Hard Country photo's

[Jacko]

These photo's are on a near 50 000 acre property I hunt about 900 kilometres Sth West of Brisbane . Its still several hundred Kilometres from the true desert Country and these photo's where taken in the 11th year of a 12 year drought which was broken [ helped out is a better word ] last new year by good rain . The Cocky [ Aussie for Farmer ] has had periodic rain but nothing to bank on in those years . He runs sheep and cattle . It has several man made bore drains running through the place that are feed by artesian bores . The government is in the process of getting the Cocky's to cap these bores to conserve water and to run underground pipes and water troughs in there place . If you knew the logistics and cost to the Cocky of this proposal you would shake your head .

At the turn of the 20th century this property was the Horse paddock for a much larger place which has since been broken into smaller titles . These photo's do not do justice to the place , it is gorgeous I really must pay more attention to any photo's I take . I have no photo's of the place from the cresent shaped iron ridge that has eroded to give the place its red sand where you can spot game for miles , it's gibber[rocks] plain , the swamp country which has filled and sprung to life last year and again a month or so ago or the way the plants change from grasses to paperbarks to gnarly brigalow and mulga on the way to the sand hill which is all of 18" high . Great spot for the pigs rested up in the heat of the day . They also sleep in the bore drain , a deadly habit

The photo with the bones and white rocks is a photo of a Bower Birds display . The males make these to attract females , this fella likes white . I left a few blue shotgun shells skattered about so when I get back to check the Bower he should have added then as there was 1 piece of blue bottle glass to one side . They rebuild the bower every mating season and add new objects . They also dance to show how fit for breeding they are - naturally the female is hard to please .

The terrible photo of the small horned billy goat at 15 yards is in some pulled country . The Cocky's run a couple of dozers linked by enormous chains and pull scrub down , it regrows into good stock and feral tucker . This paddock was pulled 5 or 6 years ago . The goats get into the regrowth Mulga and pea bush . Easy stalking and hunting , just listen hard and walk towards the bleat watching the wind of coarse . We often put up lone old boars walking through this patch . And a photo of the first pig I killed with my shotgun after 10 years of not shooting it , exclusivly bowhunting for all that time , real poor , full of parasites and no meat worth taking - but fine sport non the less

regards Jacko

[bilmac]

I like to hear (and see) what things are like in other parts of the world. Keep them coming Jacko.

[Skunk]

Excellent pictures Jacko, as are the descriptions of each. Thanks for sharing and as bilmac mentioned, keep them coming.

[kombi1976]

This is the sort of stuff I hoped people would post.
Great stuff, Jacko.
I've hunted on a property like that before but not near as big.
Unfortunately the owner gave us the run around and we never saw any pigs, just huge mobs of goats that he wasn't keen for us to shoot so he could sell them for live export.
That would've been fine, except that we'd paid for access.
He was all smiles at the end and welcomed us back but I wouldn't waste my time there again.
It was near Byrock, 70kms out of Bourke.

[Jacko]

Kombi I wish I had more photo's of game to post and tell lies about , for some reason I do not take many photo's and have no real filing system so I have no idea where a lot of them are . I glued up a heap decoupage" style onto a bow rack I made without scanning copies . I have mended my ways now and promice I will post photo's and stories in coming months . I found Graybeard forums a month or so ago and only found this particular forum last week .

I wonder if the property you are talking about is the same one some bowhunting mates of mine went to a couple of years ago . They stayed in airconditioned caravans and the managers/owers first name was Warwick or something like that , cant remember the name of the place and paid about $50 a night . They got onto plenty of goats and only saw 1 mob of pigs which they spooked off a dam . They reckon you would not go there to hunt pigs and have not been back simply because it is so far away .

A mate and I are talking about a trip to a bowhunting only pay property called Tarwoona Downs who advertise in Archery Action magazine , they advertise 10 kilometres of river frontage . I wonder if the floods and rain out west have hit Byrock / Bourke district this year ,  it could prove a bumper pig season out there by mid year if it has . They will back off on supplementing their income selling the goats as there will be plenty of feed for cattle and sheep and good conditions for crops .

