Easter Boar

At dawn on Easter Sunday my wife and I were hiking a bearing to a creek system we wanted to explore.

Still in the high, savanna and woodland country, we were nearly at the head of the creek when a boar and I spotted each other simultaneously through the spear grass. He was unsure but spooked across our path at sixty metres as I chambered a fat cartridge into the Sako .500 Jeffery and sent a 600 grain Woodleigh PPSN into him, dropping him. But alas, it was a poor first shot and he was up and running in seconds. My second shot missed but my third shot went through the shoulders and dropped him dead. He is a big tusker for this area, easily one of my best.

The boar died forty metres from a secret waterfall that I’d dreamt of the night before. We had no idea it was there, and the only people who may have been there before are getting on in years and have forgotten. Perhaps the ancestors wanted us to find it. Beautiful, clear water cascaded out of the rocks in the cliff beneath our feet, a seep to drain away the wet season and send it to the Gulf. It was refreshing to cool down once we’d carefully picked our way down.

The creek led us to some glorious country, but the buffalo are still scattered hell-west and crooked, making it hard to get meat. All we found was a cow and calf, so we left them in peace.

We found a beautiful, clear swimming hole and cooled down.

Then it was time to turn back and beat the heat, but my wife wanted to explore just another two-hundred metres upstream. I agreed and chambered a round in the thick confines of the narrow, winding ravine. After a short distance I examined the thick cover ahead and stopped, feeling nervous. I felt something was there. I didn’t want to continue but my wife wanted to check the creek just ahead. I began a cautious approach at the ready. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bastard at the same time that my wife urgently whispered “snake!” and covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming. The brown snake was about five feet and on a mission to escape that caused him to literally collide with my boot - I felt the impact as I stood stock-still and watched him slither over my boots and away. I felt shaky inside and we turned for home.

This season the snakes are out in greater numbers than I have seen in many years. I am usually quite casual - shorts and sandals - but what I’ve seen and experienced this year has frightened me. Yesterday I was wearing boots and trousers because a couple of weeks back another brown slid across my sandal-clad toes at the end of my bare legs - that was a terrifying buffalo hunt!

Nice hike you guys had.. except for the snake envoubter. Glad it wasn't me.

Nice Boar!!!

Good cutters on your pig .
I think you were under gunned , HA, they are tuff animals.
You can keep the snakes. Forrest

That is a nice pig!

BenKK said:

............... The brown snake was about five feet and on a mission to escape that caused him to literally collide with my boot - I felt the impact as I stood stock-still and watched him slither over my boots and away. I felt shaky inside and we turned for home.
.........

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I'm thinking that shaky insides would have been on my boots.

Congrats on not staying a permanent water feature,.... oh ya, and the pig.

(Thanks for the nightmares. I think I like the snow more today.)

Nice Boar Ben,
well done.

I found in my old buff area that there were way too many Dingoes for there to be any sort of pig population.
The ones that survive early predation can, as your example shows, grow to be real stud Boars.

I found that by shooting off baits (Brumby carcasses are the best) to be the most reliable method for turning up Boars and over the years I did quite well using that method.

The later the season (late August onwards) the more productive it is as they have to travel so much further for something to eat they will smell a dead carcass many miles away when things are tough.

You did very well for so early in the season and for such a big Wet that it has been.

Well done again and thanks for posting.

P.T.

G’day Paul, finding a boar here is a matter of good luck and hard work at the best of times (build-up) let alone at this time of year. Right now we’re struggling to find buffalo for meat, although they’re easy to find when you’ve got no rifle. We were super lucky! There were no pig tracks at all down along the spring, and just a little digging in one small area by the creek. That boar seemed to be commuting from Germany to Queensland, or something like that! Cheers, Ben

Great Boar. Loved the story.
Cheers,
Cody

Love the Boar, hate the snake, man you were really lucky on both counts.

Congrats, nice pig !

Get out of the way of the browns, I heard they are dangerous characters.

One fine boar! The snake story...I would probably have shot my toes off trying to kill it!

Are you trying to terrify us from going to the Northern Territory ?? Lol!
You were very lucky that Brownie didn’t bite you!
Nice hog though!
Sako 500 with 600 grain bullet should certainly do the trick!

Dr Ray said:

Are you trying to terrify us from going to the Northern Territory ?? Lol!
You were very lucky that Brownie didn’t bite you!
Nice hog though!
Sako 500 with 600 grain bullet should certainly do the trick!

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No way, the NT needs hunters and travellers! It’s a beautiful place comparable to Africa, and it’s true wilderness. Everyone should experience it. The snakes usually aren’t this bad, and when we start throwing matches around it should make some parts safer - although buffalo hunters tend to move silently through frog country, which makes for undesirable encounters...

I’m wearing boots and djradji (trousers) though, instead of the usual shorts and sandals / thongs.

I’ll be in the NT 31 May to go buff consulting with my 375 H&H and Sako in 338 Winchester magnum.
No snakes (I hope).
Around Cairns we have both Browns and taipans. Sure keeps your mind focused when crunching through the hunting areas.

The snakes in Queensland are bigger and more abundant, even though we theoretically have some of the same species.

We think our snake population got hit hard by the cane toads, yet I haven’t heard the same anecdotes about Queensland - although the Queensland snakes have had longer to get used-to them, I suppose. Just wondering...

Great hunt report! Do you own a pair of snake boots or are they just too hot for the NT? They make some breathable ones now with kevlar sewn in that will defeat any snake bite. Although I would think a 5 foot snake could probably strike higher than the boots cover with ease.

Thanks for sharing. Nice boar. Snakes can be an effective deterrent to others finding you hunting honey hole........ Good luck.
Bruce

Nice pig! You don't want them lower tusks up your thigh. ;-)

This a fair brown left his skin in the paddock here the other day.