Table of contents for July - August - September 2016 in Bacon Busters

Well, I’ve broken the drought! Unfortunately not for farmers, but in terms of catching some decent boars! I’ve just come back from the Central-West with Dad and the dogs have excelled off the Ute in finding some crackin’ tusky ferals. My brother has kept them in good nic and it showed! Unfortunately, vet bills are a downer, but my two holders have picked up & are recovering! The country is still looking dry and the winter chills haven’t really kicked in, but I’m sure it won’t be long. Come June, I’m heading on another trip around Australia with Bec & our kids. After failing to purchase a local acreage, we just decided it was time to go and explore while we can. We are headed down through VIC, SA, up…

Ashford Boars COMPILED BY HALEY GLEESON Finally, Dad decided to take me piggin’! “We'll go for a quick look up the road to the neighbours”, he said. Nit wasn’t my choice of property to hunt on, but two hours passed and all we had seen was one sow and we caught a sucker. Only 500metres from the gate heading out, we switched off the spotlight and were on our way home. Next minute, out of nowhere, three monster boars crossed in front of us. We thought they were calves in the headlights. Turning on the spotlight, we soon realised they were pigs. With Zena still loose on the back of the Ute, she gave chase to one and Dad shot the other. We were that excited! By the time Dad…

A few fellas and I headed out after work for a quick hunt to one of my properties with no luck. We then went to another and just started hunting when the dogs jumped and took off down the gully. We followed and when we arrived, they had this big fella pulled up and he was giving the dogs a good flogging. We struggled, but soon got a hold and stuck him. It was game over for this big boy! He ended up ripping both dogs up, but it wasn’t life threatening. He hit the scales at over 100kg, so we were wrapped with the outcome!…

Winging it and random hunting trips is generally how it happens and after speaking with a good mate from the Territory and thinking its been too long between visits/hunts, my ticket was booked and I was off to the NT. With Bull pulling up in the Bismarck, we headed home, packed up and we were off. We pulled up at camp, unpacked and waited for Mick and the White Rhino to role in with a Ute load of wookies! The next morning, we were off with Mick cruising close to the creek line and Bull and I sat wide waiting to bust any boars that broke away from the White Rhino. It wasn’t long and we were on! A boar broke from the creek and started heading wide to try…

Massive mud encrusted hairy shoulders tapered down to sleek black hips. The thick bristles along his back stood up, as his malevolent beady eyes took in the scenery below the secret spot from where he had just emerged. Feeling fully refreshed from his daytime siesta, it was time now to get that first long awaited drink before once again starting the random rooting and ploughing up of the hillside. There were still many treasures to be dug here yet, bulbs and tubers, plus plenty of fat worms and grubs. Maybe another ewe would give birth close by, then he would be able to take another succulent lamb from the defenceless mother. He could feel the strength flowing through his massive body, as once again, he descended slowly to the small…

“There was a mob up ahead and Diego launched off the Ute” I started hunting about two years ago now, with my friends and mainly my boyfriend Boof. I started off just tagging along for the trips and as you do, got immediately hooked. I loved watching the dogs hunt and the pride you get when your dog hits up. Last Christmas, Boof surprised me with my very own beastly new knife. I was keen to get out and have a hunt to test it out. The first few pigs we caught were just 30kg, but then the dogs pulled up a 60kg boar. I'm not going to lie as I hesitated at first before sticking it. Boof never shut up the rest of that nights hunt. I knew I…

On Thursday night, one of my mates Tom Davies caught the bus home from boarding school four hours down the track from Rockhampton to my family's property near Springsure. We got home at about 11pm and were keen to go for a hunt and so were my dogs. Zeus (the white dog) is a finder/hanger at thirteen months old and Trigger is a two-year-old finder/bailer. I chucked the chestplate on Zeus and we put the dogs in the back of the Ute. We set out around some sorghum stubble and regrowth to try our luck. We were only gone about an hour and the dogs were getting real keen, so we pulled up and they ran off into the stubble, but it was a bit of old scent. We made…

TRACKER PROTECTORS Brisbane Hunting Supplies have gone ahead in leaps and bounds after opening a new hunting store over 12months ago. Owners Adrian & Rach De Pauw have seen a great support from local hunters as well as Aussie hunters online. They are an authorized Garmin dealer and sell genuine Garmin Accessories. Their latest new product is a mixture of tracker collar protectors. Suited to Garmin & Sportdog collars, they will take the hits that the big boars dish out. Save your trackers from getting damaged and buy a protector! For these and many more products for the pighunter, check out their store at 4/20 Paisley Dr, Lawnton Qld or see www.brisbanehunting supplies.com.au LOKAWAY HUNTERS BOX Perfect for storage on that trip, the Lokaway Hunters box comes with a heavy-duty…

