Received this update from one of our much-loved contributors, Norm Maher, a pig hunting enthusiast.. Thought you may appreciate it.
Marcus O’Dean
Editor
Hi Marcus,
I trust that this note finds you well. We’ve enjoyed reading the weekly on-line Shooting Magazine update. It is a great initiative.
We’ve just returned from a successful hunting trip to Bourke where we accounted for 116 pigs during our 10 day stay, albeit we only hunted for some 35 hours during that period. The rest of the time was spent fishing or assisting with jobs on the farm.
Coincidentally, in excess of 300 pigs have been taken off our mate’s property this year. A large number were taken earlier this year during a helicopter cull.
It is hard to believe how the country has recovered from the drought. The Carp have taken over the waterways since the recent floods (see attached photo); frogs are everywhere at night and the Emu and Kangaroo populations have exploded. We’ve also never seen so many Foxes during the day since the floods of the 1970’s.
Interestingly, we did not see any Sows with piglets this year. They must have given birth earlier in the piece. Unlike previous years, the pigs we encountered had absolutely no hesitation in attempting to swim rivers and billabongs, an obvious hang-over from the floods.
In the past they’d generally only take to the water when heavily pursued or cornered.
We had no luck with the fishing as there is an abundance of natural food, not to mention Carp. It wasn’t unusual to find 10 or so Carp in each Yabby Net after being in overnight. There were so many Carp that the waterways were lined with Cormorants, some so full that they couldn’t fly.
As you can appreciate, the Brown Snake (pictured) caused a bit of an Adrenalin rush when our mate from Deni (BI) nearly stood on it while refuelling the bikes in the shed.
We haven’t been able to get away shooting as much as we’d like since purchasing the ranch down south. We try and get down to the farm at least once a month to do the necessary work. This notwithstanding, we’ll still always find the time to visit the outback at least once a year.
Must away, until next time take care.
Best regards,
Norm
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