WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA ISSUE 4 - JULY 04 'Old School Series'

www.wildboaraustralia.com

CONTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE OF WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA Editor/Publisher:Vic Attard Art Room:Jacque Attard Contributing Writers: Ian Collie, Gary Hall, Greg Harrold, Robert Van der Veen, Brad Smith.

Advertising Enquiries: Contact Vic Attard Mobile: 0401 014 592 Email: wildboar@easynet.net.au Mailing Address: PO Box 10126, Mt Pleasant, Mackay, QLD 4740.

ACN:091403851 ABN:15091403851

No picture or any part of the contents of this publication may be scanned or reproduced in any way without prior written consent from the publisher.

Pig hunting is a dangerous sport, Wild Boar Australia accepts no responsibility for any damage and/or injury suffered by readers. Further, the editor/publisher accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of statements or opinions expressed by freelance writers.

Printed by Graphic Impressions.

4 5 6 7 8 14 20 24 26 26 36 37 38 39 40 46 54 55 56 58 64 72 82 85 86

EDITORIAL WIN! Ultimate Pig Hunters Pack LONE CRUISER PITSTOP HUNTERS TROPHIES GULF BOUND PIG DOGS BLOODLINES MUTCH & SHREK ALL GRUNT DOG CARE IN THE WILD QUICK RUN STEVE & TYRON’S DAY PIGS IN THE CANE, LET’S GO! ACCESSORIES BACKYARD & BAREFOOT BOAR BOAR FROM NOWHERE CROC ATTACK F@#KIN’ BOGGED A BLAST FROM THE PAST GREAT CRATES ARCHERS CORNER NT FLOODPLAIN HUNT BOARS OF THE BLACKSOIL PLANES

Advertising enquiries contact Wild Boar Australia on 0401 014 592

EDITORIAL Here’s issue four, and I have to say, this one is a ripper. The quality of photos coming in is nothing short of excellent. Also, judging by the boars in the photos, there is some big stuff getting nailed out there, from all different parts of Australia, which is good to see. We have received tonnes of feedback about the last issue, and one comment in particular referred to the excellent stories. Each story is different and has its own character. The readers love reading hunting stories from all areas of the country. So give it ago, if you got a couple of good photos and a 'hunt to tell', put pen to paper and write how you saw it.

That's what Wild Boar Australia is all about, a down- to- earth, tell-you-how-you-see-it magazine.

Conditions around Australia From the start of 2004 to May, some parts of Australia have had heaps of rain, particularly in Darwin and the Gulf. Places where I hunt, from the coast to out west, have had some good rain compared to last year. The rivers have flowed, the dams are full and the grass has been up to eight foot high in some areas.

It makes it harder to hunt pigs, but it's all good, as there is plenty of feed and good cover for pigs to hide. As I said last time, pigs adapt quickly to the changing conditions. As in late January of this year, while out hunting, we bagged four sows early in the night and their weights ranged from 40 to 65 kg. All were of prime condition and all of them were in pig and close to dropping, so of course all were released for future research!!! If the weather keeps up, all the breeding now will show 15 months down the track, where we'll definitely see the difference in pig numbers and size.

But sadly, there are still parts that have had little rain, and talking to hunters from those parts they said you would be lucky to see one pig.

It's going to take a long time to get these areas back to decent hunting grounds.

Competitions This is your last chance to get your entries into all the competitions on offer. So don't delay any longer, get your entries in before it's too

late. You have to be in it, to win it! We have received so many entries for our competitions that it is impossible to show them all in just one issue, so don't be disappointed, they will be in up and coming issues. Once again, thanks for all your letters and comments, keep it all coming, as it's good to hear from you all. A big thanks goes out to all the sponsors for donating these top prizes on offer, they are prizes I just couldn't afford without their help. Until next time, hunt the ''Wild Boar''.

Vic Attard.

P.S This is me and my old mate Grover, he is around the 10 year old mark but still loves to get out and mix it with a good old boar. The boar in this photo led us on a good hunt starting around 3.30am, we had light rain and the dogs found it hard to pick up a good sent to find him. Two hours later, when we were just about to give up, we tried one last spot. Bingo!

He was there and he turned it on for the dogs.

The dogs had him right on the edge of this lagoon, and you all know how it is, I'm pulling one way to stop them going in the drink, and they were pulling the other way. Sadly, that's where we all ended up, in the water, but in the end, wet and slippery we finally got him. But there's no other way I'd rather spend my weekend. Not the best of photos to show his size ,but he dressed out at 92kg.

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LONE CRUISER Finally Saturday rolled by again, and my mate, Dustin, and I were going hunting at my favourite spot. In the wee hours of the morning we loaded up the dogs and esky and hit the road. Being so hot, we knew the pigs would be thick around the steadily disappearing water holes. So on arrival, we headed straight to the creek with our four keen-asmustard dogs. Sure enough, less than an hour later, we had four very reasonable boars and a sow in the bag. Since the dogs hadn't picked up on anything trophy size, we decided to cross over and head back to the cruiser.

Unlike the scrub on the other side, the way back was partially burnt, allowing us to see quite a way. Next thing I know, Dustin goes 'Hey, look down there, a big boar!' The whopping big brute was casually walking across the flat, totally unaware of our scrutiny. The dogs hadn't picked up on his scent yet, so we kept quiet and filmed him as the dogs came around. This was one of the few times I have seen the dogs get a pig that wasn't in full flight.

I whispered to Dustin “Look at the tusks on him!� His worthy ivory could clearly be seen hanging out of his chomping jaws when the cocky bastard stopped in his tracks and looked straight at us. By this time my faithful 6 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Wolfhound X, Misty, was leading the boys in for the kill. The hog's eyes swung to the dogs.

We hoped he would stand his ground and fight in full view, but the now not-so-cocky boar made a dash for a lone green patch. The dogs followed and caught up to him just as they went out of sight. We heard the great thud as the dogs slammed into him. The battle erupted into a frenzy of barks, grunts and crashing bush. He came spinning furiously back into our view. The dogs were flying off here and there, landing with ferocious barks and taking off again after the pig. They weren't going to let him make a run for it. I picked my time and waited until he tired a little before going in and grabbing a back leg. Briefly, I savoured the sights and sounds of the moment before driving my knife deep into his chest and sending another one down. The dogs came out of it well, with only a few minor injuries. After a few photos we grabbed his ivory and hunted on.

Although we caught another three pigs before returning to the cruiser, none matched the size, strength or spirit of this boar. This is why I love living in the Top End, with some of Australia's best hunting barely a stones throw from home.

-MANUEL CABRALL, COOKTOWN, QLD.

PIT STOP This was my first hunting trip around the Daly River, Northern Territory. It was just before the wet season and everything was dry, including us. About three hours into the drive we saw a creek on the side of the road, so we decided to have a ‘pit stop’ to have a swim, and let the dogs out for a break. On letting the dogs out, Scalpel, a Wolfhound x Staghound x Great Dane, had a sniff and within two minutes was gone. We then saw the scratches on a nearby tree where a boar had left his sign, and a short time later heard the loud call for back-up.

My adrenalin was soaring when I got to the spot where the dogs were and I could see they were in a waterhole fighting the pig. At first I thought it was only an average-sized sow, imagine my surprise when I jumped in the water and a 90kg boar smashed his way through the dogs and ran straight past me into another waterhole. Following right behind the boar, I grabbed his back legs, pulled him over and stuck him. To top it all off, another five

minutes later we landed a 70 kg boar running along a dry area above the creek. All up, our little 'Pit Stop’ landed us ten pigs; seven boars and three sows.BEN REINKE, NORTHERN TERRITORY.

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GULF BOUND WITH THE GOOD WEATHER FINALLY WITH US, IN FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND, IT WAS TIME TO HEAD OUT TO NORMANTON FOR A HUNT AND HOPEFULLY TO DOG A COUPLE OF HOGS AND LAND A LOCAL BARRA... Story by Robert Van der Veen A good friend of mine, Glen, had never ventured out into the Gulf before, so he was very keen to come along. Especially if he had the chance to bring back some fresh Barra fillets. Everything started fine, we had packed the Triton Friday night so we could head off Saturday afternoon after work. The only problem was that I forgot a few items, which would be a hard lesson learnt at the end of the trip. Our journey began well, with the dogs keen to mix it up; they quickly picked up on 14 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

a good sized boar. I grabbed my knife and torch, jumped out and ran over to where the dogs had the angry pig. He looked to be around the 80 kilos and had good ivory. I quickly killed him, washed my hands, and we were back on track. With the dogs landing a sow only a short time later…this trip was looking good…or did I speak too soon.

We had travelled about 500 kilometres when our first problem occurred, I had missed the turn off and in doing this, had ended up 100 kilometres

out of my way, the worst thing was Glen actually asked me 'Where does that road go?' as we passed it‌100 kilometres later I told him. I had travelled this route many times, so I was annoyed with my mistake. Before turning around, we got out and checked the car, just to be on the safe side. Night driving can be hazardous; you certainly do not have the same visual as during the day, making it hard to calculate holes and washouts. Animals also tend to stray into your path, and of course there is good old driver fatigue. On inspection, we noticed one rim had a dint in it, which was due to a wash out. The rim didn't look too bad so I turned the car around and headed back to the turn off. We were now back on track, but about 50 kilometres down the road I hit another washout, however this one was somewhat bigger than the first and managed to blow the front

and rear right hand tyres. I said a few choice words as the vehicle slid to the side of the road.

Even with the driving lights on, washouts and deep holes are very hard to locate until they are right there in front of you. It was only early in the year and the road had not yet been graded so things were rough in patches. Another important thing to remember is tyre pressure; mine were probably too low, which would not have helped. I had forgotten to check the pressure on all tyres before we departed‌ including the spare, OOPS! An hour later, we had the two spare tyres on, one of which was very low indeed. I had also left my small compressor at home, another top move, this tyre would hopefully stay up or we would be in real trouble. Both of us were tired and filthy, and glad to have the job done. We managed to make it to the front gate of the station w i t h out further problems, 15

Above: The author with one of the boars from the trip.

there was a swamp not far away so I explained to Glen that it would be a good place to find a pig, The swamp was full of water, and the grass which surrounded the edges was extremely high, as it usually is this time of year.

The dogs soon located a nice boar not too far in front of us. A typical Gulf boar, around 70 kilos with good tusks, he was not impressed with the dogs. At least it took my mind off the morning's dramas. After taking some photos, we slowly made our way back through the long grass, which, at this time of year hides a lot of good pigs. The next problem we encountered was a split in my fuel tank, the leak was only slow so we jumped in and high tailed it to the station.

Once there, Glen noticed the rear right hand spring had been damaged. I could not believe what was happening, I am a great believer in car maintenance, which I do religiously, but when

16 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

you run into washouts, anything can eventuate. By lunchtime the repair to the fuel tank had been finished, the 2-part epoxy mixture had done its job well, this stuff is great, and should always be kept in your tool box. The rims had been belted back into shape and the tyres put back on, thanks to a compressor at the station house.

