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—Jim

Jeff not too long now!!

That scrub bull looks huge! Looking forward to fresh surf and turf!!

Day 1 afternoon hunt. We left camp Late about 5pm first up we saw a young bull followed by some cows. I pulled up about 2km from camp and got on top Of the cruiser to glass. With the grass being so tall I’ll be doing lots of this and climbing trees this season. I saw 4 younger bulls and one mature bull that may have been a shooter but was too hard to tell with the long grass he was feeding in. Then I spotted a good low 90s bull laying in a water hole we had a good stalk on him but as we closed into 125 yards he got up out of his wallow and moved off and with the waterhole between us there was not enough time to persue.

Day 2 was action packed it started off with a pack of dogs taking out a calf buffalo over a 2 hour period we stayed on them and finally got a couple shots away. One drew blood but the dog was not recovered. Amongst all the chaos we had a great encounter with a low 90s bull that got curious and came into 30 offering a good shot but Chris had a case of bull fever and was very unsteady and chose not to shoot. A short while later we came across a brute scrub bull he looked like a real old boy but not one I was familiar with, he likely turned up in the wet season. We got into 65 yards fairly easily but really didn’t have too much cover. I wanted to get this bull but in the other hand didn’t want to waste too much time on him. The time started to slip away and the bull wasn’t interested in much other than feeding. With his poor condition I figured he had no teeth left and was on his death bed. Jeff his son Jett and I tried a bit of a mission impossible stalk and got busted at about 55 yards. We sat down and the bull stared at us. After 10 mins of no movement I figured let’s try and butt crawl Closer to the one little bush between us. That put us at 43 yards. The bull still stood his ground. This is not typical of scrub bulls normally he would be long gone! After another 10 mins he turned broadside so Jeff took a shot and hit in front of of the shoulder I was hoping it hit the major artery but it hadn’t. As the bull was moving off slowly I told Jeff to Nick one of his lighter arrows as I figured he’d stop for a second look. He stopped at 66 and Jeff let another one fly but this in hit solid shoulder bone the bull moved off but very slow. We kept after him but he knew what was up as he would shoulder check every so often. Jeff made the call to whack him rather than burn more time chasing him with the possibility of loosing him so that’s what we did. The afternoon hunt we setup an ambush on a water hole the plan worked a treat as we had a good mob of buff come in but was all cows and smaller bulls. There had been a big bull with this group a couple days before but he eluded us this evening.

Day 4 morning I parked close to where the first scrub bull was taken in hopes to stumble on a dog on route to a good buff interception point. Only a few hundred yards from the truck a young buff bull fed in front of us 150 yards away. Next to him was a gnarly old 1 horned scrub bull bedded down in some shade. I sent Chris in solo as he needed a confidence booster he got to 50 yards and with the bull bedded straight onto us but with his head turned 90 degrees Chris felt he was better off shooting him frontal in his bed rather than try get closer and shoot an alert animal. He cut the shot loose and I heard what sounded like a good hit the bull jumped up and it was like someone turned on the red faucet!!! Perfect 10 ring the bull trotted off and I videoed him tip over after making it 70 yards. We took some pics and kept hunting and would deal with the animal after. Upon arriving at the buff interception spot we spotted a dog that was on the trot and a nice bull buff with a couple cows reading my script. A quick stalk had us at 45. Was hoping it would have put us closer but was too far for my Liking. We backed out and around and popped up next to him ranged 26!! That’s more like it. Jeff drew and shot clipping the top of his back. I suspect a case of bull fever and standing on a weird angle made for a bad shot!

The afternoon hunt was a classic favourite of mine we hunted grasshopper creek I think it’s my all time favourite evening hunt I don’t know how many buff I have killed here. We worked the creek like I normally do but didn’t sight much. About 1/4 way along I glassed across the plain and saw what looked like a great bull but was very hard to be certain due to long grass. Being a lone animal I figured bull but the hind end looked bony which suggested cow or possibly old bull. I said we should go for a closer look so we did. As we closed in I confirmed it was a good old bull. He was feeding close to 2 trees maybe 35-40 Yards from the larger of the 2. We had great wind so I thought we would just cruise into this tree and shoot him. As we got to about 100 yards some cows passed behind him and he went for a sniff. This allowed us to get to the tree very easily. I said to Jeff that the bull will likely come back to this spot to feed as he was just here he liked what he was eating and knows it’s safe here. 20 mins later he did just that from 50 yards to 27 yards Jeff’s heart raced but he executed a great shot taking out the front of the heart. The bull went 23 yards looked back at us and flopped over! Pics caping etc it was a long night!

Day 6 we did some road hunting on the way into the swimming hole. We almost got to the swimming hole when we spotted a nice lone buff that I figured was in a lot of trouble. Chris and I started our stalk and closed into 40 easily as there was great shade and cover. Looking at the situation I figured we would get in tight to this bull I pressed in as he was distracted feeding I stopped in the last good shade and cover and ranged him at 19 yards. We just needed him to go broadside. After several minutes he turned 180 degrees and fed right to us I started to think this was not going to work out if he kept on his path. He veered left thankfully. He was so close now I just hoped he’d let Chris draw. I shifted to the right to use Chris for cover, the bull turned his head away and his ear blocked his eye. I whispered to Chris to draw. Just as he finished drawing the bulls inside leg went forward and Chris cut the shot loose hitting him perfect the bull ran out to 35 and started to walk Chris already had his second arrow on and was at full draw the shot hit a bit high but a second arrow is a second arrow!! The bull made it another 30 yards and wobbled and fell down. He stood back up 5 mins later. He bedded again and we snuck into 30 yards again. The bull stood up and Chris stuck another arrow into him and he went down for good after that one!