I had to cancel a trip out to Inglewood this long weekend due to rain . Some other mates hunting out Dirranbandi way rang on Saturday and told of very wet conditions out there . It was too wet / flooded to go out to the favourite block sth west of Cunnamulla so I hope the channels link into and soak Bourke region .

In my experience Cocky's will try you out the first few times you are there even on pay properties and deliberatly send you in the opposite direction to where the game is at that time , see if you will play by there rules and if you have half a clue in the scrub , and then gradually put you into the hot spots for game on there property . Look at from there point of veiw - they don't know this bloke thats rocked up to play in there backyard , if he is to be trusted , will he shoot my stock , my watertanks , steal , race off with there daughter . Trouble is it happens a lot out there .

regards Jacko

[kombi1976]

That's the place, alright.
We knocked over 8 goats which was ok but the fuel was very exy to get out there and back.
As far as I'm concerned, if owners want game gone they tell me where to find them.
Otherwise it's a waste of everyone's time.
I'm not sure when I'll be able to get out west, not this year at least.
The missus has No4 under way and is due in May and our house is being extended so we have to move out of it for 6 months and rent nearby.
There is a silver lining to it though.
I made a deal......... 

[Skunk]

It would be really cool if you guys could get together for a hunt.

[bsrecurve]

certainly is hard country perry - you look pleased with the pig too.
 in that pic the boito is almost as pretty looking as my stoeger.....

[Jacko]

We have had this discussion before fella  You only bought that Stoger because it's a dead ringer for my Boito and some marketing genious realised it needed a Berreta stamp on the barrels to offset the swampwood stock .

regards Jacko

[Hodr]

Hello Jacko
My father was raised on a midwest farm.  His firm rule if you hunted with him was that the first days kill from every gun belonged to the man who worked the land.  On the last day of hunting he always had a bottle of whiskey for the same man and a 5 pound box of choclates for his wife.  After the first time we often had the manager/owner hunt with us.  I was gone for four years and came home from the Army, my father went out to see a friend in the delta country about tuning up his pheasant dog.  He got an invitation to come back when I got leave.  The owner had us out to brekfast at 6am and we hunted ground that had been closed for two years.  We each got six birds a day (legal limit) for twelve days straight.  We never had to hunt past 10am.  It was the last time I got to hunt with my father,  but he took an army friend of mine out with him the next season.  Once again 6 birds a day after brekfast.  My friend (Pep) was kia in Viet Nam 2 months after but had written more than once to his family about how he was treated in California.
Dad always said to me that the first days kill, a bottle of good whisky(Makers Mark) and five pounds of choclate was nothing more the the bibles "bread upon the water"  You always got back more than you gave.

blindhari

Absent Companions

[Jacko]

Sound advice Blindhari , I am a guest on this property , a long term hunting mate of mine used to work for this particular property owner as a teenager and over the last 25 + years has continued his friendship with him . The property owner is a no nonsence chap but salt of the earth and generous . My hunting mate always asks if there is anything the property owner needs , anything brought out , any jobs done and we keep an eye out for sick stock damaged fences , anything to help . My hunting mate has arranged weekends over the years where he/we went out and laid an asphault floor in his shed or assisted him build a new shed etc . Once again I am a guest and appreciate hunting on this property .

It's a sad thing but I have lost access to property's that others have not respected , have not regarded themselves as guests on and shot up watertanks and stock or 4x4  through dams , chewed up wet tracks etc . Understandably the Cocky's won't have anything to do with hunters anymore even the polite respectfull ones .

regards Jacko

[kombi1976]

You're right, Jacko.
Misunderstandings happen easily and one dumb move by you can be months of hassle for them.
I try and do the right thing but if I can see there's going to be tension between myself and an owner I thank them for the opportunities, hand over a 6 pack or the like and give the place a miss unless I'm specifically invited back.
Same thing happened recently with a woman I worked with.
We were hunting rabbits there and it got dark so we stayed around to try and spot a couple.
Her husband got antsy about the fact it was after dark and was worried we would spook the horses, not that he'd warned us before hand.
So I gave it a miss after that and when the woman got a job at another place and we had a farewell I gave her husband a 6-pack as a thankyou.
He wasn't expecting it and I hope that made him think better of me.
Life's too short and some people on the land have been burnt once too often.
They can cut themselves out of a lot of free pest control as they simply can't trust anyone.