Back from Australia

[pdk25]

For along time now, I have been fooling around with heavier weight bows in the hopes that one day I would be able to hunt buffalo.  My wife knows this, and over this last winter she kept prodding me to inquire about costs and getting scheduled for a hunt around 2014.  Well, back in February I finally contacted Mick Baker from Trophy Bowhunts Australia.  I found out the he might be losing his lease on his buffalo hunting property after this year and that he had one opening for this year.  I wasn't really prepared for a hunt this early, but my wife said she that she thought that I really should go since this might be the last opportunity for the forseeable future.  I booked the hunt for early june of this year, and then went about getting my finances and equipment together.  

I travelled to Kalamazoo to check into heavy takedown bows that I might be able to get made in time for my hunt.  I tried out Dave Stinson's morrison shawnee that was 82# @ 28", but discovered that an 'A' riser had too short of a sight window for my shooting style.  Eventually I settled on a Morrison ILF with carbon foam "E" limbs and a 15" riser, 82# @ 29", that turned out great. Billy Shipp camo dipped the bow and that part of it was done.  Then for the arrows.  I eventually ended up with gold tip kinetic hunter 200 shafts.  30" arrows with 100 grain brass inserts, 125 grain broadhead adapters, and 300 grain tuffhead broadheads.  Also tuned up a batch with same shafts and inserts cut to a little under 31", but with 225 grain tuffheads.  Arrows were 900 grains and 850 grains,  respectively.

[rastaman]

[elknutz]

 I'm all ears!

[Killdeer]

Why, you little stinker!
Snuck out and here's the story! I have more "ear" than Ross Perot! Let it roll!!

Killdeer  

[billy shipp]

Hmmmmm.....wonder how this deal will turn out?

[pdk25]

Time dragged on over the months, but eventually it was time to go.  What a tiring flight!  I left in the afternoon on the 5th and arrived in Darwin the evening of the 7th, with multiple layovers.  I don't know why I took these pics in Darwin, but here they are.

 
Couple of cool birds.  No idea what kind.

 
The waterfront

 
Young people practicing australian rules football.  This pic didn't come out well.

Unfortunately, I can't sleep on planes or in the airport.  Even with the 14 and a half hour time difference, I was awake for almost 2 full days.  I got a good night's sleep in Darwin, and made it to Mcarthur River the afternoon of the 8th where I met Andy Ivy and Mick Baker and we drove out to the ranch that I would be hunting at.  The ranch itself was approximately 300,000 acres, with additional large ranches abutting the ranch.  When I say that the roads on the ranch were not like a highway, that is an understatement.  The lack of improved roads is a reflection of the lack of traffic, and that is a great thing.  The only people on the ranch during the hunt were the guides and myself. We got settled in to camp and started the hunt after a good nights sleep.  I didn't take any pics of the camp, but here are some of the details.

We slept on padded cots covered in mosquito netting with overhead tarps.  Meals were cooked on hot plates primarily and kept warm in a large cast iron pot over the fire (Mick is a great cook).  A large metal water tank was kept next to the fire that gave a supply of warm water for showers, washing dishes, etc..   We were camped next to a creek for a water supply, with a gravity filtration system.  A sandbank 100 yards or so from the camp was our target range. Right in camp was a buffalo skull for testing broadheads.  Let's just say that the tusker heads didn't fair so well.
 
 

A generator supplied intermittent power to a battery bank  for the freezer and refrigerator as well as running the hotplate and light in the evening.  Typical meals included cereal or toast with coffee or tea for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a hearty meal for supper.  Sometimes fresh fish, venison sausage, steak, and other great foods.  Don't worry, there were some vegetables included, too.  Now on to the hunt.

[bohuntr]

I cannot wait to see and hear this unfold! One of my dream hunts for sure.

[pdk25]

Since I was the only client in camp for the hunt, Mick an Andy alternated days guiding me and on their day off, took care of camp chores or hunted.  On the first day, Mick took up guide duties. We headed out on the ATV to get to a particular flat that we were going to hunt.  I should say that the ranch had several small rivers on the property and was primarily a mixture of flats/flood plains and highlands, with the flats having great grass cover for buffalo browsing and scattered gum trees, and slightly more dense cover/trees along the rivers.  Waterholes were scattered throughout the ranch, so there was no shortage of water this early in the dry season.  Temperatures ranged from highs in the mid 80's to lower 90's, and lows from the mid 40's to mid 50's.  The ride on the atv was a little chilly in the morning, but not too bad for me on the back, but Mick and Andy got their hands pretty cold on the ride.

A few minutes into the ride we came up on a buff.  He got curious enough to come within around 45 yards.  Pretty cool for this early in the hunt.  Man, I thought, this is gonna be easy.  Here is a typical picture of a buff that is onto something.

   


We continued on, crossing over a few rivers, bouncing over anthills, onto the flat.  We saw several buffalo, with a few nice bulls, but they all headed for the thicker cover at the base of the highlands to the west and the river on the east.  We circled around and tried to come back through the thicker stuff to the west but only managed to see a cow/calf and a few scrub bulls.  Here is a pic of them moving through the brush.
 