The shackle on the spring had reversed itself, so I wired it up to stop the banging noise; fencing wire is another item which has a thousand uses, so keeping some on board can be useful. By late Saturday we were back to square one, so we both decided to go luring in some rock holes. Saratoga was on the bite, as was the local Catfish which Glen calls 'Snot Fish', as we fished, he explained why. 'Even when you do not land them, they still leave snot all over your line and the noise they make when you land them, well, they are saying snot, snot, snot.' Next morning, with the weather bright and clear and the dogs loaded up, we were off. Three kilometres down the track I noticed a good sized boar walking out amongst the timber to our left, Glen let all three dogs out, and the chase began. Some boars seem to run a lot harder than others and this pig was no exception, Brin was flat out, at about a dog's length behind the boar she was having trouble closing the gap. Even being a Greyhound cross, she had her job cut out for her. Toa, her brother, was back at camp, now if he were out there that pig would not have travelled half the distance. The boar finally pulled up in a swamp and began his fight, I quickly slipped in behind the pig with Rebel hanging hard, I pulled my knife out and put a finish to the hog. With the pig down and out, we quickly took some shots and started to head back to the vehicle. It was then that Rebel located another good boar only 50 meters away in the long grass; this boar must have been listening to everything we were doing and not even moved. The pig crashed wildly through the swamp and made it to the other side before being pulled up by the dogs; I made my

way over to their position and killed the pig. I was wet and muddy but pleased with the dogs work. Both hogs were around the 60 kilo mark.

That afternoon we went over the car, just to make sure that everything was okay, it was, so on went the tinny for the afternoon Barra session, we spent most of the afternoon flicking lures and managed to land seven Barra. Three of those were 60 centimetres, and there is nothing like fresh Barramundi for tea, that's for sure. The next morning we were up early once again and checking out local lagoons and swamps, it was not long before I spotted a really big boar feeding in a large lagoon, I unclipped the crate and released the dogs Brin, Missy and Rebel went to my right, Toa on the other hand stuck with me and by doing so caught sight of the boar. The pig noticed us but there was no way he was moving and kept on with his feeding. Toa soon caught sight of the large black shape and ran out in to the water to confront it. Then it was on for young and old. The dog weighed 36 kilos and the boar looked to be about 80, which is big for this region. The dog was getting a hard time from the boar, but he did a good job until the crew arrived.

With the boar dead, I slowly dragged it out for a photo shoot and we were on our way again. Later that afternoon we came across two shooters, Arthur and Jeff, as we drank a couple of coldies we swapped notes on the hog hunting in the Gulf. They had a couple of good sets of tusks with them and had used a .243 and .308 to secure the kills. Although Arthur assured us some long range shots with the 30-30 had been made with success. Arthur also had this thing about juice extractors, if you read this fellas I hope ya got some good hogs and next time try a bit of doggin'. After finishing our conversation with Arthur and Jeff, we man-

17

aged to land another good pig that ran out in front of the vehicle. I hit the brakes, slid to a halt, jumped out and the dogs were away, after a short chase the pig was pulled up. The boar swung around throwing his long head side-to-side trying to rip the dogs. We had ourselves another good boar with respectable ivory. Later that evening we ate more Barra and slowly packed up camp. We wanted an early start Above: Rob with his dog and a gulf boar the following morning. I definitely learnt to take day. Two other hunters I spoke to, who were drivnothing for granted and will make sure everything ing Land Cruisers, also hit the same washout but is above board on my next trip. If we had not it had no ill effects on their vehicles, but that's slammed head long into the washout I suspect another conversation. Our trip home was quiet the whole trip would have been completely dif- and uninterrupted, no wrong turns or big holes, ferent, as it was, we wasted most of the first completely opposite to our drive up.

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Once again, my good friend Warren and I were poking around some old dry creek beds, waking up some good boars. The first boars we hit were 60 and 90 kg. The 90 kg boar was the first pig detected by the dogs, with all three dogs bailing off the truck, they were only gone for about one minute when we heard the music! A good bail by the sounds of it, no need to run because the bailing dog will not hold anything over 30kg, and they were definitely bailing this one. As we crept a little closer, the boar spotted us and ran like a bullet with three dogs right on his tail‌and just like that‌one pig and three dogs were all gone. We sat around waiting for the next bark, but heard nothing. Warren had the .222 with him, and since I couldn't hit the side of a barn door with it, it was up to Warren to keep going in their general direction. While I went in the opposite direction, back to the truck to collect the Titley Tracking System. I picked up a signal and found all the dogs in the exact same direction, which told me that they were all together. The problem was, I was still too far away to hear any barks, so off I ran in the direction of the signal and was finally getting close when I heard a rifle shot, then another shot shortly after.

Coincidentally, when the dogs finally bailed the pig and Warren was coming in to finish it, a second pig,

22 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

who had been trying to remove itself from the trouble unfolding, ran directly onto Warren's path. This was one ugly pig. He looked as though he'd been to hell and back, and was going back again when he met us. The pig's ear was all but gone, from fighting I'm sure, and his tail was also gone. Probably from the dingoes when he was much younger. The rest of his body was riddled with scars and when mounting, evidence of an old sparing partner was uncovered. We found that the tusk of another boar had gone through his eye socket, leaving the tip of the tusk embedded in his forehead which left him blind in his left eye.

With the dogs working together to hold the first pig long enough to allow another quick shot from Warren's .222, it gave us two pigs which now look great mounted side by side.

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Mention the words running dog in hunting circles and we immediately think of stag hounds, greyhounds etc that are used to pursue the more agile game available in Australia. Pictures spring to mind of big leggy dogs running across open paddocks or through timbered country at tremendous speed turning and weaving in pursuit of some furry critter. These types of dogs have been used in Australia from the early days of settlement to help supplement the food supply of our pioneering ancestors and control vermin.

The old time dogs have left a wonderful legacy and base breed for today's dogs. Talk to the old timers and they will rave on for hours about the good dogs they hunted with, either on horse back, or on foot, pursuing mostly Kangaroo, but also fox, hare and rabbit. When cross breeding to produce a pig dog, the addition of running blood will in most cases produce dogs that are consistent performers, and will add a lot of 'smarts' into any cross breeding program.

In their pure form such as Deerhound, Saluki, Greyhound etc, or a crossed version 'staghound', they are basically a sight hound. This means that they primarily hunt by sight, and can spot game at tremendous distances. When hunting with these dogs they are continually scanning the horizon for the faintest glimpse of their quarry. This is a worthy attribute to any cross breeding program, but they also bring speed, good bush sense, height, stability and in some cases a rough coat that gives their progeny added protection in the colder climates or protection from thorns if hunting briar or blackberry. These types

24 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

of dogs are a pleasure to own, they are rarely dog aggressive, easily trained, great with people, and very laid back. They are at their happiest laying around at the back door, and being close to the 'boss'. They are trained very easily; usually a firm word is enough for them to know they are doing the wrong thing. Harsh treatment can have a negative effect on these types of dogs. When crossed to one of the bull or terrier breeds some nose is added, thus making them a more versatile breed. As well as retaining some speed and good eyesight the other breeds, especially the terrier blood gives them the drive to hunt and a lot of 'heart' when the chips are down. The hunting ability can be improved upon even more by adding some blood from say Foxhound for ground scenting ability or one of the pointer breeds such as the German shorthaired pointer for wind scenting. A good example of the right combination was the early Bull Arabs containing Bull Terrier, Greyhound and German shorthaired pointer.

Obviously there are many options when considering purchasing a pup or breeding that perfect cross.

When choosing a pup it doesn't really matter if the pup is short or rough coated, personal preference is the right choice. However if you are hunting country with lots of prickles and frosty winters, the rough coated dogs seem to handle the extremes more easily.

The way the pup was bred will also have a bearing on the final appearance of the dog. The dogs bred from the shorter more bully type bitches and the leggy dogs are generally smaller than the ones bred from

pigs. We started out using the slower harder dogs and progressed to a good stag after about 6 months of chasing pigs too bloody far. Once we had our first stag cross and he nailed a boar within fifty meters from a standing start we were converted. Since that day I have always had one or two running style dogs in the team, and when I think about it they have probably put more pork on my truck than any other cross I have owned. If you are looking for a good mate and a dog that is a pleasure to own, why

the leggier type bitches and the shorter dogs. If you are after leg in your dogs my advice would be to lean towards a litter bred by using a taller bitch. Obviously parents with similar characteristics such as two bully stag crosses of similar height will make little difference; it just depends on which way the individual pups throw. Training is similar to any other breed, the best method being to run them with experienced dogs and they will take it from there. It pays to be patient with some of these dogs though, some will take forever to start and will test your patience to the limit. Once they click though it is normally worth the wait, and they will improve rapidly from that day on.

Depending on the makeup of your pack the stag crosses will be the first dog to the pig in most cases, and they are great to watch closing the gap on a good boar trying to get off a stubble paddock, the cards are stacked in favour of the dog in these situations. One thing these types of dogs like to do is run, run and then run some more. Their basic instincts tell them to chase and they just love doing it. Use this to your advantage by teaching them to run on. Firstly just pull the dog off the pig after you have killed it or it is being held by another dog and drag the dog in the direction of the fleeing pigs. Once they spot the next one they will just mow it down, and if you happen to be young and fit just repeat the process. It will be easier to do this in open country because the dog can spot the other pigs. It won't take them long to learn that once the other dogs get there they can go and get another. If there is a downside to these types of dogs it would be the tendency for them to try and cripple the pig by biting the legs. When selling for the chiller this is frowned upon, but is mostly prevented by not running too many dogs together and spending a little time reprimanding the dog each time it bites the wrong spot. A stronger infusion of bull blood will also reduce this trait. Heat can also affect these dogs so when hunting them be sure to keep the water up to them during the summer months. My early hunting partner used to use stags on Roos etc so it was a natural transition to again use this type of dog to hunt

not try a running dog cross. They don't look like a big tough macho pig dog, and the neighbours out walking the Maltese will not feel threatened by their appearance, but they will put pork on the truck, and that's the name of the game.

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25

MUTCH and SHREK ALL GRUNT

I hadn't caught any pigs for a while, mainly due to the cotton harvest being in full swing, so I got a little excited when we were given Tuesday night and the following morning off.

Myself and a few work mates decided that instead of sleeping, our time would be better spent chasing hogs.

The couple of close properties that we usually hunt on are owned by the one person, so it took only one phone call to organise an all night hunting session. It was 11pm when we loaded my two dogs, Heidi and Dozer, onto the back of the truck and we headed off. The first property is split into three sections, the front of the place is approximately 200 acres of flood irrigation fields, the middle is 350 acres of grasses and clover used for grazing sheep and the back paddocks are flood irrigation also, but is surrounded by lignum swamps so whenever there is a crop in the ground you are almost guaranteed a pig or two. With the spotlight blazing we quickly covered the first of the irrigation country without seeing anything of interest, onto the sheep paddocks we turned up nothing except a few hares and a fox. By now we usually

26 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

had a couple of grunters on the deck, so we were a little disappointed with the hunt so far.