Day 8 I took the guys to a likely fishing hole on the way there We saw a huge mob of buffalo first up with a 100 inch herd bull harassing them. We left them be and continued on as it would have taken a huge time commitment and a lot of luck to seal the deal on him. A few miles later we then spotted a lone 106ish inch buffalo I have history with from last season. He’s a younger bull only about 6 years old I figured he was 100-102 last year. Jeff and I pulled off a long stalk and got into 32 yards of the bull after we had seen him bed down. The bull stood and started feeding, we had a good lane off to the left and he was headed that way. unfortunately he decided to stop feeding and travel and cruised through the lane offering no shot. We followed him up and got into 30 yards again but he busted us as there wasn’t much cover. He’s not the smartest bull so I’m hoping someone kills him this season. Fishing was fantastic we spent about an hour there and landed 9 barramundi and 6 catfish. On the return trip back to camp we spotted another giant bull in the same area that we saw the 106 bull that morning. This however, appeared to be a different bull . Chris and I got out of the Toyota and Jeff continued down the road. We only had 20 minutes of shooting light left. The plan was for Chris to stock in as quickly and as close as he could to some cover and I would hang back and try and call the bull in, as we had no wind and stalking all the way in would be impossible. Chris got into about 80 yards and stopped behind a big Gumtree. I got behind a fallen down tree and started to call and the bull started to come. He spotted some movement where Chris was but was also interested in my movements and calling he closed in on Chris’s location, I continued to range the bull and Chris until the bull got to 30 yards from him. I saw Chris come to full draw and shoot the bull front on! the shot sounded good and I could not see the arrow sticking out which is a great sign on a frontal shot. With A perfect frontal shot the arrow will completely disappear with the fletching of the arrow generally stopping in the middle of the heart. The bull ran off about 50 yards and stopped to look back. I had the binoculars up but could not see blood or the arrow due to how dark it was . Chris being an outfitter and guide with over 30 years experience yelled at me to shoot the bull due to low light and him not wanting to lose the animal. I shouldered the open sight 416 and shot him front on. I heard the bullet hit the bull turned to run and stopped at about 130 yards broadside I shot again and heard a solid smack. The bull ran in behind some trees and I lost sight of him. I could, however, hear him doing the death moan. We walked up to him a few minutes later and celebrated as he was a monster monster bull!! Despite me wanting all my clients to get 100% archery kills. It meant a lot to me to have Chris to give me the thumbs up to shoot in the situation we were in, it was very admirable. There is nothing worse for me then loosing clients buffalo. being seperated a bit and having low light I would have never made the call to shoot the bull on my own because I didn’t see what had happened. Upon initial inspection, the arrow entry hole was in the correct spot. I said to Chris it is most likely that your arrow has gone right through the centre of the heart hit lungs, liver diaphragm, and stopped in the guts. given the two rifle shots I still feel this is a 100% bow kill, as the arrow passed right through the middle of the heart as I expected.

Day 9 no morning hunt as we dealt with the cape from Chris’s big buff. Evening stalk we tried the big old scrub bull again to no avail and a big 105 wide frame buff. We had a creek to conceal us and we got to 70 yards and the. The bull bedded. I was thinking how we were going to play the situation when the wind swirled and saved me using my brain too much!

Day 10 we packed up the guys stuff and hunted our way into heartbreak for the night. We saw quite a few buff but Jeff was looking for a real big one now. We were 30 kms from camp and stood just off the side of the road in front of us stood a dinosaur bull. His horns broomed way back and mass unlike I’ve seen before. I said to Jeff he’s not a real high scored but he’s a true trophy in my opinion. This bull had wandered in from the park having never seen a vehicle or human in his life. He was not bothered by us at all. The stalk was very simple right down the road as he didn’t care. 30 yards broadside Jeff whacked him perfect but penetration was poor hitting a rib. The bull ran off a bit and I put a .375 bullet in him. He went and stood under a tree. We closed into 40 yards and Jeff punched 2 more arrows into him one quartering away hitting liver 1 lung and the final a heart shot which was like turning on the tap. The bull stood there and we could see the arrow twitching with each beat of his heart the blood flowed steady for 10 minutes before he finally tipped over. He was 1 tough animal! It was a great way to wrap up their trip!!

Excellent stuff, Tyler!

We saw a few buff driving into camp but not many and nothing to get excited about. The guys settled in and Gene had a good hour or so practice with his loaner bow and arrows. We set off to the swamp for the afternoon hunt as I haven’t really hunted it this season. There were really fresh buff tracks walking the trail along the swamp it appeared to be a bull and some cows and calves. Part way along the swamp we spotted some hogs laying in the shaded mud. Gene was up first but I wanted to get both guys in range as you can normally get a few pigs out of the mob. The boar picked up movement or noise and was onto us from about 50 yards out. We still managed to sneak closer when a sow spotted us and decided she should leave. Just as she was moving off a huge gust of wind kicked up which allowed us to aggressively push into 30 yards. The boar was now out the back of the group at 40. Gene drew and as he was settling into the unfamiliar bow the boar turned and walked off he changed targets to a closer sow but forgot to change pins from 40 to 30 and sent one over the top! What I didn’t know was he intentionally did this to assist in Jeff’s success, he scared the last remaining pig our way 30-25-20 whack a perfect frontal shot she made it 10 yards and flopped over. Jeff’s first pig so that was a bit of excitement to start the trip off. We carried on down the swamp having 2 young bulls come our way but they soon spotted us at about 50 yards. We continued to the back of the swamp where I expected to see buff feeding but they were already moving to water. I got a glimpse of a good 90ish class bull with broomed horn on one side and pointy on the other. We didn’t go after them as the wind was no good. We headed back in the direction we came from when I spotted a great mid to high 90s bull coming our way unfortunately he saw us at the same moment. We sat down and Gene moved forward a bit to the next tree. The bull was curious and was rutting cruising for cows. He came into about 45 yards of Gene but wouldn’t come any closer. A few cows then emerged on our back trail and we thought this may draw the bull out but he actually spooked and took off so we’re a bit confused on his sexuality at this point! That concluded the evening.

