Thread: When men were men

Originally Posted by Cowboy

They really are. Yeah he's been working around the world and came back for the Covid era. Stayed on his yacht here in the harbor below my house. Flew out to Germany and then Sri Lanka for work just yesterday. Was nice to have him round to see my little girl grow from 3 to 5.
His dad,Ted Rout, has been gone a while now. After I posted that last post I had a look at the area on sat photos and see our old hut appears to be still there.
Such a nice time to grow up. I love how we used to blow the horn as we came up the drive if we'd been successful. The old girl would always have food ready to go. Just a nice time. Every one had pride and weren't ashamed of it.

I apologise - by your Dad I actually meant your GD Ted. He was a good man. Yes, wonderful times. So much simpler.
I would love to go back up the Toko. Too late now.
Great memories.
Ta for the pic. Looks bigger.

@Time_out Much later than the time you mention I had many a pleasant trip fishing the Tokomaru with dry fly and nymph and took some beautiful brown trout. Catch and release because the resident population was so small. Lovely piece of the world.

Not quite deer stalking days as I was 10 years too late for that. I spent a few years as a rabbiter though, Always wanted to put some of my experience down on paper so to speak. It went to about 80 pages but heres the opening few.
Working title is

A Rabbitters Tale

2009
I was travelling across the USA, in a Dodge pickup, we planned to travel
from Abilene Tx on up to Miles City MT in one haul. I was with a guy
that trained dogs, we had 25 dogs and 3 horses on board a goose neck
trailer we were hauling.
I didn’t know it at the time but we were pretty much following the
journey from the movie “Lonesome Dove”.
We didn’t have near as many adventures as Gus and his partner’s but we
had a few!
The trip ended up taking about 33 hrs due to having flats on the trailer
and having to get off the Interstate and have the blowout repaired at the
nearest town.
To pass the time and get to know one another we traded stories, by the
time we got to Montana we were about all talked out, but Dave reckoned
I should write a book. So here it is
This story started in January 1979.
Along with a group of 18 or so other trainees. We became the 11th
induction of the APDC (Agricultural Pest Destruction Council). This was
a government funded authority that subsidised the rated farmers at a $ for
$ subsidy.
I was a thin, young, good keen man, (and yeah, I had read all those
books) excited by the offer of my first ever job and they were going to
pay me to shoot rabbits!
2
An Introduction
After a bum numbing bus trip to Wellington from the Taranaki, we found
our way via train out to Trentham a bit more exciting.
We were billeted in the Central Institute of Technology campus.
After introductions by the senior people running the trainee scheme an
outline of what was expected from us, was given.
Over the course of two years. We would:-
Visit and stay on a selection of 'rabbit boards'
Complete a report specific to that region. Of about but not limited to 50
pages
Obtain a pass rate of 65% in a course of correspondence run by the
technical correspondence institute (TCI) for agricultural pest destruction.
Obtain licenses to apply chemicals for poisons for pest eradication.
Collect, press and preserve for identification 200 plant species.
Bugger I thought to myself, more learning! Can’t we just get on and kill
bunnies.
3
My remaining memory of that week, was a trip to a clay bird range.
A great education on the effect of bullets was demonstrated.
This guy shot plastic coke bottles full of water (plastic milk bottles hadn't
been invented yet)
First came a .22 .......... Pop! ... thunk! and a little dribble of water
A brief explanation on penetration followed.
Next up was a 12-gauge shotty....... Bang!....whack! the coke bottle was
riddled with dozens of little holes, the top flew off, and the bottled
skittled away spinning on its side.
That’s more like it I thought.
A brief description on the scattering effects of a shotgun followed.
Next up was a .270 This is going to be frekin awesome!! I was thinking.
WHOOMPH
..........nothing!
He'd missed!!
We all tried to hide our smirks while the instructor explained his rifle was
sighted in for 300yds.
Next shot and the bottle vaporised ...... all that was left was a damp patch
and a bit of plastic.
4
There was no need to explain the devastation a high velocity centre fire
rifle round can inflict.
Clay birds
The next part was a bit more hands on and we all got to try our luck at
traditional Down the Line clay bird shooting, from the 18 yard line.
Craig prowled up and down the line, like an army sergeant.
We were given Remington 1100's to shoot with....... I liked the 1100 and
had used one briefly when I had gone on a night shoot with a local
rabbiter before signing on.
By the time we had done 25 birds it was pretty obvious who the good
shooters were.
There was one guy that hadn't missed and was quick off the mark as well,
Craig decided they should have a shoot off.
They went on for about 10 clays stepping back a yard after every clay and
then he tried to up the stakes by making it one shot only.
Young Steve just kept on nailing them, then Craig missed and a cheer
went up from us all.
" Where did you learn to shoot like that? " Questioned Craig
" I've been shooting black birds on my dad's vineyard all summer" came
the reply and a wry smile

