Table of contents for October - November - December 2017 in Bacon Busters

G day All, Well as some of you are aware, I’ve been trekking around this amazing country of ours again with the family. We’ve been caravanning through Central Qld, out to the far western parts of the sunshine state, and down to Birdsville. The Big Red Bash, which is Australia’s biggest inland concert, is on each year and we attended the 4-day Gig. I highly recommend it to all you keen travellers! It’s not just the country towns and remote wilderness that draw you to these places, but it’s the people that really make it. We all live such unique lives and meeting Aussies from different places is very memorable. Camped alongside ‘The Big Red Dunes’ on the edge of The Simpson Desert was an experience and seeing the draw-card…

After getting into some decent boars over two days of hunting the mountains, it was time to head home when a mate asked if I could call in and open a few gates to let some cattle through into other paddocks. I headed up the ridge, parked my Ute just on sunset and walked down the gully to open the gates with the dogs strolling along behind me. We opened the gates and spotted a big sow with a few youngens on the other side of the gully, however we decided to just head back up to the Ute instead. Whilst making the climb back out of the gully towards the Ute, something caught the attention of our little Kelpie bitch, so she took off up the creek and into…

Back in 2011 Jan edition, I sent in a pic of my son Cooper Mcloughlin who underwent heart surgery. I am Cooper’s proud Mum and have kept in touch with Clint (The Editor) on how he is doing. As this issue hits the stands, young Cooper will undergo a valve replacement (open heart surgery). It's a huge operation, so drawing pictures takes his mind off the ordeal. We can only pray and ask The Lord for complete healing and restoration of Cooper’s body. I've included some pics and the magazine feature photo back in 2011. Young Coop loves Bacon Busters and has done so since he was little. His passion is hunting, helping his Dad work and drawing pig rigs. Thanks so much for a great magazine to read and…

G day, I’m thirteen and from Far North Queensland. On the school holidays, I packed up the car with my grammar and headed out. We saw a couple of pigs heading up to our camping place, which was good to see. When we arrived, I jumped off the bike, collared up the dog and went for a hunt at a nearby swamp. The dog jumped off and it was on. My dog Fritz was hot on a big boar and the grunts and growls started getting the blood pumping. Fritz was bailing hard when I arrived, but as soon as he aw me, he went in and started swinging like a tick on the ear. There was no mucking around now! I rushed in and stuck the beast noticing the…

Recently, Australian veterinarians practicing in QLD and NSW have been warned by our association about the increased risk of disease caused by an organism known as Brucella suis. This disease is common throughout the wild pig population in Australia and due to the popularity of hunting; humans are getting increasing exposure to the organism. This disease has the potential to be a significant problem for hunters, their families and veterinarians. New workplace health and safety recommendations have been made in order to reduce the risk to both owners and veterinary workers. WHAT IS BRUCELLA AND WHAT DOES IT CAUSE IN HUMANS? Brucella is a bacteria that affects multiple species of animals worldwide. There are many different types of Brucella, Brucella Suis causes infection in pigs. Even though this bacteria tends…

It had been close to three years since my last trip up to the Gulf of Carpentaria, due to being diagnosed with a brain aneurism and luckily catching it before it did any damage. I asked my 22year old daughter Katie if she was up for the trip and with no hesitation; we were off from cold old Victoria to the sunny NT. The property was on the beach in the Gulf and captured some of the most beautiful, uninhabited country around. We went there hoping for a big fishing trip and even though it was warm, the water temperature was down and the fishing went quiet. We met up with some friends on the same trip and decided to go looking for another thrill, hunting pigs! Katie was keen,…

We want your photos! One lucky Sucker will win a FREE 12 month subscription to Bacon Busters. Send photos, contact & postal details to: Little Suckers Bacon Busters Magazine GPO Box 606 Sydney NSW, 2001 or email editor@baconbusters.com.au…

My name is Sarah. I'm from Darwin, NT and I'm 27. I volunteer part time at the Darwin Wildlife Sanctuary while I study to become a nurse. I spend my weekends going down to my family property near Katherine and 4-wheel driving, hunting and playing with my two Bull Terriers, Cedric and Balthazar. My boyfriend Matt has loved Bacon Busters since he was a teenager and has begged me to send pictures of my 78kg catch on our last trip to Central QLD earlier this year. I haven't told him I sent them, so I'm hoping to surprise him, since he buys every edition of the magazine. Thanks!…

