Hunting life

I’m Stu from Sydney and what got me into hunting was that my father had a company called High Country Safaris (approx 1969 to 1974) that catered for hunters, fisherman and outdoor enthusiasts. His main clientele were Americans on R&R from Vietnam. I wasn’t even a teenager so I was heavily influenced by what Dad was doing. I suppose it was a natural thing to start hunting myself.

I think my favourite thing to hunt is the African Cape Buffalo. I have only shot one and I have it on the wall at my sisters place. However, I never tire from hunting pigs especially an old crusty boar!

Hunting techniques

Normally we only hunt in the daytime (we rarely go spotlighting). However, as a young boy I went out with Dad plenty of times after foxes as they were good money in the 70’s.

I like to hunt on foot by stalking through the bush. But we use a quad often when a lot of country needs to be covered. I like to get dropped off on the quad then do a walk and get picked up so I don’t have to walk out and back. On the properties we hunt this is very successful as you can see in my YouTube videos (link at bottom of post).

That’s the other thing while I think about it. I use a Sony Action Cam and it sits on the side of my head on a headband giving the first person shooter angle, which is pretty cool I must say! If I see pigs or a boar my first thought is to turn on the camera and then forget about it until the action is over.

Having said that I am aware that the camera is filming and try to keep as steady as possible, as the end product is to watch a nice steady stalk and not a lot of unstable jerky movements.

In the past I used to get as close as possible then turn the camera on. This often meant missing out on the action as the pig/s took flight with time only to shoot and not video.

Kayaking for boars

Generally I take a kayak for backup, as an alternative to the actual hunt (as we rip around on quads or stalk through the bush as a general rule). However  if it’s summer, when we get back and others want to while away the hotter parts of the day in the shade. I go into predator mode and head down to the water and kayak for boars during the hottest time of the day.

It is very productive often shooting pigs within a couple of hundred metres from starting my paddle. Because pigs come into water all the time I can paddle up and down a water course and see pigs constantly! Late arvo is also very productive as the old crafty boars come into water late.

I have thought about spotlighting along the water at night. But as everyone knows it would be very eerie with possible zombies about ; )

I paddle slow and steady and try to keep to one side of the waterway so that I don’t stand out too much. When I am closing in on a boar, it depends on the cover or shade leading up to him. If he is wallowed facing me I like to close the gap from the other bank keeping to the shadows or overhanging branches. If there is more than one pig, I picture what will happen and I foresee a cunning plan. I.e. I will shoot one outright, then another on the run as it decamps the scene often making for a memorable action clip.

The thing about kayaking for boars is that your hunting area is reduced to the course of the waterway. However this also means that you have 2x hunting areas to scan. The left and the right bank. Often either side of a waterway will have completely different country. If it is thick then I often get out and push into the bush a few hundred metres looking for pigs in their hideouts.

If there is a constant wind direction I will paddle into the wind. However, if there is no option but to paddle with the wind I will fly up to the end or turn around point then take my time coming back with the wind in my face. Having said that the wind can change constantly along a waterway so if I feel the wind on my neck then I stop and often get out and have a walk around until the wind is back in my favour again.

It is very important to paddle slow and steady. Listen to the sounds up on the bank. Constantly look along the bank where the water meets it especially around low branches or logs coming up the bank. I have had boars jump up after I have past them only to notice that I missed seeing a recess or something like a tussock of grass hiding a wallowing boar.

As I round a bend it opens up new areas, I tend to either use binos or my rifle scope to do an initial scan of the banks way up front. If I see a boar and I have the rifle I still like to get as close as possible within reason. I.e. if there is a high bank I will often have time to drop the paddle and shoot if I am sighted prior to me getting into position.

I have shot a pig on one bank and then noticed another jump up on the opposite side! If there is one there are others. Don’t fall into the trap of focusing too much on the pig way down the waterway as you will pass the close ones.

