Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game a few pigs

Well, Battered was going up north for work and some fun on the pigs and I had just scored a month off work, so thought it best that I join him. Someone had to keep an eye on him so it may as well be me :mrgreen:
The trip very nearly didn't happen for me due to all that Chillean ash cloud B.S as I had 4 flights booked to get to the Gulf from the Pilbara in W.A.
Perth airport was �closed on the day I was due to fly in and I honestly thought the ash cloud had beaten me. Luck shone down on me and I made Perth and even scored a 1st class ticket to sydney as I was late for check in coz I was at the pub.
Anyway, flew to Cairns, then accross to Normanton where Battered was waiting with the ute chockers with our supplies for the week ahead. A nice cold XXXX was thrust into my hands and we were off.
We met the station managers on arrival, given a mud map and off we went to explore the hundreds of thousands of acres we had access to. We passed a heap of likely looking pig spots on the way, but no pigs on them. Through a few gates and along a fence line, a nice boar stepped out onto the road 50-60m in front of us. Battered swung the ute and promptly whacked a 308 into him, dropping him on the spot. A sow then bolted across the road and we both took off after her. This was first attempt of hunting "Battered style" and I don't really know how he does it. Thongs are not meant for chasing hogs, but they do work :lol: Battered reckons she wouldn't have gone too far and he is right. I spot her in some bushes directly between me and him. Battered runs off to the right and I nailed her from about 6-7m with the 7/08. 2 from 2, a good start.





Only 10 minutes down the road, we passed some awesome looking swamps and eagle-eye Battered spots a big boar walking off to our left. Lucky for me, he's on my side, so I hit him with the 7/08 and he runs about 50m before collapsing on another road



Next morning, we hunt what is now called Donk's swamp. We came accross 2 good mobs of pigs that morning. There were 2 real good pigs in the first mob, but it was Battereds shot and I thought he could see them, but he couldn't. He ended up with 2 smaller pigs and I didn't let a shot off due to the long grass.

Battereds pigs at Donk's swamp



Check out the blood trail on this bugger



We walked and walked and walked(Battered doesn't like it when I make him walk) with no luck, did a u-bolt and headed for the truck. Half way back, we came accross the 2nd mob. Wal the mad pig dog he is, took off after them and I only managed 1 before they hit the long grass.

Driving back to camp, we are coming back through more swamps and Chris from HA Supplies rings. "Hang on Chris, pigs" says Battered. We go for a run and the mob gets into the long grass(too much grass up there) but there is 1 straggler and Battered nails it with a 130 grain hollow point. Chris was still waiting on the phone when we got back to the truck. "Did you get it," "[bleep] oath we did"



Then, off back to camp where we had a real [bleep] camp site on the banks of the ....... river





We tried some fishing with no luck. See Jack, no real threat from crocs hey



Hunted some more swamps like this one in the arvo with no luck



Battered cooks a top feed

Wednesday morning and it's my shot first(we took it in turns) Driving through more swampy type country, Battered spies a boar which knows something is up, but heads our way anyway. I'm using my 308 now and put a pill in him from about 30-40m. Wal is off after him giving him a bit of curry before I hit him again for good.



Battereds shot next and a monster boar crosses the road in front of us. Off he goes and I wait at the ute. He pops out further up the road running towards me and pointing madly. I look around and can't see a thing. "30 pigs just ran accross the road behind you" [bleep] me dead. We go after them but never find them. We continue on as we are heading into the nearest town for more fuel and supplies. 3 small pigs on the right side of the road cop it and we keep driving. Nearing a dam, a small mob are in the shorter grass and we get 3 more before they hit the long grass.

The country they were in



Driving further along, I yell at Battered to stop as there is a pig under a tree way out in the open. The pig stands up and I put him back down with the 308. Best hooks of the trip for me


Same pig



Still on the station tracks heading for town, another boar is in a culvert right next to the road. He takes off with Battered in hot pursuit. The boar doesn't really wander off too quick and Battered gets his best boar of the trip too

We do a bit of sight seeing on our way into town and came across this beautiful spot



Driving back to camp, we manage another pig each on the way in at the same spot as the previous 3 pigs shot only 3 hours earlier.

Thursday morning, we hit a mob out in the open who are now heading straight for cover. We pile out of the ute and manage 3 pigs( one got hit by each of us I think, always the way) Wal the dog has a field day again ripping into each pig just to make sure they are dead



Battered shoots 2 more smaller pigs and we go to a swamp at lunch time for a look. A small mob is on the water. We creap up closer, but one pig sees movement(maybe the dog) and they get edgy. I hit one before it makes a proper decision and we open up getting two each








Off into the grass we go to find our pigs and piglets are scattering everywhere. Little Wal is going nuts chasing them about the place, was bloody funny.



Wal adds another one to the tally
[img]http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/81donk/Gulf%20trip%20June%202011/DSC03066.jpg[/img]

We do some more driving and cover a heap of country



We find areas where pig sign is everywhere, but no pigs



We drive through some more paddocks looking for pigs



We came across a huge mob that arvo, but wind direction and a huge river channel which we weren't game to cross were in our way and all the pigs got away, much to our disgust.

I did spy one pig as we drove along, which turned into 2. Battered drove hard up their arse and we piled out. I missed an easy running shot and Battered cleaned both up in quick order. You have to be quick around battered, coz he don't miss much.




Another Battered dinner. I want 5 steaks next time Battered, 4 wasn't enough :rofl:



Friday is our last full day and the morning hunt produces nothing. The arvo mas much better and we shoot 3 more



[img]http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo234/81donk/Gulf%20trip%20June%202011/DSC03090.jpg[/img]

Things turn to [bleep] very quickly after that last pig. We're cruising through the paddock at 20-30km/h looking for more porkers right on dusk when all of a sudden we hit a great big [bleep] hole, stopping us dead in our tracks and blowing the front left tyre on impact and totally smashing the rim of the tyre too. Dust and [bleep] goes everywhere. I later find a foot long white paint mark down my barrel where I must've hit the roof with it when we hit the hole.



We can't reverse out of it either, even with the lockers on.



So Battered bush bashes it forwards, something I wish I had of got on video camera. Dust flying, the ute revving it's tits off while it bounced it's way out on 3 wheels. We even bent the jack trying to put the new tyre on. The front end didn't look so good after that with a bent axle or stub axle(Battered can tell you exactly what got buggered) So the ute got [bleep] on the last night of the trip which wasn't a good way to end things.
A few more beers around camp that night

Saturday morning is pack up day. I snap Wal having a sleep in



We drive out with the front left tyre making some funny noises through all our favourite spots from the past 5 days and don't even see one pig. Reaching an open spot where we'd shot pigs a few days before, Battered spies 2 dogs on the carcasses. They run off in different directions and when mine slows down a bit, I whacked him with the 7/08. Battereds dog runs off behind a depression in the hill and we are off after it. The previous damage of last night is forgotten as we chase this dog in the ute flat out. A few shots later, Battered gets his dog and it's all over. A real good way to end things.



We thank our hosts for the week and head off to the Burke n Wills roadhouse where a 17 hour drinkathon takes place, was some night.
Battered drops me in Cloncurry the next day, I hitch hike into Mt Isa while he tries to limp the cruiser home to Brissy. 3 more plane rides for me and I make it home. Was it worth it, f#cken oath :goodstuff:

What the hell did "Batman" shoot that one pig with? Swine on the ground!

Great post! Thanks!

lol your hunt damn near sounds like the winter rabbit hunts in high school with my buddies.....flying down frozen stubble fields in hot pursuit of a jack rabbit phug i miss those days

Thanks

Great story, again. Wal looks like my kind of dog.

THANKS.

Thanks for sharing your hunt!

Super! I imagine some folks in Austrailia get more killing done in a year than some here do in a lifetime! Well done and thanks for sharing.

on average how many animals would some of you roll a year?

Nice work!

before our record shattering snowfall winter a couple years ago i believe i could take up to 7 deer(1 buck and 6 does), 1 elk, 2 pronghorn(1 buck and 1 doe), 1 black bear, 1 wolf and 1 cougar.....we also have moose, bighorn and mountain goat but those are far from an every year thing, the others could be done by anyone that can be out in the field with either over the counter tags or draw tags that were easy to get in certain areas....

granted ive never shot close to that many....hell ive never bought more than 3 deer tags for a year cause its a 6 week rifle season and with both the wife and i hunting there was only so much time for butchering to be done since we haver to recover and make use of the meat and prefer to do the butchering ourselves.....

but thats Montana, some places in the Southeast i believe you can shoot a hell of alot of deer every year cause they have huge numbers of whitetail, infact there are more whitetail today than when Europeans first hit the east coast cause they do so well around people and agriculture....

I'd say that nationwide, more folks than not, kill less than 5 big game size critters per year. Some locales with hogs or lots of deer will go higher than that. Here in Indiana, we can kill one buck whitetail and lots of does depending on the county. However, most all the land is owned in small tracts, therefore it's hard to get permission on enough land to kill too many. Very few folks here kill more than 2-3 per year.

I am lovin' these posts!

+1

Very, very cool! Thanks for these I am turning green with envy here! Awesome... Love the pic of the chops on the grill!

Great story and pics!!

This country [USA] is becoming very crowded with hunters ,here in the southeast -Florida- land must be leased to have somewhere to hunt.
I lived in Boise ,Idaho for a couple of years and was sadly amazed at the number of hunters even in the back country.

There is no hunting here that compares to the adventure you guys went on there.
Great story and pics -very much enjoyed it and would love to be able to hunt/camp/shoot like that.
Thanks for posting -Mike

Texas is unlimited bag limit 365 days a year on hogs, 2 to 5 WTails & mebbe a Mule Deer or 2 depending on the County bag limit & any kind of non native Exotic depending on the size of your wallet 365 day a year....including Elk.
Ron