Australia Outfitter - Feral control hunts?

15 November 2003, 15:00

Frans Diepstraten

List of ferals?

Waterbuffalo, scrub bull, donkey, brumbies (horse), camels, goats, boar, sheep, fox, rabbit...I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Banteng could be regarded a feral, as it is not a native species, but it *is* hunted under a license system, which is not the case for the others.

Roos get shot too by the thousands in some areas.

My partner Les Kosek of Terra Incognita Guides organises hunts for ferals in SW Queensland (and water buffalo/boar hunts in the Northern Territories). Either ranch based, with a nice pool, clean sheets and good barbies, or on the road with a ute (pikc-up), camping under the stars or bunking in a buckaroos shack, campfire grills, etc.

Goats, roos , boar, scrub bull, camels, an occasional donkey, would be the main target, a dingo if you get lucky.

I've sent three hunters from Germany and The Netherlands there, when I was still in Europe and each came back happy. One German hunter shot 16 big male feral pigs, and he claimed he could easily have shot three times that many. He concentrated on boar only.

We've got a hunter from Alaska booking his second trip for night-time roo shooting, with a big torch. He shot up to 40 roos per night.

If you drop me a line off-group at terrahunt@yahoo.com, giving a broad outline of your wishes, I'll fill you in on all the details.

BTW, the info on ferals hunting is not yet on my website, I've been too busy to put it all on.

Frans

Terra Incognita North America
www.terrahunt.com

15 November 2003, 18:30

HiWall

The nine deer species we have here are also feral!
I think Sambar and Hog deer are the only ones that need some form of permit to hunt.

16 November 2003, 02:14

Boghossian

Is this kind of hunt something that can be a DIY trip? It seems the most important thing would be the contact details of a willing landowner, now what is that magazine that is supposed to give contact details for hunting properties all over Oz?

16 November 2003, 03:37

NitroX

Western Hunting Guide.

16 November 2003, 09:31

Boghossian

Has anyone used it? Any good?

16 November 2003, 09:48

Frans Diepstraten

Well, if my mate Les were on this forum, he'd say something of the following:

"Listen, mate, don't waste your time and money on those $50 a day deals. There's no telling where you'll up. Sure, the landowner will tell you "There's plenty of pigs, come shoot them bastards", but he doesn't care if you don't find any there." He'd be much more elaborate and eloquent in an Polish-Aussie sort of way, but you'll catch the drift.

If DIY is your thing, and you're tavelling in from the US, it might be good to look at some of the outfitters that offer that...like us ;-)

We'll provide accommodation, food, transport, ranch country, tips where to find game, two-way radio's in case something goes wrong. You'll be hard-up trying to arrange for all that by calling some local station owner from the US. There a difference in what you spend though, but a huge difference in your hunting experience.

Things change a bit of course if you live in the same time zone, and you have the time to spend to suss things out for yourself. Accommodation like a swag is waiting in the garage, and the ute is all greased up and waiting to go.

Frans

Terra Incognita North America
www.terrahunt.com

16 November 2003, 14:54

NitroX

quote:
Originally posted by Boghossian:
Has anyone used it? Any good?

Boghossian

Yes I have used it and it is a valuable little book.

No or very few Aussies spend through the nose for feral hunting through outfitters. BUT you need to have some gear with you, as it is self-guided, self-equipped hunting. If you bring along say backpacking basics - such as cook gear, sleeping bag, shooting & hunting gear etc - buy food here (its cheaper) and hire a vehicle, there's no reason why you can't do it. A lot of properties offer the use of a hut, shearers quarters type of accomodation which be warned can be very rough, but is usually livable. Perhaps not as enjoyable as having a fully equipped camp. On the other hand if there is a group of you to share 4WD hire the money saved can buy some gear as well.

Be warned driving in the Outback isn't like driving on a Highway in Scotland or Eastern USA. There is a lot of country between towns and not much in between. If you breakdown make sure you have packed lots of water and stay with the vehicle as nowadays except if you go really bush someone will come along in a day or two. If you plan to go "really bush" you make sure you check in before and AFTER somewhere to make sure someone knows to look for you if you don't turn up (eg police stations). But unless you have experience and preferably multi-vehicle with recovery gear these sorts of trips shouldn't be done. By 'really bush" I mean trips into the Simpson Desert further than most tourists go, the Gunbarrel "Highway", Tanami Desert etc.

Some game like buffalo are pretty well tied up and you need to book with an outfitter.

Property quality can vary a lot also depending on the season and also how hard hunted the property has been, so you will take your chances. The recent drought meant pig numbers were very low sometimes only about five for a hunt for the group. On the other hand the property booking agency was very honest with me on this and ended up advising not to book and defer to later.

I ended up booking an irrigated property direct with the owner and two of us shot eleven pigs and saw sixty-one (but I am counting the little porkers as well whcih made up most of the rest of the numbers). The pigs on this property were VERY alert and we scouted the property well and tracked some of the pigs movements. A lot were entering the property from another to drink at a dam and then leaving again, all activity being nocturnal. Our kills basically were via ambush by glassing green cereal crops and ambushing small herds as they fed into the crop during the last 30 minutes before dusk.

The drought broke while we were on the property with a spectacular rain storm.

That might give you some ideas on whether to try self-guided or use an outfitter. Using an outfitter costs more but will give a higher chance of success and comfort. If you've got lots of time and are resourceful going in DIY could also be enjoyable.

[ 11-16-2003, 06:09: Message edited by: NitroX ]