After searching the back stubble blocks we got onto a small lone sow of about 40kg.

The sow was dealt with without a fuss and with a slight lack of enthusiasm we headed off for the other property. We were travelling back through the last grazing field when that magic cry of "PIG", "BIG PIG!" rang out. I looked out to my left side to see a rather large black shape slam through the fence and bolt out into the block beside us. We came to a screaming halt next to the fence and Heidi was let off, it took a bit of doing but Heidi pulled the big brute up about 400 metres out. He must have put up a good fight as Heidi started to bail. I grabbed a torch as Mick, Adam and myself hopped through the fence with Dozer close behind.

Adam beat us to the action by a fair distance and was yelling for Dozer, as we could see the pig's back over the top of a 'rolly polly' bush. Heidi was doing a great job keeping the large hog in one place. Dozer was only six months old and had only been on one pig, which was a sucker when he was thirteen weeks old. So I was a little worried when I let him off the lead. He raced over to Adam with Adam sueling him in as soon as he got there. Mick and I were amazed at what we saw next.

Dozer flew in on the left hand side of the bush and was flung almost five feet into the air with the boar rearing up on his back legs, Heidi lunged at the pig and both dogs came to ground with a good mouthful of hog ear. We rolled and stuck the boar and were still praising the dogs when Steve had found his way to us in the truck. We loaded the boar, which we were hoping would go over the 100kg mark, checked the dogs for injuries and left for the next property. In the twenty minutes it took to get to the next place, the catching of the big fella was retold from everyone's point of view, and we managed to come up with three greatly varying versions of what went on, and who did what‌funny that. We finally agreed on what I have told in

WIN C OLL AR

We were at our usual spot along the Darling River. It was late in the afternoon and we had had a big day on the bikes, our butts were sore so we were heading back to camp.

I was on my four-wheeler with two cages carrying the dogs, Mutch & Shrek. My mate was riding a DT 175. We were following the channels back towards the river when I spotted a boar pad heading across to another channel half a kilometre on my left. I waved to my mate Malcolm, and we headed across in that direction. We arrived at the channel but had lost the tracks in a shallow stretch of water. There were lignum bushes scattered through the channels and not enough daylight to search. We decided to stop, have a smoke and have a look around but leave the dogs in the cages. It was a good opportunity to take our butts off the bikes for a couple of minutes. We looked around the bushes while we had a smoke but couldn't find any sign of the pig. We jumped back on our bikes and rode across the channel, as we got to the other side Malcolm spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and looked around to see a boar about 120kg standing on the outside of the bushes.

I couldn't believe that he was standing straight opposite us the whole time we were parked. Well the instant we saw him he went like a bullet, straight out of the water and along the bank of the channel. We had the bikes valve bouncing to catch him, which didn't take long. It was unreal to see this beast running along side of

us and we were just waiting for him to accept the battle, and stop and fight. The boar realised that he wasn't going to get away so he stopped. I reached over and let Shrek out of his cage. Shrek is a one and a half year old Bull Mastiff/ English Mastiff/ Ridgeback/ Great Dane, weighing 60 kg. Shrek is fit and strong, but the pig was fitter and stronger. I could see Shrek was having way too much trouble on his own trying to latch onto an ear. I let Mutch out to give his big brother a hand. Mutch is slightly smaller than Shrek weighing 55kg. He charges in like a steam train, luckily Shrek had the boar's attention and Mutch hit him hard from side on before the pig even knew he was coming. They were all knocked off their feet for a second; Mutch grabbed hold of an ear, giving Shrek the opportunity to do the same. We had enough time to take a few quick photos but we had to stop the boar quick. He was still too strong pulling the dogs left to right, round and round, belting his large ivory into their breastplates. Malcolm made a move in to grab a back leg and that wasn't easy as he goes left to right, round and round. Thank God, after what seemed to be a long, but certainly tough battle, was soon over when Malcolm finally got hold of his back leg. He managed to control him for just long enough to stick him and within seconds the big fella slowed and then dropped to the ground. We finally got what is my best trophy and the best experience. -S.O’MELEY, WYEE, NSW.

this story. We arrived just a little before 1 am and got straight down to business. This property is all flood irrigation fields mainly used for cotton, but with cotton prices down, there had been sorghum grown on about a quarter of the farm and we were hoping this would bring the pigs out of the neighbouring scrub country. The first three blocks gave us nothing but we come over the top of a channel wall and out in the middle of the stubble was a lone boar munching on some left over sorghum heads. It didn't take him long to realise that something was up once the spotlight was on him. We had positioned ourselves so the pig, which looked to be of reasonable size, had to get past us to escape to the scrub. The only problem being if he decided to go in the other direction he had over 1000 acres of cotton to hide in.

Being furrowed into rows we are never allowed to drive on this country, only along channels, so we would never catch up to him before he reached the cotton. If worse come to worse and the boar did the bolt, we decided that we would let Heidi go and we would just have to run out after them. The boar was slowly heading away from us so we turned the light off in the hope that this would persuade him to change direction.

After waiting about one minute. Steve flicked the light back on only to reveal no pig. Before he could do a good sweep of the area, we heard an almighty "TWANG" as the boar ran flat out into the fence directly to our right, thankfully bouncing off (you gotta love a good ring lock fence) and tearing off up the dry channel. Mick had Heidi off in a flash and she raced after the angry boar. Adam let Dozer off as the three of us raced after the dogs. As we drew close to the action we could see Heidi copping a pizzling, however, she was giving as good as she got and was holding the boar well when Dozer joined in.

I think Heidi was a little pissed about being shown up by her apprentice earlier and was really giving it to the boar when we turned up. We rolled and stuck the boar; with this done I left the job of loading the hog for the boys and checked the dogs for any damage. Luckily there was no injuries but Heidi had quite a large tear about three inches long in her breastplate, after seeing this I checked the boar for ivory. He had two and a half inches of very sharp tusk on one side, but unfortunately the other side was broken off halfway, leaving only a short stump.

We were all a bit tired now and were very keen to get back and weigh

the pigs, so we headed for home and a hot coffee. Once home we downed the coffee and a few hot chocolates and started to dress the pigs. With the dirty job over, we weighed the hogs, the sow went 41kg, the smaller of the two boars weighed a respectable 74kg and the big brute went 98kg. We had a great night with the dogs performing very well, and we were all extremely happy with our time off work. We were a little disappointed that we had not yet caught a 100kg plus boar. I guess that will have to wait a little while, but we would definitely be at it again first chance we get. - BEN PHILLIPS, SOMERTON, NSW.

27

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HUNTERS TROPHIES W IN

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Chriso 30 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Chris - Dundee Beach, NT.

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32 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

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DOG CARE

KEEPING THE MUSCLE IN YOUR PACK

What’s the single biggest killer of hunting dogs?

Article by Matthew Walker BVSc sick a few days later. The classic case is during a Parvo outbreak, which is usually after first rain following a long dry spell. Everyone around hears about the outbreak, rushes into the vets to get a shot, not knowing that their dog has already been exposed to the wild virus. The dog gets its shot then gets sick a couple of days later.

Consequently, everyone thinks the vaccine caused the disease. The reason why people get confused is that they cannot see the virus. It can live in the soil for up to 12 months under ideal conditions. It can travel in the mud on tyres or boots. The best example I use is when I was at University, each summer I would travel to my uncle's farm between Narrabri and Moree to drive wheat trucks during harMatthew Walker vest. I left my fathers Vet practice at Campbelltown during a Parvo outHeat stress? Snake bite? Rip wounds? break, drove 600km to cart wheat, and a Poisoning? Shot? Getting run over? week after I arrived both of my uncle’s Falling off cliffs? Falling off utes? farm dogs died of Parvo. So those microGetting lost? I bet one of these reasons would be the answer that most scopic virus particles had travelled from dogger's would pick. In my experience Campbelltown to Narrabri either in the dirt with pig dogs, over the last 14 years, on my boots or the car tyres. Both of my uncles dogs were unvaccinated because it's none of the above.

The single biggest cause of mortality in he mistakenly thought with his nearest hunting dogs is Parvo Virus. Most dog- neighbours dogs being kilometres away gers have had personal experience with that his dogs were safe. Not so. Direct Parvo, or knows someone who has. dog to dog transfer is not always required Parvo is an infectious virus that causes for infection. It can be caught from being severe bloody diarrhoea in unvaccinated carried on vehicles of clothing, even dogs. Now, over the years I've heard all washed from yard to yard in heavy rain in the stories about the vaccine causing the suburbs. It may be a generalisation, but a disease. In every case, when a thorough lot of dogger's I know are tradesman. history is taken, it turns out that the affect- They travel from work site to work site. ed dog had exposure to a virus source There's no way of knowing if a dog has around 7 to 10 days before it was vacci- spewed or shit on a certain piece of nated. The dog was therefore "incubating" ground 12 months before. That's all it the wild virus at the time it was given the takes to bring parvo home with you. The needle. It's like me with a cold sneezing simple message is to vaccinate your dog on you. You'll be fine for the 3 to 4 days it fully, particularly when they're pups, and takes to incubate the flu virus, then you'll even more so if they are Rotti's or Rotti get sick. Now the vet can examine the derivatives. If your dog is fully vaccinated dog and find no symptoms of the incubat- it is very, very unlikely for it to catch ing virus, vaccinate the dog, then it gets Parvo. In terms of treating Parvo if your dog gets it, the obvious first choice is to

36 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

see your vet. The disease certainly varies a lot in severity from mild vomiting in vaccinated dogs through to severe vomiting, bloody diarrhoea in most unvaccinated dogs, to sudden death (no vomiting/ no diarrhoea) in unvaccinated Rottweiler pups caused by infecting the heart muscle. In mild cases anti-vomiting drugs and anti-diarrhoea syrups can improve symptoms in a day or two. In severe cases the dogs can be on an intravenous drip for a week or more. If you are unable to reach a vet then the most important factor to treat is hydration. The ultimate cause of death is dehydration, so trying to get fluids down your dogs throat is vital. Plain water is a good place to start, but water with electrolytes and glucose is better.

There are commercial packets and concentrates available, but even one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of salt in a litre of water can help. Other sources of fluid can be flat lemonade. A mate of mine swears by as much Coke as you can get down the dogs neck. Antibiotics also assist. They can’t kill the virus, but they can help prevent secondary bacterial infections. Isolating the affected dog or dogs also helps in disease control. Parvo virus particles are resistant to all but the strongest disinfectants. Using diluted bleach or pool chlorine is about the only thing that will kill it on impervious surfaces like concrete or steel. In the lawn or dirt of a back yard just about nothing will make any difference. It can sit there as a potential source of infection for up to a year.

Make sure you change shoes and clothes and wash your hands after handling infected dogs before visiting uninfected ones. Look at annual vaccinations as an insurance policy for your dogs, or even as routine maintenance like worming or flea control. You would'nt drive your rig without changing the oil every 10,000km's or so, would you? Put it this way, if someone gave me a hundred bucks a year to spend on my hunting dogs (apart from food) I'd spend it on vaccination and worming well before chestplates, tracking collars, or any other dog hunting accessory. See ya in the bush. - Matthew Walker BVSc.

WILD

IN THE WIN CD SHIRT &

Above: May, a small kelpie bailer, bails up a good 90kg boar, on sorghum stubble.

Left: May’s an experienced dog, as she gets in close to hold a good hard bail.

Below: Mob of pigs on Northern Territory flats. Note all the old digging.

37

W IN LATE P T S A E R B

Tyron & Steve’s Day The reasonable sized black boar was dead before the loud sharp crack of Tyron's .308 had finished reverberating in the creek line. By the time Jim and I had descended the steep eroded creek bank everything was over. All that was left was to take a number of photos of the three keen hunters, Tyron, my thirteen year old son Steve, and our tenacious little Jack Russell, Nip, with the fallen hog. Ten minutes later, Jim and I missed the action again when Tyron dropped another good hog as it enjoyed an afternoon siesta tucked under the overhanging creek bank. "I wonder if you and I will get in a photo today?" I smirked to Jim as I took a few snaps of the illustrious trio and the unlucky hog. It was now time to confront the long trek back to the Toyota. After a quick bite and a drink, Tyron and Steve decided to have an easy walk down stream. Leaving us to cool off in the creek and enjoy a relaxing coldie. Not that it was very relaxing, three mouthfuls in and 'Custer's Last Stand' erupted about 150m away. Due to a bend in the creek we couldn't see the commo-

38 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

QUICK RUN A squeal broke the silence, as we heightened all our hearing senses on the dogs, which had been gone for about five minutes. Running in, Country and I split up as the dogs had two pigs caught a hundred metres apart. After dragging them back and hanging them, we continued on our way through the forest on our quick arvo run close to home. Once again the hounds jumped, and were looking fairly keen as they ran into the scrub. Ten minutes had passed, so I fetched the tracking gear and jumped on the Ute while Country drove in the direction of the strongest beep. About two kilometres down stream, along a creek,

the signal was very strong. Pulling up I could hear my sheepdog barking and the fight was on, as we ran in, Country said “This is going to be a good pig, I can smell it�. He was right, they were lugged up to a big ginger bugger, but by the looks, Barney had him under control with a firm grip on the ear. After the fatal blow we snapped a couple of shots with the camera, loaded him and headed for home. Three, in a couple of hours, is not bad for a quick run close to home. Then it was time to skin the pigs for the dogs, and have a couple of coldies, what a life!

- CRAIG COLLIE, ACT.

WIN CD SHIRT &

tion, but we could certainly hear it. "I am not going to let that pair out of my sight in future."

In a matter of minutes six hogs had gone to hog heaven (some dogged, some shot) and once again we'd missed everything. All we got was

an animated, detailed re-enactment. Thanks Steve, just what we needed. Luckily, late afternoon Jimmy and I did finally manage to get on the scoreboard, but it had definitely been Tyron and Steve's day. - GARY HALL, NT.

39

PIGS in the lets go!

Story by Greg Harrold “Trying to move as quickly and quietly as I could, down the headland, I heard the sounds of activity in the cane and came to an abrupt halt.”

40 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Author with young black & white boar.

41

WI N COLLAR

Above: Mick Fabiani shot this boar as it almost ran charging out of the cane, chased by the dogs.

The piece of steak on the fork in front of my eyes was just about to disappear down my throat when the phone rang. My wife beckoned me away from our early dinner and I took the handpiece. It was Robert, a mate I do a lot of hunting with. As Robert usually rings for only one reason, my plan of a quiet night with my wife in front of the T.V was evaporating as rapidly and surely as a chunk of dry ice in the Simpson Desert on a sunny day! Now Robert is nothing if not dedicated. He knows that wild pigs don't keep regular timetables or run their lives to suit us. He takes the responsibility placed on him by the farmers whose land he hunts on very seriously, as all genuine hunters should.

So while I was tucking into a lovely steak dinner, he had been out sneaking around the cane paddocks listening and looking, just hoping to pick up sign from a mob of raiders that had been particularly elusive and destructive during the preceding week or two. "What are you up to? I've found pigs in the cane", Robert asked.

I came back with the clever reply, "What…now?" Although I knew what the answer

42 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

would be. As he replied in the affirmative, I was already putting dinner in the fridge, because excuses don't mean squat to Robert. You would have an easier time trying to get out of repaying the taxation department money they overpaid you on your tax return. Ten or fifteen minutes later, rushing to beat the approaching darkness, we were on our way with about thirty minutes of daylight left. Robert explained as we went that this paddock was long and narrow with no regular pads, and, as there were only the two of us, he would drive me quietly as close as he dared and I was to sneak up 100 metres or so and play it by ear. He would circle the nearby paddock giving me time to get set up and have a listen, then come back, let the dogs out and hope for the best. Not a great plan, but the best we had. Trying to move as quickly and quietly as I could down the headland, I heard the sounds of activity in the cane and came to an abrupt halt. There was an old pad where I was and I stayed put, as I was level with the activity in the cane. Everything was against us. The headland was only wide enough for a ride-on mower, as the cane had fallen over. The dark was almost upon us, and Robert had released the dogs a little early. Normally, wild pigs rush out of the cane one or two at a time, but everything accelerated then and several things happened at once. Within four seconds of my skidding to a halt, the dogs found the pigs, over him, the pigs took flight, I threw up the old 'side by side' and about a dozen pigs came barrelling out of the cane in a bunch so small I could have thrown a cast net over them……maybe?!

Undaunted by this turn of events, in the time it took them to flash by me at a pace that would turn a whippet green with envy, I managed to let loose both barrels. From my loose recollections of events, I suspect the shots only served to spur them on to greater speeds, to sweep on into the long grass and undergrowth, disappearing instantly. They left me peering intently into the long grass into which they had vanished, hoping against hope to see a spot of blood or two, and I was desperately trying to think up an excuse for the miss, that Robert might swallow. Suddenly there appeared on the horizon a ray of hope! It appeared as though we were going to depart the field of battle with one small victory after all! The dogs had found, and were now engaged in a running battle with a herd boar back in the cane paddock. I was frantically reloading, when the fierce fight put up by the boar allowed him to break from the dogs and head for home. However, I was still smarting from my less that noteworthy recent effort, and not wanting an F on my

day's report card, positioned myself almost on an intercept course with the crashing boar. As he burst out of the cane, and from a distance of maybe three metres, one Winchester SG round put his fleeting bid for freedom to permanent rest. As the echoes of the shot died away the dogs appeared behind him and only paused a moment to inspect the inert body before bounding off following the rest of the long gone mob, ignoring my yells and roars for them to come back. It was probably only two minutes max, when Robert came walking up the headland in the gathering gloom to be told I'd shot only one pig, and the dogs were probably gone for a day or two. To give him his credit, he took it fairly philosophically, commenting that one was better that none, and telling me he would look for the dogs later. Such is the lot of just one pair of hunters from a dedicated group of fanatics, who engage in this highly specialised form of wild pig hunting- religiously haunting the most northern coastal cane fields in Queensland at all times of the day or night.

Trying to outwit the hit and run raiders of the crops and in doings so, attempting to keep the damage they cause to a minimum. These raiders can also acquire a taste for many other types of crops, including bananas, lychees, mangoes, papaya, coconuts, the bulbs of some commercially grown flowers, sweet potatoes, and the list goes on and on. In fact, they will probably eat any fruit or vegetable they can reach, dig up or knock down. Hunting pigs in these different scenarios often requires considerable planning as some orchards and cane paddocks are adjacent to houses and roads. To minimize the risks involved benefits all concerned, as the last thing we want as shooters is more ammunition for the anti-gun lobby to use. I believe there is a genuine need for hunting pigs

Top:Henry Cobb, Mick Gwyne & Mick Fabiani with large boar. Above: Ray Stewart and young boar caught by the dogs.

around the cane paddocks in certain areas as a constant pressure needs to be exerted on these wily animals due to their prolific breeding rate and their high intelligence and adaptability. Trapping will get only mediocre results in the long run. More importantly for the farmers, trapping does not reduce the damage to the cane by the remaining pigs to any great degree.

Poisoning can also produce good results in some situations, but some problem pigs have been known to

43

be able to recognize and avoid the fruit or bait containing the poison. Also some of the poisons are not target specific and, therefore, quite deadly to other species including birds and domestic animals. Thus a poisoning program may not be suitable for a particular area and may be best used as a last resort after careful consideration. In my opinion a combination of these activities can achieve a better result. Different types of fencing designed to keep animals out can assist in less damage and aid the hunters as well, though the cost of a good quality ring-lock fence may be a bit prohibitive in the current economic climate. Some farmers stubbornly cling to their faith in electric fences. While these may keep the odd new chum pig out for a while I don't believe they deter a hungry or determined pig one little bit, as judging from the sign they just pass through the fence at a greater speed. We have hunted many times inside electric fences. Well, now that I've finished this article I guess I'll just go and check the battery, connectors and light for my old shotgun, put my feet up, and wait for a phone call. Good hunting!

Top: Henry Cobb with large black boar.

Above: Rig for night hunting in cane.

44 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

DOGARMA - The Breastplates from Sewmatix Lynette Hutson from Sewmatix, manufactures the Dogarma Breastplate.

The Breastplates are made from conveyor belting which is two layers thick and is cut out of one piece, therefore there are no joins for tusks to penetrate. All breastplates are stitched with marine grade polyester thread with the added bonus of stainless steel buckles. I have road tested the Dogarma Breastplate over a short period and found the breastplate to be light and that it does not absorb water. After fitting the plate onto several dogs I could see that it fitted them well and did not restrict the dogs movement

NEW BREED OF HUNTER...

A new breed of grunter hunter is emerging from the pack as a generation takes advantage of rapid advances in electronic tracking technology now on offer, giving them the edge over the hordes of feral marauders roaming the vast and varied Aussie bush terrains. Hunters like New South Welshman Jason Lane, whose backyard is the rugged upper Nepean Hawkesbury in the tough terrain of Sydney's sandstone country, riding the Great Divide and Northern Territory based Carl Goodhand, who stalks the hog in some of the toughest conditions imaginable in the unforgiving eastern Arnhem. Carl knows from experience the value of new gear offered by Titley Electronics, proven in the field for him during a recent hunt in oppressive heat that only the north can throw up at man, dog and beast. Amidst the dust and scrub, burst out two ripsnorters, splitting his hunting pack of Bull cross Neos and Feelers, off in hot pursuit.