Tough getting up on them in that thick stuff.  Did find this cool scrub bull skull, though.
 

The buff are mostly bedded down by late morning and the odds of success go way down after this happens, so we headed back to camp for lunch.  Over lunch, Andy and I headed to a beautiful waterhole that is very deep and cool to go fishing.  It would be perfect for a dip in the water if it wasn't for a large saltwater croc that has been frequenting the pool.    Andy caught a nice Barra that we later.

   
Me pushing the boat in.

   
A nice waterfall on the fishing hole

   
Andy and his Barra

Couldn't get up on any buff in the afternoon, so we got back to camp for supper.  We chatted awhile and eventually this little guy visited camp to catch moths that were attracted by the light. He showed up every night and would land right next to our feet at times.  Silent death, this guy is.  He will be missed when the campsite is moved at the end of my hunt.

   

   

[huntnmuleys]

enjoying this one so far!

[pdk25]

The morning of the second day I woke feeling very optimistic, just as I did everyday of the hunt.  During the hunt, we probably averaged 11 or twelve miles of hunting, in addition to the miles logged on the atv.  It seemed that most of the buff were located in flats remote to this campsite.  I was hunting with Andy this day, and on the drive in we spotted a very nice old bull that was heading for cover.  We tried to get up on him, but he was just too wily and we lost sight of him in the brush.  

Just a note here on some of what I learned about chasing buff. Never lose sight of them.  If you do, it will be very difficult to pick them up again.  I know, I know, how could you lose an animal that weighs a little under a ton.  Easily is the answer.  They call them grey ghosts for a reason.  Also, if they are moving it is very difficult to keep up with them.  I wore mostly seclusion 3d open country camo, and I feel it is the camo pattern that best blends into this terrain, with the max-1 pattern probably second best.  That being said, Mick was able to get up on buff wearing white shorts.  I still went with the camo.  White is not my color.  Also, you have to close the distance as quickly as you can.  Staying upright is the most efficient way.  Pretend you are a tree and move in a line with the buffs eyes and don't deviate laterally.  They will see that.  Up and down motion is no good either.  I was told that sometimes you can spot a buff and be up on them with a broadside shot within 1 or 2 minutes if the conditions are right.  Problem is, since the last couple of days of the prior hunt, the wind had died down and was now seriously swirling. This continued throughout my hunt.  This made stalking the buff extremely difficult for multiple reasons.  Not enough noise to cover your sound, the buff are more wary and don't keep their heads down to feed as long and continuously scan, and the obvious getting winded.  What are you going to do?  Not hunt, lol.  Doug Burns ran into the same tough conditions last year.

We didn't have much luck for most of the morning, but managed to come up on a nice bull bedded under a gum tree. The wind and cover was going to be tough, so I circle around to the right and took my shoes off to use what cover I had to get to a position where he wouln't be facing me and get at his vitals.  Took about 10 minutes and I got to maybe 40 yards from him with cover between him and I until the wind switched.  He jumped off and ran a little ways off.  He saw me and kept coming closer then moving off for around 5 minutes or so until he finally tired of the game.  This was a theme that was repeated many times during the trip.  

During the lunch hour we visited the a hot spring for a swim.  Beautiful place that my pics don't do justice to.  A warm waterfall mixes with cooler water from another.  Had a great swim.

 

 

 

 

In the afternoon, we only saw some scrub bulls, but had high hopes for the next day.

[Ryan Sanpei]

Don't stop now....

 

[pdk25]

Here are some other picks from the trip, in no particular order.

 
pair of lorikeets

 
lorikeet in flight

 
typical flat

 
dingo-the australian coyote

 
prairie turkey

 
baby calf without mom, which is pretty unusual

 
flock of pelicans

 
buff running across plain


I saw a few wallabies but couldn't get any pics.

[Dirtybird]

Beautiful pictures Pat, I bet the land of Oz gave you some great memories.  Keep it coming.

[pdk25]

There were so many beautiful birds that I would have liked pics of, including different species of cockatoos and kingfishers.  The cockatoos were pretty darn noisy, though.  I will show some pics of the campsite that Allan Devore and Doug Burns will be using for their upcoming hunt, and then pics get pretty sparce because I got fixated on hunting.  The camp is in a great spot with huge feeding flats nearby, sandy soils, shade, and a beautiful cool water hole on a river with a cool waterfall for washing up.  Gotta stay in the falls for now, though, because of this guy and his friends.
   
Not necessarily a huge croc, but I still wouldn't want to play with him on his turf.

   

   

 
Mick washing up

[pdk25]

Sorry, not pulling a Charlie Lamb, but I gotta run for several hours.  Be back to add more later.

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

On my list of hunts I would love to do , carry on sir.............
,,,,,Sam,,,,,,

[xma]

You've got me on edge, Pat--when I read along I can picture it myself. I wanna ago again!!!!

[jonsimoneau]

Australia looks like a place I could live. It looks so beautiful there with vast unoccupied lands and a fairly small human population.

[sledge]

[pdk25]

Patience, grasshopper. I will finish up tonight or tomorrow morning.