Things you see with out a gun

[lead Foot]

I was out fish with my daughter and look what we come across. :holysheep We run along side of them and took a video ~ she will post it on U tube soon and will send the link.
Lead foot;

[GabbyM]

? You have wild pigs in Australia ?
Are they considered the pest they are in Texas?

Looks like you needed two guns for that herd. 4 shots each with a pickup shot. Whomever gets the 5th wins. Then you'd better have a sharp knife and a big cooler.

[GabbyM]

PS: I forgot to shout YEHAaa

[lead Foot]

WE have a lot of feral bigs in Australia and yes they are pest. Land owers have an obligation to destroy them on site. In some places they are a real problem. All the pigs we saw are not in the picture ~ they are 11 from 20. As we watched, three boars had one hell of a blu. It's just as good to sit and watch them for a while.
Lead foot;

[crabo]

A friend and I hunted hard for a weekend and never saw anything good. We stopped at the pond on the way to go home and shot up all of our ammo. All the rifle and pistol both. As we drove down the dirt trail off the property, about 100 yards away, we jumped a nice buck going up the side of the hill.

It would have been an easy pistol shot, but no ammo. And yes you can hunt from a vehicle in Texas, but not on roads.

[Dennis Eugene]

I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that you went fishing without a gun? Dennis

[rhbrink]

Did the same thing on Truman Lake a couple of years ago. Crappie fishing during deer season I had used up all of my tags and fishing partner had one left, told him he needs to take a rifle might see something, he didn't think so, went around a point into a creek and there is 9 pigs swimming across the lake. I ran the boat right down to them and thought about running over one of them but chickened out, had visions of pig guts wrapped around the prop. Circled them a couple of times thinking might drown one didn't work either. Got the group split up amongst much squealling and grunts, some when back to where they came from and some made it across, bet they never swam again.

[Boz330]

A friend and I hunted hard for a weekend and never saw anything good. We stopped at the pond on the way to go home and shot up all of our ammo. All the rifle and pistol both. As we drove down the dirt trail off the property, about 100 yards away, we jumped a nice buck going up the side of the hill.

It would have been an easy pistol shot, but no ammo. And yes you can hunt from a vehicle in Texas, but not on roads.

NEVER EVER shoot up all your ammo!!!!!!!!!!! But at least now you know.[smilie=l:

Bob

[jack19512]

NEVER EVER shoot up all your ammo!!!!!!!!!!!









+1

For several reasons.

[TDC]

I think anyone who has hunted for many years will have a tale to tell about missed opportunities...

One happened to me just last week. I was hunting deer in a very remote area along the Oregon-California border that drains into the Klamath River basin. It is an area that has produced monster Blacktail bucks but has been devastated by a combination of both a deer "wasting disease" and cougar depredation for several years. Very few hunters have hunted in the area for many years because of the problem. When I have found bucks on those very high ridges they tend to have huge horn growth and be very mature animals..

In Oregon several game species seasons overlap and bear and cougar seasons are two of those overlaps. I usually purchase tags for everything available during the deer season just in case I run across one of them. This year I didn't because of where I was going to be hunting.

I was creeping down an old logging road in my 4X4 and saw an unusual movement about 250 yards across a canyon. Sitting on and old log was an adult cougar staring back at me. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon. I have often seen cougar tracks in the area but never had seen one sitting still and seemingly unconcerned in broad daylight.

I jumped out of the PU and put the crosshairs on the animal. It just stared back at me and didn't move. Its tail, that appeared to be 10 feet long, just flicked nervously as the cat lay there on the log.... I couldn't believe what an easy shot the cougar would have been with my Ruger #1 270... A cougar is one of the few Oregon animals I haven't taken with a handgun and I had my handgun with me. I thought for a moment I could try to sneak within range and make an attempt at least. Alas.... remembering I didn't have a tag, all I could do was watch the cat for about 5 minutes until it finally jumped from the log and disappeared quickly into the brush..

Just goes to show ya the old adage that "If it can happen -- it will," is true in hunting too.... Always carry a gun! Never use up all your ammo! Always buy all the tags for everything you could happen across.....

TDC

[Slow Elk 45/70]

:groner: Never EVER shoot up all your ammo, not good form, you never know what might be around the corner....4 legged or 2......

[Blacksmith]

You always want to keep at least one for yourself in case you are captured by Zombies or a crazed hord of Playboy Bunnies.

[lead Foot]

Well I finally got a possie together ( all my lead boolit mates ) and went out looking for those pigs. I saw a part of the mob when mustering four days after the fishing day when first spoted. Now four days after that I finally got to go looking for them.
After a full week of branding calfs (550)and 21 hours straight fighting a bush fire.[smilie=6:
We found more than I thought was there. We got 17 all for less than half a days work.:bigsmyl2:
Lead foot;

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Isn't it something that we are backed to the days of the wild west as to going armed for necessity? BvT

[lead Foot]

We cound'nt load the video too U Tube ~ so here's a pic instead. I forgot to take my camera. My mate Emailed this one to me from his camera.8-)
Lead foot;

[TDC]

We cound'nt load the video too U Tube ~ so here's a pic instead. I forgot to take my camera. My mate Emailed this one to me from his camera.8-)
Lead foot;

Lead Foot....

I'm curious after looking at your pictures. Are those pigs indigenous to Australia or are they a domestic feral/ European Wild Boar strain like we have in some areas of the U.S. west? The head features and color are much like our European Wild Boar that were Imported into the U.S. in the late 1800's.

Are they as destructive to crops in Australia as they are in The U.S.?

Nice shootin', guys!!!

[lead Foot]

There are no indigenous pigs in Australia. Captain Cook an English man discovered
Australia way back in the 1700's. The first fleet arrived soon after. They bought the European wild boar with them. Australia was deemed a penal colony and was thought they spread the pigs up and down the coast ~ a few must have been liberated. Over the years they have interbreed with domestic pigs ~ and they still thrive in good numbers. Chasing them is the best fun you can have with your pants on.:smile:
And yes they are destructive ~ I have seen them dig up a massive amount of land and they can carry foot and mouth ~ so not a good thing to have on a cattle station.:drinks:
Lead foot;

[TDC]

Sounds like we have the same experiences here that you do in Auz. It's amazing what a herd of wild pigs can do to crops. Whole fields can look like they were machinery plowed when pigs get through with them.

I used to hunt them in places in central California where the European strain is still somewhat pure. They are a lot of fun to hunt and can be very smart and elusive. They can also be very fast, aggressive and mean as hell if with piglets or have been wounded...

A couple of my friends have scars on their legs to prove it... Hunting in brush and not climbing a tree fast enough has its pitfalls with pigs.....:) Post more pictures of hunting experiences in Auz when you get the chance.... I enjoy seeing them...:drinks: