Jump to content

Boars in Oz


Recommended Posts

G'day everyone,

I'm not long back from a night out with mate Dave Wild and I thought I'd get the pix up before I fall asleep.

 

Dave invited me for a run more than 12 months ago and it has taken me this long to get my act together and go. And I'm bloody glad I did.

We hunted some crop, some stubble, tree lines and some b*****d scrub from sunset yesterday until early in the AM before sun up for five pigs.

Three of them were sellers and two of the them were bloody rippers.

 

Dave told me of two boars that had beaten him before in two specific spots. He tried a slight change of tactics last night and bingo, he got both of the b*****ds.

It was a real good night and Wildy's dogs Soda and Max did a spot on job. I had Mary and the pup Roger with me and they looked stupid next to Dave's on the night. He was generous saying, 'different truck, strange dogs, strange country' but mine looked like rubbish compared to his. Soda and Max did everything right when it counted.

These dogs can find and will back themselves. They are quick, can clear ridiculous heights and have more than enough ticker to pull up good running, fighting boars. They were once described as 'marshmallows' by a bloke who hadn't seen them work. Well the marshmallows came through in every respect IMO. Good dogs, thinking hunter and he did most of the heavy work allowing me to keep my manicure intact.

Very grateful for the invite and a pleasure to see the big leggy dogs work. Very happy with the night.

 

So here are the pix.

 

Dave and the black boar. Same length as the second boar but seemed much fatter. The pig went 79 kgs at the chiller.

 

p1300658.jpg

 

Dave, Soda and Max with a wheat stealing boar. Real good hooks. He went 79.8kgs at the chiller. (That's dreseed weight, over the 100kgs live).

 

p1310671.jpg

 

Dave carrying out the 78.9 odd and this pix was taken when the pig had it's guts in so your guess is as good as mine as to what Wildy had on his back...

 

p1310668.jpg

 

Proud man.

 

p1310677.jpg

 

Soda.

 

p1310680.jpg

 

Max.

 

p1310681.jpg

 

Cheers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 652
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

(I'll just make the point again that we don't stand around taking photos of dogs on pigs. The photos are the best of hundreds that are shot on the run in to grab the pig. To stand around risks injury

The APDHA (Australian Pig Doggers and Hunters Association) had its annual general meeting withiun striking range of my place at the weekend and one of my mates (Steve) from had driven 14 hours to the

I'd only have one dog that big. Most of mine are around 3o kgs. As for getting them upset...be almost impossible mate. The whole concept of pig dogs is to have them determined but manageable. You can'

Posted Images

Look like you had a some good times Ned, did your mate had to carry it a long way back, well worth thi effort i think something different than the usual rabbits and other small things that we have over here keep em coming ,all the best. :thumbs:

 

Dave had to carry the black and white boar about 200 metres. I carried it for maybe 20 or 30. It was Dave's hunt and he was getting the cash from selling them so I guess he felt he should do the most. He is also 30 and I am in my 50th year so I think it was also that he took pity on me. One hundred kilos is a reasonable weight to walk with on your shoulders in the bush so I was glad Dave stepped up.

The black boar Dave carried about 70 metres and he and I dragged it a further 20metres to the truck. They then have to be lifted on to the gutting rail and then onto the pelvis bar for transport. Helps if each of you gives your best...

 

Thanks for the comments. I'll post as long as people are interested.

 

p13000041.jpg

 

Cheers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

its one think i have sead i wont to do in life is hunt boar my mats dad lives out there hea sead all iv got to do is get there. all the best and keep it cuming i love it

 

Mate if you can get out here, I'll take you for a run. There's a few unwritten rules but probably much the same for all guests on any hunt. Some are specific to boar catching and sticking because while your trying to kill the boar he is trying to kill you back.

Cheers.

Edited by Ned Makim
Link to post
Share on other sites

great pics and REAL handy looking dogs ned :thumbs::toast::toast:

 

probably the best running thread on thl.

i'm sure i'm not alone in finding them a good read( and in my pure,unadulterated,un-diluted JEALOUSY that i'm not over there taking part!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 

just kidding bud. great stuff keep the thread running,i hope there are lots more pages to come.

 

yours in sport,

michael.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks very much Michael. It's hard to tell whether or not you blokes are that interested sometimes because you guys are much less active commenting than the Aussies But that might be a cultural difference or something. I will definitely keep going if people are interested...

 

Just to show I'm serious about giving some of you guys a go at the pigs here are some pix from about 18 months ago Paul took along a couple of overseas visitors who were working for a cousin. It was their first time dogging pigs and Paul said they hooked right in.

 

This is Aaron (from Wales) and Hannah.

p7190473vh6.jpg

 

And this is Lorcan (from Ireland).

p7190474jh6.jpg

 

Cheers.

 

EDIT Clearly not trophy pigs by any stretch of the imagination but the object is to get them all. The landholders want every single one gone. On a good run the dogs grab from the biggest available on down. If they are this size and no big ones, they grab these.

Edited by Ned Makim
Link to post
Share on other sites

bloody awesome pictures.makes my heart yearn to be there,spent a few years in nz and did plenty of pigging just wish i was back doing similar,breaks me up the way this country has gone and bloody sure it wont get any better,,, good dogs/good country/good mates is all any man could really want....all the best and please keep them coming ect f**k the wingers on other threads mate.....any pictures of kangaroo shooting ect or anything else you hunt? on some of pictures you look pretty wrapped up so i take it your area isnt in a heat wave all year round.....

 

also just to add im not sure how keen id be of that big lizard in my garden recon id be sat inside crying like a girl haha i bloody hate things i know nothing about

 

chris

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

You've asked about hunting other stuff.

We are almost exclusively pig catchers. Don't know why. It's not a conscious thing, that's all Paul and I are actually interested in. My other son James is a fanatic fisherman, ethical and quick on the trigger with people who don't show the appropriate respect for the fishery. I'm not joking about James, he is willing and able. We are all probably a little bit mad but we take ethics and that sort of thing really seriously. The good news about that though is we have a good rep with landholders, government regulatory types and the Aboriginal community so we get to go where others can't a lot of the time.

 

One of the things we hunt other than boars is scrub bulls to act as pig bait on our annual trip into the north. The bulls are genuinely wild and will beat up stud bulls, stockmen on horses and quads and pig hunters. We hunt them and if that goes well (they really, really hate people) and mark the spot they drop on our GPS. As they start to decay a boar will move in and claim the body to feed on. We then check regularly for sign at the carcase and then walk in in the dark to the GPS mark and grab whatever is there. It is very confrontational because the boars in that area beat up the local dingoes and aren't afraid of our dogs. They don't run. Just stand up and start...

We only had a 308 for the bulls so it got a bit hairy at times but all went well. If I had my choice I'd use a tank to shoot these things but really a .338 or .375 H and H would knock them down.

 

That's Paul with one.

 

330ln.jpg

 

We also got to go with the bull catchers catching these bulls alive. That is the most dangerous thing I have ever seen. Lots of laughing and loud talk but deadly serious all the same. They chase them out of the scrub with helicopters, then chase them in modified 4WD until they get them at the right angle and bump them off balance. As the bull starts to fall one or two blokes from the cut down vehicle jump on the bull to hit him as he hits the deck on his side. Tailman will grab the bulls tail and pulls it between his legs and up over his flank and back around toward the back end. This keeps his top back leg from getting to the ground. Without that one movement he can't get up. Second bloke has a strap like a long belt and wraps it around the back legs a few times above the hock before buckling it tight. Same thing on the front legs. Then one bloke will go to the head from the back and tip the horns with a saw, just the tip, no blood but the bulls don't like it anyway. When theres a couple on the ground out of the mob gathered by the chopper, a little truck appears out of the bush with a lay down ramp leading up to a thick rubber flap that leads into the stock crate. They get one of the 4wds on one side of the truck and run a wire rope from the front of the 4wd through the truck, down the ramp and onto the bulls horns. The 4wd reverses and pulls the bull up the ramp. When the head is about to go in through the rubber flap, the men whip off the leg straps so the bull is loose. At that moment the 4wd reverse further and the bull slides into the stock crate on its side. The horns are tipped because when you get a couple of bulls on the truck they cab try to kill one another. I saw nine bulls on the truck when I was there. They caught 24 for the day.

The fight in a scrub bull and its willingness to engage is unreal. So is the absolute sense of power you get when you are close to a live one. It just looks like hatred in their eyes... The bloke who ran the show (it was his 640,000 acres and catching bulls was most of their cattle income for the year) seemed relaxed about the whole process. I said this all looked like a serious business. He looked me in the eye and said "it's deadly serious mate..."

Among bush people the fewer the words the bigger the message. I took him at his word and stayed on my toes.

 

Here's another one with Brett and Paul. He was a big bull this one.

 

336b.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Just a couple of other things.

 

On gauging size etc of things in the pix. You have to consider Paul's size. He's 6 ft 3 (maybe 4) and 120 odd kgs. I am only 5 ft 10 or 11 and about 90 kgs. Helps get things in persepctive. If an animal looks big in a photo with Paul you can rest assured it was big.

 

On the weather, no not heat wave all the time. Our little area of Oz can go to 40 in the summer but it has hit -16 C in the winter. Mostly it's only -5 or so but we have hunted on -12 nights. That is really uncomfortable. No snow here just cold. I actually fell in a river at -7C when I was young. I couldn't breathe, just sort of paralysed me. Got out obviously but there's a lot more to the Oz bush than the regular images you see.

 

Cheers.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Cant belive I havent seen your thread until now Ned! Just read the whole thing and it was a great read, thanks for sharing! Your type of dog look very useful too...

 

My sister lives near Brisbane, and im planning on visiting her in the next year or two, Ive had a fair few invites from different people for pig and deer hunting, I cant wait!

 

Keep the stories and pics coming! :victory:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.


×
×
  • Create New...