Trad Gang
Main Boards => Dangerous Game => Topic started by: Terry Green on May 02, 2003, 06:56:00 PM
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I'm seriously hoping to join Charlie next year on a trip of a lifetime, and I would like to know what all to consider as gear goes.
I would guess you guys take 2 bows, one for back up?
How many arrows JUST for Buff hunting?
How many extra arrows for 'other' hunting?
How about a list of other hunting, and non-hunting "stuff" to take?
Thanks,
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Terry ,
don't know about OZ but any time you are in a foreign country hunting Dangerous Game one thing is insurance :D .not trying to be funny but if you did get busted up either from a buff or from some one driving on the wrong side of road (hear it is alright to do that over there ) there are companies that will Medavac you back to the U.S..i can look up the companies ,have them filed somewhere , as i checked when i was hoping to get to South Africa .they will come dig you out of the bush and to a hospital in country you are in and then bring you home on a medical flight , runs around $400 u.s. a year .also good for inside u.s. .------- herb
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Tarz,
This is my African check list, should work for OZ too. :scared:
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Yeah T, I'm wondering about huntin clothes. Warm enough to hunt in shorts? Pepper spray for crocs? :scared:
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Terry,
Twang's list just about covers everything, depends on the area and time of year regarding hunting in shorts, personally I'm kinda paranoid about snakes and such and would add some kind of lower limb protection
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figure if i was close enough to peper spray a croc would be making better use of my short time left on earth praying .---- herb 330# and can't run very fast :D
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Herb,
You are definitely THE man I want to go bear hunting with ... if things go really bad, maybe I can outrun YOU! :bigsmyl:
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good point guys.....running shoes added to list! :)
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Wow.....thanks guys.
Charlie....I recon the 1st thing you added to that list was colone?
:bigsmyl:
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OK, heres my two cents. I actually keep taking less stuff every year. If I took it twice and didn't use it, I don't need it. I also like to travel as light as possible. If you are only hunting in the Northern Territory where the buff are, it will be warm, it is well inside the tropical zone, so even in the middle of their winter it still may hit 90 in the middle of the day, the air is VERY dry though so in the shade will be comfortable. In still can be cool in the morning, especially if you are in an open vehicle. Also the sun is very strong, so most folks need some protection from it. You can hunt in shorts, but most don't. I generally wear camo tee shirts and the bdu type camo pants, with the cargo pockets. I do take a small fanny pack, but usually leave it in the vehicle. A light jacket for mornings is nice. I also take a couple of old tee shirt to wear in camp etc. and then I can just leave them to lighten the load on the way home. Where I hunt we take an extra gear bag, large size to bring back capes and horns as checked baggage, that alone will save you quite a bit over Africa. I shot a buff in April and had it hanging on my wall in August!
I take one takedown recurve with a spare set of limbs. I can use the same arrows with either set. If I was going for two weeks on a buff hunt I would take at least 30 arrows and glue etc. for repairs. I usually only take about 5 practice arrows and I can change the heads on those. A soft case to protect your strung bow in the vehicle is nice. I pack the bow in a soft case inside of my gear bag for the flights.
If you have more than one guy going you can divide up the spare stuff such as string wax, super glue, leatherman etc.. One small flashlight is enough, you probably won't even use that. Bulk is as big a problem as weight, sometimes more.
Crocs and snakes are not a problem, you probably won't even see either one, you will see cane toads though, don't lick em! :smileystooges: Ric
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T... definately takin the cologne!! A guy can't be too well prepared! (looks like you've got a very vivid imagination on the keyboard)
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Don't forget that when you come back, you will have more stuff than you took(except arrows)! I can fit all of my gear into a Cabelas large size gear bag, except for the cameras and binos which are in my carry on. I don't know about that cologne thing, some of them blokes in the outback have been out there a long time! :help: Rick
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Hey gang , Im right behind you , after reading this site ,I know i want to hunt OZ . So, ole Mark is taking notes...dont forget at least two good cameras ....and tell Steve and Terri (crochunters) hi for me too...LOL..Best of Luck to you all ...May the good Lord bless and keep you . #78 Mark
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Twang , And 2 sharp knifes....good luck #78
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WOW! pepper spray on a croc...thats like hot sauce ...that croc eat you cajun style!!!mc.
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Oz, where men are men and sheep are nervous. Leave the cologne at home! :scared:
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T,
I thought of a couple of more important things, that weren't listed:
Journal, to keep your notes of the hunt. Without it old timers, like me, can't remember squat.
