macka
17-01-08, 11:21 PM
Well the cape certainly is an experiance and tackling it during the wet season sure was hard work to get results. I was well aware of the risks of going home empty handed hunting up there this time of the year but while my family were up there anyway for a holiday i thought i have a better chance of my first pig than not going out at all. I managed to line up a station that lets hunters on and the owner is great. I got along with him and his family really well as he also has the soul of a hunter. I flew out there on a mail plane from cairns to spend a week in the rain and saturated landscape that made up the cape this time of year. I stayed in a caravan at the homestead and ate my meals with the owner and his family. This was by no means roughing it as i had a hot shower, tv and even the net to check the weather forcast.
My first bit of success came on the second day. I was given the directions to get myself to a couple permanent swamps and told that the pigs bed up in the tall swamp grass that runs in a ring around the edge of the swamp.
One of the small swamps
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010175-1.jpg
I wasn't to sure about his method of flushing out the pigs by stomping around in there, but he assured me that they usually pull up within 20m for a look back and he wasn't wrong. After walking nearly all the way around the first swamp next thing there was a grunt and a big black object came smashing through the grass in front of me. With an arrow already on the string the big sow pulled up about 10m away for a look back just like doug the property owner said and i smashed her through the lungs. The hog only ran about 10m and collapsed in a heap in the tall grass. My heart was pounding furiously at this stage after the fright of it bursting out from under my feet and now the rush of taking my first pig with the bow. The trip was already worth it and i had only shot a sow.
My first pig with the bow
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010182.jpg
The next swamp i walked around the same thing happened again but with a boar this time. The boar stood there at around 20m i put my first pin on his chest and squeesed the trigger to see the arrow pass above his spine directly above his chest. I then noticed i had knocked the fibre optic of my first pin and not noticed when i lined up. If i had not only just shot a pig already i would have been devistated.
The next day i covoured a lot of country along swampy water courses and along a couple running creeklines. I saw a couple hogs that had seen me and a big old scrub bull that i never had the upper hand on but nothing came together for me.
A fresh wallow next to an ant mound.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010183.jpg
That afternoon i went for a fish and set some yabby pots with the meat off the sow to try and catch some red claw. I managed a nice size mud cod and a feed of fresh water prawns and a couple red claw.
Fresh water prawn.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010186-1.jpg
Property owners kids with the mud cod and a prawn and a red claw.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010200-1.jpg
Red claw
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010203-1.jpg
After walking around and fishing in the rain for a full day previously i had decided to take it easy the following day as the chafe i had at this stage had me walking like a cowboy. (i could have scared all you blokes away from your comp screens with pics of the chafe lol) Doug the owner said he had nothing on for the day after the 40mm of rain overnight and the 25mm the day before sort of made getting around a bit difficult so he asked me if i wanted to go for a walk across the river with him.
We jumped in the boat and motored across the river to see what we could find. After walking along the river and crossing a couple waist deep lagoons (I AM SCARED OF CROCKS!) Very cautiously. We spooked a mob of about 8 sows that went trotting off to be swallowed up by the open forest country. Only walking along another couple hundred meters when Doug came to a halt in front of me and pointed at a hollowed out shoulder in a creek. There was a lone boar bedded down in there and i could see white pointy things poking through his top lip. This is when the hands began to shake a bit. when i drew my 80# tribute back my hands began to shake a lot. I managed to pull myself together sort of and slowly stepped out to try and get a good angle on the sleeping boar. When i found a clear shooting lane i took the best shot i thought possible and watched my fletches disappear exactly where my pin was sitting. The boar jumped out and stood in the creek bed for a second, I was taking no chances and sent another arrow through both shoulders putting him down quick.
On inspection i thought he was a good first boar and i actually had some ivory to boil out now. He pulled a lot better than i was expecting and a rough score so far i have him at 24 4/8dp not bad for a first boar i thought.
A couple pics
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010190.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010192.jpg
On the walk back you couldnt shut me up i was walking on water which was a bit ironic because about 60% of the country had water lying over it atm anyway. I did manage to shut up when next thing Doug said there's a bloody boar lying at the Base of that tree there. Thinking he was pulling my leg i casually looked over to see a large bodied boar stand up and face us from about 20m. I slowly nocked an arrow and drew back The boar was well alert and started to move off to my left as he propped i let rip having him jump the string lunging forward and i hit him through about the last rib. I nocked another arrow and watched as we was trotting dead away from me. Not wanting to loose the pig i put my 50m pin on top of his arse as he was running away and touched off the shot. We both watched as if in slow motion the arrow looped over the distance and entered half an inch away from the pigs coit with the broadhead ending up in the pigs heart. If thats not an arsie shot i dont know what is. I was just happy to have not lost an injured animal and have my second boar on the ground. Boiled out just over 21 points.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010199.jpg
So much for my lazy day, this ended up being the best days hunting i had up there. Over the next couple of days i had a few chances on good boars but they always seemed to prop behind a bush or angling towards me and i never got a shot away.
