Tim Blackwell
AH elite
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Messages
- 1,066
- Reaction score
- 3,558
- Location
- South Australia
- Website
- www.facebook.com
- Media
- 366
- Member of
- Australian Deer Association, Australian Association of Wildlife Artists
- Hunted
- Australia, New Zealand, Namibia, South Africa
Outfitter: @BIG COUNTRY SAFARIS AUSTRALIA
Arnhemland, Northern Territory
Australia, September 2026
Guides: Alex, Dylan, Matt and Ethan
Hunters: Ben, Rog, Me, @Mark R, Matt and Yabbie.
I've just completed my 6th NT hunt, and my third with Alex from @BIG COUNTRY SAFARIS AUSTRALIA . So there's nothing in particular that I "needed" to hunt there, but it's such a cool place and a damn fun hunt, that the opportunity to enjoy it again with a good bunch of mates was a no-brainer!
We hunted for 5 full days, with a full travel day either side in & out of camp, then two nights R&R in Darwin before our flight home. Basically, the group split into two each day, both teams setting off in a buggy each to explore the massive wilderness concession, over a million acres with no roads, fences or people. We mixed things up and all managed to hunt together as the week went on.
Day one kicked off in fine fashion. I headed out with guide Dylan and first-timers Rog and Matt, both chasing trophy buffalo. We headed several hours from camp to explore a series of remote waterholes and springs, mostly bush-bashing without tracks, following Dylan's GPS marks. We'd already passed up several promising bulls, looking for something special when we found exactly that, an ancient lone old bull, still carrying impressive horns but truly at the end of his time. Rog made a good stalk with Dylan and shot well, 3-quick 250 grain Woodleighs from his 35 Whelen had the old dinosaur down for the count. What a start, the oldest bull I'd ever seen and testament what can be found in big wilderness areas.
Only an hour further on into the bush, we came upon a number of cows on a spring, being herded by a good looking bull. It took a while for him to give us a decent look, but when we finally saw his heavy bases and crescent shape, the stalk was on. Matt shot well under tough conditions and his Model 70 375H&H was on the money.
We started back to camp, knowing already we'd be returning in darkness, but headed via one last marshy spring system. We were actually admiring some big buffalo cows, when Roger noticed a boar fast asleep in the swamp, by a rotting buffalo carcass that he'd obviously claimed. It was my turn on the trigger! I snuck in to the last trees at 60 metres from the sleeping Hog, turning my Meopta R2 up to 6x and flicking on the red dot reticle. The Mk.X 458WM settled on his rump and I sent a 500gn Nosler Partition on its way. A few kicks and it was all over, he never made it out of bed.
It took a while to get up around the swamp and back to the pig, and some inventive methods of recovery to fish him out of the mire. I was absolutely over the moon; a true trophy boar had eluded me on previous trips and this guy was an absolute tank. We braved the mud and caped him out for a shoulder mount - this guy is going on the wall!
More to follow....
Arnhemland, Northern Territory
Australia, September 2026
Guides: Alex, Dylan, Matt and Ethan
Hunters: Ben, Rog, Me, @Mark R, Matt and Yabbie.
I've just completed my 6th NT hunt, and my third with Alex from @BIG COUNTRY SAFARIS AUSTRALIA . So there's nothing in particular that I "needed" to hunt there, but it's such a cool place and a damn fun hunt, that the opportunity to enjoy it again with a good bunch of mates was a no-brainer!
We hunted for 5 full days, with a full travel day either side in & out of camp, then two nights R&R in Darwin before our flight home. Basically, the group split into two each day, both teams setting off in a buggy each to explore the massive wilderness concession, over a million acres with no roads, fences or people. We mixed things up and all managed to hunt together as the week went on.
Day one kicked off in fine fashion. I headed out with guide Dylan and first-timers Rog and Matt, both chasing trophy buffalo. We headed several hours from camp to explore a series of remote waterholes and springs, mostly bush-bashing without tracks, following Dylan's GPS marks. We'd already passed up several promising bulls, looking for something special when we found exactly that, an ancient lone old bull, still carrying impressive horns but truly at the end of his time. Rog made a good stalk with Dylan and shot well, 3-quick 250 grain Woodleighs from his 35 Whelen had the old dinosaur down for the count. What a start, the oldest bull I'd ever seen and testament what can be found in big wilderness areas.
Only an hour further on into the bush, we came upon a number of cows on a spring, being herded by a good looking bull. It took a while for him to give us a decent look, but when we finally saw his heavy bases and crescent shape, the stalk was on. Matt shot well under tough conditions and his Model 70 375H&H was on the money.
We started back to camp, knowing already we'd be returning in darkness, but headed via one last marshy spring system. We were actually admiring some big buffalo cows, when Roger noticed a boar fast asleep in the swamp, by a rotting buffalo carcass that he'd obviously claimed. It was my turn on the trigger! I snuck in to the last trees at 60 metres from the sleeping Hog, turning my Meopta R2 up to 6x and flicking on the red dot reticle. The Mk.X 458WM settled on his rump and I sent a 500gn Nosler Partition on its way. A few kicks and it was all over, he never made it out of bed.
It took a while to get up around the swamp and back to the pig, and some inventive methods of recovery to fish him out of the mire. I was absolutely over the moon; a true trophy boar had eluded me on previous trips and this guy was an absolute tank. We braved the mud and caped him out for a shoulder mount - this guy is going on the wall!
More to follow....
Last edited by a moderator:
