Uhunt Mag Information

• Posted By : BRISTLE UP
• Posted On : Jan 12, 2020
• Views : 1908
• Likes : 15
• Category : PIG DOGGING » STORIES
• Description : "We positioned ourselves, called the dogs off and sent the pig on a dirt nap using the Miroku"

Overview

• By Bella & Nick
  
  We had been living at our new home for about 4 weeks and been successfully culling all kind of pest animals since the station was unoccupied for nearly a year before we moved in. Lucky for us, Nick used to live in the area, so he knows the country well. Out where we live, the pigs don’t stay here to grow big as the saltbush is small and there are not a lot of places for them to hide in the flat, featureless, open landscape. During April we had dispatched 3 boars, and 3 sows ranging from roughly 20kg up to 55kg. It was a Sunday arvo at the end of the month, and the jillaroo that lives down the road had brought a friend up to ours for a bit of socialization. We decided to go looking for hogs, so we plated up our two 1-year-old mixed breeds (Rex and Jedda) and our 4-year-old bitsa (Roo). 
  
  We have some bailing Kelpies who we would usually bring along but we were trying to teach the young ones to be a bit more independent, and space in our buggy was limited due to having two extra guests. We set off later in the arvo than planned and had only ventured 2km from home before we arrived at a fork in the track and paused for a second trying to decide which way to go. In one direction is a creek with a reliable number of pigs, the other way has a trough where we had seen what we thought might be a large boar earlier in the week. Before anyone knew what was happening, Nick (who was driving) had reefed on the wheel and floored it like a madman. It only took a moment for us all to see what he had already spotted only 300 meters away; a big pig was just standing like an idiot out in the paddock, before the sun had even gone down! 
  
  
  
  The three dogs and I jumped out of the buggy (I thought my pup might need some encouragement. I was wrong!), and Rex and Jedda ran straight for the pig while Roo and I lagged behind. The two young dogs and the buggy had pulled the angry hog up a short distance away, and he was all bristled up ready to fight. Jedda was doing a wonderful job for a pup that had only seen pigs once or twice before, snapping at him and bailing like a pro. Rex, who is slightly more experienced, latched on to the boar’s ear and hung on with all his might. It was at this point we began to realize just how big this pig could actually be; he was flicking 40kg Rex around with frightening ease, I was worried that if Rex got a real dusting without help that the experience could really knock his confidence and set him back. I wish I could say Roo had jumped in to back him up, but no.  
  
  Having been trained mostly as a small game retriever, and only seeing half a dozen small pigs in her time, she sniffed the boar’s tail whilst it was brawling. Decided this excitement was not a part of her job description and toddled off just far enough out of the way that she could chase butterflies without getting bulldozed by the party! Equal parts exasperating and hilarious. Nick and I were trying to assess if we would be safe enough with just Rex holding the pig to be able to get in there and stick it, at which point the hog sent Rex flying and attempted a getaway. Thankfully Rex got straight back on his feet and went in again, and with Jedda still bailing they were able to stop him making any meaningful ground. 
  
  We positioned ourselves, called the dogs off and sent the pig on a dirt nap using the Miroku, leaving it where it fell for collection to weigh later. Nick suggested we just head back home now because it wasn’t going to get better than that! But being full of adrenaline we wanted to see what else we could find. Well, Nick had the right idea, we hunted into the dark, and we didn’t see anything else on our travels. We were still stoked though, not just for our dogs but that we were able to share the experience with our guests, as this is not the normal sort of a pig you get around here. In fact, Nick has only ever shot one other like it in the three years he has lived in the area. We came home and ate our dinner, before inviting our mates to come back out with us to pick up the stonka and put it on the scales. 
  
  
  
  They politely declined and left so they could make it home at a reasonable hour, given we all had to work in the morning. Nick and I got in the ute to collect our trophy. Even with two of us, trying to lift it up to the tray was too hard, so we opted to hang it on the winch. We both took guesses in the 70 to 80kg range and with a bit of manhandling managed to get it into the wool press, the boar was over 90kg! Almost in disbelief, we dragged it out and took turns stepping in to weigh ourselves, making sure the press was accurate. It was! We were so incredibly proud of the hard work our young dogs (Rex especially) put in to get him for us, and this was an experience that the dogs and we will value forever! …Except maybe Roo.