lay there like that for a minute or two. I did not want to shoot her But I had to get 50 m past her to shoot another one from the mob and after what had just happened with her desire to protect her young I did not want to try sneak past her in case she attacked me .. last thing I wanted was a fight in the dark with a cranky pig trying to bite my fingers off. With rifle in hand and scope on low power just in case I cautiously moved fwd firmly demanding that she get up and get out and she promptly did so with no drama....as soon as she and her young had joined up with the mob I singled out another and shot him. Two people this trip had told me about the mob over there stealing the cattle’s supplements and it’s been mentioned to me a few times before on other hunt trips ...after not haveing much luck in my usual paddocks I think I might try the cattle yards again tonight ...it took me a hell of a long time to prepare for a safe initial shot and I expect that tonight will be just as tricky but I’m up for it

[Blr243]

One downside on hunting the cattle yards in the dark is that while adjusting the bipod legs and wriggling your body and elbows into a comfortable shooting position you never really know until later how must fresh cattle or pig poo you may be squashing your body into

[Blr243]

When on a hunting trip that ends up being somewhat disappointing because the choppers have been and taken out 95 per cent of your pigs , on the last night there really is only one thing you can do .....load the dog into the back of the quad , grab your rifle and go out into the darkness and get yourself a nice boar..... .....at 1130 pm last night that’s exactly what happened ... so on a positive note i ended the hunt and I knocked off early and got back to camp at two am. So am sitting in a nice comfy chair under the stars with my dog a very cold ......photos coming soon

[Blr243]

Will post hunt description tomorrow

[Blr243]

Fatty boar