dave h Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Friday afternoon the kids got home from school & informed me that we were going spotlighting ! (News to me but there you have it ) We modified the shooting wagon a little more (Ok! Ok! so I cut loose with the angle grinder ) & cut a hole in the roof so who ever holds the light can stand up in the back ! I did this as the kids have been eyeing off my remote controled spot light on the roof of my Old work bus ! Within 15mins we had 3 Roos for the night & My claim to fame ....1 Hare shot through the eye At about 60yrds ! Unsupported with a .22lr ! Now I don't know who got more of a supprise .... The Kids ,Me or the Hare !! I'll be honest I could barely see the bloody thing as the rifle was swinging round that much (I'm used to shooting off a rest none of this davey crocket stuff ) I aimed at it's nice shinny eye squeezed the trigger & prayed ! I was rewarded with a thunk & it went down ! I thought it was a gut shot (as it was crawling away from the light ) But it turned out to be the head shot (Big Karma with the kids ) I got the kids to drop the offal off up the dump after we'd cleaned & butcherd everything & on Sat morning thought that there was a fair chance of getting a fox that night as they love Roo offal . So out we went again ,Evin asked if he could use my Hornet ,but as we've had a heavy baiting program going I told him to just take the .22lr as we probarly would'nt get anything ! 5mins out ,4 foxes took off & Ev managed to bag one that made the mistake of stopping for a second look ! The others just sat out of range & waited for us to leave !I was going to just throw the fox back into the dump as the skins are only worth about $5.oo at this time of the year but the kids pounced on it as pocket money ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorgansBoss Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Those are some lucky kids Dave. Kids being kids though, I hope they realize just HOW LUCKY they are to be living that life in this day and age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Dave, Do they hunt from helicopters over your way? Here's a few pigs that were taken from a 'copter on a local ranch, there's 27 on the trailer, all different weights--- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/fritz/April152005.jpg Those were taken during the day. For my night hunting from an atv, I use this Rube Goldberg rig. It's a little clumbsy, but works-- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/fritz/797b987f.jpg fritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted February 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Dave, Do they hunt from helicopters over your way? Here's a few pigs that were taken from a 'copter on a local ranch, there's 27 on the trailer, all different weights--- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/fritz/April152005.jpg Those were taken during the day. For my night hunting from an atv, I use this Rube Goldberg rig. It's a little clumbsy, but works-- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/fritz/797b987f.jpg fritz The Gov used to use choppers for the big culls of Goats camel & Buff back in the 80's but I have'nt heard of any one use them privately in years ! Your Rube Goldberg rig looks very much like our light force light's over here they market a similar set up that has a portable battery pack ,for use on moter bikes ,quads & on foot ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Dave,are foxes native to Australia,or did the British bring them with them?Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted February 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Dave,are foxes native to Australia,or did the British bring them with them?Jerry The British brought them over so the gentry could hunt with horses & hounds ! But of course there were a few servivers ! Durring the 1970's there was a Boom in the fox skin Trade ,with skins reaching up to $50.00 each (Funny I shot a lot of Foxes durring this time & never got a 50 dollar skin) ! The average price was around 30.00 & when you consider that on some nights you could if you were away from the week-end Pros shoot 20-30 foxes in a night it was good money ! The end came in 1985 when the market went bust over night ! A feral cat skin was worth more than a Fox skin ! I still laugh to this day as the majority of week-end warriers (as we full time shooters refered to the semi pros) all went out & brought .17 rems ,as all the Gun scribes in Auz said this was the weapon of choice ,of Pro shooters ! (we mostly used Hornets or .222s ) Now a normal 700 BDL rem in those days was round about 250.00 where as a .17 was about 500.00! Now I know it's not all that funny to the poor souls who were trying to make a buck but when the market collapsed ,most of us went back to other shooting (Rabbits ,Roos ect ) where as these poor souls were stuck with .17s that you could'nt give away ! I've promised a Skin buyer that I know & have delt with over the years 200 skins this winter as he just can't get them as the average price is only $14.00 ,but as he has always looked after me it will be a pleasure ! Also as nobody is shooting them these days it's easy work for your money !Plus the Fact I've just fitted a new stock to my Martini Hornet & a 4-12 bushnell banner scope & I'm dying to try it out on Old Reynard ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Dave, I believe that light is a Night Force made in Australia. I got it off ebay a few years ago. I wish it were a recgargeable one. fritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorgansBoss Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 I'm curious Dave, do you guys use calls or is it just "spot & shoot?" Wanted to collect a jackal and rooicat while in S. Africa but seemed they knew what the light was all about. Soon as it hit em they were gone! Thought about packing along a predator call on the next trip to try early and late while there's still enough light to shoot - much as we do here at home (in The States). Your story about the fur boom and bust brings back old memories. Our cherry red's in winter coat hit $75US around 1978. Coons brought $40+, I even sold possums* for over $10! 84 and 85 weren't too bad, 86 saw falling prices and hesitant buyers. By 87 I couldn't give raccoons away. In fact I did finally talk my local dealer - a man my family had sold fur to for two generations - into taking a couple dozen coons for free just to avoid throwing them away. I haven't harvested a critter for fur since. With the low fur prices and high fuel prices and most old-time trappers out of business or dead, the foxes have exploded here this year. Shot five from one stand several months ago but it was just control - too early for fur - the farm owner is a big time turkey hunter and hates the nest robbing foxes. *By the way... "possums" are our own marsupial. A stupid looking critter with nice fur but an incredibly fragile skin. Do other marsupials have this paper thin skin? Took a lot of practice before I learned not to tear the skin at "the pouch" while fleshing them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 I remember the fall of fur prices very well. We used to get around $40 for a prime coon skin, the problem was trying to convince the buyer it was prime! Oh yeah, there were the always present fundillo fur buyers who tried to buy cheap and sell high. I believe the reason for the sudden drop in demand for furs was (at least part) because of PETA. God bless those plastic shoed, faux furred siesos. They changed a small part of the economy (although they DID NOT change the end result of a lot of the varmints they so dearly protected). After the demand for coon hides stopped, the little masked bastards increased in numbers so much that they put me out of the sweet corn business. Damned, I don't know what makes me madder---the coons or the feral pigs! Both are on the short list. fritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted February 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Roo's & rabbits are spot & shoot ,but Foxes are called it to range or the simpler methord is to drag a dead roo along during the day & then just drive & shoot along the trail of a night ! Foxes are driven mad by the smell off dead roo meat can't help emselves ! Pigs will do the same thing with any dead animal Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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