Ironbark Outfitters 2023 buff hunts
Hogs
Mick the mechanic!! ??
Mick the mechanic!! ??
Tyler's Link
G’day bowsiters! We’re back in action for another season chasing buffs with the bows. I left home on the sunshine coast on Wednesday afternoon to start the 3000km drive to camp. I’ve got a couple new additions a newer land cruiser upgraded from my 2012 model to a 2019 model and a new trailer the I picked up cheap from an auction and did some mods to to suit my needs. I’ve also got Starlink in camp as I’m a new father as of November to my son Austen and Daughter Ava I felt internet was necessary to be able to keep in contact with my family while I’m here for a few months. With the internet I will probably provide daily updates here throughout the season.
The trip up went fairly well with a stop to see good friends where I gifted a buffalo skull to their son who is 5 and has shown interest in fishing and hunting. He was very excited and had lots of questions! I carried on to mount isa where Mick flew in and we carried on toward camp. We overnighted at the Barkly homestead and made the fourth and final day drive to camp today. 1 km from camp the bolt that holds the spring pack together broke which was a drama but an hour later we had things back in place and made it to camp to get partially set up.
We saw about 50 buff on the way in. as it was mid day this was pretty good numbers. 4 were biiiig shooter bulls which was good to see we saw a few scrub bulls as well. Despite apparently having a big wet season up here and starting my season a month earlier then normal there is a good amount of water around but nowhere near what I was hoping/expecting to see. Conditions are much better than last year which is a welcome change!
Stay tuned!
This is all very cool Tyler! Thanks for the thread and the updates, greatly looking forward to the season!
Very much looking forward to this thread again this year, Tyler!
Black headed python.
Black headed python.
Don’t let the snakes get Mick before I get there in a couple months! He owes me a camel.
—jim
Good luck on your season T-dog! Hope all is well with you and the family
Best of luck to everyone, especially Alan and Kurt. Sure wish we could have made that last flight work out but just wasn't meant to be this year.
Good luck Tyler! Always enjoy following along on your adventures.....................just do me a favor: how ‘bout showing MORE buff and LESS snakes! (had a bad experience once! ;-)
Tyler, do you hunt private Stations or Arnhem land?
Good luck this season
Thanks for taking the time to post you hunts
Looking foreword to following along
Cheers Dino and Troy!
Will try and keep Mick alive for you Jim but you know what he’s like!
Thanks Evan we’re all doing well will catch up with you later this year in Manitoba.
Thanks Jeff. We will see you down here one of these days!
Beendare I hunt private aboriginal land
Had a bit of a scout around have seen about 10 big shooter bulls and plenty cows calves and young bulls. There is lots of water around and the grass is tall. The buff are spread out and harder to see due to this. Harder to find but better for hunting overall. Here is a mob of cows that stuck around for a photo yesterday I felt obligated to post this pic to keep rutnut from having snake nightmares
They are either daring you to come join them for a drink or you owe them money!
Oooooh internet yet…this will be a top thread!
Roadside bull
Roadside bull
Day 1 Well a bit of dramas hunters were delayed and missed their flight to camp. Also some bags were missing. Was able to rebook them for the following day and they made that flight but we are short 1 bow so my trusty old Hoyt is in action. Saw about 60 buffalo on the way to the airport this morning a couple good bulls. A nice old broomed bull stood roadside on the way home for the guys to have a look at about a 88 incher. We also had a good boar cross the road in front of us! The afternoon hunt we drove 200M from camp and there was a 90 inch bull walking down the road into the wind away from us. Mick and Jimmy set off after him and Whit and I made new plans. Turns out they couldn’t catch the bull as he never broke stride for 4kms. Whit and I had a good close encounter with some cows one which was a shooter but she stayed at the back of the mob while others Fed past at 7 yards
The closest buff. A young cow and calf
The closest buff. A young cow and calf
Day 2 mick and Jimmy stalked a scrubber first up as Jimmy is using my bow he had 3 failed attempts at drawing it back (too heavy) before the bull busted him at 22 yards. They walked a further km or so and caught a good buff leaving the plains headed into the river. The caught him perfectly in the drainage , crept over the top and Jimmy made a good shot as the bull stopped at 20 yards to rub a tree. The bull went 60 yards and tipped over! Bull should go about 90 with a fair bit of age and character!
