For those who don’t or can’t get out,

[Die Judicii]

For those who can’t or don’t get out and about, here’s what your missing out on. Stupidly crazy numbers. I was told by a friend whose son is a muster chopper pilot, and that he also does vermin control shooting. In the last 3 days he has shot over 800 pigs at one property in NSW. And to think that Minnie Minns wants to virtually disarm the state,, what a silly man. I was talking to Big Rich about it and he knows of two other pilots that have well and truly exceeded the 800 tally,,, but i’ll bow out and let him put up those details. Absolute crazy numbers.

[bigrich]

For those who can’t or don’t get out and about, here’s what your missing out on. Stupidly crazy numbers. I was told by a friend whose son is a muster chopper pilot, and that he also does vermin control shooting. In the last 3 days he has shot over 800 pigs at one property in NSW. And to think that Minnie Minns wants to virtually disarm the state,, what a silly man. I was talking to Big Rich about it and he knows of two other pilots that have well and truly exceeded the 800 tally,,, but i’ll bow out and let him put up those details. Absolute crazy numbers.

yeah mate was talking to a professional DPI culler not long ago who claimed two choppers in 3 days knocked over 2500 pigs thereabouts and 156 dogs out at winton QLD . i saw over 30 pigs in a day and a half on the property i get out on southwest of stanthorpe . their usually hard to spot in high ridge country , but the numbers are definitely getting up when i see that many without trying. this weekends trip should be good . i should load more ammo

last couple of wet years have led to a point where numbers are really getting up i reckon . good for hunters, bad for farmers .

[Harrison S]

The anti-gun lobby have very small and narrow minds and often tend to be very selfishly minded people with little to no thought for people in circumstances outside of their own. They are simply incapable of comprehending why people would need firearms in Australia. They have no understanding of farming, of pest control, of the wide spread damage and nature of feral, they cannot comprehend the idea of sport/target shooting, they fail to understand why someone would hunt to feed their family rather than shop at one of the rip off merchants... their level of ignorance on the subject and at the same time, their level of power is unmatched...

[Wapiti]

Well I've given up worrying about it. Yes I try, I get out every day and drop something, yesterday 5 in a row when going to check on some calves. Good for keeping up practice and reinforces that my gear and procedures are the most practical I can get them, but we can't keep up.
This is separate from when my wife and I go out to collect some meat.
Over the last few months I've offered a few people the opportunity to hunt, nothing asked for, no favours, no reciprocation. All I get is "oh I'm so busy at work and the wife is up me and I need the overtime and what other excuse can I make", mates I've always trusted have gotton busy or moved on, or just got the sh1ts with trying, sure they want to come out here WHEN IT SUITS THEM once, twice a year and I've come to the conclusion that hunters are not the answer for me.
Yes i get it, these people have complicated lives, don't we all?
I'm just going to accept every council aerial bait drop, and go and pick up wet and dry 1080 baits the 3-4 times they are offered and get back into it. The extra levels of insurance we paid to let people not involved in professional pest control is killing us, we paid last time $3K for it and the whole year, nobody had time to come out. And you're a fool if you don't have it nowadays. But who pays for it?
It's just not that simple from my side. Might sound like it from the other side.
I'll never run out of targets, that's for sure. I just had to do my PP H renewal this week, and the stuff I sent QLD WL was about 40mb of reduced size photos in 5 PDF word docs of dead stock, trail can pics some with 6 dogs in the shot, pig traps full of pigs with extras outside waiting, medical reports from animal injuries blah blah.
This story about casual shooters helping, it's a drop in the bucket. If that p*sses anyone off, just think about whether you're there when the s**t happens or not. The politicians don't care and never will, if they actually understand better the crap that goes on everyday they still wouldn't give a toss, because the agenda is to take guns away from everyone but their security detail, and the police so they can better control us.
Imagine the despair they have in knowing a farmer interested in firearms goes out shooting everyday, at any ranges, at any size target, knows their stuff backwards to the point that "buck fever" was lost long ago, and their esteemed police might shoot the gun that frightens then once a year.

[Flavius Maximus]

The anti-gun lobby have very small and narrow minds and often tend to be very selfishly minded people with little to no thought for people in circumstances outside of their own. They are simply incapable of comprehending why people would need firearms in Australia. They have no understanding of farming, of pest control, of the wide spread damage and nature of feral, they cannot comprehend the idea of sport/target shooting, they fail to understand why someone would hunt to feed their family rather than shop at one of the rip off merchants... their level of ignorance on the subject and at the same time, their level of power is unmatched...