The evening hunt we saw one nice bull close to camp from the cruiser had a bit broken off one tip but looked to be a 90 ish type bull he was fairly alert so I left him there. Gene then spotted a buff in the distance and it looked to be a nice bull worth a closer look. We got closer and he was a good 90 incher with a fairly tight curl. Problem was he had 15 or more cows with him. I made an aggressive stalk but got busted by a young buff. We carried on in the cruiser and spotted a big scrub bull I have history with for the past 3 years. He’s now in very poor shape, starving to death due to his lack of teeth. A long loop around him got us into 55 yards. He fed and fed and rarely picked his head up. Feeding is survival for this old bull. Gene crawled into 40 yards but decided to push in closer shooting a loaner bow. At 33 yards Gene was fixing to shoot when the old bulls 6th sense kicked in and pegged Gene. If only he had another 10-20 seconds I think there would have been some more blood shed. Hopefully we can get on him again this week as this bull needs shooting!

We did a bit of truck hunting that evening as we had a long walk that morning. We saw lots of buff but I really was looking for a lone bull. We spotted what looked to be 2 bulls together. As we moved in on them other buff emerged from several directions making it another tough situation. The bull also shrunk from a 90s to low mid 80s. He moved off and we called it at that. I started the walk back to the truck and said your luck has got to change soon Gene. We came up out of a dry creek bottom and I saw a good lone bull feeding to the creek. I said “now we’re talking” and set off quickly up the creek towards the bull. I popped up to see his whereabouts and he was only 100 yards or so out and headed into our creek just up from us. We pushed up 40 yards quickly and knelt down behind a bushy tree. The bull came fast. Gene drew as the bull walked behind a tree he cleared the tree and stopped broadside at 18 yards. The shot buried to the fletch the bull ran out and stopped and blood pumped out his nose. He wobbled and ran and wobbled and ran and fell over dead! A perfect double lung shot and Genes bull was on the ground in seconds.

And Tyler, great guiding as usual!

We didn’t have an afternoon hunt as we were travelling. As we were approaching a waterhole I told the guys a story of a few years ago I had a pack of 3 dogs come Running to the Toyota and followed me along while I put my release on idling in 2nd gear and jacked a round in my .375. I was able to hop out arrow the biggest dog and shot the other 2 with my rifle. Just as I finished the story here came a dog he didn’t seem to want to follow but allowed me to stop and Gene to get out and shoot him! A double dog day! We recovered Genes bow and clothes so some critters may be in real trouble now.

The afternoon hunt we targeted the same scrub bull from a few days prior. He’s now pretty switched on and we couldn’t make anything happen. On the way back to camp we came across a dandy buff bull feeding alone on the river edge. Gene and I put on a great stalk we got to 26 yards but the wind had other plans and shifted slightly in the river bottom blowing the 100+ inch bull out.

Day 5 I had plans to head to the NW as I predicted the winds would be favourable for this area. Once I hit the flood plain they were opposite of what I expected so change in plans we went the other way. We spotted a lone bull buff and tried to make a play on him but he spotted the cruiser and remained on edge for over an hour before I gave up hope. We drove down the escarpment a fair ways and parked near a waterhole my plan was to check it and hunt on down past it as I hadn’t been down there this year. Got out of the cruiser and wind had switched to where I predicted it would be so back in the cruiser and headed toward another waterhole and the rivers edge. We spotted a lone bull. I believe it was the same one we were on earlier in the morning. We watched him bed and Gene and I put the sneak on him. He was shootable in his bed and we got to 20 yards. Gene drove one in him and it looked good the bull trotted off and stumbled twice then seemed to compose himself and walk off. We followed for about 400 yards and he stopped under a tree. We climbed a big gum tree 175 yards away and watched him for 4 hours it was nearing 4 pm so we decided to try and stalk in and shoot him again. We got to 43 yards Gene took a shot but I think the grass deflected his arrow as it was dropping in and missed low. The bull took off and we followed we got into 50 yards a couple times and tried to get another arrow in him. He was hurt pretty good from the first one as normally he would have been long gone. Finally he blew out of there and I decided to shoot him as he ran away. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to phase him. I only realised in the final moments that I recognised the bull and know where his home is and where he headed so we went back to the cruiser as we were out of water. I was feeling sick dizzy and nauseas at this point with some mild heat stroke from running after the buff. We drove the cruiser up to stone house as the bull would likely pass through here to go home. Sure enough there is his track with some blood spots around. Darkeness was falling so we’ve left him till tomorrow.

Tyler

The evening hunt we looked for scrub bulls and pigs but only came across cows and calves and plenty of buffalo. One shooter bull buff mixed into a big mob of cows and calves. 3 of the cows were big cows too.

