14 Attachment(s)
2015 NT Buffalo & Other Stuff
2015 Northern Territory Hunt
It couldn’t have come around soon enough and I was looking forward to 9 days away, superb weather and relaxed lifestyle that’s on offer in this location. I’ve been to the same cattle station many times and it’s never a dull moment, you’re just not sure what’s going to happen next.
As usual there’s a heap of paperwork to complete especially if you are taking your own firearms and ammo to Aussie, we have it easy in NZ.
I flew Qantas from Auckland to Sydney and cleared thru Aussie Customs, they were great to deal with as I had my ducks lined up paperwork wise, rechecked my gear and headed for the Qantas lounge for a 4 hour feed and lubrication while waiting for the connecting flight to Darwin. I arrived in Darwin at around midnight and it was still warm as buggery, a short taxi ride to my central city hotel for a good night sleep.
Saturday was spent buying a few box’s of ammo to supplement the 5kg’s that I brought with me, the local hunting and fishing shop is a few hundred meters from where I was staying and then it was in to have a haircut and a few cold ones then ready for an afternoon nana nap. My tummy was starting to rumble so thought the best option was a giant T bone steak and salad at a nearby pub, walked there in the heat of the late afternoon only to be told that the restaurant doesn’t open till 6pm.
I spent the next 1.5hrs having a few Heinekens and playing the pokies picking up $1,400.00, My steak arrived at that time so had to quit playing, I reckon if it hadn’t I’d be down the gurgler $50 so all in all I was off to a flying start without pulling the trigger.
After Sunday morning breakfast I sent a text to Matt to see what time he was picking us up, he came back with 12 noon so time enough for a walk around town and checking out Matt turns up, we get loaded up and were on our way South towards Katherine, the trip takes around 5 hours and it’s only the last 1.5hrs which is off the tarseal. We arrived at the station just before sunset, enough time to unpack and make sure the 375 H & H was spitting lead in a straight line. Bugger me days if the first killing opportunity turned up to watch me shooting the arse end out of an empty beer box target, a cunning dog, he didn’t give me enough time to put the crosshairs on him, I was just too slow to react. I really wanted to see how a dog would handle a well placed 375 round.
That night over dinner and a few cold ones it was decided what areas we would motor to looking for a decent Buff. Matt had consulted the cocky to make sure they weren’t planning to be in those areas but generally you could go anywhere and shoot anything, for some reason he had it in for the dogs which became apparent later on.
Next morning we were up at sparrows fart, good hearty breakfast and into it.
Attachment 39863
The cattle station is spread over 500,000 acres (small in the NT) some are well over 1 mil. One fenced paddock on this station is 250,000 acres. We loaded up the Landcruiser and headed off for a look see. We sussed out a few buffalo, probably 30 or more but were either too smaller heads or cow’s, no horse’s, donkeys or pigs seen either so began to wonder if my 14 hundy collect at the pokies was going to be my highlight of the trip.
Mike decided to take a detour and head to a dam (waterhole) that he had sussed out a few weeks before, probably took us a good hour to get there, we knew there were Buffs nearby as we’d come across large piles of crap on the track. About 200 yards from the dam we spied a Buff in the bush browsing contently unaware that he warranted closer inspection. It was decided to park up and sneak up and have a closer look, we got within 45 yards a sat behind a termite mound contemplating what to do.
There were only a few spindly trees and termite mounds between the buff and us, not much cover if he packed a shitty. He knew we were there, occasionally looking at us while he was browsing. Mike suggested that we pass on shooting him as he was under 100 inches but I was undecided, do I or don’t I, if I pass do I come across one that’s bigger over the next 5 days???, he looked bloody big to me, we pondered this scenario for 10 mins or so. Anyway the Bull made his mind up that he wanted to have a drink at the dam so we just followed him down there, it wasn’t until he was having a drink that we got a different angle on him and he looked bigger. I had been told a few years back that if their horns were two ear widths wide they were definitely worth a closer look, this bugger was worth it.
It didn’t take long for me to get ready with a nearby tree as support and a round up the spout with Mike saying whatever you do don’t shoot him while he is in the water and don’t stop shooting until the mag is empty or he drops like a sack of spuds. Mike did a couple of cow calls to get his attention, he turned and took a couple of paces and when he had planted all four feet on dry land (40 yards away) Kaboom a 300 grain Nossler Partition hit him in the boiler room, he quartered away and the only decent shot I had was to smack him in the left rear hip, number 2 was on it’s way which made him turn broadside on, my 3rd shot was thru the neck and he dropped like a sack of spuds, Fcuk I was over the moon, we both approached from the rear and circled around to the front but he was out for the count. He was a big knarly old bull and well worth the lead.
Attachment 39864
Attachment 39865
Attachment 39866
Attachment 39867
Attachment 39868
Mike went back to fetch the cruiser while I just sat there taking it all in. A few photo’s later and a lot of hard work getting him setup for some pictures then it was of with his head, not an easy task but Mike made it look easy. We backed up the cruiser and it took the two of us to hoist the head into the back of the wagon. We had a bit of a cleanup and cold drink before wrapping a wire rope around one of his back legs and towing him a little further into the bush away from the dam.