While two dogs returned shortly after, his prized lead animal didn't. Instead of wasting valuable time searching the myriad of dry creek beds and

even when running at full pace. I took the breastplate on a couple of hunts where we caught a few loner boars, around 70 to 80 kg, which turned it on for the dogs and really gave them what for. I seen some good solid hits on the breastplates which did not mark the dogs. I like what I have seen from the Dogarma Breastplate and it has held up to the tough conditions of pig hunting. The Dogarma Breatplates also come with a 12 month guarantee. For more information call Lynette on (07) 47886700 or Mobile 0416 079 118.

wash-a-ways, in just a quarter of an hour, Carl located his lead dog, ripped up and dehydrated after an encounter with a nasty tusker, but still alive to hunt another day. For Carl and Jason the hog hunt continues taking on new dimensions, by combining their hunting passion, knowledge and the Internet. They're soon to offer a wide selection of Titley Electronics collars and aerial collar units, the only systems that really do work in the mountains, and the outstanding Wildlife Materials International gear to the hundreds of other hoggers, looking for that hunting edge in tough terrain, and keen to guard the health and welfare of their dogs in which they've invested good time and money. No nonsense Ferry skipper Jason Lane hopes his mountain hunting mates from around the Nepean Hawkesbury region log onto his Hog Dog website and check out the gear he's convinced they'll benefit from using. For Carl and boar hunters in the far north, the tyranny of distance will be no more, with the website providing instant access to a catalogue of Titley Electronics and Wildlife Material goodies.

Try a new radio tracker, designed to fit any breastplate; Yes they're that small! Another revelation waiting for Australia's hordes of hog seekers, the

new era omni directional aerials, they're fitted to your vehicle so don't worry about getting in and out of the truck. And there will be no more waiting weeks for hunting supplies to arrive from the southern states, only to discover it's the wrong size or even worse, the wrong gear. Carl Goodhand has that covered with plans to open a shop front stocked to the rafters. Carl also will have them knocking down his door, when word of his exotic breeds of hunting animals and training techniques get around. Look out for Carl's Hunting Dogs and Supplies website soon and catch-up with what twenty-first century hunting has to offer. Watch out piggy here we come!

HOGS OF OZ - Latest Hunting Video "HOGS of OZ", the latest hunting Video/dvd from Brad Smith, is one of the best hunting videos I have seen to date.

Footage is bright, clear and all filming has been done on tripod, so there is no picture shaking. All boars taken on this video are done so by Archers. Filming takes place on the black soils of North Western NSW, in the heat of summer, taking you through to the swamps and creeks of Cape York at the end of the dry season and then over plenty of pasture improved country in the NSW rangers to hunt the mountain boar, where you will see some fine trophies taken. Footage of the 'hunt' and the boars taken is superb,

46 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

with some hair raising events. I enjoy watching pigs 'In the Wild', rooting around and doing what pigs do best, and Brad has captured some good sized mobs roaming around, which I found very entertaining. The video runs for 75 minutes and is jam packed with pigs and hunting action. Even though I hunt most of my pigs with dogs, I would have to say this is one of the best compiled pig hunting videos I have seen. I found myself glued to the screen for the entire film. Footage is clear, and focuses in on the action. A professional '10 out of 10' film. I fully recommend 'Hogs of Oz' regardless of how you hunt boar.

THREE RIVERS HUNTING - BOOKINGS HAVE BECOME AVAILABLE FOR THIS YEAR. If you want to go on a safari to hunt boar, give Ned Makim of Three River Safaris a call. Ned operates guided hunts in the gulf of Queensland where the hunting of boar and scrub bull can be organised, and don't forget Barramundi Fishing! Whether you are by yourself or with a group of mates, Ned can cater for the shooter, pig dogger or Archer.

Three River Safaris also supply food and accommodation to help make your trip easier and to let you concentrate on the important things…Hunting! For more information give Ned Makim at Three River Safaris a call 0412 750 390.

TUSKPROOF PROTECTIVE ACCESSORIES Tuskproof Protective Accessories have a great special for this issue, one boning knife and one custom made sheath with reflective tape, $58.00, inc. postage & handling. Also, FDick Sticking Knives for V.I.P members $87.50 and only $95.00 for non members. (Both prices including Postage & Handling) V.I.P Very Important Pigger, for all your Hunting products at discounted prices think Tuskproof Protective Accessories. Your one stop hunting shop.

HYDRATION SYSTEM If you are looking for an easy hunting pack that has all the right essentials JS Enterprises has fitted out a medical field kit for hunters with dogs, Camelbaks Hydration system the DayTreker and FlashFlo Bumbags. The kits come in 2 capacities; the Flashflo 1.4ltr and the Daytreker 1.5ltr. The systems have been fitted out with the essential equipment to get your dog out of trouble in a medical emergency- staple gun kit, antiseptic solution, needles, syringes and a range of bandages. Both systems are fully insulated to keep cold for hours, multiple cargo spaces for the camera and torch, main compartment and an external compartment. The cost for the Flashflo 1.4ltr $227 and the Daytreker 1.5ltr $247 plus postage of $10:00, postage will be included until next issue or $10 off the price if you purchase at the shop. The only item you need to put with these packs are a knife, JS Enterpises can also supply you with an F.Dick double sided sticking knife and leather sheath, usually $105.00, now $100.00 with the

CAPE COLLARS -

The latest two singles to be released by singer/ song writer James McKay. This CD features ‘Collerina Road’, a song cleverly written about pig hunting. With great lyrics and a country sound, it is well worth the listen.

James can be heard on Queensland ABC Radio and is also releasing an album later in the year.

Copies can be ordered from Pig Dog Supplies, call 02 6365 8432.

camelbak medical packs. JS Enterprises have also upgraded their Full Medical Kit with a new lockable container with inner shelf, some new medical contents to make it easier to look after your dog and a new lower price. Until next issue they are giving away a 125ml bottle of Selvita Natural Protein and Selenium supplement valued at $15:95 with the kit.For a complete listing of contents and details on the medical kits and discount vet supplies contact J.S Enterprises on 0248224591, send them an email jsent@bigpond.com, or go and see them direct.

DESIGNED TO BEAT THE HEAT

Pig Dog Supplies Cape Collar is designed for large dogs in hot areas. A cooling strip which runs over the shoulders and continues through the neck collar, allows heat to escape through the whole length of the collar. This cooling strip also helps with flexibility. The collar straps have a 700 kg breaking strain, with brass eyelets melted into the strapping. One or two DRings can be added to the neck collar which fit all tracking collars and dog clips. Reflex tape is added for hunting under a spotlight and a bib is added under and around the chin of the dog collar. The collar is very adjustable with 10 cms on the neck collar, 15cms on the shoulder straps and 20cm around the barrel strap. The head check strap also has 15cm of adjustment. The barrel strap

can be moved 10cms forward and back to help with the running motions of the dog. The neck collar contains three layers of fire hose with the body, shoulders and chest containing one layer of layflat belting and one layer of firehose. The cape collar can also be made in one layer of firehose to suite individual preference. The collar can come with removable shoulders reducing the collar down to a chestplate which still contains the cooling strip, both styles contain easy running motion. Some measurements are required, so give Les a call to find out where to measure or check out 'Cape Collars' on www.pigdogsupplies.com.

47

HUNTERS TROPHIES

Rosco - Qld Brett - NT

Matt Curtis

S.Bandes & Chris - NT S.Wray - NSW

Paul Mc Farlain - NQ 48 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

WIN CAP

Trace Cronin

Rob Murton - K.I. Island Travis Kelly - Geelong

Doug Piper - WA S.Bandes -NT 49

Wayne McGrath - ACT K.Klidaris - NT

Scott & Gavin - NT

D.Murrell 50 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

J.Rictto

P.Spychiger

Borski

C.Collie - ACT

W IN CD SHIRT &

M.Hatzi

G.Williams

J. Roseworne

R.Malas - Ayr

W IN CD SHIRT &

J.Malas - Ayr Dave - NQ Shane Smith - Bourke

P IG D OG S UPPLIES

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www.pigdogsupplies.com

HEADMOUNTS $550 HANGING RACKS Hold up to ten pigs $700

Chestplate $95

S e l l o r b u y p u p s & w o rki n g D o g s o n l i n e, add your own photos or just looking for some gear, it’s all here.

Check out the photo’s and join a discussion forum or live chat, share your successful/unsuccessful hunts with the world, or just have a look...

GIVE w w w. b o a r d o g s . c o m a go, WHAT THE HELL!!!

Leg Hole Plate $130

Shirts & Caps Full Plate $140

Inbuilt Tracking Collar

Rip Collar $45

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Inbuilt Tracking Collar installed on any breastplate.

RUNNING GREAT DEALS ON TRACKING SYSTEMS NOW

Manufactured by the original Pig Dog Supplies in Australia.

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For measurement guide call (02) 6365 8432 Po Box E381 East Orange Post Office 2800.

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Ph: 0415784329 +(02)42622853 + 0405247149 Serious Kennels for the serious hunter

Backyard and Barefoot BOAR Relaxing with my son-in-law Brian on my front veranda in rural Mareeba (situated on my daughter Tanya & Brian's farm 10kms out of town) with the first mouth full of a stubbie wetting our throats, we had just begun to re-live the highlights of the fishing trip which we had just arrived home from. Our dogs (My two, Jess & Beck and Brian's three, Max, Tye & Sampson) were a bit restless after being locked up for the day, when a call came from the dam by my son Michael, "PIG!" Well, all hell broke lose, stubbies knocked over, dogs running off in the direction of the dam,

Brian had arrived huffing and puffing, trying to figure out which way they went. We looked at each other and decided to continue up along a ridge that would enable us to get up high enough to hear the dogs. It was starting to get dark and as we were only in a pair of shorts with no shoes, climbing the ridge was probably not the best choice.

Climbing quartz rocks and through bindies is not for the faint hearted. With sore feet and rising doubt, we eventually arrived at the top of the ridge, now darker, we had about 100 metres of visibility. Our hearts and minds were finally relieved when we heard the shit fight going on down the bottom of the bloody ridge (400 metres). So back down we ran at a speed where Cathy Freeman would not have come with in "coo-ee" of us. "There they are!" I

W IN COL LAR

with Brian and myself, knives in hand - which are always strategically placed on the outside dining table (much to the disappointment of my wife Desiree) -not far behind.

With no time to put shoes on or even a shirt, we were floating down the flat in the same direction as the dogs. On arrival at the dam wall, the dogs were as rare as mustard, as the pig had been wallowing in the dam, which at this time was no more than a puddle, and obviously not long gone. Questions were flying out of my mouth to a rather excited Michael "Which way did it go, how big was it and what colour?" We planned our attack, "Brian you take three dogs and go down behind the wall and see if there are any fresh tracks, I'll go up the wash and check for tracks there and we'll meet at the back corner fence (about 600 metres away)". But this cunning boar wasn't planning on being caught that easily. He had shot off into the tall grass, running around in a large circle pissing everywhere, leaving the dogs bamboozled, apart from Jess (Wolfhound cross Dane). Half way up the wash I heard what I thought was a yelp, but being down below ground level I wasn't sure as to where it came from. On scaling up the bank, I heard Brian calling "which way did the bark come from?" I flew back down the bank and crossed the wash to the other side. No sooner had I got up to the higher ground I heard another bark. I thought, "Great! Jess is onto him."

