Author Topic: What do you Hunt? (Read 3358 times)

sk330lc · « **on:** January 01, 2009, 03:07:01 PM »

So tell us what it is you hunt in the land down under?? What is it you use to hunt it??
Being from the States I've always had an interest in your culture and lands.
Thanks

kombi1976 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 02, 2009, 09:09:24 PM »

I'm not really a great representation of the wide range of Aussie hunting available nor of the sort of guns we use but I'll tell you the sort of game I personally chase.
Most of my hunting is rabbits, hares and foxes as these are the main pests on the pastoral properties closer to town.
I use a number of rifles to hunt them...an Anschutz 1400 10-shot .22lr w/ Tasco 6x40, a Sportco Martini Hornet in 22 Hornet w/ Tasco Mag IV 3-12x40AO and a sporterised Martini Cadet in 25-20 w/ an old steel tube Weaver K6 on it.
When the land owners have the appropriate National Parks and Wildlife Department tags I also cull roos for them and most of the time use my sporterised 1914 Short Lee Enfield in 303/25 w/ Bisley Deluxe 3-9x40, although it has been out of action recently and I have instead been using my Tikka T3 Lite Stainless in 9.3x62 w/ Lynx 1.75-5x20WA, which is admittedly overkill of the high order!
And finally, when opportunities afford I also hunt goats and pigs, although the pigs have so far eluded me.
I took my first goats with the 303/25 but recently took one with my friend's Weatherby Vanguard Deluxe (blued/walnut) in .243 and another, my best so far, with the 9.3x62.
In the coming year I have plans to start hunting fallow deer with a friend and there are other deer hunting opportunities around too.
I'll use my Tikka for this and also have a 98 Mauser in 8x57 currently being rebarreled which will be used for deer as well on roos, goats and pigs.
Hopefully other Aussie members will give their accounts and equipment.

Skunk · « **Reply #2 on:** January 03, 2009, 09:43:05 AM »

Quote from: kombi1976 on January 02, 2009, 09:09:24 PM

When the land owners have the appropriate National Parks and Wildlife Department tags I also cull roos for them...

I've wondered about the roos. I take it they are considered a pest. Is there a limit on the number of them you can cull or is it pretty much open season on all roos? Speaking of pests, an online friend from Tasmania once mentioned that Koalas are not exactly the sweet, charming, little creatures that many of us Americans have come to believe. If I remember correctly, he said they can be terribly destructive and that many Australians are not to thrilled by their presence. Can Koalas be taken or are they protected?

kombi1976 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2009, 03:26:46 PM »

Roos are considered a pest but they are a native animal and as such are a protected species.
Farmers have to apply for tags to cull roos on their property and to obtain them they have to report the current roo population on their land.
In my experience they usually receive about 20 tags per 100 roos which is immensely frustrating.
However if you get caught the alternative - fines, loss of gun licence and firearms, 10 year ban before re-application for licence, criminal record - is not attractive.
Koalas, like other wild animals, can certainly be both ornery and destructive.
But the amount of koalas in the wild these days is very low overall.
While koala numbers are rising the gene pool is quite small due to diseases which wiped out large numbers and the subsequent reintroduction of koalas from one location into many places and this has led to inbreeding.
In addition koala habitats are shrinking because of development and agriculture.
So while in extreme circumstances it is possible to get tags for koalas it is unlikely people would actually be able to get them.
The National Parks & Wild Life Service would more likely relocate them.
And to be honest what sort of sport is there in shooting a lazy, grey, furry lump that's asleep in a tree?
I've seen pics from the early 1900s of koala culls; long rows of dead carcasses along bush tracks.
Nope, I'd rather see a live one in a zoo.

sk330lc · « **Reply #4 on:** January 03, 2009, 06:38:29 PM »

That's exactly what I had an interest in knowing.. What about Crocks? Are they protected?

kombi1976 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 03, 2009, 10:22:56 PM »

Crocs! Geez, you guys like to pick the contentious ones!