It's issues like these that make me understand why the Yanks have Electoral College. Why let some latte sipping, inner city wanker who's never seen a farm before decide what's right for you folks out in the bush?

[Zach]

Well I've given up worrying about it. Yes I try, I get out every day and drop something, yesterday 5 in a row when going to check on some calves. Good for keeping up practice and reinforces that my gear and procedures are the most practical I can get them, but we can't keep up.
This is separate from when my wife and I go out to collect some meat.
Over the last few months I've offered a few people the opportunity to hunt, nothing asked for, no favours, no reciprocation. All I get is "oh I'm so busy at work and the wife is up me and I need the overtime and what other excuse can I make", mates I've always trusted have gotton busy or moved on, or just got the sh1ts with trying, sure they want to come out here WHEN IT SUITS THEM once, twice a year and I've come to the conclusion that hunters are not the answer for me.
Yes i get it, these people have complicated lives, don't we all?
I'm just going to accept every council aerial bait drop, and go and pick up wet and dry 1080 baits the 3-4 times they are offered and get back into it. The extra levels of insurance we paid to let people not involved in professional pest control is killing us, we paid last time $3K for it and the whole year, nobody had time to come out. And you're a fool if you don't have it nowadays. But who pays for it?
It's just not that simple from my side. Might sound like it from the other side.
I'll never run out of targets, that's for sure. I just had to do my PP H renewal this week, and the stuff I sent QLD WL was about 40mb of reduced size photos in 5 PDF word docs of dead stock, trail can pics some with 6 dogs in the shot, pig traps full of pigs with extras outside waiting, medical reports from animal injuries blah blah.
This story about casual shooters helping, it's a drop in the bucket. If that p*sses anyone off, just think about whether you're there when the s**t happens or not. The politicians don't care and never will, if they actually understand better the crap that goes on everyday they still wouldn't give a toss, because the agenda is to take guns away from everyone but their security detail, and the police so they can better control us.
Imagine the despair they have in knowing a farmer interested in firearms goes out shooting everyday, at any ranges, at any size target, knows their stuff backwards to the point that "buck fever" was lost long ago, and their esteemed police might shoot the gun that frightens then once a year.

Down here in Tas the ferals aren't nearly as big a problem (yet) but even so I hear the constant back and forth between famers who apparently won't let anyone on their land unless they're paying a few grand, and hunters who offer pest control but really only want to shoot a single deer and won't bother with animals the farmer actually wants taken off the land. Nobody is prepared to help look after the land they want permission to shoot on.

If the feral pig population down here ever booms we're screwed. Pigs and goats are considered domestic stock regardless of where they are and deer numbers are exploding with 99% of public state forest locked away.

[Finniss]

Well I've given up worrying about it. Yes I try, I get out every day and drop something, yesterday 5 in a row when going to check on some calves. Good for keeping up practice and reinforces that my gear and procedures are the most practical I can get them, but we can't keep up.
This is separate from when my wife and I go out to collect some meat.
Over the last few months I've offered a few people the opportunity to hunt, nothing asked for, no favours, no reciprocation. All I get is "oh I'm so busy at work and the wife is up me and I need the overtime and what other excuse can I make", mates I've always trusted have gotton busy or moved on, or just got the sh1ts with trying, sure they want to come out here WHEN IT SUITS THEM once, twice a year and I've come to the conclusion that hunters are not the answer for me.
Yes i get it, these people have complicated lives, don't we all?
I'm just going to accept every council aerial bait drop, and go and pick up wet and dry 1080 baits the 3-4 times they are offered and get back into it. The extra levels of insurance we paid to let people not involved in professional pest control is killing us, we paid last time $3K for it and the whole year, nobody had time to come out. And you're a fool if you don't have it nowadays. But who pays for it?
It's just not that simple from my side. Might sound like it from the other side.
I'll never run out of targets, that's for sure. I just had to do my PP H renewal this week, and the stuff I sent QLD WL was about 40mb of reduced size photos in 5 PDF word docs of dead stock, trail can pics some with 6 dogs in the shot, pig traps full of pigs with extras outside waiting, medical reports from animal injuries blah blah.
This story about casual shooters helping, it's a drop in the bucket. If that p*sses anyone off, just think about whether you're there when the s**t happens or not. The politicians don't care and never will, if they actually understand better the crap that goes on everyday they still wouldn't give a toss, because the agenda is to take guns away from everyone but their security detail, and the police so they can better control us.
Imagine the despair they have in knowing a farmer interested in firearms goes out shooting everyday, at any ranges, at any size target, knows their stuff backwards to the point that "buck fever" was lost long ago, and their esteemed police might shoot the gun that frightens then once a year.

