Contributors to this thread:
Clutch and I are returning from an Epic Water Buffalo hunt down under. It was everything we thought and then some!
After two full days of travel we were met by Mick Baker in MacAuther River, not much more than a runway and a portable building. 3 1/2 hours of dusty roads and potholes await!
Arriving in camp we find a simple but comfortable set-up, more concerned with the details of the hunt.
Clutch and I both used Badlands Terraglides to travel with, as I get my bow out I notice both zipper tabs are broken on mine. I'm a bit peeved, but upon pulling my bow out only to see my sting has been CUT do I really blow my gasket!
Fortunately my guide Tyler Chubb has an 80# Bow set-up with heavy arrows and Buffalo killing Broadheads! Draw length is an inch too long but I adjust my anchor and am on target in two shots. We tour the "rest of camp" and settle down for dinner, hunt begins in the morning!!!
Airline should be getting you a new bow for that one! Good luck. Hopefully the bad luck is over with.
Morning comes, it's a bit hazy and the winds are light/variable not ideal stalking conditions. We parallel the river running behind camp, dropping in and out of it as most of it has gone dry. After and hour or hiking we spot a good Bull in the mid 80's (score is lengths and base circumstances) after an hour of sitting on him the wind gives us away. We get back to camp around 11am, Clutch saw many Buffalo but no shots. We will try again in the afternoon.
We head out just before 4 for the afternoon hunt, driving a bit from camp and walking back to get the now present wind right. We see many more animals, Bulls, Cows and Calfs but no shots. Clutch on the other hand strikes!!!!
Next day finds me in familiar surroundings, we are hunting a swamp!!! We find a really nice Bull in a wallow, unfortunately he has several "friends" with him moving in on him, I am able to avoid being picked up by them, at 71 yards another young bull we never saw picks us up. He runs into us at 27 yards, moving downwind and busting out taking all the Bulls with him. They stop at 120 yards and look back, teasing us!
Back to the swamp in the morning, on the way in we pass up shooting a "Brumby" as I really want to get onboard with a Bull. Late in the morning we find ourselves in a herd of appropriately 80 Buffalo. The wind swirls and Buffalo begin to run around us, not sure where we are, we carefully backout, returning to the swamp where a big pig becomes my first causality!
Back at camp Clutch tells me he had a Bull at 30 yards, facing him, not knowing where to put the arrow he passes the shot. Mick tells us frontal is great, there are two rings on a Buffs neck, center between the rings and release! I'll take this knowledge and use it later in the hunt.
The next morning Tyler and I hike an entire Basin, we see several Buffalo, couple shooters but nothing we can stalk. Back in camp Clutches story is the same, Mick suggests we go for a swim. Since there are Crocs in the hole behind the camp we will drive to a hot spring, put the bows in just in case.
Damn! Keep it coming! Great hog, what a toad! Awesome bull as well! 12 months for me and I can't wait! Good luck,
Scar.
This is looking like a great hunt. Awesome pig.
Two young lads out on an adventure. Stuff is gonna die! Bring it!
Congrats Clutch ! Keep after 'em BPM !
This is wicked good....!!
I wonder if it was TSA or an airline employee that cut your string. So courageous...
Great stuff! As I discovered in Oz, the place is crawling with anti-hunter "greenies". Good thing your outfitter was prepared!
Great post Tim! Look forward to reading the rest. Bad deal about your bow!
Cool Tim! well, the hunting part.... waiting on the rest! Congrats to Clutch! Guess we'll hear that story too? =D
I would have to say something like that with your bow and others just recently posted here would have to be along with the supervisor or some management "approval" in looking the other way. TSA management, for what it is.... not known for looking the other way, they see themselves as a semi-military unit in many ways and a good deal of ex-military personnel as supervisors, managers, etc. Their culture is not "look the other way..." Airline baggage employee..... not so much.....
Very few places in an airport these days that does not have surveillance. I know TSA has surveillance at all points they handle luggage. I believe most airlines would as well. Surveillance is cheap insurance. The airline should be able to pull surveillance tapes in the time your bags went through and see exactly what happened. IF the management is not complicit in some way.
For what good it does.... I would not even approach the airline with a damage claim..... I would be talking about filing charges of vandalism and criminal property damage, as the cut string can be verified and proven easily. This stuff just pizzes me off.....
Anyway.... ON WITH THE SHOW!
Awesome thread...in for this. Please keep the pics and stories coming. We leave in 16 days to the same spot.
what an awesome adventure!
Coonasses wrecking shop. Keep it comin'.
Sorry guys lost WiFi and then a 14 hour flight, have a brief layover in L.A. As we are headed to the swimming hole we spot a few Bulls, one is by himself, in a good spot and a shooter. Tyler and I bail out of the truck barefoot and begin to make a large loop around him, getting the wind in our favor. The Bull is up feeding and we run out of cover at 50 yards, a bit further then I'd like to shoot. The Bull turns and is feeding towards us, he's at 30 yards now I just need him to turn. I swear these animals have a sixth sense as he picks up his head and begins to walk away. Tyler is calling out ranges and I'm doing my best get the unfamiliar pins and draw-length to work in sync. I release at 46 yards the Bull takes one step before the arrow arrives, he's hit but a bit back. He turns into heavy cover and I follow him in, another shot and he's down! Barefoot Bull!!