For a much of the 20th century it was open season on crocs of both varieties; fresh water which tend to be smaller and more the size of a gator and salt water crocs which are massive.
Salt water crocs are so much the top of the food chain that they can cruise the sea more than a mile off shore and not fear from sharks.......rather the opposite.
But the constant hunting, mostly for the sake of just shooting them, drove both species to the brink of extinction, particularly the smaller fresh water variety.
As a result they were made a protected species and numbers slowly grew again.
However it has reached the point where numbers are again big.
There was a suggestion made that outfitters be granted a specific number of tags each year (between 20 and 50) that could be used for visiting hunters who were interested and, because of the exclusivity, would pay a mint to bag themselves a good saltwater croc.
However tree hugger propaganda won over simple economic expediency and tourism bonuses and so the wildlife service in the Northern Territory has to capture or destroy large crocs themselves rather than let people pay for the priviledge.
Stupid, right?
Any guess what? There are croc farms in the NT which turn out all sorts of products for the discerning tourist.
So you can't shoot them in wild but if they're caught and taken to a croc farm you may be able to buy the meat or a handbag or boots made from the hide of the same croc.

Skunk · « **Reply #6 on:** January 04, 2009, 07:00:12 AM »

Quote from: kombi1976 on January 03, 2009, 10:22:56 PM

Crocs! Geez, you guys like to pick the contentious ones!

Well, would you rather talk about Abby Cornish or Cate Blanchett?

Thanks Kombi for the info on the little Koala. I'm happy to hear they are basically protected. My youngest daughter thinks they're the greatest.

kombi1976 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 04, 2009, 11:27:27 AM »

Why, Cate Blanchett, of course!
More class by half.
And you can assure your daughter that "drop bears" (as we call koalas) are definitely protected.

sk330lc · « **Reply #8 on:** January 04, 2009, 12:33:04 PM »

So tell Us what Other Animals and Varmints you Hunt. Can you hunt Dingos Like we do Coyotes?

kombi1976 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 10, 2009, 02:49:17 AM »

Aside of foxes there are feral cats, basically domestic cats gone wild, and in different places there are also wild dogs, some half bred dingos but others just domestic crossbreeds.
Dingos are a bit of a difficult one.
I know of professional shooters who have culled them and of people who have shot them in the outback, especially up in the Northern Territory, but around my neck of the woods they are extremely rare or non-existent, certainly not a problem.
Also as a native animal they are protected in some places.
So it's not really a straight answer.
On top of that and excluding the 5 species of deer there are big game animals that live in central and north Australia and all are feral.
They include donkeys, brumbies (wild horses), camels, scrub bulls (wild cattle) which can be nasty, Asiatic water buffalo, similar to Cape buffalo and certainly dangerous but not quite as bad tempered and Banteng, an Asiatic wild bovine which is rare and can be dangerous.
Truth is if you never left Australia you could still have a wide and varied hunting experience.

Skunk · « **Reply #10 on:** January 10, 2009, 07:56:12 AM »

Quote from: kombi1976 on January 10, 2009, 02:49:17 AM

Aside of foxes there are feral cats, basically domestic cats gone wild...

Now there would be a potential mission in life: ridding Australia of it's feral cats. I apologize to any cat lovers out there, but I'm not a big fan of cats in any form. To me, cats are sneaky, finicky, underhanded, deceitful, and two faced. I say bravo for shooting as many of these pests as possible.