Whit and I were working in on a big bull 95 incher or so but ended up surrounded by buff and couldn’t pursue him without getting busted. As we waited things out the scrubber that Jimmy had stalked previous had crossed the river and stopped to rest under a tree. Whit and I made a stalk on him but with noisy cane grass it was a challenge to get into him. We got to 55 yards before we got busted. After that we went into pursuit of our original target and actually located him a while later. He was with a half dozen cows feeding in some heavy cover. We got in reasonably tight to the group and had good shot opportunities at all the buff in the mob apart from the big bull. He eventually showed himself at 34 yards but busted us as we were coming to draw.
The afternoon we had a close encounter with a low 90s bull on a floodplain he came into 42 yards but only offered frontal shots which I wasn’t keen on. We saw another big old shooter bull with a broken horn missing about 1/3 off one side.
Damn Tyler, Every time I read one of your write-ups, I want to start packing & book a flight. The last time I hunted with you, I told you I'de be back in five years. Well, that's only four years from now. So, please keep it going & I'll try to stay alive! Looking forward to future write-ups. Kerry will be with you in a few weeks. Don't let the pigs get him like last time. Good hunting....
Good start, Tyler! Keep the updates (and pics) coming!!
You are going to spoil us with daily updates....so please continue to do so!!
What changed between the two stalks that enabled Jimmy to draw your bow? Great picture/story. Keep them coming.....
Are you near Jabiru? I’m here for work for a few weeks. Hopefully get out and see some sights…
I’ll keep your seat warm in the cruiser Ken!
Not too sure what changed medicineman apparently he struggled once but I didn’t see it and got it back the second time. I guess a bit more of an adrenaline rush with the buff and maybe the warm up attempts on the scrub bull helped.
No I’m not close to jabiru. Beautiful area there!
Day 3 was more or less a write off. Jimmys bows showed up at the airport so we hunted our way there. We had one stalk on an old cull bull but didn’t get inside of 45 yards. We got the bags had a meal at heartbreak went for a swim and hunted our way home. We stalked a good 96-98 inch bull we got in position and a younger bull split the mob of cows pushing them right to us there was an old cow with broken horns in the lead and they were going to walk overtop of us so I told Whit to shoot her as it was all going to go to shit in a few seconds anyway. The cow stopped broadside at 15 yards and the next 3 buff were walking right to us. Whit drew and shot the cow quick but hit her too far back behind the crease of the shoulder about mid way up the arrow nearly went all the way through. I stepped up the back to shoot her as it was a gut shot but she was shielded by others she walked behind a clump of bush with 2 other buff I saw the other 2 come out and she didn’t re appear. All the buff moved off I never saw her again. We went for a look and couldn’t turn up anything. Not sure what happened.
Failed to mention that a snake may or may not have come down the falls hitting Whit on the shoulder as he was enjoying the warm water lol
Failed to mention that a snake may or may not have come down the falls hitting Whit on the shoulder as he was enjoying the warm water lol
Beautiful spot….until you said snake hahahah
Thanks for sharing!! Love the threads from 1/2 way around the world.
Very kool----->
Thanks for sharing,
Robb
A cow at 19 that gave us every shot opportunity in the book
A cow at 19 that gave us every shot opportunity in the book
Hahaha yeah that was a first time in 20 years!
Today was a bit slow. We did a lot of walking. Whit and I found all the wrong buffalo in all the right places. Small bulls and cows in great spots we stalked a few into 20 yards with ease for fun. We had a shot on a huge boar at 39 yards but the shot was too low and hit the mud. Mock and jimmys day was a bit similar. They passed a 90 inch bull saw several cows small bulls etc. after the evening hunt we saw a thumper driving back to camp just before dark a solid 105 model but with no wind and 10 mins of light left we left him be.
Great pics and commentary Tyler! And THANKS for NO snake pics this time! ;-)
Been a whirlwind here. Sort of lost track what happened in the past 48 hours. Long story short whit and I were struggling with some good walks in good areas just not turning up the shooter buffs. Meanwhile Jimmy and Mick just keep stacking them up. Jimmy had a younger bull come in and he just couldn’t help himself. He’s not a bad bull scoring 82 and to take his second buff cleanly with his bow he was stoked! Whit and I had a good evening hunt and it seemed our luck changed too much we saw about 100 buff and a couple good bulls among them but couldn’t do much with that many animals.
Today whit and I stalked a bomber bull on a waterhole we got into 70 yards but were only 20 yards off his wallow. He came right into 22 yards and knew something wasn’t right and kept his head low offering no frontal shot window. Bull would have been 96 or so. Meanwhile mick and Jimmy had killed jimmys 3rd bull a beauty with long points I estimate will go 92-94. It was another clean archery kill with a perfectly placed frontal shot at about 30 yards. We had a swim mid day and confirmed the snake that is living there is indeed an inland taipan one not to mess with. He was curled up in the grass near the falls. I’ll take my GoPro next time to get a pic for you rut nut.
