Uhunt Mag Information

• Posted By : BRISTLE UP
• Posted On : Jun 16, 2019
• Views : 2709
• Likes : 1
• Category : SHOOTING & GUNS » STORIES
• Description : "I snagged a mean looking ginger boar that was camped up next to his mob of sows and suckers. The 3rd dam again provided a great stalk in on numerous hogs with another 7 being added to the tally. "

Overview

• By Jack Atkin-Smith

  It has been four long years since I stepped foot onto the 600,000-acre gulf property east of Burketown, QLD. The difference this time was I was there to hunt hogs with my brother (Rodney Junior) and Dad (Rodney Senior), who for the past few years have been driven mad with the stories I told of the place which set the expectations high. It was a 3,200km trip from Horsham Victoria and being in the first week of December we knew we would be playing with the boundaries of the wet season. The station was coming off the back of the worst year the owners have ever had, leaving the place dry and hot, really hot. The stormy weather put on spectacular light shows every evening, and we were lucky enough to miss the worst of it. The patchy rain seemed to have spread the pigs out a bit, but, with the massive numbers, the place holds this proved not to be a problem as long as we were willing to work for our bacon. Our first bit of action began Sunday morning before arrival and took place as we were packing up our overnight camp. As we were throwing the last of the gear into the utes a pack of 6 dingos in full pack-hunt mode came hurtling through the middle of our camp, fair up the clacker of a fast fleeing kangaroo. 
  
  
  
  We had no time to get a gun out but soon after a lagging older dog dingo came trotting past after the pack and Junior was able to get the first scalp on the board. We then headed out to the station to greet the owners and get a map of the place which also directed us to our campsite located on the high banks of the Leichhardt River, where we would be safe from any overgrown toothy reptiles that may be cruising by. The rest of the day was spent driving around getting a feel of our way around the place and finding where the water and good hunting grounds may be. We also worked out a good spotlighting loop that we baited throughout the week which paid dividends later on, bringing mobs out of the woodwork and onto the flats. Monday was spent working the northeast corner of the place, and along the coastline with the motorbike in tow on the trailer, however, it soon became apparent that we were following the tracks of the station boys lick run and found many fresh dead pigs. Finishing the loop we had planned out we stopped by a waterhole we had checked earlier in the day, and I decided to bail out with the camera to take some snaps of the 200 strong flock of brolgas hanging around the water (you've got to keep the old girl happy). During this process, the Rodneys decided the best photo would be of them taking off, so they proceeded to race up in the ute while leaning on the horn. 
  
  
  
  Not only did this fill its desired effect but at the same time an unseen boar exploded from the water right next to me and charged off up the creek. With no time for stuffing around with ramps, I jumped on the bike, smashed it in reverse and jumped it off the trailer. Junior jumped on with the 30-30 in hand, and we were soon hot on the boar’s tail. We enjoyed the moment and chased the boar around the flats before finishing him off.  We headed back to the ute with the boar, and when we rolled up all Dad had to say was, "did you get both of them?”. I was convinced there was never a second hog but still decided to head back up the creek. Rod and Dad walked over to the water to investigate the boar’s wallow and in doing so found the cunning second boar camped up in under the bank after doubling back up the creek: sneaky bastard! Well, this led to the shank of the trip with Senior spraying the hog with water from 4m away, but I soon gave chase on the bike, and we had a pair of 65kg boars in the bag. This just about wrapped up the day and to be honest, our spirits had taken a bit of a hit in regards to the number of pigs about. On Tuesday we trekked back to town to get enough ice and green cans for the week. We worked our way back up the eastern side of the station along with a series of dams and tanks. Stalking in on the first dam proved fruitful as Senior snuck in on a real good boar laid up in the surrounding saplings that had a 3inch mud armor, perfect for the .300 magnum which left the hog dead where he lay.