Down here in Tas the ferals aren't nearly as big a problem (yet) but even so I hear the constant back and forth between famers who apparently won't let anyone on their land unless they're paying a few grand, and hunters who offer pest control but really only want to shoot a single deer and won't bother with animals the farmer actually wants taken off the land. Nobody is prepared to help look after the land they want permission to shoot on.

If the feral pig population down here ever booms we're screwed. Pigs and goats are considered domestic stock regardless of where they are and deer numbers are exploding with 99% of public state forest locked away.

It can be hard to find a match, thats for sure. I've been given bum steers by landowners over the years lying about their property boundary and permits. Travelled thousands of km to have em change their mind when I arrive coz the neighbour or some distant uncle has arced up about it.

One of the silliest experiences was a farmer with 15 beers under his belt abusing me as an 18year old for refusing to shoot at a hare on his boundary with 30 of his neighbours cows behind it...

It's a shame that people on both sides can get messed around because I do believe shooters can make a difference if they sustain it.

[bigrich]

Well I've given up worrying about it. Yes I try, I get out every day and drop something, yesterday 5 in a row when going to check on some calves. Good for keeping up practice and reinforces that my gear and procedures are the most practical I can get them, but we can't keep up.
This is separate from when my wife and I go out to collect some meat.
Over the last few months I've offered a few people the opportunity to hunt, nothing asked for, no favours, no reciprocation. All I get is "oh I'm so busy at work and the wife is up me and I need the overtime and what other excuse can I make", mates I've always trusted have gotton busy or moved on, or just got the sh1ts with trying, sure they want to come out here WHEN IT SUITS THEM once, twice a year and I've come to the conclusion that hunters are not the answer for me.
Yes i get it, these people have complicated lives, don't we all?
I'm just going to accept every council aerial bait drop, and go and pick up wet and dry 1080 baits the 3-4 times they are offered and get back into it. The extra levels of insurance we paid to let people not involved in professional pest control is killing us, we paid last time $3K for it and the whole year, nobody had time to come out. And you're a fool if you don't have it nowadays. But who pays for it?
It's just not that simple from my side. Might sound like it from the other side.
I'll never run out of targets, that's for sure. I just had to do my PP H renewal this week, and the stuff I sent QLD WL was about 40mb of reduced size photos in 5 PDF word docs of dead stock, trail can pics some with 6 dogs in the shot, pig traps full of pigs with extras outside waiting, medical reports from animal injuries blah blah.
This story about casual shooters helping, it's a drop in the bucket. If that p*sses anyone off, just think about whether you're there when the s**t happens or not. The politicians don't care and never will, if they actually understand better the crap that goes on everyday they still wouldn't give a toss, because the agenda is to take guns away from everyone but their security detail, and the police so they can better control us.
Imagine the despair they have in knowing a farmer interested in firearms goes out shooting everyday, at any ranges, at any size target, knows their stuff backwards to the point that "buck fever" was lost long ago, and their esteemed police might shoot the gun that frightens then once a year.

there's two sides to every story that's for sure . i've heard some shocking stories of entitlement and arrogance of "city" hunters from property owners . in some cases to do with some of the "tourist" hunting travel companies , people have been asked to leave , and one stupid pair of hunters , who were drunk before midday , ended up on a neighbours property early evening shooting around his house ! police were called and the "hunters" later tried to sue the "tourist hunting" company , but the judge threw it out of court . probably for stupidity . with all the tales of poaching and trespass and fence cutting on top of that, it sure makes it hard for legitimate people to get onto a block . a lot of ignorant hunters think cause they paid money they can do whatever they want, with no regard for the fact farmers are running a working business trying to make a living , and it's their home . when i'm on a property i work WITH them . i get told i can't shoot a certain paddock i don't . some hunters totally disregard this also more than once i've pulled dead roos out of damns that've been shot . not real good for the livestock's water supply.