Day 7 morning hunt we decided to try and have another look for Jeff’s bull hoping to pick him up with scent if he had died close by and we missed him. On the short drive there we saw a nice high 90s herd bull with some cows. Around a couple corners we came across a low 100s standing 50 yards off the road not bothered by the cruiser. The boys have filled their buff quota they said so we left him there. A long walk didn’t turn up the buff but we did meet head on with a good boar that Gene managed to redeem himself on with a well placed shot inside 20 yards.

Got a bit caught up with camp work boiling skulls etc and didn’t leave camp until 1.5 hours before dark went for a short drive but didn’t see anything of interest.

The week has flown by so quickly. I saw so many awesome animals. Giant buffaloes, scrub bulls, pigs, brombies, kangaroos and wallabies…. plus crocs, snakes, lizards, insects and a plethora of birds…my favorite was the Galah. You may guess by my handle that I’m also a bird hunter. Well I still almost jumped out of my boots when a covey of quail exploded from under my feet!

Daily routine was pretty much as follows… coffee at 6 am, listen to Tyler’s plan, head out with good light, have an animal interrupt the plan, start stalking! Most days we tried to return to camp by early afternoon, eat a sandwich and take break. 3ish we head back out and repeat until dark. Return to camp for a great supper, shower and off to bed. If you enjoy being outdoors, seeing lots of awesome wildlife without ever seeing another human or vehicle for your entire hunt then you should consider this hunt!

I’ll post a few of my photos and won’t bore you with many more words.

Thanks for the great pics!

Day 1 we had a good morning walk in an area only accessible by foot. I had not been there this year and had high hopes of a good bull buff or 2 in there. We were not so lucky. We did come across a cool scrub bull but he was in hot pursuit of a cow and disappeared in the scrub as they do. We came across a dog and had a rushed stalk on him with less than ideal winds we came close but the wind gave us up as I expected.

The afternoon hunt we went to another area only accessible by foot a big swamp that normally holds a variety of critters. First we came across some scrubbers but all cows. Then a brumby so the stalk was on but it got interrupted by some pigs. Lucas had a stalk on one boar but wasn’t quick enough in his shooting and the boar took off before he got to draw. He then stalked a satellite boar and poked an arrow in him but the hit was too high and he was not recovered. He will likely live. We came across some buff but only cows and calves to wrap up our evening. I’m starting to think Lucas is bad luck as this is by far the worst day hunting I’ve had yet. I didn’t even lay eyes on a shooter buffalo! Hopefully a change in his luck for tomorrow.

Day 1 we had a good morning walk in an area only accessible by foot. I had not been there this year and had high hopes of a good bull buff or 2 in there. We were not so lucky. We did come across a cool scrub bull but he was in hot pursuit of a cow and disappeared in the scrub as they do. We came across a dog and had a rushed stalk on him with less than ideal winds we came close but the wind gave us up as I expected.

The afternoon hunt we went to another area only accessible by foot a big swamp that normally holds a variety of critters. First we came across some scrubbers but all cows. Then a brumby so the stalk was on but it got interrupted by some pigs. Lucas had a stalk on one boar but wasn’t quick enough in his shooting and the boar took off before he got to draw. He then stalked a satellite boar and poked an arrow in him but the hit was too high and he was not recovered. He will likely live. We came across some buff but only cows and calves to wrap up our evening. I’m starting to think Lucas is bad luck as this is by far the worst day hunting I’ve had yet. I didn’t even lay eyes on a shooter buffalo! Hopefully a change in his luck for tomorrow.

Evening hunt I had to shows these guys some buff as they’d been here 1.5 days and hadn’t seen a shooter buff. We saw quite a few buff driving out and I drove past the spot I wanted to hunt (grasshopper creek) to check a floodplain for any lone bulls. There was a good 88-90 inch bull but he was a bit on the young side for Lucas’s liking. A great bull to pass as he will hit mid 90s next year. On the other hand if a client is happy with him this year let’s take him cause he could start fighting and break his lovely long tips off. I saw one other big bull in the distance running off a young bull but he never emerged back out from the treeline.

We stuck with the plan and headed to grasshopper creek. I explained to the guys what normally happens. Bulls come Out of scrub to the south east an hour before dark wander across plain to creek. we wait in creek and shoot them. Done it dozens of times. They looked at me in disbelief as I think they were keen to leave camp at 2pm but I wasn’t going anywhere till 4. With it now 5 pm it was prime time for this spot. We worked up the creek and I climbed a tree I spotted a young bull close by and a good bull a bit further out. I scanned some more and spotted something really big that didn’t need further looking I got out of the tree got in the creek and headed his way they guys asked about the other bull I said I don’t care about him this one is bigger. We got even with him as he fed our way. He was a carbon copy of Jeff’s bull but 10 inches wider and sported longer tips. This bull is possibly the biggest I’ve ever seen. He fed our way we waited then he stopped feeding and just came on a string. I asked Lucas if he could shoot to that green bush at about 35 he said yes the bull passed there seconds later Lucas froze and asked if he should shoot I said um yes now would be a good time. Too late the bull moved through the window. They guys frozen not knowing what to think of this situation I had to maneuver between them to start a tricky stalk on a huge smart bull with no wind we closed from 70 to 32. I told Lucas 35 as the bull had just taken a step he drew back, the bull quartered away slightly and moved his leg forward I ranged again he was 33 I could t have painted a better scenario. The shot went off and the arrow missed the mark. Low it hit the skin on the bottom of his brisket and whistled between his front legs. Being the monarch he is I let him run off I’m hoping he doesn’t get infected I took the gamble in hopes another hunter can arrow him someday. This bull was 110+ all day long but I really think he could push 120. Tons of mass and length and very impressive with his width. A beautiful bull.