Sometimes I will get out of the kayak and stalk up on a boar on the bank, especially if the wind is going toward him as I want my scent to go up the bank. This is a ‘spot and stalk’ method and all I do is walk off about 30 metres then along paralleling the bank until I reckon I am in line then head back to the bank. Be prepared to cop a charge as if you approach a boar from the top of the bank his only exit is straight up through you!

Kayaking for boars down a western waterway is very relaxing with the smell of the bush, red river gums, birds, goannas and obviously pigs. It is a different way to enjoy the outdoors and see a property that you may have hunted for many years but from a different perspective.

I don’t really participate in any non-hunting related shooting activities, but I did have had a crack at skeet shooting for a while many years ago.

Equipment

My firearm of choice is a 30-06 bolt-action Ruger MK II topped off with a Burris Full Field II.  I like to sight my scope in at 30 metres which is approx where the path of the bullet passes the line of sight. This allows a precise group and the bullet (depending on the weight) to be spot on again at 200m as it comes back down from the trajectory or culminating point. I use this set up mainly for pigs. Generally most shots are at running targets and less than 100m. However, I have my fare share of extremely close and extremely long shots.

Another good firearm is a 12ga Adler A110 lever-action shotgun. Perfect for pigs. I use a full choke with 00SGs (9 pellets) or SSGs (18 pellets).

I was given a a 30/30 lever-action Winchester from Dad Christmas of 1976. So it has seen a lot of service. It’s loaded with 170gr silver tip expansions and devastating on pigs.

I’ll reload when I have 100 spent cases so then it is simple to buy 100 projectiles, 100 primers and a kilo of powder and I crank out another batch.

Kayak

I use an old Australis white water kayak. However, I reckon the sit on top type with a moulded seats are the go. Mine actually doesn’t have a rudder which is great for a fast turning. But without the rudder it is shocking when I have both hands on the rifle, as it will turn with the wind, so I am constantly correcting it which adds to the difficulty I suppose, haha.

Equipement

I always take water, spare ammo and a phone or radio just in case I need assistance or get injured. If you have mobile access then phones are great as you can send pics to those in camp of your success haha.

I do have a dog however, it’s a lab and it’s a city slicker dog.

Vehicle and setup

I actually don’t have a hunting vehicle! I actually have an old Toyota corolla hatch, haha. We do however have a Kia Sportage but it is only front wheel drive, but it does have roof racks for the kayak.

I do want to get a second hand 4×4 one day. But access to our current property is sealed roads and a dirt driveway to the homestead. If it is wet then we camp nearer to the homestead. However, my hunting buddy has a 4×4 ute so sometimes we meet up at the homestead and load all the stuff together and push into the interior of the property.

My mate has a quad bike so I am restricted to either sitting on the back or using it if he want to walk.

I have flown across the world to hunt, however I think the furtherest I have driven is approx 1,000km.

Camp setup

Generally we setup in the shearers quarters or camp setup/swag. My mate usually brings all the cooking stuff so that is sorted, which is great!

Food is usually fresh venison from past deer hunts and good cuts of beef.

Culture

I hunt for pest control, mainly pigs but I am a past trophy hunter having hunted in Africa and New Zealand.

Hunting is a passion that is difficult to put into words. I enjoy the outdoors clear starry nights and a good camp fire. I like the smells and sounds of the bush. Just great to revisit our primal past. One can learn no harm from the hills. If I am to bow my head let it be from a lofty mountain range.

If I had to explain hunting to someone that has never hunted before, I tell them that they are actually a fellow hunter but their flame does not flicker as much as mine. We are all from primal beginnings and city folk/non-hunters still have that flame inside as they all do something toward hunting like going shopping or hunting for a street address or enjoying the taste of home grown vegies etc.

The benefits hunting and shooting in my mind as a modern hunter is, it does wonders to get out of the office or city and just explore what the outskirts; state; country or world has to offer. Hunting is open ended in that it allows the hunter to fall as deep into it as they dare. Some hunters only ever plink rabbits but love the rolling hills in which their quarry lives. Whereas other hunters travel to places only hunters will go like East Equatorial Africa hunting Bongo or the Brookes Range in Alaska after Mt Goat etc.

What’s got me hooked on hunting is that every human is born with a flicker of primal instinct to survive. In days gone by everyone was hunting or gathering. I grew up in a fishing, hunting and outdoors family so it is who I am and always will be. I suppose if Dad was a boat builder I would own a yacht.

My favourite part about going out bush is to be away from the constant humdrum of modern society.

Politics

My thoughts on firearm ownership in Australia is that we have state and territory laws that are so different from each other which is a bit stupid.

What I’d like to see changed is that there was talk of a national firearms license so lets do it as it would make things so much easier not only for hunters and shooters but also the police and registration.

I will vote for a pro-gun political party when it comes election time, the Shooters, Fishes and Farmers party. As they seem to be level headed and are all about looking after the hunter/shooting enthusiast.

If hunters and shooters want to further protect firearm ownership in Australia they just need to be responsible with the privilege of owning firearms and being able to go out and hunt.

Story

So many hunting stories but I reckon the one that sticks in my head for life is my Cape Buff hunt. It was in 1985 and I was living in Townsville North Qld while working in the army. I flew to Sydney and hooked up with Dad and another mate. We flew to Perth then direct to Harare, Zimbabwe. We hunted plains game for 7 days and we all took several species each including; Greater Kudu, Impala, Bushback just to name a few. During this hunt we met a guide who was so impressed with us Aussie hunters that he offered us to accompany him to the Zambezi Valley to hunt big game. Obviously we accepted so off we went.

I hunted Cape Buff for approx 4 days and had my heart set on a minimum 40 inch spread which is the trophy standard apparently. On the 4th day we found a herd of approx 200 buff so we moved in down wind allowing the buff to close the gap toward us as they fed. We picked out a good buff and just needed it to present for a good shot. I was using an open sighted (express sights) 458 loaded with 500gr solids. As the buff were slowly getting closer the others were slowly enveloping us and what made it worse was that there were white egrets on some of the closer animals and they were looking straight at us! Something was going to happen very soon.

Eventually the buff that we selected turned broadside on and my guide said shoot! At approx 30m I held the sight low and behind the shoulder aiming for the heart. When I fired all hell broke loose, with animals retreating, birds flying and adrenaline flowing freely. The guide said that he saw dust kick up past the buff and thought I went over the beast! I could not believe it! After inspecting the area for sign of a hit I was down on myself as there was no blood and the animal looked OK when it ran off!

We decided to try again and followed the herd and did a similar stalk to get in close and again in front of the herd. This time a buff was chosen and we let it come to approx 10m! I fired and then jumped up and reloaded and fired again as it was trotting away. At the shot the buff cartwheeled and went down. The guide told me to reload and we cautiously moved up on our quarry.

One of the trackers ensured that the animal was dead then became very excited. He grabbed me and pointed to the underside brisket just behind the front legs. There was a trench that looked like a red hot poker had branded the beast, however, it was my first shot that missed! This was the same buff! I was so happy that I had actually caught up with the one I missed but also happy that I creased the animal enough to leave a tell tale mark and that I didn’t go over the top but missed the vitals by inches.

This was my last animal taken on the trip and the Head sits above the pool table at my sisters place.

Conclusion

Appreciate the responsibility that having a shooters license holds. It only takes one idiot or a lapse of professionalism and it can bring down a state full of responsible shooters.

We have been given the privilege to hunt so a respect of the animal hunted is a must. Take the time if available to place the shot. If the shot doesn’t present itself then be happy to lift the bolt and let the quarry disappear. I take a bottle of port into camp for the sole purpose to toast those pigs that got away during the days hunt.

Please check out my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI7bNyuDVBUnacJb85WlUSg for great hunting videos, I’m always uploading new content every month!

Regards Stu.