Thread: What little pesties did you bowl over today?

Swamp comp? What’s that @Dundee?

Edit- nah, didn’t enter any comps, should have though.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Swamp comp? What’s that @Dundee?

Edit- nah, didn’t enter any comps, should have though.

Every tail you cut off a musteloid hand into H&F in the month of November only.And about now or early March the winners are notified.So freeze those tail for next year.

Originally Posted by Dama dama

Check the arm pit areas for lumps and or puss. Pretty rare to find one and many regions are free of it now. Auckland and Northland haven't had TB in possums for decades.

Are said lumps/puss visible from the outside or do you need to remove the skin off them?

Originally Posted by Tall kiwi

Are said lumps/puss visible from the outside or do you need to remove the skin off them?

A really bad one will be dripping or wet or have puss visible on the outside. Otherwise could be a limp either visible or able to be felt. If you're going to eat it, then not doubt you'll skin it, so that give another chance to check. If you do find one or suspect you have one, wash your hands and all your gear really well. Catching TB will be horrible. Also notify TBfree, or your regional council. They'll want to get it tested.
In saying all that really unlikely you'll run into a TB infected one these days. Eat 'em up if you want.

Just looking at the bunny numbers for this new post-lambing season. Note we lamb late down here. Shot 17 in visit to north canterbury farm - hardly worth the drive. Interesting thing though - this was a site on which we shot 20,000+ few years back. Over 1000 an evening at times. How times change.. A second site just 40 min from Christchurch is doing better - 5 visits in 9 weeks for 279 bunnies. Average 56 per trip. Not like south Canterbury but certainly enough to have fun.

Have had to cancel going south twice lately but shortly we'll back onto our key sites in Tekapo and McKenzie country. Last year's best for an evening plus 2 hours in morning was 403, but these shoots can also yield dozens of wallabies and very tasty fallow deer. Looking forward to getting back there - fabulous country and great shooting.

No room for an apprentice tag along?
Doubt I'd keep up

Hi Smiffy - We've had same team for 13-17 years intensive shooting now, and these days some sons and one grandson adding to the roster. Just one new man in all that time as nobody wants to give it up! But I will keep you in mind - may well get a gap some time.

Cheers Mike

Lol my dog did that to a rat in the trap the other day. Little bugger let it go and it ran under the fridge. So I was lying on the floor with the 22 and got the little bugger. Lucky I managed to drag it out with the gaff hook. No hole in the fridge so I'll chalk that up to a win, and a loss to the dog

Originally Posted by Flyblown

Caught this stinky little weasel in a rat trap overnight. Man does it stink.

Mum was letting the little Staffy bitch out of the back door for wee in this inclement weather and the dog immediately stopped and looked down at the trap by the kitchen drain. Signalled immediately, mum you’ve caught something… Smelly little bastard was still very much alive so the dog was given the duty of dispatching it. Good dog.

Both Staffys have been spending a couple of hours out hunting in the gardens every night, even in the really shit weather. We thought it might be a ferret again because it’s the mustelid smell that gets the dogs totally wound up, way more wound up than rats or rabbits.

The little bitch is so determined to find them in the undergrowth that every morning we are pulling grass seeds and gunk out of her eyes.

Planning to eliminate a possum or 2 or more this weekend,
Anyone in Auckland area (north shore)
want possum (meat) for their dog,
hate to waste or throw away what Ive killed.

We were just discussing recipes the other day on this thread, Snap 4t! hahah

Originally Posted by kruza

Possum rocks. That is a totally eatable. Better than hare by a long shot. My only regret is I only took one leg. It will be on menu for sure. Gawd all the meat I've wasted not eating them.
Bit more of pain on arse checking for signs of tb.
Done at 180c on air fry. Attachment 216079

I made possum soup once when I was in Auckland for people came from South China, and it was good actually, better than I thought. No gamy small, no funny taste...

Originally Posted by yeah_na_missed

(last photo comes with a warning for the squeamish...)

Went for a quick overnighter up the Waiohine Friday night. After no success on the bambi's evening and morning, I was about 200m from hitting the main track to head home, and came across 3 little piggies. Sadly for them, they didn't have a brick house to hide in when the big bad .223 huffed and puffed, and blew their faces in - 3 from 3. Bloody stoked after seeing the damage the little fuckers have been doing. Massive areas of forest floor look like a ploughed field, a little heartbreaking to see. Also pretty stoked with the .223, Winchester Super X 64gr from about 15-20m made quite a mess...
Attachment 216680
Attachment 216681
Attachment 216682
All happened very fast, and can't quite recall which angle the poor little bastard was... facing :/ but... yeah.

Holly...I am sure this little pig is very tasty.

Originally Posted by slk12

We were just discussing recipes the other day on this thread, Snap 4t! hahah

Yeah just saw it haha...
still learning my way at this site and was overwhelmed by the number of pages of this post.

Just 2 possums today, just enough for my buddy's meal.
Not sure about possum soup or BBQ, I guess I would eat it if there is a serious food shortage
at the meantime... I'll stay back and watch.

Yep doesn't pay to pickup weasels - or any mustelid..

One of our team seems to like getting up close and personal with animals. Few years back while opening a gate for truck he sees a weasel run into clump of grass. Sneaks up and stomps the shite out of it, then reaches down and picks up the 98% dead weasel. Holds it up laughing, then oooh! and drops it very quickly holding his nose. Weasel really got him with the pong. He wasn't very welcome back in the truck - after we stopped laughing..

On another occasion a rabbit was running fast at night, and he turned, zig-zagging towards the spotlight. Cobber has several running shots with 22 and misses him. Stops shooting and rabbit comes up and stops, mesmerised by light, and sits at his feet. He reaches down and picks him, pats his little head, has a chat with him, and we let him go. As mentioned elsewhere its a ritual in our team now - quite often they'll run towards you, under the truck etc. and we do catch odd ones by hand at night.

Then last year we were shooting wallabies and fallow on a matagouri slope, and another teammate shoots a spiker in the head from 25m as it hid in a bush. So he and animal-friendly cobber go over to retrieve it. They get up to 1-2 meters and animal-friendly cobber is reaching down to drag it out when the fallow spiker starts to get up!! Cobber leaps on him and there's a wrestle under the matagouri, then a call, some careful organising and Bang. Another round in back of head for the spiker. Cobber seems to love going head-first into these issues..

Have to say those spikers - 3 that evening - were reeeally good to eat.