Congrats to Gene and Jeff on some fine animals!!!!

This is such a great adventure type trip with nonstop critters to chase and stuff to see and do.

Tyler works super hard and runs a top notch remote camp set up. This is no doubt, a must do trip if you are looking for a great international adventure trip.

Thanks Tyler, for all your efforts and good luck the rest of the season.

Day 4 morning wasted as I was fleshing Lucas’s cape. The afternoon hunt the first bull we saw was same shape as Lucas’s but a touch smaller. Estimated about 92 Paul wasn’t keen so we kept looking. We saw plenty of younger bulls and had one good close encounter with an 85 inch and a few cows and calves the closest being about 4 feet with the bull at 10 yards. I have a feeling Paul is looking for a big one or nothing until the last afternoon.

Great writeups Tyler … keeping it raw and awesome.

Day 6 we first came across a 100 inch bull with a harem of cows. We tried to make a quick play on the less than ideal situation but failed. We saw and stalked a couple decent low 90s bulls and Paul even passed a couple that he wasn’t keen on with only 2 hours of hunting time left. I was feeling a bit out of ideas lol. I started the drive back to camp. Staring down the road with sore eyes from grinding all day long I happened to glance to the right and catch a bull just as he slipped behind some thick cover. I knew the waterhole he was headed to and met him there. He was 60 yards away having a drink then exited at the opposite end and had a good long look around before bedding. He bedded in a perfect spot I sent Paul ahead to go to these 3 gum trees. He didn’t listen and went closer. He stopped 11 yards off the bull. Great to get that close but hard to do anything from that point. Would have been better had he stopped at 20. We waited for the bull to stand. After 30 Mins he did but as Paul went to draw the bull spooked. He ran out to what I figured was 18-20. Paul figured closer to 30 he spun and squared up starting straight at us. Paul held his slider that was set to 10 yards a bit high to compensate for the added yardage (why I hate sliders for this type of hunting) and took the guesstimated shot drilling the bull clean up the nostrils. He immediately vanished in thick scrub and offered me no rifle shot. A terrible way to end the week.

Day 6 we first came across a 100 inch bull with a harem of cows. We tried to make a quick play on the less than ideal situation but failed. We saw and stalked a couple decent low 90s bulls and Paul even passed a couple that he wasn’t keen on with only 2 hours of hunting time left. I was feeling a bit out of ideas lol. I started the drive back to camp. Staring down the road with sore eyes from grinding all day long I happened to glance to the right and catch a bull just as he slipped behind some thick cover. I knew the waterhole he was headed to and met him there. He was 60 yards away having a drink then exited at the opposite end and had a good long look around before bedding. He bedded in a perfect spot I sent Paul ahead to go to these 3 gum trees. He didn’t listen and went closer. He stopped 11 yards off the bull. Great to get that close but hard to do anything from that point. Would have been better had he stopped at 20. We waited for the bull to stand. After 30 Mins he did but as Paul went to draw the bull spooked. He ran out to what I figured was 18-20. Paul figured closer to 30 he spun and squared up starting straight at us. Paul held his slider that was set to 10 yards a bit high to compensate for the added yardage (why I hate sliders for this type of hunting) and took the guesstimated shot drilling the bull clean up the nostrils. He immediately vanished in thick scrub and offered me no rifle shot. A terrible way to end the week.

Set it at 25 and leave it there. … at 20, aim a smidge low, at 30 hold a bit high. I often shoot 0-30 in my yard without moving my slider. Even do it at 3D shoots sometimes. I remember someone on this site calling this method “instinctive with a crutch”.

Outside of 30 is ‘range and adjust’ or NO Shot. Either of those choices are preferable to a nostril shot.

Our morning hunt started off with a couple stalks on young bulls 65-70 inch 3 yr olds just to give Garrett a bit of an idea what a buff looks like. We saw a few cows but funny enough I couldn’t find an 80+ inch buff as easily as I thought I would. Anyway we started our way back to camp but with high winds and cool temps I thought we go walk a bit of a dry creek bed I hadn’t hunted this season. As we approached where I thought I’d park there stood a large mob of buff. I could t tell what was what so I figure let’s stalk in and see what happens. We closed into 100 yards when I saw the herd bull approach the tree I wanted to get to. Dang it I was 1 minute too late. He walked right past the tree and headed back the direction he came from. We got to the tree and we were 17 yards from a couple bedded cows. I left garrett there and crawled left 30 yards to peek up onto the flat to see where the bull was. And found him. I now got a proper look and he was a low 100s sweeper bull. We sat in position hoping the bull would make his rounds again or that an opportunity would open up for a stalk. He was only 60 yards away so something could happen at any moment. Unfortunately either they saw the cruiser or got a slight whiff of us and all took off.

The evening hunt we hit the swamp looking for buff and pigs as he’d never seen a wild pig before. We found buff immediately about 20 cows and calves. And mixed in with them was a big solitary boar. We let the cows feed off so we could have a crack at the boar. While waiting for the cows to move off we had a dog come past us at 80 yards or so but we had no play with all the buff close by. We also spotted another lone boar which would become target 2. We made a good sneak through the mud and water getting into 19 yards of the unaware boar. Garret drew and shot as he fed quartering away. His shot a touch far back but it penetrated deep. The boar was moving off slowly and was out at 35+ yards when he sent the second arrow deep in the opposite side of the boar at the same quartering away angle. He was bleeding good and very angry. He moved off 20 yards and layed over on his side. We moved in and stuck another arrow in him to speed things up. He’s an awesome ancient old boar missing an eye with torn ears and a huge tusk and grinders a real character boar! Garrett was pumped. We took some photos and set off after the other one. With less cover on this stalk we did real well to get into 22 yards. Garrett made a good shot but was a fraction too far forward hitting the point of the shoulder the boar took off for the river leaving a diminishing blood trail after 400 yards we gave up.