Get your shots, don't know if your area in Oz, is a malaria area? But the Travel Well center over at St. Joes in Atl. has a good program to figure out what you need, maybe tetnus and take some Cipro, for travelers disease or ?
You might want to fill out that Customs Form 4457 for serial no. items. You get that at the Customs office out by the Atl airport.
In reading back through my notes, there were a couple of other things of note:
IF you may have to track animals yourself at dark, then take a headlamp. Personally, I found in SA, the trackers carried some pretty pitiful flashlights, and I was very happy to have a Petzl Duo to illuminate the situation.
IF you are going to hunt any blinds or hides, I recommend taking some shoot thru mesh. :knothead:
Hope this is helpful.
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If you are tracking any wounded buffalo at night you will be doing it by yourself! :) In fact pretty much of anything, I thought I was going to be gored by a red stag, who had no few of me whatsover after dark. I did get a tetanus booster, before I went the first time, its good for ten years. Australia is on the same level with the US when it comes to health matters and its probably even safer in the outback, since there are so few people there. We all drink the water right out of the rivers, just watch for crocs. No other shots or pills are necessary. Rick
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Great info....hope I get to put it to use.
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ttt
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I bet pepper spray to a crock is like red pepper to a cajun .Roll around in the water and you got hot sauce....LOL....mark #78
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Rick,
To keep down on weight and bulk, for things like the shoot thru netting and mag lites to use/leave there with the trackers, could you just ship/mail it there ahead of you? Or, do you think it best to take everything with you instead?
Larry
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Larry,
Rick's in OZ....will be there for a while longer too.
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Very good thread as I am trying to plan a hunt there in 2004. Plan to hunt Sambar,Chital and Rusa.
Danny :thumbsup:
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My OZ site is in its infancy (read, rough as guts) but if you're interested, have a gander:
www.ozbow.net (http://www.ozbow.net)
I'd be really interested in what things you want answered in a site like this, as one of the aims is to eventually cater for the visitor.
Anyway, if you're inclined, please drop by and let me know what you think. If you ask a question there, one of us will definitely find the answer for you.
Cheers,
Erron
Erron Adams
www.ozbow.net (http://www.ozbow.net)
Traditional Archery & Bowhunting in Australia
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"ERRON"
Excellent, well done mate.
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Jock,
thanks mate!
Erron
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Erron,
Glad to see you got it off the ground mate! :thumbsup: I hope to spend a lot of enjoyable hours there, and hopefully many enjoyable days in you home range a little later on! :D
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Dean,
you are, and will be, welcome. Thanks for stopping by!
Erron
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Larry, you really don't need to take all that much stuff. I was there for three months and had all of my gear in one large gear bag and one carry-on for cameras, binos etc. It is possible to send stuff ahead of time, but you run in to all of the problems with customs.
If a croc grabs you, you won't have time to say SH.., let alone spray them with anything, aside from what god gave you or course.
I'm back from three months of guiding and cowboying in OZ and full of new insights, so have at it! Rick
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So Rick... what was your most insightfull moment this trip?
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Charlie, it seems obvious to me, that if you are going to hunt one of the biggest and potentially dangerous animals on earth, that I would make sure that I was as prepared as I could possibly be. Unfortunatly we had some hunters this year who were not even close to being prepared and it didn't make bowhunters in general look very good. Hunting buffalo is right on the edge of bowhunting, it can be done quite well, BUT NOTHING should be taken for granted, every detail should be make fool proof in advance. I did see one buffalo go down in about a minute with a single arrow to the heart, but even that bowhunter blew a chance at a much bigger buff after a very difficult stalk by just leaving one
little gap for Mr. Murphy to slip in. The buff he did take will be in the top 15, but he could have been in the top ten with the other one. Rick
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Rick... I'm still pursuing my fantasy of an Oz Buff hunt in 2004. If it's not embarrassing to anyone, I'd like to know what the "gap" was that Murphy slipped in through.
I also hear talk of "frequent" need for multiple arrows on these critters. Care to expound for me?
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Charlie, I'd go for it. The ranch that I hunt on has an estimated 4500-5200 buffalo on it and up until this year they were running 100% for bowhunters, rifle hunters are always 100%. The buff that I tried to take myself last year turned out to be over 109" it would have been a new #2 archery buff IF I had taken it.
The gap that particular time was with a compound shooter who brought two different bows with different sight pin setups and shot right over the back of a huge buff, because at the moment of truth he used the wrong pin for that bow. I recommend shooting one bow for everything there. I only need one set of arrows and the buff bow works just fine on everything else, but not the other way around. Buff usually require more than one arrow ONLY because very few people do their best shooting on a buffalo. If you put the first arrow in the right place they will be dead on the ground in less than a minute, if you don't, they won't. Rick
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Rick.... Thanks for the info! All that sounds just about right to me. Won't be usin anything but one bow myself and no pins on it!
