Backpacking Bonanza (very pic heavy)

[Arra Slinger]

On the weekend I got back from two weeks over east hunting deer and the sorts. Had my first backpacking adventure and boy oh boy what a fantastic time I had.
I am playing catch up at work at the moment but thought I’d share the pics of the trip as it was a very exciting one at that.

We had five and a half days on the deer in S/E QLD

On the way in
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Only half an hour into it I shot this doe for a skin (ole tin ass ey Ped)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02419web.jpg

After skinning her and salting the skin we set up camp and had a coffee

Getting water for the coffees
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Camp for the week
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We hunted in different directions the whole week to get the most out of it and it proved to be a good decision.

We both got back late on the first day and sitting around the jetboil making a coffee we were reliving our day's hunt.
Pedro was telling me of this good sized buck he had seen but didn't get! He said he got a good pic of it and handed me the camera...... there is ole mate standing behind his first fallow buck! I jumped 10 foot in the air in excitement yet called him all the names under the sun for holding out on me, thats right you sneaky little.......... :)

Pedro and his first Fallow Buck, one very happy Peddy :)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02470web.jpg

My good friend/hunting partner Doug Bourman said he didn't want to see a pic of me in my thermals with my chicken legs and little balls on the net so this one's for you ole mate :)
The second morning (bit cold:o)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02483web.jpg

On Wednesday I heard a buck grunting so I snuck into the head of the gully and, after a few doe calls, he was 15m in front of me broadside. The 3 blade Thunderhead only allowed ole mate to make it 40m if that.
I ran the one km or so back to camp and asked Pedro if he could come and take a photo for me. He said, "did you shoot a buck?" I said, "nup, i got a good boar". We both ran back trying to beat the fading light with Pedro asking many a questions of how good the boar was. When we got there and his eyes popped out of his head with the sight of my 'boar', it was quite satisfying - payback's a b1tch hey Peddy.

Even though we didnt beat the fading light it was one very very happy moment :)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02500web.jpg


The next day, very content with my achievement, I decided to focus on the other game available and shot myself a small goat, small pig, and a rabbit.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02509web.jpg

While Pedro, on the other hand, only got a few hundred metres from camp and spotted a very respectable buck with a few does and a satellite buck in tow. A couple of hours into it, the big boy chased the satellite buck Pedro's way and an arrow tight behind the shoulder, the smaller buck was down in seconds :)

Pedro and his satellite Buck
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/P1010869.jpg


With the dominant buck and does still unaware of Pedro's presence, he used the clumps of tussock grass to close the gap to 40. As he turned broadside the arrow left the string and hit it's mark perfectly.

Pedro and his cracker buck, bloody ripper
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Pedro preparing the cape
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A bit of a celebration on the last day just before we packed out
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Pedro on the walk out
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For the next part of my hunt I spent 4 days with 5 old derelicts (yeh i know you're reading it!) and had an absolute blast

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02551web.jpg

A mountain sow for the recurve (POC shafts from Manuel Aguis)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02527web.jpg


And a mountain billy to top it off (a wet one at that)
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e193/bowhuntingalbum/DSC02547web.jpg


Hope you all enjoy the pics and yarn
Catchas later

[Rock Steady]

Gez you know how to make a bloke feel bad, I had to cancel my 3 week hunting holiday because of an issue at work.:(

Looks like you had a blast, well done.:)

[Rob.M]

great stuff!!!thanks for sharing,well done to you & pedro on your hunt,and great photos,enjoyed havin' a look!!cheers...rob

[Bowfly]

Great stuff Ben and a top post .. Well done to both you fella's.
Thanks
Rod

[Scott]

Absolutely brilliant fella's, well done!

[hunt or be hunted]

great work guys, awesome pictures.

dan.

[Clemo]

Looks like a top adventure:D

[TOMMO]

Looks like a you blokes had a great trip. Well done on the Bucks.

[PeterM]

Another Awesome hunt and pics guys, well done!:D

[brett c]

Well done great pic's looks like you fellas had a good trip.

[Darren S]

Orsm effort. Great pics and story.
Well done.

Darren.

[Mozza]

nice work guys
some great animals there

[Benno]

Nice stuff, some good looking trophy animals there. ive often thought about backpack hunting, how did you go carrying in all your gear etc? is it a bit of a trial or worth the extra effort?

[jindydiver]

Great stuff guys

That choc buck is a real ripper Pedro :)

[fiend]

Absolutely fantastic fellas! Not happy that I had to work and could not go:mad: You look really sexy in those blue thermals Benny!!! :P

[batesy]

Thats awesome, what a trip guys, well done

[Shano]

Really impressive. With regards Backpack hunting, could you flick us details of what you hiked in with. I really want to get into that scene.

Cheers

Shano

[Stalker]

Sensational stuff fellas. Hats off all round.

[bowhunting4eva]

too much fun by the looks. congrats

[troy]

Thanks for sharing, that was a great read and some top pics. Congrats to Pedro on the buck, he's a ripper.

[rudy]

Great reading and photo's to match. Sound like you had a great time with good friends, that in itself can be worthy of any trophey. Well done to both of you.

[Bowdy]

Top stuff Ben and Pedro,
Conrats to both of you on some fine animals.
Great write up and pics.
Grant.

[ozzyshane]

Great stuff Ben u came a long way for a great hunt Thnak shane

[Jeffro]

a great trip well done dudes

[GREG 2533]

Congrats on a great trip guys some fine animals taken.
How did you go packing the meat out?

Once again great effort.