Day 4 the plan was to road hunt to the mid day swim spot and road hunt back. We passed a few nice bulls on the way that were in bad spots or had others with them. We found a 80 inch bull on his own and made a stalk into about 50 yards before he saw us crossing a sunny patch! A few miles later we came across another 75-80 inch bull that Garret was keen on so we stalked him 3 seperate times actually. I would predict his movement get into Position and he’d feed by just out of longbow range. The third attempt saw him bed 35 yards from us. Garret and I were separated about 10 yards so I thought I’d try and call the bull to me and offer a broadside shot for Garrett. It worked pretty good except the bull swung a bit wide rather than come direct to me. Garrett had said he was going to keep his shots inside 15 and I figured the bull was 15 from so thought he was safe when whack the arrow hit him. The height was good but it was about 12-14 inches too far back. I called at the bull and he came back in to 30ish but was behind a tree for Garrett. The bull started to run up Over the ridge and stopped for another look. I shot him in the chest with the .416 and he tipped over shortly after. The arrow had centred the stomach so it was the right call to shoot. We were both bummed out yet again. We decided to switch into pig mode and take a break from buffs. We walked a creek that normally holds pigs but all we found were buffalo cows a nice low 90s buff bull and a dandy scrubber.

To be honest. I thought it too.

Had a (Northern?) brown snake I dodged as well one morning. Even stayed away from the python on the road in the dark....not a snake guy though I deal with a rattler now and again here at home in BC.

Ken I’ve always had both the .375 and .416. Actually owned the .416 for a year longer. I was really enjoying shooting the .375 for the past couple years but struggled to get good solids for it this year so been carrying the .416. The .416 is a lot nicer to carry lighter weight, shorter and less awkward as it’s open sights. Pros and cons to both but both get the job done

The first evening we were amongst a bunch of buff with one shooter bull in the high 80 range. He was really interested in the ladies and wouldn’t stay still for long enough to make a stalk he ended up out in some open country and with plenty of eyes around we left him. We continued to walk seeing several cow buff and a mob of scrubbers with 1 young bull in the mob but left them be as well.

Day 2 we set off on a full day mission planning on getting a buff today and hoping to get Marika and Sean their first Barra. We piled out of camp and there were fresh buff and dog tracks on the road as per usual. There was also a big set of pig tracks I looked out the side window as we crawled forward and said looks to be a big boar walking the road. As I climbed out of the river bottom there was the pig 100 yards in front of us. Actually a huge old sow. I made the decision to back down into the river and try and get around in front of her. It worked like a charm. We popped up onto the flat and the pig headed our way passing by at 18 Darby made a good shot and the pig was down! We hunted our way to the fishing hole seeing one good 100 inch herd bull on the ways and several low mid 80 bulls we had 1 stalk but the bull shrunk as we got closer so we passed. We went fishing and the bite was very slow to start but picked up in the early afternoon with Sean and Darby each getting 3-4 Barra and Marika getting one as well. We also spotted a sawfish which was really cool. We hit the road hunting at about 3:30 my plan was to hunt piggy piggy. Just past the green swamp we ran into the road grader ahead of us. I didn’t want to follow or pass to be caught up after so I turned around and hunted up past the green swamp I took an old washed out road and we were into good numbers of buff right away. Cows calves and some young bulls showing good promise for the future a couple were mid 80s and a bit tempting but I thought we might do better. About 1 km After passing 4 mid 80 bulls I saw a lone bull feeding I couldn’t see his horns but he was in a very stalkable spot so rather than waste time I thought let’s get it on him if he’s good we shoot if not we pass. We closed into 30 Quickly and easily the bull albeit a bit young at 5-6 yr old was a nice 90-92 inches with a tight curl he had great length he was slightly quartered to us so we didn’t have a shot. He was only going to get closer so we waited. He got a quick whiff and picked his head up spotting the cruiser and that spoiled that. I said to Darby oh well let’s go find a bigger one a couple kms later after seeing another 30+ buff. I got to a gully that’s normally tough to cross. I parked to walk it first, all Looked manageable but since I was across I thought I’ll walk up the other side and glass 400 yards away was a great bull feeding one that didn’t need much consideration whether it was a shooter or not he was skinny in the hind end and appeared to have good length on the horns I figured rough estimate from the brief walking away look I got he was around 105 Most importantly he was solo! I left Darby there to watch the bull while I went back to the cruiser to grab the rifle and my pack. We headed after the feeding bull. He was feeding away and into the wind there was several small trees to conceal us a bit but not much cover down low. However with no long grass it was quieter stalking. We got to 100 no problem, opportunity soon arose to close in some More. Now 70 away from him it got a bit tense, we eased into 40 and he fed facing us we couldn’t move. He then turned away again we had to shift 2 yards left then we could close 10 more with a sizeable tree between us and the bull. We got To the tree and the bull was 32 I signaled Darby to go beside the tree and to shoot if given a good opportunity the bull turned slight quartering away. He drew back I picked up binos as I was looking through the foliage of the tree and focused on the chest of the bull. The leg went forward not shot. The bull stepped and the leg went forward again. No shot. He was approaching a tree so I thought maybe because Darby was slightly right of me the tree was in his way. The bull cleared the other side of the tree leg went forward. No shot. I was confused now so put my binos down to look at Darby he was still at full draw I looked back at the bull and he turned away from us making the angle to steep and I hear the bow go off, the arrow hits far back last rib with the angle that steep it probably wasn’t the wrong spot to shoot him but you’ll never penetrate far enough to make a kill shot. 1/2 penetration on this one. the bull ran right at us, I shouldered the rifle not that he was charging but just in case. He stopped at 15 and Darby was frozen. the bull spotted us and ran and stopped at 35 facing us Darby hadn’t nocked an arrow so I told him to, and gave the range. The bull took off running straight away just as he got to the bank of a creek I shot he came out on the other side and I got another one in him but he didn’t slow down much. I ran after him and after several hundred yards I could see the bull again he was still running and right at a herd of buffalo I was worried to loose him In the masses. Out of the middle of the herd a monster 110 bull came charging out thinking the wounded bull was challenging him for his cows. He met him head on dropping the wounded bull in his tracks. The 110 got behind the bull and horned him along then turned and went back to the cows. The wounded bull now stunned from the collision was standing broadside now so I got into 120 yards and put a finishing shot through his heart.