Moment of truth? Well, just have to see how I perform when that time comes. :D
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Charlie, yeah NOBODY knows what the moment of truth will be like until they get there. I get pumped up when I'm close to buffalo also, even if I am backing up a hunter and have a .375 in my hands. I think it does help to spend some time studying big bovids in advance, at the zoo or farm or whatever. Rick
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Rick , All your tidbits sound so exciting , you are a blessed man! Post some pics when you get a chance ....I think Id rather a shot in the OZ than Africa.............Mark#78
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Mark, we made an exploratory trip upto the northern coast and just caught and unbelievable amount of fish and sharks. Unfortunatly in the process, I got my camera soaked in seawater and it refused to give up any photos. I did have one of the hunters send me photos of him with dead deer, dingos, pigs, a donkey and a buffalo, Best I can do at the moment however is that photo of Cory at the head of this conference. Rick
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Rick , sorry about ur camera there buddy. Sounds like you really had a nice experience....love hearing about your adventures. Thanks, Mark#78
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Hey guys, I was just filing some of the notes I made from OZ this year(I was there for three months, I can't remember everything!) and I thought I would pass along a few things.
I don't recommend wearing anything on your back, including quivers fanny packs, camelbacks etc., when you bowhunt for buffalo, you will spend some time crawling or at least bent over and anything on your back defeats the whole purpose. The best stalk I made this year was on a huge old buff in a clearing with only two trees in it, I had to belly crawl for about 30 yards, pushing the back up rifle in front of me, but it worked, to bad the hunter muffed the shot!
I don't recommend wearing shorts to hunt in for the same reason as above, you will be crawling and the ground there is often rocks, sticks and grass stubble. If you wear shorts you will get cut up, but your call. Do get a pair of gaiters though to keep the grass seeds out of your socks if you hunt in shorts.
Buff have excellent eyesight, wear light colored camo, old faded stuff is great and so is the leafy wear, if you can get a light enough color, "Jungle" camo is way-way to dark.
SOFT soled walking shoes are a big advantage, you don't need lugged soled hiking boots or waterproof boots. We don't get into the water that much, but when we do, it will usually be over the tops of your boots anyway.
Bow quivers are the best, back quivers and hip quivers stick up and spook buffalo all the time. Do bring LOTS of arrows though. A plains indian type quiver would be my second choice.
Try all of your stuff out in advance! Don't assume that this will work with that! Rick
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Come on RicMic, more stories man? You run anything thru?
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STevo, I got lots of stories, but none are about me shooting anything with my bow. I spent almost all my time guiding hunters or working cattle. The couple days I did have to hunt, I didn't run into the buffalo or scrub bull that I wanted. We did see a LOT. In one afternoon we figure we saw about 200 buffalo. I did see one old cow buff that I have been looking for, for four years, she has huge horns that sweep down and back, but she had a small calf with her, I thought she was to old for that! I also know an area I want to check out next year, no one has ever hunted it, except me, briefly, but huge bulls keep being spotted there from the air. Only problem, it'll be a walk in and carry out and its a scary place to hunt. Rick
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RicMic,
I finally downloaded e-mail at home and got your message. I am here this week between sheep and goat hunts and then have another week at home before an interior grizzly hunt. I'll call you sometime in there!
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Hi guy,Good to see You are going to hunt OZ.I lived in Australia for five years,it is a wonderfull place fer,sure.Don,t bother with the pepper spray for croc,s the stuff is illegal in OZ.Any thing you would need there can be perchaced when you get there,if you should forget something that is.Oz has a very strong Trad,bowhunting following,and the guys over there are only to happy to help out.If as I take it you are heading for the NT or NQ,you can exspect to see heaps of pigs,Some deer,maybe Bantang,Buff,Roo,s, Snakes,Big Bugs,Spiders,Biting ants,And of course Croc,s.Listen to the locals and stay away from the water.Every thing over there bites,stings,or is poisoness so don,t touch anything without checking with a local first.I have the scars to prove it.(Not joking).You will have the time of your life..Best of luck,,Jack.
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Hey Jack,
Guess you missed out on the job with the OZ tourist board?
:)
Erron
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Ahhhh Yeah,I guess you could say the place had a long lasting effect on me.
Good luck this week with Guy.
Jack.