The other dogs must have had their ears open too and came running past us at a great rate of knots, disappearing in the direction that the bark came from. By this time

54 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

yelled. But I could only see three dogs. "Brian, where's Jess and Tye?" The boar was putting up a good fight and it was fun and games trying to get in and get hold of him.

Eventually Brian got hold of a back leg and jumped in and stuck him. Amazingly in 10 seconds he was dead. With all the hype over and the adrenaline slowing down, we were still short a few dogs. As luck would have it about 20 metres behind us I heard a noise in the gully and there was Bec and Tye, but still no Jess. With no time to put their collars on, we were expecting them to have some war wounds. With a few gashes on show, Tye was still able to walk but Bec wasn't in good nick. The plan was for me to try and get the 2 wounded dogs back to water as over heating is never far away this time of year. It is amazing how adrenalin kicks in, I'm not a big man (65kg) but it is amazing what you can do when your best mate is bleeding and their eyes are starting to go glassy. 2.5 km I carried Bec (all 40kg of her) with my right hand clasped with heaps of pressure on the gash on her shoulder. On arrival back at the house, with blood, sweat and tears of accomplishment, I was met by my wife Desiree, a torch and a lot of confusion, "What's happened?" "Where's Brian?"

"What's all that blood on you?" she asked, not worrying about what was in my arms. To think that after feeding and looking after all the dogs, one would expect some sympathy for the dogs. Now it was getting on to 8:30pm and Brian and the other dogs were still some way between the ridge and home. Walking back down the flat, we finally met

up on the back of the dam wall and began tip toeing our way back home through rocks and dry grass. After a couple of stubbies we worked out how to retrieve the boar.

We finally had him home and weighed him in at 93kg. We couldn't miss the Kodak moment or the chance to re-live the night over a couple more stubbies and soon enough it was 10:30pm and time for bed. The next morning, the war wounds were fully investigated ending in a trip into the vet, no not Bec, but Max who managed to get a few hits that were in need of repair. $300 later, all's well that ends well.

Fish, Pigs & good company - what more could you want!

Footnote: my son Michael and his German girlfriend Alli

had just arrived from Germany 2 weeks prior. They were walking down to the dam to see if there was enough water in the dam for a swim. They had heard of Brian and my pig hunting trips but had not experienced anything like the introduction into pig hunting. Alli said, "I didn't know that there was so much involved in pig hunting. You run for 2.5km following the dogs in bare feet and no shirt. You catch the pig, you carry your dogs home. You go back in your Ute to bring the pig home. Then you take photos and weigh it. Wow when are we going again Mark?".

- Mark Seymour, Mt Isa.

Boar from

Nowhere

It all started as a routine hunting trip. It was a Friday afternoon, and as usual we knocked off from work and headed home to get organized. I made a few calls and before long we were on our way. This particular trip, myself and two mates headed for a hunt in the Mary River area.

Arriving at the hunting ground, the spotlights came on and we were off. We hit the first couple of billabongs that usually produce good boars.

We worked the edges…no luck there!! After crossing a few creeks we hit some flat country flood plains. This was it….this spot had never failed us before! Nothing!! "What's going on?"

Feeling a little let down, we hit our turn around point, and started on our way back. We were all stuffed by now, starting to nod off, when all of a sudden the driver yells "BIG BOAR!!" This boar had come out of absolutely nowhere! It was right

WIN KNIFE

along the passenger side of the ute. The driver's first instinct was to swerve for it; luckily for us he missed it, as hitting it would have rolled the ute!!

After chasing the boar down for about 500 meters, the timber was starting to get dense so we pursued on foot. We went through a shallow creek and that's when the 44 magnum came into action! BANG……hit, nothing. BANG….hit, nothing. After four rounds the boar finally went down!! We went back and got the ute 'cause there was no way we were going to carry the monster! It took all three of us to get him on the ute!! We were pretty happy with that result….

We only got one that night, but it was all worth it.

I'll leave the weight of this big guy up to you, it was never weighed! Happy Hunting.

- Chris Parris, NT.

55

CROC ATTACK Zoe’s Lucky Day It was a typical Darwin October day, high humidity and the vague chance of a storm, when Steve emailed me.

'Who wants to go for an afternoon hunt?'

Steve was obviously having a bad day and needed to get away from the office. I had no hesitation and replied my acceptance and agreed to meet him around 3.00pm. We decided to take the quads and hit an area I was familiar with but we had not quite made it on one of our hunting trips with the usual group. On that day we made it within 2kms and hit a big herd of which we got four pigs, not huge, but large enough for our main dogs to tackle and the pups to hone their skills. Actually, during the ensuing mayhem, the pigs, dogs, and some of us, were chasing each other through the shallow waters. If we knew then, what we know now, maybe we would of done things a little different! Steve and I also decided to take our pups, Zoe and Dev. They were just 11months old at the time and were part of a litter we bred from our main pack. Although Zoe was the slightest of the litter she is showing excellent signs of being a finder like her mother and Dev is showing all the characteristics of his father, in more ways than one. The mother and father had pointer, pitbull and bullmastiff bloodlines and we expect the males to attain a weight of around 30-35kgs and the females slightly less at maturity. Unfortunately we lost the father earlier this year to heat exhaustion, but the mother Demi is still working and an integral part of our pack. The other pups from the same litter, Diesel and Jessie would not be with us on today's adventure. After about 45 minutes from Darwin, Steve and I arrived at the area we would leave the Landcruiser and quad trailer. It was approximately 5kms from the area we intended to hunt that day. Having the quads gives you the opportunity to traverse large areas in a short period of time, saving the dogs from needless running. If we come across potentially inviting areas or fresh sign we would drop them and let them follow the scent. The dogs as usual were very excited. It always amazes me how the dogs react when they know we are going hunting, obviously their adrenalin rushes just as ours does. After a few minutes we were off with the dogs settled on the back of our customized quad bikes, waiting in anticipation. It took us about 15 minutes to reach our destination, but for some unknown reason I was approximately 400 metres from where I usually first disembark. I don't know whether it was fate or just bad luck, as it was not quite the area I wanted to take Steve and give him his first impression of the area. We dropped the dogs and I suggested to Steve we walk them in on leads. We were parked on the edge of a dried up paper bark swamp with about 300 metres to the waters edge. We really didn't expect to do anything except check the waters edge and get our bearings. The object of this hunt was to follow the tree line and if we saw a herd or lone boar, drop the dogs. After making it through the paper barks we came to the clearing. The water was still a good 50 metres away, but gave us a good visual of the surrounding area. It was agreed to let the dogs go for a run and they quickly made their way along the foreshore. We would give them 5 minutes and move on. The area in front was like a small inlet, approximately 200 metres wide leading up to a small creek on the left, 500 metres away. To the right you looked out across the water with another inlet coming in behind us, feeding another creek. During the wet season both of these creeks would flow down to the water and being surrounded by paper bark swamps, would be a great area to hold pigs. But today it was very dry! As we meandered along, commenting on the abundance of old and new sign, Zoe

56 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Far Top: A salty sunbaking.

Middle and Above: Zoe with the distinct markings of her close enounter. decided to bolt. Well she BOLTED! She headed straight out across the inlet making a beeline for the other side. Steve and I yelled at her to stop but she had no intentions of listening to us. It all happened very quickly. Zoe was about 75 metres out in knee high water bounding along when this object came out of the water. It was a 2.5 - 3.0 metre saltie! He was chasing her like a speed boat with a typical bow wave moving out in front. The croc had its front torso raised about half a metre above the water with its long think tail moving vigorously in typical wave like action. We started screaming, running in the water chasing the croc when it hit. It was fast, lots of splashing, dog flying up in the air, the cries of a dog in pain as it grabbed at it a couple of times.

Ours hearts sunk as we thought it would be over. Then for some inexplicable reason the commotion stopped. The croc was lying motionless......and Zoe coming back to us. We were within 50 metres of the action. Dev was eager to go out and see what all the splashing was

about and had to be restrained. Steve and I expected the worse. Our first inspection revealed mainly surface lacerations with a few puncture wounds.

Although the dog was not bleeding badly, she was in mild shock. Very quiet and breathing heavily. We were amazed the injuries seemed so light as we expected some bone damage from their crushing jaws and possible major organ damage.

At that time standing at the waters edge, the heavens opened up, a typical tropical downpour. It was bucketing! I left Steve for a short time to look for the quads. In the excitement I was a bit disorientated and it took me about 5 minutes to locate them, but it seemed like forever. We Above: Crocs stalking ducks on the banks. wrapped Zoe in a tee-shirt and made our way back to the car. On the very lucky dog. The fact she is very fleet footed, the water was not trip back to town we rang the boys to get ready for some surgery. No deep and Steve and I screaming at the top of our voices definitely one believed us, as most expect a croc attack on a dog to be fatal or helped her in some way to get away. We still do not know why she went at least major injuries. Believe it or not we had lost the dogs first aid kit off at such a pace as we saw nothing; it must have been a scent from on our last hunting trip and needed a staple gun as soon as possible. across the water on the opposing headland. In the future we will be Thankfully one of our mates, Seb, located one and arranged with very careful when hunting in this area and will attempt to keep the dogs George, our personal in-house 'vet' to meet us at Steve's house. After away from the water ... at least to the best of our abilities!! The final thoroughly cleaning the wounds, we gave Zoe eight staples across her chapter to this is still to be finalized. However I did manage to get back back but decided to leave the others alone and let nature take its to the area and check out where the attack took place. To my astoncourse. Some of the puncture wounds were very deep and very messy. ishment, as my wife and I were sitting on the quad looking out, a herd They were approximately 15-20mm across and 25mm deep. One had of 20-30 pigs came out of the long grass and were making their way to actually passed through the flesh behind her front leg near her belly. To the waters' edge. To recall a well know phrase, ' We will be back". George's credit Zoe was back hunting again in 3 weeks and amazing- Garry Williams,NT. ly she had no infections whatsoever. To this day we think she was a

& OTHER ROAD CAPERS

WIN CD SHIRT &

Top, Above & Right: S. Porter, Pimpinio, VIC.

58 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Left: Stelios, NT. Bogged at White Stone during the wet season.

Right: S.Bandes, Daly River. “Gotta watch out for croc’s”

Left: “Tried to take on a tree...didn’t win” -Jordo, Tamworth NSW.

59

‘Bruiser’- Pitty X American Staffy

Mastiff/ Wolfhound 39kg

Bull Arab X

Gonzo - Dane Bully X English Mastiff

‘Axe’ - Mastiff X

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Bull Arab X Dane 33 kg.

Red nose Pitbull

Mastiff/ Wolfhound 40kg 62 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Above Left: Mastiff/ Dane X Pitbull, 39 kg.

Right: Stud Irish Wolfhound/ Bandog x Great Dane/ Staghound, 51 kg. To Sire phone 0408 517 061.

Below: Bull Arab X.

61

A BLAST FROM THE PAST Here’s our new section, ‘A Blast from the Past’. A collection of old pig hunting photos taken in the early days, of our fathers & uncles, the guys who pioneered and taught us the lifestyle of pig hunting. Have you any photos from the 50’s, 60’s,70’s or even earlier, dust off those old albums and send them into us, we’ll treat them as our own and send them back to you after publication.

WIN CAP

Above: Check the hooks out on this trophy, shot by Christos - NT. Above Right: Not sure of the weight of this monster caught by Ronald MacFarlane.

Below: Pigs shot in the 60’s by one of the Zuchinni Brothers.

Below Right: Check out this ‘early days’ pig truck.

64 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Above: Sent in by Neil, photo of his Dad with his best pig dog, ‘Terra’ Bull Matiff X.

WIN CD SHIRT &

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

WARNING PIG HUNTING CAN BE DANGEROUS Before getting my .44 Magnum and .30/30 Apache Carbine, I had an old single shot shotgun. A mate would pour lead into a mould to produce a polycore which looked capable of knocking down an elephant.

This was a long time ago but was all part of a learning curve which has cost me dearly many times. I have used a lot of different pig dogs, mostly bull terrier blue heeler crosses, which I think is one of the best working dogs you can get. But this time I borrowed a black and white kelpie sheep dog which was the best finder/bailer I had seen before or since. He wouldn't get any closer than two metres from a pig, but he barked while he ran and you could tell the change in his bark when he had bailed the pig. You could also hear him in a strong wind. This particular day I picked the dog up and travelled north with a shooter mate, Jim, to a property which has good water holes and thick bush bordering the creeks. We had scored plenty of big boars here over the years. Jim had a .44 and I had my trusty single shot shotgun and both being experienced hunters with a good dog, we were plenty sure of success. We parked the old four wheel drive at the bottom of a breakaway which dropped into a bit of swampy ground with rushes and thick bush all around. After walking up the hill a little way, the dog took off and ran into some stunted Tama Bush, followed shortly after by a lot of barking and the occasional pig grunt and clack of tusks. Being a bit fitter than Jim I arrived first to see this big hairy boar standing side on to me and the dog barking madly at it, about two metres away. A perfect shot. I took quick aim, thumbed back the hammer and shot the pig in the head, aiming just behind the ear. The pig dropped like a buffalo I had seen shot in the movies. It was as though someone had cut his legs from under him. A classic shot, I thought as I reached for another lethal cartridge. As I broke open the gun I looked back to Jim, who had just arrived, and said "Come and have a look at this pig, he's a big one!" That's when I heard a scuffling, growling sort of noise…hard to describe, I looked back to see the huge animal get up and charge me. He wasn't worried about the dog, he must have thought I was responsible for his predicament and was going to even things up. I

closed the barrel, thumbed back the hammer and fired from the hip, all in what seemed like slow motion. I had tried this shot on cans before and done pretty well, but this time, when it counted…I missed! The gun recoiled and the little sharp lever stuck through my hand between thumb and forefinger, although I didn't feel any pain at the time. I shook the gun free, jumped out of the way, and started running in a circle, seeing there were no trees to climb. I could hear a lot of grunting and clacking of grinders, on what I knew were a good set of tusks, then, a loud report of a gun going off, and everything went quiet. Jim was standing a couple of metres away with his .44 still up to his shoulder and his face looked as white as a sheet.

When the dust settled, Jim told me the pig was inches away from my calf muscles when he shot it.

The big boar had thick hair with long tufts growing over his feet and thick shoulder pads, one big pig.

On inspection, I found I had shot him through the cheek, no damage to teeth or bone and the concussion must have knocked him out…for a while.

This wasn't my only close call over almost forty years of pig hunting but a memorable one. I owe Jim for the day he saved my bacon.

- KEVIN PARSONS, GERALDTON, WA.

65

Fight Night Above: Kimba, Bully/ Boxer/ Mastiff.

knocked over. I made my mind up and decided to wait a few hours hoping that the boar would come into the crop. If I got onto him it would be worth the wait. I knew by the pads that the boar had been coming into the crop on one pad but leaving on a different one, through a 5000 acre scrub paddock. The wind direction was all wrong for the spot that I wanted to wait, he would smell me before he even hit the crop, and cunning and wise as he is, would turn and not come in at all. So I grabbed the torch and dogs then followed the pad he always left on through the scrub, while always keeping a distance off his pad. I came to Back home: Buck, with busted collar and looking a bit roughed up after the nights hunts. a clearing in the scrub, where A call was made Wednesday night to my mate the pad passed through the middle. This is where I Ronnie, who was ringing on a property, to tee was going to wait and try my luck on the big fella. I everything up for a hunt that Saturday night. You walked about fifty metres off the pad down wind and know how it is, by the end of the week there's was about 700 metres from the crop. Fingers only one thing on your mind, to get out there and crossed, the boar would come in and feed , then hunt boar. The drive out took a bit over two hours leave on his usual pad. Hopefully walking straight and I was in grain country, I rocked up to the home- past us, the dogs would pick up his scent and the stead, only to find that Ronnie had done the bolt and rest would be up to them. The dogs I had on this hunt had headed to Rockhampton for a Rodeo. Good on was Buck & Sky, 13 monthold bullmastiff/boxer/bully, ya Ron. Well it looked like it would be just me and the brother and sister. Buck at 44kg was hunting well dogs. The property owners told me that there was a and a powerful dog. Sky at 30 kg had disappointed pig or two coming in the bottom end of the crop, and me in the hunting part, the pig had to be close before they were knocking over small patches. They also she would go out and hunt for herself but was a good said that they noticed a big track that had stood out hanger for the other two dogs. Kimba 34kg, nine from the rest. If it was the pig that I was thinking of, years old and mother of the two. I call it how I see it, then it was a pig that I knew well! Over the past two I have been through a lot of dogs over the years, years I'd had four encounters with him. The first time some good and some not so good, Kimba was the I spotted him out on the stubble, he just left the dogs best I'd ever had, she knew what hunting and pig for dead, they didn't even come close to pulling him hunting was all about. Time passed by and it was up. The other three times the dogs managed to pull now 9 pm, so I tried to get a bit of shut eye with the him up, but the big old fella new his stuff and taught torch being my pillow and mother earth being my bed the dogs a good lesson or two, putting three of them (This does not do wonders for the body). I tied Buck out of action for awhile. All I knew was that he was and Sky to a tree and Kimba to my ankle with a pig big, fast, and very cunning, and he knew how to turn tie. If she got a whiff of that boar she'd pull on that it on with the dogs. I got down to the crop with only tie like a big mackerel. I managed to get a few hours half an hour of daylight left. While standing on the 'shut-eye' when I was awoken by Kimba straining on back of the Ute, I could see the small patches of crop the tie. She was taking deep wafts of air and was

66 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

sniffing hard. Buck and Sky were also sniffing and whining, there was definitely something around. I untied the dogs and they bolted straight away then vanished into the darkness. I stopped to listen; the hair on the back of my neck was standing straight up with the excitement. Then, from the silence a roar and rumble broke out! They definitely hit a boar by the sounds of things.

It was short and quick and he blew the dogs. I ran in the same direction for about ten minutes, then pulled up to listen. I could here the dogs hunting through the scrub. Suddenly there was an explosion of deep wolfs, snorting, and dogs going for it. I made my way as fast as I could, all the time hearing them battling it out, there was some good scrapping going on.

Then silence. I stopped. The pig broke again. ‘Snapping and cracking’, I could hear him smashing through the saplings, stopping for nothing in his way. If I was to nail this boar I needed all three dogs together to have any chance of stopping him. Running at a steady pace to where I last heard them, I pulled up; five minutes went by and nothing but dead silence. The night's stillness was broken by a sickening yell from one of the dogs messing it with the boar. They went at it, and by the sounds the boar was winning. Again he broke! Making my way to where I last heard them I skidded to a halt, just in front of me I'd woken another pig sleeping under a tree. Unreal what you see when you haven't got any dogs. It quickly ran off. I ran on further and pulled up to listen for the dogs, checking my watch, 35 minutes had passed since the dogs first hit the pig. I could hear nothing, disappointment and being really pissed-off at missing a good boar was all that was going through my head. Then, I could make noises out but they were some distance away, it had to be them. As I got closer, the roars of fighting got louder and louder. I shone the torch over the bank of a dry creek bed and there he was, it was him! With a front end built like a tank he was an impressive boar.

Bristles up high, he had that big Mohawk running down his neck and back and he was turning it on hard, this was 'Fight Night'. The dogs were all on but we didn't have this boar yet as he was working the dogs hard and wasn't giving an inch. He swung hard and sent Kimba and Sky rolling. This Bastard knew what he was doing. As for Buck, with him still hanging on and pulling hard, the boar ran straight into the wall of the creek bed, crushing Buck into it. He ran

along the wall trying to peel him off with rocks and dirt going everywhere. With Kimba and Sky coming back into the fight, I slid down the bank to get a hold of him. From nowhere the boar had grabbed sky and was screwing her into the ground like a rag doll.

He thrashed and swung, trying to do the best he could with that ivory of his. I raced in grabbing his tail and a leg. With a quick glance at Kimba, I could see her left shoulder had taken a bad beating. More battle scars to be stitched. It took three goes and everything I had to get him onto his side. Grabbing a front leg and pushing down hard on his shoulder, he still managed to lift me and the dogs all off the ground. I grabbed the knife and finished this old fighting fella off. He kicked hard but it was over, finally, we had him. The dogs were exhausted and 'battled up'. Checking the dogs, Kimba came off worse with her left shoulder and chest taking some good hits. Later on at the chiller, the old boar dressed out at 117kg. He was a cunning and hard old boar.

One that will never be forgotten.- V IC ATTARD .

67

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HOW IT WILL BE JUDGED: Five Photos from each of the next Three Issues of Wild Boar Australia (Ocotober 2003, March 2004 and July 2004) will be selected by the editor. The selected Photos will be given to a panel of Four Judges for scoring. Each Photo will be given a score out of ten by each Judge, then the scores will be tallied. The Photo with the Highest Score Wins. There will be only one winner. No entries accepted after 5:00pm , 1st September 2004.

THE WINNER WILL BE NOTIFIED BY MAIL/PHONE AND WILL BE PUBLISHED IN THE NOVEMBER 2004 ISSUE.

EDITORS SELECTION

FINALISTS

for Issue 4

from previous issues

ALL PHOTOS FROM HUNTERS TROPHIES, BOAR TALES AND MAIN STORIES ARE INCLUDED IN COMPETITION. To ensure the return of all photos, please supply a self addressed envelope.

69

WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA GEAR MEN’S COTTON SHIRTS TWO HOT NEW COLOURS!!

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70 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

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A Top loader is a hinged door fitted on the top of pig crates and used to load live pigs. Pig hunters came up with the idea after they had trouble loading a caught pig when there was already a pig in the crate. So, how do you lift an eighty kilo pig onto the top of a crate? With an Adjustable Winch.

The winch in full extension on the top of the crate. Note: The boat winch winding arm is high and clear of crate. So that there is no obstruction when winding.

Inch box section is used on this part of the frame, with smaller boxed tubing that fits neatly inside the other.