Day 3 morning we crossed the river to where Jeff shot his bull week 2. There were 4 shooter bulls on the plain. Smallest being mid high 80s and largest being 105 or a bit better. We watched in anticipation one of them would do the wrong thing. After quite some time the third largest bull a solid 90 incher gave us play but with a few cows near by it was a challenge. We managed to get to 40 yards before a calf picked us off and blew the whole thing.

The afternoon we struggled severely with heat humidity and swirling wind. We saw several buff but the wind did us in before it even felt like a stalk.

Day 4 the first bull we saw was a high 90s herd bull right near camp. He’s a new comer just showed up 5 days ago. We did t try him as he has about 15 cows. We saw another 92-94 inch herd bull at piggy piggy but passed him as well due to his abundance of cows. We did a short walk and saw a lot of buff but couldn’t turn up a shooter bull. We bumped a chunky boar in the creek but no arrows were flung when he stopped at 45 yards. We saw another high 80-maybe 90 inch bull but the decision was made to go for a swim rather than stalk him. On the return to camp we found a huge mob of buff with a good90 and 98 inch bull with them in a stalkable spot. We closed in on him easily to 48 but I think he heard us even though the wind was howling.

Day 5. I went a hunted an area that I hadn’t been to since Jeff and Gene were here it’s where Jeff hit his second buff. On the way there we saw a good mid 90s bull with a few cows we tried a quick play on him but the wind did us in. Just before parking we saw 2 other good up and comer 85 class bulls. We parked and walked our way through the paperbark trees when I had a northern brown snake cross my path from left to right. I took a couple steps back and went around him only to have a whip snake come right at me about 10 yards later. And yes Kurt this is the same area we danced. It’s a snakey area due to the damp soil and abundance of other small reptiles. We worked our way into the wind headed to a spring further back we spotted a light coloured dog on the move I glasses that area and didn’t see anything else. I took 5 steps and there was a lone buff bull feeding I saw his left horn was broomed so figured he had a bit of age to him. We closed in as the cover was really good. Once we were in fairly close 50 yards or so I got a better look. He was a 90 inch bull but his left side was badly broken so would score low 80s Darby said good enough for him. We got just inside 30 but the bull fed away. When the time was right we closed in again. We got to 23 but he still fed away he went out to 29 then turned and came back into 26/27 he went broadside and even slightly quartered away Darby drew and I said wait till his leg goes forward. It seemed to take forever for his leg to move forward then it did. Darby had picked his spot when the leg was back. Unfortunately that’s too far back once the leg goes forward. The shot went off and a fletching came off the arrow made a racket and hit its mark. A bit far back. Damnit I thought he went out to 50 and I hoped Darby could get a follow up into him but the scrub was too thick. The bull stared our direction for ages then would move off before looking back regularly. The shot was fatal but the bull wouldn’t die soon. He needed another arrow or bullet but he was wired now always looking back. After 40 Mins he started to move off and Darby gave me the green light to shoot him so we wouldn’t loose him. We Closed into 70 and fed him a few pills. He laid down but wouldn’t give up the ghost. A couple arrows through the lungs finished him off quickly. Again not the outcome we wanted but better than the alternative of loosing him. With Darby having drove up we actually took backstraps, tenderloins and hind quarters, it was a nice change to utilize a bunch of the animal. We took the afternoon off for the most part and just had a look around stone house and fished for a bit. Of course our arrival at the waterhole we interrupted a huge boar enjoying a mid day nap in the cool sand. Darby didn’t bring his bow along!

Afternoon hunt was an exciting one! We came across the first mob of donkeys I’ve seen on the property 4 jacks 3 were grey and one black. I wasn’t sure how to stalk them. I treated them the same as anything else. Well guess what they have darn good eyesight. The closest we got was 60 yards we didn’t take a shot. Hopefully they stick around and maybe find a Jill or 2 to breed. A mile later we spotted 2 scrub bulls so the stalk was on for John and I. We closed in easily on the smaller bull. He was the older of the 2 and happened to be in a more stalkable spot. We got to 48!and waited the bull fed to us and then spotted us but with the setting sun in his eyes after 5 minutes he gave up looking and went back to feeding. Now 39 yards John drew and shot but it went low and right going just through the dewlap. He gets to live another day.