Ok. Another instalment of my privilege to spend time with an old school meat hunter.
Ian Mitchell AKA Mitch was a meat hunter in Fiordland, particularly Lake Hauroko and around the Tarries, The puketois, the Akas. He also did possums in the puketois, the Akas and in the Eastern Hutt. He also worked for Reg Elward (I think) in the Ruahines as a shooter/gutter and for Joe Keely out of Opotiki.
He told me that the meat hunters and chopper crews used to have massive piss ups at a pub in Te Anau. The barman used to mop up the slops off the bar and ring the cloth into a bucket. At the end of the night the last men standing used to drink the contents of the bucket.
That’s hard!!

Went to look at a 2nd hand trailer to buy in Chch one day a few years ago. Started talking to the old fella selling it about hunting as he had a few hunting photos in the garage. He was telling me about hunting on the coast in years gone by and how he used to fly with Goodwin from time to time. So I asked if he’d ever come across Pete Harker. Turns out I was talking to him . Good bugger to talk to. Got a few of his books which are a good read.

Originally Posted by Snowgrass

Went to look at a 2nd hand trailer to buy in Chch one day a few years ago. Started talking to the old fella selling it about hunting as he had a few hunting photos in the garage. He was telling me about hunting on the coast in years gone by and how he used to fly with Goodwin from time to time. So I asked if he’d ever come across Pete Harker. Turns out I was talking to him . Good bugger to talk to. Got a few of his books which are a good read.

Flu in to the Douglas in the early 70's a couple of times just after the hut was built . Before that it was walk to the Horace Walker rock Biv . Goodwin Mcnut , havn't heard that name in a wail .

Originally Posted by HILLBILLYHUNTERS

Flu in to the Douglas in the early 70's a couple of times just after the hut was built . Before that it was walk to the Horace Walker rock Biv . Goodwin Mcnut , havn't heard that name in a wail .

The sub is so thick in there now you can't walk to the rock biv
Still nice country and love it up above the lake
But haven't taken any good bulls out of there despite seeing plenty

Did get one with my 50 cal muzzleloader a few winters ago in there

Seems like a long time ago now (and it was really), but shootin pigs and deer ( an possums and goats) to supplement the meagre wages was just a natural thing to do. As a a young fella full of enthusiasm and fitness, and armed with all the knowledge from Bruce Grant, Philip Holden, Rex Forrester, and Keith Severinson, heading into the bush with pretty basic gear was just the norm. We weren't so much "tough bastards", it was just what we had at the time, unlike the far better gear and equipment of today.
Deer became pretty scarce in the 70's, so we used to go pig hunting, sometimes with dogs that we'd picked up off the street round town, but more often with the rifle and horse. Sometimes the dogs lasted several trips and turned out ok, sometimes they didn't.
Heres a few pretty old pics of some of the hogs, horses, the old hut we camped in a fair bit, and a fuck up in the river on one trip

Originally Posted by Bos

Heres a few pretty old pics of some of the hogs, horses, the old hut we camped in a fair bit, and a fuck up in the river on one trip

Which river out of interest?

Thats the Palmer in flood

thats a tad on the damp side,interesting way to wash blood off the deck!!!! awesome photos.

Boar with good tusks can do alot of damage - he's an animal to treat with great respect. Back in the 60s we had several pigdogs killed - ripped when approaching from front rather than sides for ear holds when bailing.

I recall one occasion back in South Waikato the dogs were bailing a boar on a high flat hill covered with dense northern bush. And the boar kept breaking. Old man and I followed noise of the dogs for some time, then realised the boar was following us. A circling going on - all in very dense undergrowth. Then hell of a racket about 20 meters away and old man pushes me (7-8 years old) up a rotten tree out of the way of the scrap. Next thing boar breaks, races past me - exactly as the tree breaks down and crashes with me couple of meters behind him. Hell of a racket as dogs go past, catch him up and bail him again about 5 meters away. Finally old man gets through the undergrowth, BOOM from the jungle carbine, and its all over. Talk about a scared kid ...year's supply of nappies on that one..