We were back at camp by 1.30pm for lunch and Mike began stripping and boiling the head, the boiling took 3 – 4 days.
Later that afternoon we went looking for some horse’s and donkeys, this property has a shitload of them but with the super long grass to navigate and peer thru it was hard going, we came back to camp on night fall without seeing any. After a well earned meal and a few beers it was time to hit the sack, pretty well buggered, the heat is energy sapping but not unbearable.
Up early Tuesday morning and the plan after breaky was to slay anything on 4 legs that weren’t cattle, Gps the location of said slayed beasts and let Matt know where they were and he would come and pick them up with the cruiser fitted with the winch. All morning nothing seen, even going to the same areas that we had slayed heaps in previous years, just too hard with the long grass and since they hadn’t done a lot of dry season burn off it proved hard going. We went to one spot where there were normally a heap of pigs but nothing seen.
It wasn’t long before someone made a decision to chuck a match to the long grass, I was unaware until I heard loud crackling like gun fire and turned around to see flames 20 feet high and heading my way. The fire was heading towards were had parked the wagon so there was real urgency in getting out of the way, we were miles away from camp. I had seen controlled burn offs on this property before but certainly nothing like this.
Attachment 39869
We headed to another spot about 10km along the boundary fence line were horse # 1 copped a 300 grainer, we were on the board but alas that was the only horse seen that day, slim pickings. We headed back to where the smoke was to survey the fire, she had taken a hold alright so high tailed it back to camp, that night 20km away you could see this bright orange glow on the horizon, I said to the guys that if this was NZ it would be front page news and on the 6pm national news. Two days later this fire had covered 25km and was still going, we had Gps’d it’s location, fcuk knows how many acres she had covered.
Next morning we were up and early and went to the Western end of the property, approx. 20 – 30 kms drive, got to the boundary fence and thought we would have a look over the fence line, found a gate and drove for about an hour until we came across a nice horse/donkey area with plenty of sign. We came across 3 donkey’s and about a dozen horse’s standing in the shade of a large tree, they never gave us a chance and bolted, we spent an hour or two trying to track them down but ended up empty handed so it was off to another location.
This other location proved easier going and wasn’t long before 5 horses were located and dispatched with the 375, we went around and towed them into a heap and gps’d the location for Matt to pick them up later. It was then back to base for lunch and a rest before heading out in the opposite direction where two more horse’s were dispatched.
Attachment 39870
Attachment 39871
Next day were away early for the long drive to the Northern boundary bordering the Daly River, it was a bit tricky as the wet season had washed out a few creek crossings but we eventually made it to a nice area with plenty of Buffalo, saw about 20 odd horse’s but they were a bit skittery, probably been shot at and annoyed before. I managed to drill 5 of them, you didn’t need to be a skilled marksman but shot placement is required. I like the ones that stand looking straight at you from 80 to 100 yards away and one 300 grainer thru the front of the chest has them spread eagled and out for the count.
We decided to head back to camp as we needed the other wagon to pick them up. I returned with Matt just on dark to pick them up, a couple of hundred yards from them I managed to drop two more horse’s. It took two trips over two days to pick up our cargo and transport them back to predetermined bait stations where they are used to attract the pigs.
Attachment 39872
I spent my last day knocking over another 5 horse’s and in the afternoon back to the area by the Northern boundary where the fire was heading. The fire had spread 25km's and we came across a heap of animals wandering around the burnt out areas.
Attachment 39873
That night was spent spotlighting for pigs and dogs to 2am. Had a well earned sleep in on Saturday morning, a quick pack and 2 hour drive into Katherine to catch the bus back to Darwin and my flight home.
Attachment 39874
Attachment 39875
The Buff skull after 4 days boiling and a couple of waterblasts.
All in all a very successful hunt but I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t bagged a dog, donkey and pig on this trip. On previous trips I had knocked over huge numbers of them but put it down to the super long grass and not risking bending something if we had driven thru the stuff.
Bringing the Buff head back in my luggage cost an additional $500.00 as excess baggage fees kicked in, all 25kg’s of him. The look on the MAF inspectors face at Auckland Airport when they wanted to inspect him was hilarious, of all things an ant had hitched a ride in the skull and as I unpacked him this ant crawled across the top of his skull, the inspector was starting to moan about it when I smudged the little critter with my thumb and I said what ant. Christ they have no sense of humour. They had the skull for a week zapping it with some toxic shit, I have him sitting on our meeting room table at work while I figure out where he’ll hang at home.
Apologies for the long trip report, It's taken two weeks to compile in amongst my other travels and work commitments. There was another fire lit, it was Biggggggg but didn’t want to bore you with the details. Both of them are still burning.
Another story or two will be posted over the next few weeks, 1 hunting and 1 not.
Cheers – 300winmag