We take pics and process the Bull and still make it to the swimming hole. It's a couple of springs coming off a cliff one hot and one cold, makes perfect temp swimming water!
We hunt that afternoon but it only results in 2 blown stalks. We did grind up some tasty Buff though.
The bow vandalism is pure BS. Great thread so far!
Congrats Tim ! That swimming hole looks good, as does the ground buff. Did you get to bring a lot of the meat back ?
Great hunt....congrats to both of you guys!
awesome story and pics... are you saying your bow was sabotaged? WOW!
Really cool adventure. Thanks for sharing. Congrats to you and Bert.
Tim you really know how to "turn chicken sh-t into chicken salad'.
When you and Bert get together, something's gonna die !!
awesome thread and hunt!!!! great animals!!!!
I've been waiting for this!! Awesome!!!!
Great trip. Who is the outfitter, what is the cost, and do you highly recommend them? I want to go!!!
Yes I believe but of coarse can't prove bowstring was cut on purpose. Mick Baker and Tyler Chubb were outfitters, Pat did a live hunt with them years ago. I highly recommend it, you can pm for contact. More story and pics coming. Unfortunately no meat came come home.
Tim n I had a great experience in the outback hunting the buffs--beside the long plane flights, it couldn't have gone any better--we saw several good buffs and managed to stalk on several ones-- the outfitter Mick and Tyler worked hard to make this a successful hunt--
Next morning Tyler and I headed to an area we hadn't hunted before, it was a bit foggy and walking in we bumped a couple cows, calves and small Bulls. As the sun burned through the fog it got quite warm, we headed to the nearest water hoping to catch a big lone Bull. Nothing on the water but we cut a very fresh track of a big guy, as we followed it he was Nice enough to leave dung piles making the tracking job easier. We walked several miles never catching up to the Bull and just when we let our guard down, we bumped him. We hit the deck hoping he didn't get a good look at us, as Luck would have it he circled into some thick brush on our left. I remember him coming out of the brush head-on, Tyler whispered 31 yards and I let the shaft fly. The arrow completely disappeared into him, Tyler didn't see the shot and asked if a shot from the .416 was necessary, the Bull was stumbling before I could answer. We were able to call Bert and Mick on the radio for a pickup.
Nice write-up! Great hunt!! I am blessed to call Tyler a great friend of mine. He's originally from here in Manitoba and a class A hunter. Dang woman lured him over there ;) Just kidding, she even ice fishes pretty good for an australian girl. He'll def treat you right though!
Awesome hunt guys...congrats!
Great hunt and awesome pictures! Congratulations.
Next day I went in search of the Brumby I'd passed on earlier in the hunt no luck on him but had a couple more encounters with Bulls in the fog.
That afternoon I took off the hunt and decided to fish for Barramundi I was told not to get to close to the water, Crocs. I saw a few and there were constant reminders they were present.
The last fishing hole I found was larger than the rest, I would see a big set of eyes every once in a while shadowing me. I rounded a bend and chills went thru my spine, was this remains or a forgotten item?
Thanks guys for all the positive responses, Good Luck to everyone this Fall may your Arrows fly True!
Awesome write up BPM, congrats to you and clutch on great bulls. Sorry to hear what happened to your bow but I love your attitude by not allowing it to get you down and prevailing with a bow you weren't familiar with. Im left handed but if a right hand bow is all that was available to me I would have at least tried it, maybe even tried to see if the string would have fit, anything to not let it ruin that hunt. good job on you.
Cool thread. Looks like you guys had a great time. Grats. GJ on getting it done even though you got hosed. Friggen cowards would never do that to your face in a million years.
Glad you both had a great hunt!
great job tim and clutch. living the dream man.
Badass hunt. Thanks for posting. Hunt
That buff in the fog looks like a good one Tim, thanks for leaving him for us...we'll see if one of us can stick him. Are there many "brombies" there? How about scrub bulls?
Few Brombies but plenty of scrub Bulls. Yes he was a nineties Bull, no worries!
Congrats! What an adventure....thanks for sharing.!
Congrats on a great hunt and thanks for taking us along!
Awesome hunt and story telling, congrats
Outstanding story. Congrats to both of you!
Awesome adventure. Would you mind sharing what your flight itinerary looked like? I'm going over in 2 years and am curious what your travel time was.
Congrats boys...and thanks for bringing us the story and pics!
Congrats looks very cool!
Congrats to both of you on a great adventure!
Curious as to why you went to the hot springs to bathe? Just not any crocs there, or is the water temperature too warm for them?
When two coonasses go on a hunt, stuff dies. It's going to happen. Congrats on a great adventure!
Thanks Again guys. T-Roy yeah the springs we're in the hills, crocs couldn't get up there, it was also beautiful Chrystal clear spring water!!
Awesome hunt BPM! These adventures are one of the best parts of Bowsite. Congrats on the great animals and thanks for sharing it with us!