Since my last story, I’ve been having numerous dry runs on our property and neighbouring areas throughout the scrub. It was up to a bit of soul-searching as my hopes for the April holidays were slipping away from me. Then came the moment I was waiting for, whilst talking to the neighbor, he said he’d been seeing pigs on the oats stubble adjacent to the muddy remnants of the creek and was seeing if I wanted to go check it out. That Friday night, I loaded my finder (Squirt) and the rifle, then slipped down a nature strip between stubbles with heart racing in hope of breaking the drought. In the headlights, I saw a solid black boar cross the track and it was on as the Hilux fishtailed up…

When we first sighted the large, deep indentations of a huge boar near the properties dead-pit, we confidently thought the big fellas days were numbered. We had plenty of time with our experienced dogs, but as it turned out, the 'Houdini Hog' had other ideas and over the next three months the boar we christened 'Big Foot' and lead us on a merry chase. He continually eluded capture, ate everything we provided and wasn't camera shy; as he hogged most of the trail cam footage. Unfortunately, the only information the trail-cam provided was that he had no set patterns, which was no great help. We had no problems enticing 'Big Foot' to the dead-pit as his huge, insatiable appetite would have made a Jenny Craig consultant blush! Horse, donkey, pig,…

What is Lyme Disease and can I get it? A: Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by tick bites. The bacteria that causes this problem is known as Borrelia. Officially, the disease does not exist in Australia and as veterinarians, we do not see cases of it. The disease is common in America and other countries but has never been found here. It is however a good idea to wear adequate clothing when hunting in order to avoid tick exposure and to ensure proper protection for your animals. My dog has done a crap and it is bloody. Should I be worried? A: Bloody faces are a common complaint to veterinarians. Profuse bloody foul smelling diarrhoea is typically associated with parvo and if this sounds like your dog, I…

Some of us hunt the flats; some of us hunt the stubble; and some choose to hunt the mountains. We find hunting the mountains to be hard on the gear, dogs and the human body, but there's just something about the mountains that keeps us coming back; and that's the quality big tusky boars they hold! NSW has some of the best terrain in the country for pigs and despite what some people say, NSW does hold some of the best quality boars in the country. To tackle this terrain, we like to run a wide range of different size dogs of all different breeds and attributes from bailing dogs to full-on holding dogs (small and large). We never know what will be tucked up in a berry bush or…

Charleville Capers COMPILED BY BOB HOLLEY It was the weekend, so my mate Joel Frazer and I decided to go walk some creeks. It has been a while since we have been out as the drought has taken its toll on our country in SW Qld. We have also recently had quite a few wild dog fences put up on alot of the properties around Charleville, which are designed to keep wild dogs and feral pigs out. The property that we were hunting already had this fence erected, so we did not expect to come up with much. Within 1km of coming off the main road, we realised how dry the creek was, so we decamped on foot with the dogs to try and find some water. We never came…

Hunting in Greece is a little different from here in Australia! We wake up just on dawn and start searching the roads for any sight of movement or fresh footprints of pigs by driving slowly and having a spotter looking for the marks. Once we find the marks, we start tracking them with the dogs with a Garmin Alpha 100 with Birdseye. In Europe, pigs sleep all day and are only active at night as it is illegal to hunt at night. Once the dog has bailed up the pig, we know the exact location that the dog has found the pig! Our smart dogs will not go too close and they bark from about twenty metres of the exact location and bark nonstop. We don't rush, as the pig…

I was living in the rat-race of Sydney where I was brought up, but finished my trade and made the move out to the country with my partner. It’s always a big move leaving family, mates and what you know, but I don’t regret it as these small country towns have so much to offer young families who are prepared to work in the local community and get involved. I hunt mostly around Central & North West NSW with my dogs Roo and Shaz. My new pup Dixie is coming along well, proving that breeding good pigdogs is essential in establishing good hunters. I bred from my main two, but sadly Roo has recently passed away and as most hunters would know, it’s hard losing a main dog. Here are…

Keep sending in your best pig photos for publication in the next issue. Mail them to: Pig Pix, Bacon Busters Magazine, GPO Box 606, Sydney, NSW 2001. All pics returned after use.…

With the rain finally gone, the hay-cutting season is here and this brings in the fat pigs. They have all wet season to gorge themselves on sorghum and a variety of other crops and every pig in this area is fat and shiny. Jason and I had a bit of a slow start to the season with most farms and stations closing their gates or we choosing to not wreck what roads were usable while the rain was here, but now its drying up and were getting back into it. Friday night saw us cruising around the stubble and spotlighting for any dark objects that may be sneaking away under the cover of darkness. A few false starts and we startled a small mob, but they beat us to the…