With holes drilled in the smaller boxed tubing, to allow for adjustable height. It is all locked into place by a removable pin and snap- lock.

To give more height, the end of the winch arm is also extendable with pin and snap-lock.

Right: To add a Top Loader to your crate, cut a square approximately 18 inches (450mm) into the top of your crate roof. The door can be made from marine ply or Box Tubing, fix good hinges to the door and then mount the hinges and door to the crate.

A Barrel Bolt lock is fixed to the opposite side to lock the door when not in use.

IF YOU HAVE A CRATE DESIGN, SOME SPECIAL MODIFICATIONS OR UNIQUE ‘TOOLS OF THE TRADE’, THEN SEND US SOME PICS ALONG WITH A BRIEF DESCRIPTION TO: Wild Boar Australia Po Box 10126, Mt Pleasant, MACKAY QLD 4740.

Above: Inside view of Top Loader, looking through side door of crate.

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HUNTERS TROPHIES WIN COLLA R

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Roscoe-Emerald

Christos Yialloulou John Bunn Adam Harris

76 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

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$200 Tuskproof Protective Accessories

Troy Briggs Jamie Riddle

Max McDonald

Micheal & Shannon

Jack

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Pouty

Jamie & John

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Prize may differ from one shown

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YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT! WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN THE NOVEMBER ISSUE

79

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84 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Ian Cardwell - NSW

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Right:Pedro Lever shot this good tusker boar with the ever reliable ‘Tusker Broadhead’

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Micheal Loy - QLD Jordy - NSW

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Ian Ewart-Scone.

WANTED ARCHERY PHOTOS & STORIES 84 WILD BOAR AUSTRALIA

Northern Territory Floodplain Hunt Having recently had my turn and nailed a good pig with the new 200lb Excalibur crossbow, it was my turn to follow Greg with the camera to try for some more good footage.

Sneaking across the edge of a vast floodplain near the Wildman River was certainly different from the 1000 square kilometres where Greg ran his safari business.

We were used to crunching along on dry leaves, which sounds like sneaking on cornflakes; it certainly was different to walk on spongy thick grass, where our tread was quiet as a mouse.

Of course it had its hazards. Snakes. Lots of them lurking around the fast drying water holes and swamps. Even though we only encountered around five over the whole trip, they were on our mind all the time. Crocodiles, well, we just stayed out of the water. When you come across a waterhole with no birds on the water and no pig digging around it, you knew it was near a certainty there was a big lizard in there and to stay away from the edges. The previous day we had seen no less than 200 pigs on this floodplain. Today we were a little late and had only seen the odd few mobs just heading into the coolness of the paperbark swamp. Greg wanted to finish the trip with a really big boar, so we passed up a few smaller boars and some big sows. Just then, we noticed a few pigs heading off the plain with what looked to be a massive boar amongst them.

Sneaking slowly to where they had disappeared into the timber, twice we spotted pigs wallowing, but not the big one, so we kept moving slowly. All of a sudden Greg motioned for me to look to the left. There amongst the paperbarks was a mighty big pig lying in the mud. It was facing in such a way that it was

impossible to see its head without going around it and maybe spooking it. It sure looked like a boar.

Greg reckoned he would have a go at getting in close enough for a shot. It was only 8:30 am and looking though the viewfinder I noticed that Greg's shirt was soaked with sweat. It was that humid it would have to rain soon. Painstakingly slow, Greg moved in, making an excellent stalk to within 25 yards, Greg lined the massive pig up in the scope and fired. The pig jumped up and was in full stride within two paces, but then slowed down getting the wobbly boot to fall around 30 yards away. It was a good shot with the arrow going right through the pig.

When we got to it we were a little disappointed for it was a massive sow. Never the less it was a good hunt and a good shot with a really good pig. It was BIG! She would have dressed out to around 140kg and that's nothing to sneeze at. Time beat us, so we didn't get another chance that morning to hunt, as we were off to Darwin at 11:00am and still had to get back to pack our gear. Never the less we had had a great time over the last three weeks with our group of four hunters, bow shooting wild scrub bulls, buffalo and many good pigs. - TED MITCHELL.

A

rchers

CORNER

Boars of the

blacksoil planes With the seven hour trip over, it only took a fraction of that time to unhitch the trailer and unload the Hilux, before we were off to check out some of the near by water for hog sign. As we crossed the bore drain less then half a K from the quarters, Red killed the ignition and the Hilux rolled to a stop. No more then a hundred yards away lay the first boar we had sighted for the trip. We were hunting the black soil plains of North Western NSW, between Christmas and New Year 2000/2001. This was before the drought, when food and water was plentiful and not to mention good hog numbers. The days were pretty warm and with the temperature pushing 40+, all our attention was focused around water, which held plenty of pig sign. A few bore drains were still flowing all though one or two had been shut off. These bore drains ran for kilometres and cut through a number of open paddocks, tree lines and some thick salt bush. This first boar was laying in the cool mud on the waters edge; he was a fair way from any shade or cover and totally unaware of our presence. Red couldn't get out of the truck fast enough. He grabbed his bow and an arrow from his hip quiver and made a beeline for the sleeping hog. The boar lay facing away, into the breeze and all Red had to do was close the gap quietly and the boar was his. About

thirty yards out the sound of the dry thistles and flaky dried soil crackling with each step worried Red. Caught up in the moment and totally focused on getting in close on this boar, Red had a bit of a brain lapse and removed his shoes to help quieten things a bit(works in Cape York). Did I mention dry burrs and thistles crackling with each step earlier? Anyhow Red's bright idea seemed to slow the whole event down or prolong it, whichever way you want to look at it.

The sun was setting faster then Red was making ground on this aging boar and the painfully slow stalk seemed like an eternity. Having to stand on one leg and remove a combination of thistles and burrs from the other foot, take another step and repeat the procedure. Finally at seven yards, he steadied for the shot, I woke Bimbo and Bump who had nodded off with all the excitement and we watched Red finally nail the boar with a quartering away shot. We encountered a few other mobs of pigs that arvo in the remaining light but they were all sows and suckers, so we left them undisturbed. As hopefully they might bring a boar or two into the area over the course of the next week. Over the following days plenty of boars and other pigs hit the deck along these bore drains. The heat at this time of year sees most pigs having to water regularly throughout the day

Above: Red & son Josh (Bump) with best boar of trip. Below Left & Right: Pigs on their way to water. Below Middle: Good Boar taking refugein Bore Drain.

as pigs have no sweat glands and this is one way of surviving the heat. They also tend to lay flat on their sides in the shade and pant like dogs to help from overheating. Pads leaving the bore drains with pig tracks and rub trees were followed to distant tree lines and all shaded areas were glassed over carefully looking for a dark shape, flickering ear or anything that resembled bedded hogs. I'm not a big fan of walking on these pads for scent reasons. Especially if we're gonna be hunting the same area over the next few days. Scent can stay on the ground for hours and put the wind up the hogs, particularly the old boars. Walking along these dusty well-used pads is generally our quietest approach and they often lead you right past their bedding areas. This is great hunting and we spotted and looked over plenty of pigs and busted a few good boars by following these signs. Approaching a dam up the road a little ways from camp a couple of days into our hunt saw us spot one of the best boars we were to see for the trip. It was mid morning, the sun had plenty of bite but the shape of this boar with his bristles raised and mud dripping from his solid frame was a sight to behold. The intense heat and thoughts of a cold drink were forgotten momentarily. Bimbo and I circled wide as he disappeared over the bank and was swallowed in the tumbleweed. Cattle in the area made keeping track of him all the more difficult, as they were aware of us and spooked easily. He ended up giving us the slip, so we made our way back to the dam. As we crested the bank a large pig lay in the mud a little over twenty paces away. There were a number of other hogs lying in various positions around the dam. We couldn't tell what sex the big pig was as its nose, ass end and guts were all submerged in mud. As Bimbo picked a spot and settled the sight pin on the hog's chest, the large pig rose to its feet and displayed her laidened belly, which near touched the ground. Bimbo let down and smiled knowing the big sow was only a second or so away from getting nailed. He watched as another heavy sow joined her and they both rubbed some of the mud and lice from their bodies on the dividing fence that ran through the dam. Three boars appeared on top of the opposite bank shortly after and wasted no time getting in the water. One boar stood out a little more than the others did and while they wallowed, Bimbo circled wide of the sows and came in over the bank on the boars. The boar Bimbo wanted lay facing away but the two small hogs lay facing his direction. Bimbo had to pull up short as he was silhouetted on top of the bank. He ranged the pigs to be a little over thirty paces. The arrow covered the distance in a flash and collected the boar in the back of the short ribs and angled down forward into his lungs. All three pigs erupted from the mud on impact and as the big fella topped the rise, he piled up in a cloud of dust. These hogs were in as good a nick as any pigs I'd ever seen, even those taken in the pasture improved country back home. Plenty of hogs were sited in these ground tanks during the day, but late arvos were when things really came alive. Most arvos were spent sitting near a few different dams. We had sussed out a number of dams early in the piece and depending on the wind direction and cover available, determined which dam we'd choose. With hundreds of roos, the odd fox and cat, and thousands of birds, it's a hive of activity at this time of day and anything can walk in. We often try to set up by mid arvo as not to spook too much. Having galahs and roos drinking gives most pigs peace of mind. But roos being spooked and stamping the ground and birds erupting from the waters edge, are ALSO tell tale signs of danger so it's a catch 22 situation. Keeping our movements slow and not making direct eye contact enabled us move about and close in on a few pigs. Big boars have a knack for showing up right on dark and on New Year's Eve, Red took one of his best boars in the black soil country. Mud encrusted, torn ears, high shouldered with a curled top lip, this hog was a picture as he emerged from the salt bush. A sow with a few slips drew his attention while Red slowly made his way out wide and used a large box tree as cover. He couldn't hide from the roos and he didn't really try, all his movements were smooth and slow and his eyes mainly focussed on the ground in front, and on the boar. Red finally made it to the tree and was now only 20yards off the boar. An arrow slicing through fighting pad is music to any bowhunters ears and this solid hog only just made it back to the cover of the salt bush before succumbing to the fatal shot as Reds razor sharp arrow had taken out both of his lungs. He was the biggest of the thirty or so pigs for the trip, and it would be along 12 months before we'd set foot on this property again. The drought had taken hold by then and the conditions of the land and stock had changed dramatically, the pig numbers were down. We still managed to find a few hogs, but that's another story.- Story by BRAD SMITH.

The above hunt was captured on film. As is most of Brad Smith's hunts and can be viewed along with plenty of other pig hunts in Brads latest Video/DVD release "HOGS of OZ". Details on page 26.

Top: Boar shot, by Bimbo, while sleeping in the thistles along edge of bore drain.

Middle: Red & a good boar taken only a couple of hundred yards from camp.

Above: Bimbo with another solid young boar. Biggest of three that watered in this dam late one morning.

Below: One Down, One to get.Two good boar, caught by Author,out in open on bend of bore drain.