Greg

[Antonio Lara]

Absolutely awesome hunting fellas and it looks like one of those trips that will stick with you forever. Congratulations to both of you on some fine animals and thank you for making an excellent to keep us all entertained. Got me primed big time for my backpack adventure later this month. Hoping to emulate your success.

[Mullac]

Nice work guys. looks like you had an awesome trip out ruffing it.

[bowhunterbrad]

A Great looking area to be hunting in, Well done on the trophy's.

Brad.

[dazza]

top animals fellas,i like the trick photography with the bourbon too.

[AdamK]

Great work guys. Really inspirational hunting.
Did you only take out one of those racks?

[Arra Slinger]

Thanks for the comments fellas,

Sylvia, Ped reckons he told your boss not to give you time off work because he thought you couldn’t keep up with us (not hardcore enough yet ;) ), but personally I think he didn’t want you to see me in my thermals hehehehehe

Shane and benno
Regarding the backpacking stuff, it was the first time both Pedro or I have done anything like it, so we are far from up to scratch on the know how. All we did to be honest is read as much as we could on here about it from the likes of ozzyshane, DS, and maxy, they have done it many a times so a lot can be learnt from them fellas.
All I will say is man oh man it costs a sh1t load for light weight compact stuff
And one thing that has stuck in my mind (I think it was ds that said it ) is to plan ahead and to buy things slow but get the best of each item, if that makes sense
Don’t compromise on price for one thing to be able to get two things
You don’t realise how much things add up $$$$$$

Antarcher has a good thread going at the moment about this stuff getting ready for his hike/hunt

We only packed all the stuff in a little way and had a ‘base camp’ we hunted from each day

Like I said this basically came from the boys but this is the list of stuff I took with me modified for my needs

*Black wolf – cedar breaks 75 pack, felt very comfy on me and I liked the idea of the zip off day pack

Bedding
*Therm-a-rest prolite 4 sleeping pad
*Wild county inflatable pillow
*“Fairy” down sleeping bag (Kosciusko model), lucky enough to get this off my mate who hunted with it in NZ a few times
*Black wolf cocoon bivy, - not to bad, but have to leave the cover open with the fly screen part shut other wise you wake up in a puddle of condensation from your breath during the night
*Military edition hootchie, light and 100% water proof and if you get two they clip together and are still 100% water proof
*nylon cord to hold hootchie up

Clothes
*pair of thermals in 4L sea to summit water proof bag
*4 pairs of socks
*4 boxer shorts
*2 shorts
*3 shirts
* asat 2d pants and 3d top and face mask
* camo skins insulated gloves
*cabelas “dry plus” light weight compact rain top and bottoms
*sea to summit pocket towel
*face washer
*beanie

Pine ridge 7 pocket bum bag
*asthma spray
*Nikon realtree 440 rangefinder
*etrex gps - for sale, complete with current waypoints for a $$$$ :) :) :)
*black diamond spot headlamp
*video camera in 2L sea to summit bag
*camera in 1L sea to summit bag
*Leather man tool
*bow repair kit ( peep, allen keys, couple of spare knocks and d loop etc)
*spare batteries for headlamp camera and gps

Cooker and food

*Kovea camp 3 titan burner
*Gas
*stainless steal single mess kit/bowl
*Stainless steal cup
*sea to summit knife and fork
* 3 weetbix with 3 scoops of powdered milk in a platic zip loc bag, 1 per day
*1 pack of pack county de/hi food per day -make sure you get double meals not single
*3 yogurt tops per day
*1 protein bar p/d
*bag of mix nuts p/d
*bag of beef jerky p/d
*bag of dried apricots p/d
*coffee and sugar ***** note to self, take more coffee and sugar next time***
*sweetened condensed milk stuff

In my day pack

*First aid kit
*steal
*toilet paper
*skinning knife
*3L camel pack
*very small flexi tripod
*spare fox whistle
*powder puffer for light wind days



misc
*A packet of Wet ones
*Toothbrush n paste
*Pain killers and mussel relaxants for my back pain

I think that is all, the only thing for next time is more coffee and sugar and double meals not single as the single should say kiddies :)
And a puncture repair kit for the mattress (just in case;) )


Anyway, off to bed
Catchas later

[Paul R]

You blokes took some great animals on what sounds like a fantastic adventure, thanks for sharing the account with us.

[ds]

Looks like you guys put in the hard yards and were justifiably rewarded. Smiles all round. :)

[rory]

Awsome boys, well done!!! :)

[AdamK]

Guys,
Were you hunting private or public land?
Did you only take out the one rack on Pedro's back?

[Arra Slinger]

Private land Adam,
we took all the skins and racks out with two trips

catcha later

[bear]

awesome stuff ben and pedro:D No high humidity to contend with there by the looks of it eh pedro;) looks like a good trip thats for sure:D

[steviebby]

great trip and photos thanks for sharing well done

[HOOD]

Great read and pics guys.
Congrats to you both on some fine game taken.

[outback preditor]

good read ben, thanks for posting our hunt mate.:) ben away for a few days or i wouldve replied sooner. thanks to all the replies as it makes it all the sweeter. it is one hun t that will not be forgotten in a hurry. :)
cheers
pedro

[mat mighalls]

Sounds like yous had a great trip, good going guys well done.

[macka]

Unreal guys bloody fantastic looking country you were hunting in and congrats on all your success. A hunt like that would make a great story for a mag! you guys going to put one together?

well done guys!

Macka

[u up 4 it]

Unreal work guys

[nortcom]

well done,great read with some awesome pics