Boars in Oz

[Guest eastmids]

hello ned some good reading again,forgive me if ive missed it but do you lads have an off season or go at them all year round? favoured time of year? etc?cheers

[Chriseden 5]

Had pup out on sunday he saw his first pig and was on a ear within 30 seconds of getting there not too bad for 9 months I thought evin if it was only a 60 pound sow

Edited April 26, 2010 by Chriseden

[Ned Makim 116]

Good work by the pup. Always encouraging when the youngsters hook in...

 

And no there's no season for pigs over here. They are decalred vermin so it's open season all the time...although our winter is best for numbers because they pigs tend to be forced out of the thick country by the lack of feed and it's easier on the dogs (not too hot).

 

Well, back to the pigs and I have a bit better news to report...

 

SuperJen and I took a few days off to test out our brand spanking new camper trailer and get all the dogs out of town. We spent two surprisingly cold nights out but I scored a top boar to warm things up.

 

He was probably only in the 50s, might have made 60, but he had the best set of teeth I think I've come across personally in the district. Other blokes might have done better but they look like the best I've caught around here.

We were up in the hills away from home a little bit and I had already put my hands on three pigs and called Roger back off a fourth. They'd popped up not 400 metres from camp as I was driving off to look at a crop a couple of kms away. Bobby was loose on the tray and took off like a missile into some grassy regrowth country the mob pigs sometimes cross from some super rough country to a lucerne paddock near the homestead. I knew this pattern well because I've hit them before in this paddock. And Bobby's not an idiot, if he was moving like that there were pigs, so I let Barney out as well. I was hoping for something good but it was all mob pigs as usual for this spot. Bobby caught a little sow, Barney a smaller boar and a couple more headed for the rough stuff. I aimed Gina and Roger at the fleeing pigs and that started a marathon...

 

Back I went for Bobby and Barney and then into the scrub. I left Barney caged and threw Bobby on the trail, Gina met him coming back and then followed the rangy dog out again. The hit another small one but Roger was more than a km away and still looking.

 

The video shows what he was in...

 

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And this pix shows the size of the things they were after. This is the one Bobby caught from the jump. Hardly impressive but a pig all the same...

 

 

Roger hit the pig but I was eventually able to call him back. The Garmin will tell you it's another km but that's as the crow flies, not all the up and down bits, so it was just too much for me on what I knew to be a relatively little pig.

I got Roger back and we set off for the truck but as I got back Bobby drifted off on another scent and kept going. I lost contact with him at 1.5kms right on the river in some bad gorges so I had to go find him. I didn't know what he was after (too far to hear...) so I had to go back into the shit. I got 900 odd metres from the truck and picked him up again at 1.3kms further out from where I was standing. (The new tracker collar aerials from NZ seems to have extended range in my country for sure.) I got to within 600metres and he was coming back. I found him with his feet cut to bits on the rocks and hobbling badly. No pig and a long slow walk back out.

 

I will say, I never would have found the dog without trackers. There is no way in that country I could have guessed where he'd end up, let alone the time it would have taken him to find his way back out on his own.

 

Back to camp and sorting out a few trailer teething problems and it was back on the hunt Monday night. SuperJen came to offside for me and we hit the sorghum about 8.30pm. As we approached the bottom of one paddock (where all the blackberries are) we saw three little pigs flying up a hill on the neighbours place. Too small, too far and not my country so they lived to fight another day. I'm glad now we left them because it put us three sorghum blocks further into the property at about 10.30pm. I had the spotlight flicking around in a bottom corner the pigs have been haunting when I saw a pig's back in the crop. Mary was the only dog loose on the tray and she had gone on the scent as the light swung around. I saw her go through the fence and head for the pig. The boar didn't run, he squatted... It was all too easy. Mary hit him and immediately flew up in the air...She was on the ground and on him again. He looked only an average pig so I climbed through the fence and headed for the battle. I could see Mary occasionally airborne but attached so I had SuperJen ready to release Roger for back-up. When I got close enough to see, all I could make out were big long tusks sticking out the pigs mouth. Mary had him but I called for Roger to make sure...I'm a bit inclined to fall over or get tangled in the crop or something at moments like these and I didn't want those teeth in me. Roger hit like a truck and it was all done.

I just could'nt believe the teeth on this boar. They were almost perfect, long, wickedly sharp and within a few mils of being perfectly matched.

And Mary? She didn't have a mark on her. Roger was clean too. A fantastic catch by the little fluffy bitch and some nice equallising by the big pup.

 

I shot this vid moments after sticking the boar...

 

 

And this is the trophy shot with Mary, still intent on her catch.

 

 

 

 

And this is the camper trailer. All folds back into the trailer (everything you can see here...top set-up.

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2010 by Ned Makim

[Ned Makim 116]

And just had an email from son Paul. We'd met up at about 4am the other day when he dropped of the quad after a night time run. He had caught five and boxed two with a third a bit too marked for the trade. Anyway he said he thought he might have a good shot of Hannah and her daughter Suzie on the best pig of the night.

The email had this photo in it. I reckon it's a cracker.