  
  
  A similar scenario was encountered on the second dam, and I snagged a mean looking ginger boar that was camped up next to his mob of sows and suckers. The 3rd dam again provided a great stalk in on numerous hogs with another 7 being added to the tally. The next dam created great excitement as pigs were spotted wandering around the dam everywhere! Dad and I moved in while Junior circled around the side of the dam to cut off escapees. Dad unloaded the first round into a sleeping hog, and the rest of the pigs went off like a tree full of galahs. I took over with my .308 and managed to slaughter 6 more scattering hogs while Junior jagged a couple more that slipped out the back, this was more like it! The last dam of the day proved to hold more good mob numbers, but having seen a fair few now, we let these smaller lots pass and continued in closer to the turkey nest where I spotted a big black shape lying under a bush. Taking the shot resulted in a good boar being added to the tally. The trip back to camp passed a dry creek, and out my side, a mob was spotted under a tree. Junior passed the shot up and handed me his  .308, and I unleashed from the ute, dropping another 5 porkers. 
  
  
  
  This evening was spent parked on a lagoon waiting for thirsty hogs to wander in. Funnily, we had been sitting and eating dinner (tuna and savoys) for about an hour before Rod Junior spotted what appeared to be a pig that had been laying at the other end of the lagoon the whole time! We decided to have some fun, and Junior followed me in with his go pro. I walked to within 10m and yelled "Pig Pig Pig", however, the hog only lifted his head, so I decided I had given him a fair chance and fed him a lead injection. The pig was our biggest so far at 77Kgs. Another pig walked in just after dark, and as I put the spotty on him I said: "It’s a dirty little sow but snag it anyway". Well, my judgment was right off and after inspection Junior had bagged a good 65Kg boar. This closed the days hunting with 28 hogs down.  Day 3 we decided to drive down to a creek and get some km's into the 4 wheeler. I rode first with Junior on the back. After some bumpy traveling we finally put up a hog, and I fed the thumb to the throttle. We only chased for about 25m when an even bigger boar busted out from under a bush. Chasing the bigger pig out into the open Junior fired a 150 grain slug fair up him, and it was all over. 
  
  
  
  We decided we may as well check the patch of trees we had driven past while chasing the boar which paid off big time, as we came across the first boar we had spotted except this time he was looking back at us and it was obvious he had a fair old set of tongs hanging out of his mouth! This hog knew of his weaponry and instead of running again proceeded to launch an attack on the bike, but he was no match for the Winny 30-30 that hit back harder. Stoked with our efforts we cut out the stabbers and moved on towards where Senior was waiting, however on the way, an over 80Kg boar was found camped under a tree and Junior did short work in sending him to hog heaven. It was Senior’s turn to take a seat on the bike with his .300 mag, and before leaving Junior at the car, he advised Senior "not to come back angry if we didn't find anything". Well, wasn't he eating his words, as soon after Senior bagged a sleeping hog under a tree which set the tone for the next 45mins with another 7 hogs being bagged including another 5 big boars, a real good tusker and a 77Kg hog that again decided to take on the bike to only discover the power of a .300 mag from point blank! This expedition provided awesome go pro action and Senior was over the moon with the quality of the stinkers we had just bagged. That wrapped up our day and we spent the evening on the cans around the fire with the hand line out in the river resulting in some late night action, dragging in a massive shark. After a sow burning start to the following day we managed to locate and nail 10 boars in a row. 
  
  This included a big ginger fella that escaped from a dam and ran out into the open but Jnr pulled off a great 150m shot to put him down. One particular dam produced no sign of bacon; however the nearby dry creek was discovered to be the sleeping ground of 3 ripper boars that were all added to the growing tally. The spotlight home produced two more boars, one being a full ginger stinker and another big black fella the copped the full sting of a texas heart shot fair up the clacker. The final day started with a tally of 85 hogs which we were more than happy with, however the stars had aligned and the 2hr morning hunt produced 16 hogs taking us into a 3 digit tally of 101 for the first time ever! I must thank the old man for making this trip happen, it will not be forgotten and the next year of university cannot pass fast enough so we can get another chance to get back up there and find a tonner!