Afternoon hunt we did a drive and saw about 200 buff some good ones in the wrong spots finally on the way back to camp I spied a big bull doing the right thing. Whit and I used a dry winding creek for cover. I’ve killed 4 bulls from this creek. A long long stalk finally had as us at 29 yards and whit made a good shot. I expect the bull to go 98-100
Jimmys 82
Jimmys 82
Jimmys 94
Jimmys 94
Whit’s 100? Will tape em
All tomorrow
Whit’s 100? Will tape em
All tomorrow
Congrats to the hunters. Very exciting
Tyler, Do you think that it was a Fierce snake that hit Whit on the shoulder? Holy crap!! That's reportedly the most venomous terrestrial snake in the world!!
Not 100% sure what it was will try and get a photo of it this week if it’s still hanging around. The final day was a ripper. Whit and I got into a good bull a lengthy stalk went south and we were busted at 45 yards. We were in heavy cover and the bull came in to check us out. At 12 yards he offers no shot and spooks. I called at him and he stopped and came rushing back into 24 Whit made no mistake and sent one down his throat the bull made a fast 60 yard sprint spun out and was dead in 3 seconds. We hit a billabong for some Barra action swing both boys hook into a Barra each. Unfortunately Whit pulled hooks on a big 15lber. We then cruised into heartbreak for the night shooting a good boar on the way in with whits last arrow. His shot was a bit low it was likely fatal but the boar wasn’t going to give up the ghost so Jimmy put the finisher in him for a joint kill to wrap up their trip.
Final tally Buff went 98,92,91,90,82. 1 boar, 1 dog and a Barra each. Whit also shot a young scrubber doing me a favour of providing meat for the trad owners. Was a great week
Figured rutnut might like to see this greater black whip snake. Spotted on a cool morning from the cruiser he was trying to warm up in the sun
Sounds like a great week, Tyler. What type of call did you make to bring that bull in? Are you mimicking another bull?
Great week! Sounds like some great shots made.
LOL Tyler! : ) Sounds like you had a very eventful week!
Always thought Australia would be a cool place to visit..............................until I found out about all the "nasties" you have there! ;-)
Any handsome Degner men in camp?
Yes it was a great week Troy. The buffalo all make the same sound bulls cows calves all sound alike so I just made a few mews.
Yes Beav I think it was the best shooting I’ve whitnessed in my 7 years here.
Hahah rutnut I find the years where there is more water around I see more snakes. This year is one of those years seeing 1 per day on average. Last year being dry I didn’t see a snake all season. Yea a few other nasties but no different to hunting in Canada with wolves bears mountain lions etc IMO.
There is a degner in camp but he may be past prime. Will see how well his legs work and if his nerves and shooting ability are up to scratch.
The bull that Dale almost connected on. A heavy herd bull with tight curl
The bull that Dale almost connected on. A heavy herd bull with tight curl
The first afternoon we just went for a short drive we ended up seeing about 20 buff 2 shooter bulls but we were not able to make a play on either bull. We also saw a couple dingos but they were a bit skittish!
Day 1 Dale and I teamed up and went for a stroll in some great country but the cover was a lot more dense than normal. We turned up a good scrub bull but he had a broken horn and ended up getting our wind. We got onto some buff but it was all cows and youngsters. We did sneak into 9 yards of a cow for a bit of fun.
Mick and Rick saw 6 buff but the biggest bull was about 80 so they passed him up despite being 25 yards away.
The afternoon hunt Dale and I worked into a swamp we got into a mob of cows and sat off them 80 yards in hopes a bull would turn up and he did. We didn’t have any safe bet options to close the gap so we waited it out. About an hour later the buff seemed to make a move travelling down a wall towards a bigger water hole. We got into position the lead cow and 4 younger ones came past at 30 yards. The bull was next as he approached and Dale got ready to draw the lead cow cut our ground scent and erupted. The bull was about 2 steps from being broadside and giving Dale a good shot. Very close but no cigar.
Rick and mick stalked a couple bulls they got into 34 yards of a good bull but he never offered a good shot opportunity.
Overall a good first day
That heavy bull just looks cool!
I’ll take the 4 legged “nasties” over the slithering kind any day! No need to check your sleeping bag for them............. ;-)
Sounds awesome mate! Keep the updates coming. That looks like a great bull Dale was close to connecting on… That pic of Dale by the water along the wall…Mick took a pic of me there in 2017, he said less than 25 white dudes had likely ever been there, super remote and super cool!!!