Bad Kitty! Bad Kitty!

kombi1976 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 10, 2009, 10:16:38 PM »

It's a laudable goal, Skunk, but an impossible one.
They are indeed sneaky, finicky, underhanded, deceitful, and two faced and on top of that are superb predators & scavengers.
It is unlikely feral cats will ever be completely eliminated from Australia's list of pests as they are secretive, suspicious and frequently baits do not work on them as they prefer live prey.
For every 10 foxes shot a hunter is likely to bag 1 feral cat and on top of the damage caused by completely wild feral felines is the damage household pet cats do when they are allowed outside at night.
Definitely bad kitty!

cccombo · « **Reply #12 on:** January 10, 2009, 11:31:29 PM »

Quote from: sk330lc on January 04, 2009, 12:33:04 PM

Can you hunt Dingos Like we do Coyotes?

yes
I've seen the way Americans hunt coyotes, we call them in howl or a distress call
They are such a problem we get $50 a scalp in the area where I live

Lots of hares to shoot around here to, they are similar to your jackrabbits

kombi1976 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 10, 2009, 11:55:29 PM »

Good to have another Aussie on board, cccombo.
Please set me straight if I'm wrong in any areas.
BTW, where are you roughly located?
I'm about an hour north of Canberra in the NSW Southern Tablelands.

cccombo · « **Reply #14 on:** January 11, 2009, 12:09:48 AM »

Quote from: kombi1976 on January 10, 2009, 11:55:29 PM

Good to have another Aussie on board, cccombo.
Please set me straight if I'm wrong in any areas.

Thanks mate,
It's good to finally see a Australian forum here, great idea
Feel free to correct me if im off track also

Quote

BTW, where are you roughly located?
I'm about an hour north of Canberra in the NSW Southern Tablelands.

SE QLD, two hours north of Brisbane

BeanMan · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2009, 01:44:39 PM »

ccombo,

I thought the picute out your window looked a little familiar. I've got a good friend who lives in Buderim. The Wife and I spent a couple of weeks there a few years back. We're from Colorado, USA

Cheers,

Beanman

cccombo · « **Reply #16 on:** January 17, 2009, 08:23:37 PM »

The Sunshine coast is a nice spot isn't it

I go underwater hunting (spearfishing) at Coolum when I get the chance

Jacko · « **Reply #17 on:** January 22, 2009, 09:39:51 PM »

I live between the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane and 1 hour from the Brisbane Valley . The local dams have good stocks of Red Claw crayfish , spangled perch , Bass and catfish . I am 30 minutes easy drive from Moreton Bay and 10 minutes from good fishing area's on local estuaries . It's a great place to live but the authorities do not smile kindly on hunters or fishermen - regulated to the point of it nearly being to hard .

15 minutes from home I have Red and Rusa Deer and scattered but huntable populations of feral pigs . Foxes wonder my suburbs streets . Wild dogs in my council boundaries are a problem but the council hires animal control officers to trap / cull them . Wild Peacoks and Guinea Fowl upset plenty of locals crapping on their washing and scratching their yards - heaven forbid trapping or shooting them for tucker though

There is a lot of state forest nearby which I have still hunted without a weapon and they have huntable populations of the above game - can't touch them though as it's illegal to hunt in state forests or national parks in Queensland . I know folks with 2 acre lots that border these state forests and Rusa deer water at the property dams or wonder the local golf coarse . New South Wales has a permit system for hunting state forest's - must get around to getting myself licenced to hunt the available forest's close to the border .

I have bowhunted the border ranges and far sth west Queensland for pigs goats , rabbits occasional foxes and plain hard to hunt feral cats for 30 years . I have found it hard to gain acces to hunt deer on private land in the border ranges as many Cocky's [ Aussie for farmer ] have Bambi syndrome bad or want too much for the privilage of shooting deer which is their right . Local acces for deer is virtually non existant as vandals and poachers have spoiled local hunting opportuities .

Just bought myself a Rossi Puma and am looking forward to hunting with a firearm again . I have have just gained access to a property 4 hours sth west from home that has pigs , goats , rabbits , foxes , cats , dogs and Fallow Deer - with any luck in the next month or two I will break my deer drought .

regards Jacko

Skunk · « **Reply #18 on:** January 23, 2009, 04:00:41 AM »

Thanks for the input Jacko - very interesting. Get those darn cats first and foremost on the new property Access.

