A colleague at work who owns a property 100kms north extended an invitation for myself and friends to shoot there last year and I showed some interest but things were rather busy so it didn't end up happening.
Then a shoot last Tuesday on another property had to be cancelled because some uninvited jerks had gone onto the neighbouring place, shot a ram and let out stock, so people there were feeling touchy.
I happened to speak to my workmate again and he mentioned the magic word "pigs" and got my undivided attention.
So the Dynamic Duo - my best mate & I (actually Dynamic Lifter is probably closer after last night's Mexican food) - headed out the property and arrived around 1am, partly because my mate had to do some reloading but mostly because I watched the TV when I should've been packing!
We'd initially thought we'd camp, get a few hours sleep and then get up around 4 to see what was around.
But arriving so late I slept in the Patrol and my mate slept under the stars until it got too cold and then the pair of us dozed until about 6am and then headed out to look for hogs.
The place is all hills and gullies, many with blackberry bushes and bracken so it wasn't long before I nailed a pair of rabbits with the 303/25.
While I hauled myself back up the hill to get a rod because a spent case jammed in the chamber (bloody Remington brass!!
), my mate had literally liquidated a couple of rabbits using his sportered M96 Mauser with 3010fps 6.5x55 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip loads.
It was then we discovered there was a heap more land on the other side of the ridge.
So we drove down to the next valley and headed up into another ravine full of blackberries.
Sadly my accuracy had departed and I shot just over the heads of 2 rabbits, probably because I jerked the trigger.
Shooting offhand also didn't help.
So we dragged ourselves along the steep sides of the ravine until I saw what I thought was a wombat and told my mate to halt quick.
Was it a pig? Nope.
What about a wombat? Nope.
Nosing about, taking in the morning sun and looking up now and again was a healthy reynard!
He was down wind from us in the morning breeze and we were clearly visible but he was oblivious.
Well, talk about the shakes; we must have spent at least 2 minutes mucking around.
I almost shot offhand twice (the second time because the rifle was half cocked! ), but thank goodness in the finish I laid down prone on the side of the gully, rested my elbow and squeezed as calmly as I could.
The shot smacked the fox in the spine, he leapt high and tumbled down the ravine only to disappear into the brambles.
We looked around but unfortunately the dense canopy of brambles was impossible to see through.
Normally I say "If you don't find it no score" but this thing was dead as a stone the way it rolled down the hill and gravity had it.
So I was pretty proud of that; it was about 100yds, nothing special, but only the 2nd fox I've taken.
It was disappointing but nothing short of a sambar deer would've made me hack through the blackberries to retrieve a carcass.
We then drove up onto the ridges, made our way back down to the dry creek, another rabbit missed a violent death by a "hair's breadth" at my hand (get the pun?) and we decided to pack up and head home.
We dropped in to see my colleague before we left and he asked us where we'd got to in the property.
Turns out we'd seen but not actually driven to perhaps a 1/4 of the property, probably less.
He has 4000 acres and an additional 800 on top of the plateau!
We didn't even make it to the 600acres of Megalow(sp?) grazing land he has backing onto the state forest at the far end of the property where the hogs hang out.
So we thanked him for the mornings hunt and he said that was fine....please come again!
I can see quite a few future hunts at his place.
A terrier and a couple of shotties would make quite a few days of fun among the ravines and some recon and leg work should make for some fun pig shooting.
Here's a few pics......
My mate loads some of those nasty Nosler loads with his Lee Loader.
Yours truly with a pair of dead bunnies and the 303/25.
My mate holding one of his "liquidated" rabbits.
Note the considerable hole in it's shoulder.
Looking out across one of the small valleys between the ridges.....it really is God's country.
A view from the ridge across the valley to the house and shearing shed.
That dirt road winding down into the valley was actually quite steep and interesting going down and up but the Nissan Patrol managed it with ease, especially with the new rubber all round, Bridgestone Dueler A/T 693s.
Then a shoot last Tuesday on another property had to be cancelled because some uninvited jerks had gone onto the neighbouring place, shot a ram and let out stock, so people there were feeling touchy.
I happened to speak to my workmate again and he mentioned the magic word "pigs" and got my undivided attention.
So the Dynamic Duo - my best mate & I (actually Dynamic Lifter is probably closer after last night's Mexican food) - headed out the property and arrived around 1am, partly because my mate had to do some reloading but mostly because I watched the TV when I should've been packing!
We'd initially thought we'd camp, get a few hours sleep and then get up around 4 to see what was around.
But arriving so late I slept in the Patrol and my mate slept under the stars until it got too cold and then the pair of us dozed until about 6am and then headed out to look for hogs.
The place is all hills and gullies, many with blackberry bushes and bracken so it wasn't long before I nailed a pair of rabbits with the 303/25.
While I hauled myself back up the hill to get a rod because a spent case jammed in the chamber (bloody Remington brass!!
), my mate had literally liquidated a couple of rabbits using his sportered M96 Mauser with 3010fps 6.5x55 120gr Nosler Ballistic Tip loads.It was then we discovered there was a heap more land on the other side of the ridge.
So we drove down to the next valley and headed up into another ravine full of blackberries.
Sadly my accuracy had departed and I shot just over the heads of 2 rabbits, probably because I jerked the trigger.
Shooting offhand also didn't help.
So we dragged ourselves along the steep sides of the ravine until I saw what I thought was a wombat and told my mate to halt quick.
Was it a pig? Nope.
What about a wombat? Nope.
Nosing about, taking in the morning sun and looking up now and again was a healthy reynard!
He was down wind from us in the morning breeze and we were clearly visible but he was oblivious.
Well, talk about the shakes; we must have spent at least 2 minutes mucking around.
I almost shot offhand twice (the second time because the rifle was half cocked! ), but thank goodness in the finish I laid down prone on the side of the gully, rested my elbow and squeezed as calmly as I could.
The shot smacked the fox in the spine, he leapt high and tumbled down the ravine only to disappear into the brambles.
We looked around but unfortunately the dense canopy of brambles was impossible to see through.
Normally I say "If you don't find it no score" but this thing was dead as a stone the way it rolled down the hill and gravity had it.
So I was pretty proud of that; it was about 100yds, nothing special, but only the 2nd fox I've taken.
It was disappointing but nothing short of a sambar deer would've made me hack through the blackberries to retrieve a carcass.
We then drove up onto the ridges, made our way back down to the dry creek, another rabbit missed a violent death by a "hair's breadth" at my hand (get the pun?) and we decided to pack up and head home.
We dropped in to see my colleague before we left and he asked us where we'd got to in the property.
Turns out we'd seen but not actually driven to perhaps a 1/4 of the property, probably less.
He has 4000 acres and an additional 800 on top of the plateau!
We didn't even make it to the 600acres of Megalow(sp?) grazing land he has backing onto the state forest at the far end of the property where the hogs hang out.
So we thanked him for the mornings hunt and he said that was fine....please come again!
I can see quite a few future hunts at his place.
A terrier and a couple of shotties would make quite a few days of fun among the ravines and some recon and leg work should make for some fun pig shooting.
Here's a few pics......
My mate loads some of those nasty Nosler loads with his Lee Loader.
Yours truly with a pair of dead bunnies and the 303/25.
My mate holding one of his "liquidated" rabbits.
Note the considerable hole in it's shoulder.
Looking out across one of the small valleys between the ridges.....it really is God's country.
A view from the ridge across the valley to the house and shearing shed.
That dirt road winding down into the valley was actually quite steep and interesting going down and up but the Nissan Patrol managed it with ease, especially with the new rubber all round, Bridgestone Dueler A/T 693s.
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