Day 2 Dale and I got into a small group of buff maybe 12 animals the bull was a thumper at 50 inches wide with lots of brooming he would have scored about 96 with tons of mass and character. We sat off the group until finally they came to us we were well setup. Unfortunately the lead cow came right to us and I had to stop her at about 15 feet as she had a young calf and didn’t want to get into any trouble. The bull was at 42 yards at this point but never gave us a shot. We continued our walk to a waterhole but only spotted cows. Just past the waterhole we got onto another good bull a quick stalk put us into 32 yards but the bull had picked us up. We were in good cover and shade and kneeling. He got curious and came into 28 offering a good frontal shot opportunity unfortunately Dale hit about 4 inches too low and we didn’t recover the bull.
Rick and mick had a good stalk on a huge scrubber and came up with the goods 30 yard quartering away shot did the trick. The bull walked off a bit and watched the back trail very angrily. He fell over several times and after 45 mins of waiting Rick said for mick to just put him Out of his misery.
The afternoon hunt didn’t turn up many buff but Dale got a shot off on a wild dog it was 26 yards and all we could see was neck and head. He made a good shot for what was offered but we didn’t recover the dog either.
Day 3 Dale and I hunted a new area we first spotted a cow buff we thought she was along and could hear some scrub cattle talking so we decided to check out the scrubbers. Which our wind would blow out the cow buff. Of course as she got our wind a shooter bull had appeared and quickly disappeared as well. We spotted the scrubbers and got into position to intercept their travels. Their travel stoped and forced us to move in. We got in fairly tight 50-80 yards and we’re trying to pick a bull out of the mob of 8 or so animals. As we were waiting about 30 mins had gone by when a great buff appeared headed our way right through the middle of the cattle. We switched gears. The bull passed behind a large tree and termite mound Dale drew I gave him the yardage 13 yards and he shot! Unfortunately he has a slider sight which I can’t stand for buffalo hunting he forgot he had it set on 30 and didn’t have time to adjust it anyway. His shot was 4 inches high and into the shoulder blade. I let the .375 eat when the bull stopped at 80 yards or so he took off and I whacked 2 more in him on the run. It pulled him up 150 yards away and we were able to get a final arrow in him.
Rick and mick had a stalk on a good bull with a herd of cows the cows busted them but didn’t really spook they just moved off leaving the bull behind the moved into 35 yards and Rick made a good shot he hit a bit low but still enough to take out the heart and tip the bull over within 90 yards!
Great stuff Tyler! Keep the pics and stories coming.
Spectacular hunting over there for sure… I need to get serious about a trip to do this!
Day 4 Dale and I hit the same area as we didn’t really hunt the whole spot. We crossed the river and got into a scrub bull. He bedded in the open and was 50 yards from cover so we decided to hang back. He got up and started moving and we tried to intercept but he was moving too fast we closed into 43 yards and got busted. Dale managed to draw and shoot but the bull moved at the shot and the arrow hit a branch and it was a clean miss. We saw plenty of other buff but no shooter bulls.
Rick and mick passed on a 90 inch broomed bull looking for a high 90s+ they saw about 30 pigs but unfortunately it was when they were driving so they were on the move! Later in the morning they came upon some brumbys. The brumbys busted them but as they do they ran in for a closer look! With not enough time to range Rick guessed 40 and shot and made a perfect double lung. ( I won’t be posting a photo)
Dale and I got onto 2 scrub bulls this afternoon they seemed very cagey and the target bull got a whiff of us at 90 yards he was a cool bull with one white upturned and one downturned horn with a beautiful red skin he was a pearler!!
Fantastic updates, thanks for that Tyler.
Please stop posting or I may have to book a hunt.
Seriously, thanks for sharing. Looks like a really cool adventure.