On another occasion we finally got a particular boar who was notorious in the South Waikato back in the 60s. Had been trying to get him for years. Dogs got onto him again and again but he was too big, too strong. Very well known in the district as the Blackberry Gully boar - and over a number of years it had killed 17 dogs belonging to lots of hunters. Old man finally got to him when the dogs stayed on him all afternoon - lead by a young dog who didn't have the sense to quit - and they finally bailed him in a deep boghole. Old man got to him and nailed him with the jungle carbine. It was a big crossbred brindle boar and weighed 320lbs. 3" tusks (undrawn). News of his demise was written up in Waikato paper of the day, and mounted head is still on my brother's wall. True story..

I remember a very funny shoot around 1970-71. Still makes me laugh.. I'd have been about 18 then, a very active hunter and range comp shooter. Lots of practice to keep sharp..

Was invited by some mates to go on a goat shoot on a back country farm near Bennydale in the Waikato. They wanted to sell the meat so asked could we please shoot in the neck or head. On this shoot also they invited a big Canadian fella. He worked in Tokoroa and was apparently a former Canadian heavyweight boxing champion. His name was Rocky J****. I kid you not.. So all the way to Bennydale Rocky tells us how good he is, how experienced a hunter he is, and how good his rifle is. Some bloody great north american moose/bear cannon he's carrying. All the way its Blah Blah Blah Blah... no-one else got a word in edgewise. When we arrive my mates pair off and one of them looks at me with a laugh and says 'you go with Rocky Mike..' Oh shit!! But Rocky quickly tells me don't worry, just follow him and do what he does and it'll be great. Right..

We head across the farm - hilly country with bush patches - Rocky still telling me and the world how good he is. We walk up to a brow and there on the opposite hill face is a mob of 6 goats. Ok he yells and gets ready to bomb them freehand at 180 yards with this giant cannon. Meanwhile I notice there's a fence 15m away, sneak down to it, and rest my accurate little 243 Remmy 600 on top of a post. Old man was a divisional shooting champion in the war (occasionally called up for sniper duties in the desert) and he always taught me to find every advantage when shooting at something - sitting, lying down, a tree, rest on a log, whatever, so you get the animal. Apparently Rocky had a different school..

As I look through my scope he opens up a barrage on the opposite hill face. Tremendous racket. Boomityboomboombamboom. Into it. And through the scope I can see dirt flying everywhere - divots flying up from the loose dirt. Looks like a bomb site. I take time, empty the mag, and shoot 5 of the milling goats - one in the head and 4 in the neck. No misses - its a good fence post. And finally in the chaos old Rocky hit one - blew it half apart with his big caliber. We finish shooting and walk down valley and up to the shooting zone. Looks bit like a ploughed field - no idea how many rounds he put into it. He looks at my 5 - all neck and head shots as requested, and looks at his. Carnage. Not a word. Then he notices one I've shot is half grown and he says - 'you didn't have to shoot the young one.' Didn't bother to answer. Bit later the tractor and trailer arrives and the boys pick up the carcases - his one pretty useless. Mate asks how did old Rocky go - so I told him!! Very quietly.

Trip home was funny - no-one said much - Rocky's a big bugger. But everyone's chuckling and sniggering. And old Rocky never said a word. Didn't have to. Never saw him again... The world's worst shot!!

Some great stories and pics guys , really enjoyed reading them all , the old hunting books pictures and stories really got me me going and I still have them and still flic’ through them from time to time .
They were tough men , especially the hunters in the 20 and 30’s , Jim Muir must of been one tough fella , you look at those old photos of some of the first Wapiti to be shot , the gear they had ,the basic supplies they took , very basic maps etc. and then how they carried those massive heads back out … incredible.
Mind you I think people of that generation were tougher more resilient bunch than today .
I have met a few ex cullers over the years , Bill Nikyl springs to mind as a heck of a nice guy and was well respected , some of you will be lucky enough to own one of his knives as well , I’m sure he told me once he still has his BSA .222 original condition except it’s on its 3rd barrel and second stock hahaha..

@Riverflat