Jacko · « **Reply #19 on:** January 23, 2009, 11:41:42 AM »

Skunk back in the early 80's before the authorities introduced a licencing system for pro Roo shooting you could buy tags and shoot roo's for spending money . You could get up to $7 for a big old man red roo hide - these things are huge - they can weigh over 220 pounds and stand near 7 ft tall . Sadly these old man roo's are very rare now day's , the pro's have shot the vast majority of them . We used to buy tags and spotlight roo's for fuel money out to the property's , average price was $3 or $4 for a winter hide . Back in those days we did not shoot them for the meat as they do today . Some Cocky's probably shouldn't but very occasionally will allow shooters they know real well to cull a few Roo's under there tags and the shooters then bring the Roo's carcases back properly presented for the meat trade and the Cocky them takes them into Wild Game management for payment and processing .

One night back then while out spotlighting we spotted cats eyes up a gum tree , I shot it with my Parker Hale 22.250 . This cat was near knee high had a head 4 1/2" across and paws about an 1 1/4" across . Bloody thing was well able to take down a mid size roo , still got the skin . many are convinced feral moggy's are evolving into real monsters out there . Sketchy photo's and video surfaces every year . As a foot note if you drag a carcass around behind your vehicle foxes will follow the trial and they are easy pickings under a spotlight .

Found an old photo of a ute load shot of Roos shot under permit while spotlighting near the Bulloo river in the mid 90's , the real work started with skinning these roo's , excuse the quality .

regards Jacko

Skunk · « **Reply #20 on:** January 24, 2009, 06:58:23 AM »

Good stuff there Jacko!

I hope the Roos make a good come back. It's pretty hard to picture Australia without the Kangaroo in the picture. The closest I've ever been to Australia is through reading, movies, and tourist commercials on television. Each has always pictured the Roo bouncing around in his natural habitat. The Roo seems to be an Australian National Icon, at least to many of us Americans.

Congrats on getting that big Cat. He was a monster. I have a personal vendetta against all cats.

You guys have a great lingo: a Cocky is a Farmer; a Moggy is a feral cat; an Ute Load means Many. I love it. I've always been a bit interested in linguistics.

Also, Big Thanks for fixing the picture of the Roos. I tried to look at it yesterday but nothing showed up. That definitely is an Ute Load.

Thanks again for sharing as I'm really enjoying this new forum.

Jacko · « **Reply #21 on:** January 24, 2009, 10:08:04 AM »

I am always surprised myself when folks from oversea's try to intepret our slang words , when don't make it easy - getting called a Bastard here can be a compliment - just depends on the tone of voice it's said in , same goes with more colourfull 4 letter words .

A ute is short for utility vehicle , we invented em and one of your big 2 vehicle manufacturers liked the idea . Here's a photo of a little boar I ran down years ago and bought home to fatten up . The sow took exception to me catching one of her suckers and chased me round that ute in the picture until I managed to jump into the back of it . She hung around for a few more minutes and then wandered off into the scrub .

Dad gave him to a mate of his with acreage , his kids quickly turned him into a pet and named him Rufas - followed them around like a dog . Poor little buggers howled when we butchered Rufas at 9 months old and spit roasted him

regards Jacko

Graybeard · « **Reply #22 on:** January 24, 2009, 01:21:06 PM »

Your "ute" looks like a pickup truck to me. That's not what we call a Sport Utility Vehicle here in the US.

kombi1976 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 25, 2009, 03:35:49 AM »

Nope, utes aren't really SUVs.
They're more like pickup trucks.
The closest I can come to the original design of utes were like the El Camino.
Sort of like a family wagon converted into a pickup truck.
But over the years anything that you would refer to as a pickup truck is now called a ute.
There are a wide range of vehicles that fall under that umbrella.
Everything from Toyota Landcruiser Cab Chassis with alloy trays (our name for a truck bed) to GM Holden HSV utes which are kinda like the Aussie built GTO you guys got, but in a pickup.
Sounds excessive? It is.
In fact they even have "Ute Musters" where guys who own them get together and basically booze up for the weekend.
Oh, there are flashy utes around and there are commercial reasons for the muster too but a good booze up is the real reason.
It's not hard to understand when most of the attendees are lads from the country who are fond of the odd rum or 10.