from my side of this story i used tourist hunting off and on over the years , built up a good reputation with a tourist hunter company, and through that earned the respect of a property owner for doing the right thing . i still have to pay a modest amount to get on , but when you factor in comfortable accommodation , and the trust to have access to all parts of the property, it's worth it . i'd rather be bush than in a hotel on the gold coast . i'm permanent casual employed ,and a key tradie in a small business . my boss doesn't like me going on leave as no one can fabricate some of the things i do . so it takes a bit of wrangling to get leave from work , i don't get paid when i'm off hunting cause i'm casual , no holiday or sick pay , and my fuel and expenses come out of my pocket. so it costs me to go hunting , but i love it , not just the hunting , but the animals and landscape out bush , especially the high country . also like the genuine thanks i get from the property owner too . if you hunt , your a ambassador for the sport , conduct yourself in a honourable, respectful fashion , and earn the respect to have the privilege to hunt in someone's home and business

[Zach]

Well I've given up worrying about it. Yes I try, I get out every day and drop something, yesterday 5 in a row when going to check on some calves. Good for keeping up practice and reinforces that my gear and procedures are the most practical I can get them, but we can't keep up.
This is separate from when my wife and I go out to collect some meat.
Over the last few months I've offered a few people the opportunity to hunt, nothing asked for, no favours, no reciprocation. All I get is "oh I'm so busy at work and the wife is up me and I need the overtime and what other excuse can I make", mates I've always trusted have gotton busy or moved on, or just got the sh1ts with trying, sure they want to come out here WHEN IT SUITS THEM once, twice a year and I've come to the conclusion that hunters are not the answer for me.
Yes i get it, these people have complicated lives, don't we all?
I'm just going to accept every council aerial bait drop, and go and pick up wet and dry 1080 baits the 3-4 times they are offered and get back into it. The extra levels of insurance we paid to let people not involved in professional pest control is killing us, we paid last time $3K for it and the whole year, nobody had time to come out. And you're a fool if you don't have it nowadays. But who pays for it?
It's just not that simple from my side. Might sound like it from the other side.
I'll never run out of targets, that's for sure. I just had to do my PP H renewal this week, and the stuff I sent QLD WL was about 40mb of reduced size photos in 5 PDF word docs of dead stock, trail can pics some with 6 dogs in the shot, pig traps full of pigs with extras outside waiting, medical reports from animal injuries blah blah.
This story about casual shooters helping, it's a drop in the bucket. If that p*sses anyone off, just think about whether you're there when the s**t happens or not. The politicians don't care and never will, if they actually understand better the crap that goes on everyday they still wouldn't give a toss, because the agenda is to take guns away from everyone but their security detail, and the police so they can better control us.
Imagine the despair they have in knowing a farmer interested in firearms goes out shooting everyday, at any ranges, at any size target, knows their stuff backwards to the point that "buck fever" was lost long ago, and their esteemed police might shoot the gun that frightens then once a year.

Down here in Tas the ferals aren't nearly as big a problem (yet) but even so I hear the constant back and forth between famers who apparently won't let anyone on their land unless they're paying a few grand, and hunters who offer pest control but really only want to shoot a single deer and won't bother with animals the farmer actually wants taken off the land. Nobody is prepared to help look after the land they want permission to shoot on.

If the feral pig population down here ever booms we're screwed. Pigs and goats are considered domestic stock regardless of where they are and deer numbers are exploding with 99% of public state forest locked away.

It can be hard to find a match, thats for sure. I've been given bum steers by landowners over the years lying about their property boundary and permits. Travelled thousands of km to have em change their mind when I arrive coz the neighbour or some distant uncle has arced up about it.

One of the silliest experiences was a farmer with 15 beers under his belt abusing me as an 18year old for refusing to shoot at a hare on his boundary with 30 of his neighbours cows behind it...

It's a shame that people on both sides can get messed around because I do believe shooters can make a difference if they sustain it.

To add to your poor experience, I know a guy who was given expired crop protection deer tags by a landowner. Lost his licence for five years over it with no consequences for the landowner

[Wapiti]

I don't want to come across as ungrateful, I know that every feral animal a casual hunter removes is a good thing and nobody else will really do it, especially the self-gratifying greenies.
But feral animal problems whether stock predation, crop destruction or anything else, don't just happen a few times a year, They happen every night. Every day.
And I've spoken before about how hunters let on to properties in our shire have done stupid things, put themselves in wheelchairs and now are SUEING the farmer who let them on - because the solicitors said they can.
Rich, if you are asked to pay money to hunt somewhere, I completely understand the landowner using that money to make sure he has indemnified himself against being sued by some self-entitled clown who can't control themselves and gets hurt. And then blames someone else, because there is money in it.
We've been told a few times when making sure our insurances and legals are correct here, to NEVER let casual shooters on as a favour, ever. This is being told to more and more landowners.
The SSAA Insurance you get with membership DOES NOT indemnify the landowner against the visitor in these cases. No sure about SU, I haven't sought advice from their legals but I have with SSAA, and they admit it certainly does not. What a pointless f**kup then.
And as a bloke who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, a hunter I let on - a welding supervisor I had working for me - let a 308 Corelokt off through one leg and down through the other foot, ensuring that I can never wear double pluggers again because the toes that hold them on aren't there anymore. On me. Because he is a typical couple-of-times-a-year hunter and gets excited and doesn't check his guns are unloaded.
Now I say, accidents happen, but my wife says, no f**ken way, ever again. Trust no-one. Words are just words, actions are what does the talking.
Ask yourselves truthfully, would YOU support casual hunters ever again after that?

