but most of the day go with a light bush shirt, cargo pants, and leather walk- ing boots. Camo is not required, but low signature dress is recommended. Kangaroo, as well as boar, have good eyes, and when under pressure during daylight hunting hours they tend to move out of range quickly if they spot you in advance. Because head shoot- ing is required on roo, with the range requirement of 300 yards maximum, getting somewhat close requires the use of some dull colors that blend into the bush surroundings. SNAKES!
Of the ten deadliest snakes in the
A gray roo I hunted for food. (Called “tucker” by the outback people.) Roo are good eating.
ture, plus overseas travel. In general, this is the most bang for the buck I have ever seen on a domestic or foreign hunt. I have hunted across various parts of the world at one time or another and I do have a handle on pricing of product. This is the deal of a lifetime right now! WEATHER AND FIELD GEAR You’ll be in the subtropics for the
most part, so dress lightly in Australia even in the winter months (starting in April). A light jacket or rain gear can be useful for those early morning sorties,
world, Australia has nine of them! Yes, snake smart is always the word of the day, and this hunter recommends using snake chaps or very high boots. During my week in the bush we encountered many brown snakes. These bad boys can run up to about seven feet long! They are black headed, wide bodied, and not very nice guys at all. One bite and you’re dead! Period. End of story. I was in the bush right after a major
50-year fl ood in the area and snakes by the numbers had been washed out of their normal underground dens and were on the move. We were very care- ful in the fi eld and did encounter our share of these reptiles. Living in South Dakota snake country myself, I was not alarmed to any major degree by all these reptiles. We were always on the lookout for them regardless of how safe an area looked. At one point, a member of our second hunting group came upon a very large king brown and got so shook up he missed him point blank twice with a double barrel scatter gun. The snake got the idea quickly and moved off fast. If snakes bother you a whole lot, hunt during the midwinter months down under. These critters den up tight and you’re not likely to encounter any of them at that time of year. However, always be alert for that one exception! That’s a snake country standard operat- ing procedure.
TAXIDERMY In my case, as I was working with
The $30,000 rabbit sign. Don’t even think about owning a pet rabbit down in Australia.
Page 122 October — December 2011
a tight budget, Big Shooter’s Marc Mc- Donnell made a contact for me through Mario Pennisi, a local taxidermist in Stanthorpe, Queensland. I was hav- ing goat skulls stripped and roo hides tanned for shipping to the states. How- ever, after seeing this man’s full-mount
This boar was a nice size and took several bullets before dropping.
and half-mount work with trophy class angora billy goats, I’m after a 40" trophy on the next hunt. In the fi eld, Marc and I skinned
my trophy class kangaroos and salted the hides with care. Goat heads were cut clean and packed in ice as soon as possible, and in some cases hides and skulls were put on ice at cattle stations when several days remained in an area prior to getting them to Mario’s studio. Pigs were not considered for much more than additional fox bait or photos. I shot a pile of them over the course of several days, and to my way of think- ing this was a highlight in the varmint department down there. Pigs are a major problem for stockmen and the word is when they are located, kill them all. I did have one big tusker’s teeth removed for a later necklace, but that was about it for hog decoration. I would have to say that among the Aussies hunting hogs is right on top of the deal. Many outfi ts come north into the bush from the cities on weekends to hunt the animals and these guys don’t spare much in the way of specialized trucks, trailers, dogs, and related gear. Hogs are a big deal! Unlike places like Texas in the
United States that charge by the head for hog hunting, the shooting is all inclusive down under. Go ahead and have at it because the price is always the same. THE PEOPLE
I can’t say much about the city folks because I got out of the cities as fast
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