A bower birds nest.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010207-1.jpg
The next animal i got a real chance at a was a big bodied scrub bull a couple days later. The big beast was calling out to another couple bulls in the distance and was making his way towards them obviously to do more than talk by his behaviour. I followed him for about a km or so until he went to cross a small stream where i managed to jog up behind a big fig tree and get within 10m from the bull. When the bull made it up the other bank about 15m away he stopped to smash a small sapling with his horns. The thwop of the arrow angling into his oposite shoulder had me nevrous to his reaction. He bucked and ran to about 60m away. I drew back and placed my 60m pin on his chest and sent another arrow his way. The arrow smashed him tight behind the shoulder getting half an arrows penetration. The bull looked my way and started prancing towards me rather agressivley so i sent another arrow into him from 40m front on which dropped him on the spot. What a huge adrenaline rush. And i had my first scrub bull. I did my best to get some good photo's but this is the best i could do with such a big beast by myself.
Big bodied bull
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010212-1.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010213.jpg
The next day I went out across the river with Doug again to try and get one for dog food. We motored up stream in the river a couple km's to a good spot and walked up over the bank. We spotted a mob of 30 pigs across the lagoon and on the oposite side ridge. The heavens opened then so heavy it made my skin sting. We lost sight of the pigs during the rain but closing the distance we soon found the tail end of the mob. I snuck in on a large bodied pig in the heavy rain making the stalk easy and smashed her from 15m. The large sow made it about 20m and rolled over. Thats when the hard work started. We gutted her there and dragged it about 700m back to the river. Coming to a long skinny lagoon we watched a 6 foot fresh water crock disappear underwater before we dragged the bleeding sow through the waist deep water to the other side. Just happy that nothing ate me we made it to the boat and loaded her in.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010219.jpg
After crossing the river we loaded her onto a quad bike to get it back to the house. This sure was an experience and it was a good way to round up my first cape experiance.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010222-1.jpg
I will be back there again in the dry season to get really stuck into some decent hogs with a couple mates to get some good footage as well next time. As getting the camera out in these conditions would wreck it in no time.
I hope you enjoyed my recount as i had a ball up there. It was very different from my usual style of hunting and i'm happy i have finally got my first pigs.
And to top it off i spent the next week holidaying around port douglass doing some fishing snorkeling and all the holliday things it sure was a trip to remember.
Macka
My first bit of success came on the second day. I was given the directions to get myself to a couple permanent swamps and told that the pigs bed up in the tall swamp grass that runs in a ring around the edge of the swamp.
One of the small swamps
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010175-1.jpg
I wasn't to sure about his method of flushing out the pigs by stomping around in there, but he assured me that they usually pull up within 20m for a look back and he wasn't wrong. After walking nearly all the way around the first swamp next thing there was a grunt and a big black object came smashing through the grass in front of me. With an arrow already on the string the big sow pulled up about 10m away for a look back just like doug the property owner said and i smashed her through the lungs. The hog only ran about 10m and collapsed in a heap in the tall grass. My heart was pounding furiously at this stage after the fright of it bursting out from under my feet and now the rush of taking my first pig with the bow. The trip was already worth it and i had only shot a sow.
My first pig with the bow
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010182.jpg
The next swamp i walked around the same thing happened again but with a boar this time. The boar stood there at around 20m i put my first pin on his chest and squeesed the trigger to see the arrow pass above his spine directly above his chest. I then noticed i had knocked the fibre optic of my first pin and not noticed when i lined up. If i had not only just shot a pig already i would have been devistated.
The next day i covoured a lot of country along swampy water courses and along a couple running creeklines. I saw a couple hogs that had seen me and a big old scrub bull that i never had the upper hand on but nothing came together for me.
A fresh wallow next to an ant mound.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010183.jpg
That afternoon i went for a fish and set some yabby pots with the meat off the sow to try and catch some red claw. I managed a nice size mud cod and a feed of fresh water prawns and a couple red claw.
Fresh water prawn.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010186-1.jpg
Property owners kids with the mud cod and a prawn and a red claw.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010200-1.jpg
Red claw
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010203-1.jpg
After walking around and fishing in the rain for a full day previously i had decided to take it easy the following day as the chafe i had at this stage had me walking like a cowboy. (i could have scared all you blokes away from your comp screens with pics of the chafe lol) Doug the owner said he had nothing on for the day after the 40mm of rain overnight and the 25mm the day before sort of made getting around a bit difficult so he asked me if i wanted to go for a walk across the river with him.