I'm only bringing this up because there's two sides to everything, and I sit on the fence. I don't need to ever promote hunters and hunting, but I still believe in it and push this opinion, even to the point of certain sh*tstirrers here hanging crap on me for doing it.. Just because I do it as a part of my day doesn't make me indifferent to the rights of others to enjoy themselves. Maybe by putting up the other side, people can learn from it and better keep and enjoy their hunting times, or at least see the the other side and then work to address that.
But don't kid yourselves that you are the solution. But every little bit helps.

[bigrich]

For me wapati, it’s the adventure and meeting “old school “ people and learning about the bush and their lifestyle. I’m with SU and Ssaa , so hopefully I’m covered insurance wise. I just filled out an indemnity form where I’m at , that relinquishes responsibility of the property owner.
It’s my personal responsibility for my own safety and common sense that’s the determining factor now. Personal responsibility, there’s a word people don’t understand the meaning of anymore.. no tarantula in the dunny so far, damn near kacked myself last trip. Google it , Australian tarantula. Didn’t know we had them around here.

[Wapiti]

YES! Barking Spiders.
I showed my wife one, if you look around when hunting, next time you're sitting on a log, look around.
You'll see their tell-tale web-lined burrows, get a seedy long grass stem and tickle the edge of their hole gently, real light as if a big bug is walking past. They'll launch out and try and grab it, it's great fun.
They are harmless if you don't harass them, I'm more worried about snakes and those damn hornets that build their paper nests under every gate stay of machinery in the shed. Two got me on each side of my lips at the same time and one got my eyebrow half a second later the other day, man that hurt.

[Finniss]

I don't want to come across as ungrateful, I know that every feral animal a casual hunter removes is a good thing and nobody else will really do it, especially the self-gratifying greenies.
But feral animal problems whether stock predation, crop destruction or anything else, don't just happen a few times a year, They happen every night. Every day.
And I've spoken before about how hunters let on to properties in our shire have done stupid things, put themselves in wheelchairs and now are SUEING the farmer who let them on - because the solicitors said they can.
Rich, if you are asked to pay money to hunt somewhere, I completely understand the landowner using that money to make sure he has indemnified himself against being sued by some self-entitled clown who can't control themselves and gets hurt. And then blames someone else, because there is money in it.
We've been told a few times when making sure our insurances and legals are correct here, to NEVER let casual shooters on as a favour, ever. This is being told to more and more landowners.
The SSAA Insurance you get with membership DOES NOT indemnify the landowner against the visitor in these cases. No sure about SU, I haven't sought advice from their legals but I have with SSAA, and they admit it certainly does not. What a pointless f**kup then.
And as a bloke who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, a hunter I let on - a welding supervisor I had working for me - let a 308 Corelokt off through one leg and down through the other foot, ensuring that I can never wear double pluggers again because the toes that hold them on aren't there anymore. On me. Because he is a typical couple-of-times-a-year hunter and gets excited and doesn't check his guns are unloaded.
Now I say, accidents happen, but my wife says, no f**ken way, ever again. Trust no-one. Words are just words, actions are what does the talking.
Ask yourselves truthfully, would YOU support casual hunters ever again after that?

I'm only bringing this up because there's two sides to everything, and I sit on the fence. I don't need to ever promote hunters and hunting, but I still believe in it and push this opinion, even to the point of certain sh*tstirrers here hanging crap on me for doing it.. Just because I do it as a part of my day doesn't make me indifferent to the rights of others to enjoy themselves. Maybe by putting up the other side, people can learn from it and better keep and enjoy their hunting times, or at least see the the other side and then work to address that.
But don't kid yourselves that you are the solution. But every little bit helps.

I couldn't imagine suing a property owner decent enough to provide shooting permission. Especially if I had stuffed up.

I have let a few people on our place but ive always gone with them to ensure no shots in an unsafe direction.