Chappers · « **Reply #24 on:** April 15, 2009, 02:10:46 PM »

Did someone say utes? Here is a Holden show ute me and my other half did have, that picture was taken on a weekend away. To get to the place there was a ford crossing on a tidal river that was had some heavy rain dumped into it form the pass couple of days.

I remember walking across that ford for over four hours just to see if it was shallow enough to cross. I settled at ten cm to cross, ha ha ha. She could tear along bitumen but other than that... not much else.

First i like to say hi, im new to the forums, at the moment i live in central queensland there is some breathtaking land around here to hunt on and i would hope one day the QLD gov could take a leaf out of the NSW books and bring in something like the Game Counsel to make more of this wonderful land open to hunters.

Jacko · « **Reply #25 on:** April 15, 2009, 11:04:26 PM »

Welcome to Greybeard Chappers , I am only relativly new here myself and find the variety and quality here excellant . Holden fella hey - I won't hold too much against you especially since I gotta drive a poxey little Hyundai hatch back to keep the missus on side [family shoebox cheap to run] . Post some pictures of your next hunt mate , bit of a drought hunting wise for me for a few more months but I'm going to let it dry out and chill down a bit before I head west again

regards Jacko

kombi1976 · « **Reply #26 on:** April 16, 2009, 04:58:02 AM »

Ahhh, so it's show off your ute time, eh?
Well, this is mine....

A 2.6l 6-cylinder '68 Land Rover IIa 109" Trayback Ute.
I guess you guys would call it a "pickup truck" in the USA but here we think of them as utes.
As an everyday car it's all anyone could want:

Fuel economy is something that happens to other cars.
It does 120 miles on a tank.
It's noisy thanks to the gear wind, rattling windows and shrunk or missing door seals and the alloy tray (bed).
It'll do 70mph but it starts to shake......more than it usually does.
And it's extra noisy at 70 mph.
As a rural fire service vehicle the suspension was designed to carry a big pump, a water tank and other heavy paraphenalia........I don't carry them so it's a little teeth rattling, especially when chasing game across a paddock.
The vents don't so much allow fresh air in as limit the amount of draughts already there when you have them closed.

See, perfect for the modern driver.

It also doesn't have a heater - yet - but I bought an original Smiths heater and will have it fitted soon.
Just in time for winter.
It does have a demister though.
It's blue and it's made of cloth and all I have to do is rub it all over the windscreen when it fogs up.

Nah, joking, I love it....no one has a ute or 4x4 as cool as mine.
My mate who is a signwriter has a lovely Holden FC Ute and when I dropped in the first time with my '67 VW Panel (Kombi for us Aussies) he was impressed.
When I turned up in the Land Rover he said "You have got to stop turning up in cars cooler than mine!"

Chappers · « **Reply #27 on:** April 16, 2009, 01:41:42 PM »

Now that’s a ute Kombi. Well we don’t have the Ute and did the same thing that Jacko did, we now have a Holden Urp. (urban road pimple or Barina or... for all of you that live in the USofA and our commonwealth brothers in Canada a T250 Pontiac G3 Wave)
Well i have not been hunting for about four months now and ill only head out when i get my new rifle to the way i like it (http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,105544.120.html), then it’s tasty chital for me.

kombi1976 · « **Reply #28 on:** April 16, 2009, 04:26:47 PM »

A Baikal, eh?
I'm seriously thinking of getting a Baikal but it won't a 308 Win.
It'll be a 45-70.....get the hint?

Chappers · « **Reply #29 on:** April 20, 2009, 04:13:20 AM »

Sounds like you’re planning to go on a trip to the territory? For me im happy to chase the chital for a bit longer before i think about that.(and save) tomorrow ill order the scope for the rifle form the states so hopefully that will be here in a months time.