We jumped in the boat and motored across the river to see what we could find. After walking along the river and crossing a couple waist deep lagoons (I AM SCARED OF CROCKS!) Very cautiously. We spooked a mob of about 8 sows that went trotting off to be swallowed up by the open forest country. Only walking along another couple hundred meters when Doug came to a halt in front of me and pointed at a hollowed out shoulder in a creek. There was a lone boar bedded down in there and i could see white pointy things poking through his top lip. This is when the hands began to shake a bit. when i drew my 80# tribute back my hands began to shake a lot. I managed to pull myself together sort of and slowly stepped out to try and get a good angle on the sleeping boar. When i found a clear shooting lane i took the best shot i thought possible and watched my fletches disappear exactly where my pin was sitting. The boar jumped out and stood in the creek bed for a second, I was taking no chances and sent another arrow through both shoulders putting him down quick.
On inspection i thought he was a good first boar and i actually had some ivory to boil out now. He pulled a lot better than i was expecting and a rough score so far i have him at 24 4/8dp not bad for a first boar i thought.
A couple pics
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010190.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010192.jpg
On the walk back you couldnt shut me up i was walking on water which was a bit ironic because about 60% of the country had water lying over it atm anyway. I did manage to shut up when next thing Doug said there's a bloody boar lying at the Base of that tree there. Thinking he was pulling my leg i casually looked over to see a large bodied boar stand up and face us from about 20m. I slowly nocked an arrow and drew back The boar was well alert and started to move off to my left as he propped i let rip having him jump the string lunging forward and i hit him through about the last rib. I nocked another arrow and watched as we was trotting dead away from me. Not wanting to loose the pig i put my 50m pin on top of his arse as he was running away and touched off the shot. We both watched as if in slow motion the arrow looped over the distance and entered half an inch away from the pigs coit with the broadhead ending up in the pigs heart. If thats not an arsie shot i dont know what is. I was just happy to have not lost an injured animal and have my second boar on the ground. Boiled out just over 21 points.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010199.jpg
So much for my lazy day, this ended up being the best days hunting i had up there. Over the next couple of days i had a few chances on good boars but they always seemed to prop behind a bush or angling towards me and i never got a shot away.
A bower birds nest.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010207-1.jpg
The next animal i got a real chance at a was a big bodied scrub bull a couple days later. The big beast was calling out to another couple bulls in the distance and was making his way towards them obviously to do more than talk by his behaviour. I followed him for about a km or so until he went to cross a small stream where i managed to jog up behind a big fig tree and get within 10m from the bull. When the bull made it up the other bank about 15m away he stopped to smash a small sapling with his horns. The thwop of the arrow angling into his oposite shoulder had me nevrous to his reaction. He bucked and ran to about 60m away. I drew back and placed my 60m pin on his chest and sent another arrow his way. The arrow smashed him tight behind the shoulder getting half an arrows penetration. The bull looked my way and started prancing towards me rather agressivley so i sent another arrow into him from 40m front on which dropped him on the spot. What a huge adrenaline rush. And i had my first scrub bull. I did my best to get some good photo's but this is the best i could do with such a big beast by myself.
Big bodied bull
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010212-1.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010213.jpg
The next day I went out across the river with Doug again to try and get one for dog food. We motored up stream in the river a couple km's to a good spot and walked up over the bank. We spotted a mob of 30 pigs across the lagoon and on the oposite side ridge. The heavens opened then so heavy it made my skin sting. We lost sight of the pigs during the rain but closing the distance we soon found the tail end of the mob. I snuck in on a large bodied pig in the heavy rain making the stalk easy and smashed her from 15m. The large sow made it about 20m and rolled over. Thats when the hard work started. We gutted her there and dragged it about 700m back to the river. Coming to a long skinny lagoon we watched a 6 foot fresh water crock disappear underwater before we dragged the bleeding sow through the waist deep water to the other side. Just happy that nothing ate me we made it to the boat and loaded her in.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010219.jpg
After crossing the river we loaded her onto a quad bike to get it back to the house. This sure was an experience and it was a good way to round up my first cape experiance.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010222-1.jpg
I will be back there again in the dry season to get really stuck into some decent hogs with a couple mates to get some good footage as well next time. As getting the camera out in these conditions would wreck it in no time.
I hope you enjoyed my recount as i had a ball up there. It was very different from my usual style of hunting and i'm happy i have finally got my first pigs.
And to top it off i spent the next week holidaying around port douglass doing some fishing snorkeling and all the holliday things it sure was a trip to remember.
Macka