Day 5 we decided to do a full day out from camp we had lunch packed and we set off. We first passed a mid 90s bull on the plains that would have been a waste of time. Further up the track a lone bull stood on the road mick and Dale had a go on him but he knew the game and they were unable to close the gap. We carried on to piggy piggy where my other camp is and came across a good low 90 bull with half a dozen cows Dale and I did a loop around a rocky ridge to get the wind right. We came back over the top and the buff were now fixated on the cruiser. We stalked easily into 34 yards the bull stood in some shade making it hard to see where to place the arrow. The bull started to step into the sun Dale started to draw but the bull just moved right through the lane then turned away giving us no shot. We carried on driving to explore some new country but only 2 miles down the road I spotted another heavy old bull. Dale and I stalked back on him. He was in a good spot we closed into 80 quickly but unfortunately he had other plans and started to walk off. I let him cross this open area before we followed. He walked with a bad limp and his tail was short with several kinks likely had been chewed on by dogs when he was a calf. We paralleled him in the scrub keeping the wind good about 50 yards off the back left of him this continued for what seemed Like ages. Finally he stopped to feed a little and we closed in we had a great 34 yard quartering away shot Dale came to full draw but couldn’t figure out where to aim with the dark shadows on the buffs black body. The bull kept moving we kept after him I was patiently waiting for the right opening to close the gap from 40/50 to inside 30. We finally got a bit of a break in the cover the bull slowed to feed momentarily and the breeze picked up we got to 26 yards. I told Dale to look through his binos before drawing as the shadows and longer grass can deceive an inexperienced buff hunter. He found his mark however at this moment the buff turned his head away giving us an opportunity to close in. I pushed into 18 yards and had a good visual of the buff I stepped to the side and put Dale on that spot he drew and shot. The arrow hit exactly where I wanted he got reasonable penetration about 2/3. The buff spun and a wallaby took off. This was a great distraction the buff looked in disbelief at the wallaby thinking how did that hurt me. He whirled and ran 10 yards stumbled and fell over dead in 15 seconds making only 18 yards. Dale was stoked to finally have a clean killed archery buff! And I can say it was a very enjoyable stalk one of my favourites so far! We scrapped the plans for the rest of the day as I decided to keep the cape as a replacement for a friend of mine. On the way back to camp I spotted a low 100 inch buff that Rick and I stalked. We got to 34 yards but got spotted crossing a patch of sun. The bull turned and faced us but didn’t lift his head and didn’t come any closer.
Fantastic work and write-up Tyler! Glad Dale was able to get that one shot clean arrow kill! Stay with it mate!
Day 6 we decided to explore the table lands. I’ve been up here a few times but the hunting is generally fairly average. Game is few and far between. Being a longer hunt we figured we’d go sightseeing. There is a big lagoon up the top which is where we headed. We bumped into one scrub bull on the way he was very flighty. We circled the lagoon and got the wind right and spotted a mob of pigs. Mick and the boys set off and a sat in the cruiser awaiting pickup instructions. Some hand signals were happening which got interpreted by Dale to do a push of the pigs back towards Rick and mick. This is not what mick was trying to get him to do. Long story short the pigs moved into heavy cover and Rick got a couple arrows away connecting on a big sow. On the backside of the lagoon is a spring so we went for a short walk there and almost picture perfect stood this big scrub bull feeding on the green swamp grass. Dale and I wasted no time. We skirted the edge and got into 50 yards with the bull feeding our way. He came into 40 and turned broadside. Dale shot but hit too far back. The bull trotted along unaware of what happened. He stopped on the edge at 48 yards Dale put another shot in this time clipping a lung. The bull walked 5 yards and bedded in tall grass. We looped around to keep the wind good and moved in with mick for extra firepower backup. With the bull bedded facing us we had no real shot. After a tense 10 mins or so the bull finally stood to face us. He made the mistake of turning his head slightly to the side and Dale zapped him front on at 19 yards and the blood flowed immediately. He tipped over and Dale finally had his big scrubber. We enjoyed a swim that afternoon and a slow cruise back to camp.
Day 7 Dale and I were targeting pigs dogs and possibly another scrubber as Dale is slightly obsessed with them. We started by hitting a waterhole seeing plenty of buff which we skirted to not spook. As we worked along the waterhole we had neared the end when Dale grabbed my shoulder and said is that a scrubber horn. I looked 70 yards ahead and bedded behind a tree with just one horn showing was another big scrub bull. We had a big tree for cover we removed our shoes to close the gap to 35. Just as we got the shoes off and taken a few steps we had to give way to a black whip snake. Unfortunately those seconds lost cost us getting to the tree I wanted to get to, the scrubber got up and walked across the dry end of the waterhole. We knelt down he was 49 yards he walked across the open area and stopped on the other side at 54 yards quartering away. Dale wanted to shoot despite it being further than I’d recommend. His shot was too far forward hitting tight to the shoulder. With the quartering angle and leg forward i feel although it looked good it wasn’t in the vitals. The bull trotted up into the scrub we followed and got a second shot at him. This time 60 yards with a termite mound partly covering the vitals. Dale hit too high in the scapula. We tracked the bull for a couple hours and about 2.5 miles before loosing the blood. On the return trip we were walking the river and I spotted a big boar just 12 yards in front of us bedded under a tree. Most of the pig was covered but there was a decent window into the top of his shoulder blades dale made a good shot for what was on offer the exit hole was tight in the right shoulder but the boar didn’t seem phased. We perused him and got a follow up through brush hitting centre of mass. We followed the boar for another 30 yards or so and lost him and the blood. I think he is dead there somewhere but just couldn’t find him.
Mick and Rick had a slow day seeing some good buff but really looking for a high 90-100 inch class.
Decided to do a trip to a billabong for some Barra today. On the way we came across a good bull walking down the road into the very stiff wind we had. As soon as I saw him I knew he was dead Rick and mick put on a quick stalk. I’d guess 5 minutes all up at 26 yards rick made a perfect shot and they watched to bull nose dive 25 yards later! We hit the fishing hole and Dale caught a couple good Barra the biggest being about 12 lbs at a guess
Week 3 day 1 Luke and I got into a good bull early in our walk. I hate seeing a shooter first up because I like to show guys a few buff talk about shot placement and get some of the excitement out of their veins. We stalked into 36 then into 26 but the bull saw some Movement and spooked he held at 42 but I didn’t want to shoot that far. The bull moved off pretty relaxed. We ended up following him and having another stalk. We only got to 50 yards this time and the bull saw us but came in for a closer look. He came into 25 yards and offered a great frontal shot opportunity but unfortunately the bull did not have the typical 2 white throat patches which give guys a good aiming point. Luke didn’t feel comfortable shooting and I had no distinct point to describe to him where to shoot so we passed. If I was hunting it was an easy dead bull having looked at enough buff. We saw several other cows and calves some in very close range which was fun for Luke to study buff up close. On the walk back to the truck we spotted a brumby made a stalk and Luke made a perfect 53 meter double lung shot. Mick and kerry played dominos bumping the first herd of buffalo which pushed the next herd and the next. Afternoon hunt was slow luke and I stalked a bull in the flood plains but couldn’t get inside 100
That's a wide bull with some cool character....and maybe some attitude!
I’d like to work on that one in Tyler’s photos!!! Nice bull!
I will be excited to see pictures Kurt! Do you have your set up dialed in and ready to go?
They are a huge buffalos. Are they the same species as the ones that live in Argentina'?
Holy smokes! That thing looks like he could practically fly, with those horns! How wide would you guess him to be, Tyler?
Yup Jeff, arrowed my best black bear 3 weeks ago at 45 yards with the Buff bow and arrows...shooting very well. Starting to get excited about the hunt...not the flight over though. Tyler's posts certainly raise the anticipation!
Yeah he is a fairly wide was missing a couple inches off one horn. No attitude with him he was actually quite dopey I doubt that he will make the end of July. He’s a straight horned bull. They look impressive but don’t score as well as a curved horn bull. They are my personal preference I’d estimate him to be 46-48 inches wide.
These are different species to the buffalo in Argentina Potro
Day 2 was a pretty good day we drove to piggy piggy camp area and hunted there on the way we saw a good bull on his own but we had no wind so we continued past him to stick with the original plan. When we arrived to where we wanted to hunt there was a lone bull there he was nice but a touch young scoring maybe 85 he joined up with 4 other young bulls and carried on their way. Mick and kerry set off one way and Luke and I went another. Luke and I found what looked to be a huge bull at first glance. We stalked in and he came out into the open he was in fact a huge bull unfortunately he had broken one horn off so his bad side was only about 14 inches long where his good side was 32-33 and I figured his bases were 17 inches or better. We tried to kill him but had little cover. We got to 70 yards and we’re hoping he would feed towards us but the wind swirled after about 30 mins and that ended that. Mick and kerry saw a fair few buff one bull in the low 90s and the rest of the bulls were in the 70-80 range. While driving back to camp luke and I had a quick stalk to 32 meters of a mid 90s bull but he was chasing cows around and never paused for a shot. Mick and kerry stalked the next bull a beauty young bull scoring about 90 slipped down into a gully for a wallow Kerry got into 10 or so yards but didn’t shoot, hoping for something bigger I guess.
Mick and kerry saw about 70 buff in the evening hunt but swirling winds spoiled their hunt. Luke and I went on a long fast walk to where I’d seen a good bull 5 days prior. We found him and his few cows but he was in an impossible place to get to without getting busted so we backed out and left him alone. He’s a tight curled bull I think will go 94-96. Hoping someone gets him this season.
Another one for rut nut but don’t be fooled this is no snake!! It’s a legless Lizard called a rusty topped delma.
We are seeing lots of snakes this season usually one per day.
One snake ever is one to many, much less one per day ugh.
thanks Tyler for the clarification. too many snakes in Australia, are these ones dangerous?
Tasty!
Tasty!
brumby Hmm! No description, so a quick google search , interesting read, big problem there as is here with brumbys.
Another one for rut nut but don’t be fooled this is no snake!! It’s a legless Lizard called a rusty topped delma.
We are seeing lots of snakes this season usually one per day.
There are lots of snakes in australia I wouldn’t say too many. but like anything they are afraid of people it’s only when people try to remove them or kill them that they get bit. Hahah yes huntcell I figured for those that read along they can google I don’t need to share pics for the antis.
Today was a long day we covered a lot of miles and saw a lot of buff. We are struggling to get on them a bit as we have the full moon working against us and little to no wind which generally swirls. The highlights of today was mick and kerry stalking a low 100 inch bull they got to 30 yards but the bull offered no shot always quartering too. Luke and I stalked in on a mob off buff with a big bodied but short horned bull in the mid was thought to be a big wide cow. As I was looking “her” over to see if she had a young calf something didn’t seem right her body was huge standing a good 6-8 inches higher than the herd bull there looked to be a small pizzle but the cows often get outy belly buttons when pregnant. I was confused. I was looking for udders on this thing but couldn’t see any. I started to think it was a bullock or steer. I don’t run any bullocks on this place like some outfitters do I had never seen this animal before but can confirm it was indeed a bullock. We wanted to shoot it as it was probably 100+ inches as I find them hard to judge with body features oversize and horns long but lacking mass.
We got into 34 meters and had a steep quartering away shot but it was too steep. The buff turned broadside but covered the vitals with the only bush that was near it. It then stepped behind a tree and around the tree facing us and now a calf had picked us up. We had a stare down and nothing developed until they got our wind and took off.
That’s interesting Tyler! Never knew you had legless lizards..................especially that long!
I was wondering what a brumby was...............
The bull we sat 200 yards off of
The bull we sat 200 yards off of
Mick and kerry hunted a new area that I previously saw a huge bull the night prior. They saw him but didn’t get into bow range. Mick figured he was 110+. They saw a few other shooter bulls but once again the lack of wind this week has done us in time and time again.
Luke and I also hunted a new area and turned up a really heavy bull I figured would go around the 100knch mark. We sat off him 200 yards as we had no play where he was in relation to his cows. Due to the full moon these buff were stationary by 8 am and all 6 buff never took a step in 45 minutes while we waited. The wind finally swirled and set them off. I don’t let failed stalks get to me but as a guide hunting buff with no wind is almost pointless unless you get very lucky. We started our loop and quickly stumbled onto some scrubbers. 2 bulls feeding together. Luke wanted a scrubber but was now concerned about loosing time towards buff hunting. Simply put if we pass these scrubbers he likely won’t see another so he decided to have a go. The wind was pushing perpendicular to their travel so I was trying to flank them in a shallow gully. The gully ran out and I was forced up onto the same flat as the bulls. The bigger bull was at the back and was 80 yards away. All of a sudden the wind swung hard into our face and the bull stopped to feed. We made a quick stalk to 40 and ran out of cover. The bull walked on feeding we quickly crossed the next patch of sun and into a pocket of shade. Luke drew I ranged 31M the bull turned broadside and he shot. A loud crack on impact was certain of a shoulder hit. I shot twice with the 375 hitting both times and the bull stopped and bedded down. We quickly stalked in to 20 and the bull looked at us. Luke whacked another arrow into him but lacked penetration the bull got up and tried to charge but didn’t have much left in the tank he managed a few lunges toward me before I pulled the trigger again to ensure nobody got hurt.
He’s a cool old bull I have a bit of history with from 2017-2018. I have not seen him since late July 2018. His horns are worn back much shorter then when he was in his prime but he was a brute of a bull and Luke is honouring him with a shoulder mount.
Bullock from yesterday
Bullock from yesterday
Good looking youngster
Good looking youngster
Was a long day today full of adventure covering some new ground. I lost count of how many buff we saw and how many stalks we had. We saw 5 bulls over 100 inches had some close encounters but couldn’t seal the deal. Finally late in the afternoon we spotted a bedded lone bull. Kerry and I quickly stalked in barefooted to 34 yards. it was the last tree from the bull as I would have liked to get closer I prefer to have guys shoot from cover. With the bull bedded and unaware 34 yards is very doable. Kerry drew and shot his arrow hit the mark but penetration lacked. His arrows being 960 grains is way too heavy in my opinion. I recommend 550-650 grain arrows as this is what I’ve seen perform the best. Mick told me his theory years ago the the heavy arrows especially on a longer shot 35 yards the arc of the arrow is dropping in. When it hits its target due to the point being below the rear of the shaft the arrow will kick upwards at the back of the arrow. This is exactly what I saw today.