 

That's Suzie on the left (about 13 or 14 months) and Hannah on the right getting lifted.

 

 

Cheers.

[waidmann 105]

some pics ned!!!!!!!!!

sound write up.

brilliant.

some hard working dogs bud(i like the camper too ).

 

did you measure the tusk yet?

in my experiance the hard ground pigs tend to snap one at some stage(not that it ever made any difference to me as the trophy was always just a reminder of the day).

 

atb for future outings.

 

waidmann.

 

p.s. its about time this got "pinned" as an example of an excellant thread,christ it must have more hits than the newbie board!!

[Ned Makim 116]

G'day Waidmann,

Now the dust has settled I finally measured the tusks. The best of the pair was 81mm out of the jaw (3 and one eighth inches). Where I hunt is all rocky so something that long and sharp is rare. You're right, they get broken or worn off and end up shorter but thicker as the pig ages. And I agree, anything with teeth is exciting to me, I've caught way more dangerous boars with lesser ivory... It's all about the experience and adrenaline at the time rather than the ego later.

Cheers and thanks for the continued support. I hope you blokes are getting something of the flavour of the whole thing especially with the little videos. I think they show and tell a lot more than just the pix.

[waidmann 105]

i can taste it bud (the smell of riled pigs and sweaty dogs..... heaven!!!)

 

the longest tusk i had was 13cm(4-5 year old boar weighing 103kg live,shot in january) and i can remember it like it was yesterday because i spent 8 hours at minus 12 on a high seat after seeing the sign in the snow,then a further four waiting to be picked up by my mate.

the pig just fitted in his vitara.if shot before the mating season(rausche) he would have had alot more on him

the tusks my son has in germany but i will look for a pic of the boar and a grinning waidmann.

[Ned Makim 116]

i can taste it bud (the smell of riled pigs and sweaty dogs..... heaven!!!)

 

the longest tusk i had was 13cm(4-5 year old boar weighing 103kg live,shot in january) and i can remember it like it was yesterday because i spent 8 hours at minus 12 on a high seat after seeing the sign in the snow,then a further four waiting to be picked up by my mate.

the pig just fitted in his vitara.if shot before the mating season(rausche) he would have had alot more on him

the tusks my son has in germany but i will look for a pic of the boar and a grinning waidmann.

 

Do you mean 13cm protruding from the jaw or 13cm once it was pulled out of the jaw? I'd nearly kill to get one with 13cm of tusk protruding...(just to clarify mine was 8.1cm protruding, there's more to come if I ever pull them out but I mostly leave any I keep still in the jaw...)

Cheers.

[waidmann 105]

no mate 13cm in total,they say over there that two thirds are in the jaw so they protruded about 4cm.

the biggest i have seen had 20cm and 21cm in total.

my freind saw three pigs and shot the smallest,he was well over the 100kg mark(gralloched) and hung from the shed roof beam by the snout had his hind feet on the floor!!!

skinny as he was(i think he was shot in jan too).

the other two are still about as far as i know,(main boar and "adjutant") and leave sign that you can just about cover with a flat hand .

 

the follow up to find that pig took 3 days and he was still alive in a mud hole,a very capable of fighting.

(shot "went soft side"),leaving hardly any blood. a professional handler took up the job and broke off saying it was" not to be found". the next day the keeper took his jagd terrier and found it after about 3km

 

waidmann

[ArchieHood 3,692]

Your right Waidmann, this threads a bottler, I always crack a fat when I see Neds posted.I would love to give it a burl but for now I will just have to read the posts and drink my amber fluid until im chocka.Your a grouse guy Ned you beaut ....Have a rep on me

[Ned Makim 116]

Thanks fellas,

Just an update on the book idea etc etc. I've started writing about my experiences in a life of boar chasing so that's very slowly taking shape. I'll worry about a publisher etc once I have something to show...

I am also looking at developing a web based magazine with paid subscriptions which will be all about pigs, dogs, international hunting styles (predominantly with dogs), dog training etc. I've been approached by a few people suggesting it might have a future and I an very keen to get out of the 'real world' of work and concentrate on the life I love.

I'll keep you all posted on that in case any of you are interested in contributing pix or stories and, of course, becoming subscribers.

Thanks again for the continued readership of this thread and the positive comments.

Cheers, Ned.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Ned Makim

[spep21 0]

Excellent thread mate and sure you will do well with your plans for the future.

[Wild_and_Irish 11]

good luck with the book

[Aaron Proffitt 142]

Hey Ned ,

 

Just to make a buddy of mine look an asshole ( ) ...are you or are you not essentially using the same version of our Staghounds down there on your pigs ?

[Ned Makim 116]

Well I don't now but I have and lots of blokes do. The one's used here will find and smash pigs but you have to pick your lines. Some lines are too soft but if the bloke producing them has been doing it for a while there are dogs that look very deerhoundy that will do everything my dogs do. My cousins used them for years. They were tough and incredibly fast. It's all about slection and breeding. You just use the ones that do the job. Some are definitely toughewr than others so you just follow that line.

Cheers.