Well the trophies have been dropping in big numbers. More hunters are getting out at this time of year, as the weather is easier on the dogs and more comfortable to walk the bush with a rifle. Getting into those hard-to-get-to areas has seen pighunters catch some big lone boars, which have been happily living remote and undetected. Those first rains in spring, the end of the wet, the start of the cold snap each April gets the big loners moving. These smart hogs live that solitary existence in the comforts of plentiful feed, water and safety, however there comes a time when all these three vitals become scarce and make the boars move. One slip-up from them or some luck will get you that loner and no doubt, he’s…

Send your biggest pig pics to 'Australia’s Biggest Pigs', Bacon Busters, GPO Box 606, Sydney NSW 2001 or email hi-resolution pics to editor@baconbusters.com.au…

We set off out west to meet up with Sarah Barker & James Theuerkauf from the Channel Country Canvas team! My mate Andrew Best & I left on Thursday arvo about 7pm and pushed on all night arriving at our new block early morning on the Friday. We had a few hours to kill waiting for Sarah and James to arrive, so we unloaded the quad and set up the camper trailer. I packed a few things away and thought I’d just zip down to the creek to see if I could find anything. I found a few tracks and wallows, so I was going to sleep a happy man. When we woke, we had no idea where the pigs would be or how to even find things on the…

“They breed in these areas and infiltrate the bordering private properties.” Well, each year is another one for good times and memories on the hunting side of things and 2016 is no different. My mate Aaron and I live and work in Coonabarabran, NSW. Each year the tally of hogs and quality/quantity all have to do with the rainfall that we get! This year has already been a cracker year on the hogs. It hasn't been easy after the loss of one of the main finders 'Dale', a Liver nose Arab bred By 'Ranky Boar' in Forbes. This always seems to set a hunter back by losing a mate, but there is always an up and coming array of pups that fill that spot. This loss left the team…

BLADDER STONES Like humans, dogs are predisposed to developing bladder stones. These stones, which are composed of various minerals, can become problematic when they begin to cause urinary tract problems such as persistent infections and urethral obstruction. This problem can be difficult to treat but with appropriate management, you can avoid having this problem to deal with. Both large and smaller dogs can be equally affected. WHAT ARE BLADDER STONES? Bladder stones are accumulations of various minerals, which crystalise out in the urine. The most common bladder stone is known as struvite. Many other stones can occur in urine and most begin as crystal accumulations. Over time, these can form large stones, several centimetres in diameter. Dogs can have single or multiple stones. WHAT ARE THEY CAUSED BY? The incorrect…

I live and hunt with my partner around the Central West of NSW. Last week, we decided to load the dogs up and drive out of town. The dogs we had were Skittles who is an Arab/Dane X, her sister Crash and Boss who are Bully/Greys. Fifty kilometres later, we had reached our destination and there was nothing, but thick scrub and mountains. The dogs were ready for action, so we drove around for a bit until the dogs let out a yelp. The chase was on about a hundred or so metres into the bush and we came across a creek with a few wallows and plenty of diggings. We kept following the dogs another few hundred metres up a huge mountain. When we finally arrived puffing and panting,…

About four years ago, my youngest son Brad shot his first pig with his compound bow at the age of thirteen. He really got hooked on the rush of hunting and within a few weeks, he was asking for a pig dog. After bugging Mum and I for a month non-stop, he found a Bull Arab/Bully Grey pups for free at Broken Hill. So off we went driving 500km to go and pick up ten-week-old Lilly. Within weeks of getting her, Brad had found an old dog with ten years pigging experience that needed a new home. We now had Zac (a trainer) to make it all happen! By five months old, Lilly was showing really good potential and hanging well when Zac found one. By six months, she was…

With the wet season up here in the north coming to an end, our next drama is the massive grass and seed heads that cover the tracks. We haven’t driven on them for the last 4 or 5 months, so its back to square one for access! Re-finding the tracks are fun, but obstacles including trees and branches that have fallen down are now covered in 5-6 foot of spear grass. This can make the process time consuming and you suddenly stop at every interval. The vehicles radiator, seats if your windows are open are covered in these seeds; not to mention the poor dogs getting them in between the chest plates and their skin. This can cause alot of dramas being covered in these seeds causing skin issues later…