Day 2 the morning hunt was really slow. Apart from 2 high 90s herd bulls in the open flats with cows we didn’t see another shooter bull. We headed to another fishing hole for a change of scenery for me. There is normally good hunting on the way but apart from 2 younger 80 inch bulls and some cows we didn’t see much. The evening hunt back to camp was fairly eventful with a stalk on a couple of brumbies Jason managed to make 2 perfect shots the first at 53 yards and second at 45 yards 2 stallions down. We finally spotted a heavy old broomed buff at piggy piggy. We had no wind so a barefoot stalk was in order. We closed into 70 but the bull still heard us but wasn’t sure where we were. He was wise enough to get out of there slowly walking towards the creek. We were waiting for him to maybe start feeding when out of nowhere a pack of dogs came running right at us. 4 males charged in the closest stopped at 10 yards and Jason made no mistake seeing the dog make only 50 yards!

Great write up Tyler. Practically like being right over your shoulder. I should have been down stairs finishing up painting 2 bedrooms - this is a hell of a lot more exciting then watching paint dry.

I’m also a week behind on posts so stay tuned

Afternoon we went to swamp and battled swirling winds. Saw a large group of buff and a couple pigs and dogs that had winded us. It was very uneventful

The evening hunt we returned to the same spot to see the bull feeding in the open again. We stalked up the dry creek in hopes he may feed along it but he didn’t. We had 4 young bulls come by and a large mob of scrubbers join the big buff but no real play was made. Right on dark the bull came back into the creek but we were not in the right spot due to wind direction and all the cattle.

The evening hunt we returned to the same spot to see the bull feeding in the open again. We stalked up the dry creek in hopes he may feed along it but he didn’t. We had 4 young bulls come by and a large mob of scrubbers join the big buff but no real play was made. Right on dark the bull came back into the creek but we were not in the right spot due to wind direction and all the cattle.

Day 3 we started the day with a stalk on a mid 90s herd bull but to be expected didn’t get very far with all the eyes around. We carried on down the road in search of a lone shooter bull. Late in the morning we passed a small group of cows with a nice wide bull among them I figured we should have a go on him. We parked and started to stalk back when a few of the cows seemed to leave the area. I could still see some buff among the scrub on the edge of the waterhole but couldn’t see the bull. We moved in and got in front of them as the fed our way. Still no sign of the bull. The cows headed for a drink then came back up the steep bank and surrounded us with the closest being 3 yards. we shuffled from right to left around a huge gum tree only to be greeted by a bedded calf about 10 yards away on the left side of the tree. It was comical watching 2 grown men hug the same tree for about 10 minutes. Finally the cow got a sniff and moved off. While this was going down I caught movement on the other side of the waterhole. It appeared to be 2 other cows passing by. When our visitors moved off the hunt was back on for the bull. Luckily the cows didn’t bust out of there in a hurry so nothing was alerted. We moved up the waterhole and there he was on the other side of the water, I presume he had gone over to check out the cows that had passed by. We looped back to the truck and crossed the waterhole at the bottom end and worked our way back onto the bull. We sidehilled the steep bank of the waterhole to get into position. I had visions of Jamie sliding down the bank into the jaws of a salty running through my mind with each sketchy step. We got into position and waited the bull changed paths and we had to reposition a few times. Eventually we got it right and he fed past at 30 yards. Jamie took the shot it looked pretty good. Guy feeling said it was a bit high and I heard a loud crack I thought he’d hit the back edge of the scapula. I ran out of the low spot we stood in to observe the bull. He had already done his stop and was running right at me. With no blood visible on his nose I figured it wasn’t double lung and knew it was too high for heart so I shot. A quick follow up dropped him in his tracks. Autopsy revealed a major deflection on a rib so much it kicked the arrow up high and forward not penetrating the chest cavity. It put a cut in 2 ribs and went up into the back strap/neck area. No fault to Jamie as if he hit an inch left or right and missed the rib it would have punch both lungs. Just plain old bad luck. We took lots of photos and plenty of meat. We tried our luck fishing but only managed to loose a few. We walked the green swamp for pigs but due to a high volume of buff traffic they had all the prime pig country flattened and the pigs didn’t seem to be living there.

In the evening we went to grasshopper creek in search of the brisket hit 115. We didn’t find him but tucked away in the far back corner was a 105 slight broomed left horn. We were short on daylight but made a bit of a push after him anyway as sometimes things can happen really quick when you’re within a couple hundred yards. He had 2 cows and a young bull which at one point he chased our direction but the chase didn’t last long enough. They travelled steady away from us so we decided to leave him for tomorrow.

Day 6 was mostly a camp day with a swamp walk for pigs that evening. We managed to get arrows into a couple boars the first I’m not sure what happened maybe a bit back. The second was a good hit but the shoulder slowed penetration only getting one lung. The boar was hit well and fatal but we ran out of light to get a follow up shot and were out of time to return in the morning.

That’s again, for taking the time to share these hunts with us, and I’m counting the days till next year!

It was a good season overall. Lots of fun was had plenty memories made and everyone stayed safe. It was great to get home to the wife and kids as time is precious with them and a fairly short turn around before I’m off working again.

Thanks for tagging along on my 2024 season!

Australia is amazing - the variety of terrain, plants and animals was so interesting. Hunting is about making life long memories and this trip was full of that.

Tyler is a great guide and keeps a great camp. I can't say enough good things. If anyone is even considering going, don't hesitate, make it happen. I am already trying to scheme when I can make it again.