I still thought the shot was good enough to kill. The bull ran 50 yards stopped got dizzy then took off. He bumped another buff in the river and the 2 ran off together. At this point I was wanting to shoot with the rifle but had no chance. It was a 1 lung hit and we did not recover the bull.
This is a bull Kerry and Nick stalked to within 30 yards of the other day but couldn’t get a shot.
This is a bull Kerry and Nick stalked to within 30 yards of the other day but couldn’t get a shot.
Making roads
Making roads
Busted here
Busted here
Cool stories, cool pics! Keep ‘em coming, mate!
So Tyler... What's up? Did your guys kill a new world record or not???
The last day mick headed back to the same country we hunted the previous day as it was our last full day hunting I came up with a plan to hike with Luke a good 10-12km through some country I’ve never been to this walk opens up onto a flood plain that’s accessible by vehicle from the opposite side about a 1.5 hour drive from camp so the plan was mick would drive around and pick us up. We had a good walk first we got into a good 98-100 class bull he was hot on a cow and as we were moving in he somehow spotted us at 60 yards despite having his nose up a cows ass. We hunted all through this new country but struggled with swirling winds. We saw 2 god scrub bulls and an estimate of 200-250 buffalo but couldn’t seal the deal with the fickle winds. We meet up with Mick and Kerry and they managed to shoot a great bull. The arrow shot was not real good high in the neck below the ear from what I gathered it was a 12 yard frontal shot but the head was too low when Kerry let it fly. 5 pills from the .416 pulled the bull up. Not the outcome they wanted but the bull would have died from that arrow eventually Mick figured. The pics don’t do the bull justice he’s very heavy with great length scoring 107.
Far from a new world record ken but a magnificent buffalo nonetheless!
The final evening on the way back to camp luke got in on a mid 80s bull he had the bull inside 30 yards for quite some time and was offered a lot of angles but all the wrong ones.
Luke’s final morning we had one failed stalk on a mid 90s bull due to swirling winds. We then hit a waterhole which was loaded with buff. With nearly 100 head around the place I thought no chance. The bull of them moved off and all of a sudden a lone bull dogging a cow came out of the waterhole. Luke and I closed into 70 yards but ran out of cover. The pair got nervous and retreated to the scrub. I normally wouldn’t bother following but they didn’t seem too upset so we followed them in. We got to 50 yards easily I tried all my tricks to get him curious but he wouldn’t budge. After 20 mins I said to Luke we need to be aggressive and Hope it works out. I kept the bull looking at me with calls and slight movement and gave Luke instruction to go to a certain tree then to use 2 termite mounds for cover to push straight into 25 yards of the bull. I called and called and Luke slowly went to the tree the he went to another tree and another so he was well off my program. I kept the calling up and Luke appeared to be inside 35 yards. My constant calling now drew in a smaller bull downwind of me he came right into 15 yards of me and about 25-30 of Luke but Luke didn’t see him until he spooked and ran off which alarmed the big bull and ended our hunt. The kicker was this bull was huge I figure he was 60 inches wide with huge bases well over 100 inches.
Luke is my first client in 7 years to have not shot an arrow at a buffalo. His very first morning was his best chance with a bull at 25 yards front on but it didn’t have the white blazes that 98% of buff have he was an odd one out and being the first buff Luke had ever seen he opted to pass on that shot as he wasn’t comfortable which I’m pleased he did. Luke and I will get redemption next year!
Wow…not bad first client in 7 years without shooting an arrow.
Wow…not bad first client in 7 years without shooting an arrow.
Tyler, due to the full moon & fickle wind, appears you guys had a tough week. But as always, you guys hunted hard. Looking forward to this weeks action. Great job!
Dang! Those are BIG horns!
Just curious Tyler- The "scrubbers" are those feral cattle? And wondering how you take care of the meat once harvested? It seems you are pretty far out in the bush.................
Wow, the only client in 7-years not to shoot an arrow. I'll take those odds any time. About how many clients do you think that is?
Also, didn't one of your clients kill the #1 ranked buff several years ago? If that's true, what did it score?
I know two different hunters that will be with Tyler this month....I sure wish I was one of them! Came close but just didn't quite work out this year. I will be there someday for sure.
