Trad Gang

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.

:campfire:

:campfire:  I'm all ears!

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

Killdeer   :bigsmyl:

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

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.

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020370.jpg)
Couple of cool birds.  No idea what kind.

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020372.jpg)
The waterfront

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020374.jpg)
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.
 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020391.jpg)
 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020392.jpg)

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.

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

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.

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020378.jpg)


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.
 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020387.jpg)
Tough getting up on them in that thick stuff.  Did find this cool scrub bull skull, though.
 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020388.jpg)

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.

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020396.jpg)
Me pushing the boat in.

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020397.jpg)
A nice waterfall on the fishing hole

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020399.jpg)
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.

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020430.jpg)

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020438.jpg)

enjoying this one so far!

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.

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020404.jpg)

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020407.jpg)

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020408.jpg)

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020411.jpg)

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

Don't stop now....

:campfire:

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

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020440.jpg)
pair of lorikeets

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020441.jpg)
lorikeet in flight

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020465.jpg)
typical flat

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020375.jpg)
dingo-the australian coyote

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020466.jpg)
prairie turkey

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020393.jpg)
baby calf without mom, which is pretty unusual

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020389.jpg)
flock of pelicans

(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020386.jpg)
buff running across plain


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

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

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.
  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020458.jpg)
Not necessarily a huge croc, but I still wouldn't want to play with him on his turf.

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020460.jpg)

  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020457.jpg)

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020461.jpg)
Mick washing up

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

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

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

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

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

This is good. My wife and I are talking about a trip to Australia. A hunt like this will be include in the plans for sure

The grasshoppers I know don't have patience.  Lol looking forward to the rest of the journey.

Sweet. Looking forward to more pics

That sure is some pretty country.

QuoteIt looks so beautiful there with vast unoccupied lands and a fairly small human population. [/QB]

pretty much.
there's about the same amount of people in the greater New York area than there is in our entire country and they are jammed into an area about the same size as the hunting property mentioned.

aussie is home!

looking forward to more of this one.....

Australia is indeed a beautiful place, but beware if you are going there.  The cost of living is quite a bit higher than it is in the US.  I think that the population density makes up for it though.  Before I restart on the hunt, I want to give alot of thanks to my guides.  It is amazing how good their eyes are.  They pick buff out at a distance while moving quickly very well.  Without them I would have had to hunt at a crawl.  That's not a good thing, and you could lose a day in a nonproductive area.  Besides that, they were a blast to hunt with.  Mick is quite a colorful character, and Andy is a very energetic, hard-core hunter.  Now back to the story, which I may not finish tonight.

Just got back from meeting Alan Devore at the archery shop.  He has a beautiful shrew safari that he was shooting and I am sure will do well with over there.  He leaves in like 2 weeks.  Sorry for the delay.


On the third day I was back hunting with Mick.  We headed out for a different flat to the North and Mick picked up a large number of buff, but they winded us and scattered.  We tried to follow a nice bull, but soon decided the odds of success were slim, so we headed out to try to find the other buff.  We caught up to the group which contained a nice bull and alot of cows.  With the shifting winds we couldn't get too close.  Curiously, there was a large brahma type scrub bull with the herd.  He got out of there quickly when two of the bulls started fighting, with the sound of them butting skullplates echoing across the clearing.   We trailed the group, but they were pretty spread out while heading to the east and we somehow lost all of them other than 3 juvenile bulls out front.  Mick didn't think that I should shoot them, but I tried a mock stalk on them.  The wind primarily held, but there was little cover and by that time of the morning the tall grasses were dried out and quite noisy.  Had the largest one staring me down at 10 yards before he took off.  We started to head back.

On the way back we had a group of bedded buff, with an enormous cow that was definitely a trophy.  They were facing in all different directions, but Mick said they mostly had their eyes closed an I might as well give it a shot.  I tried to veeerrry slowly circle around for a shot with my shoes off being as quiet as I could.  I was still too far away for a shot when, guess what happened?  The wind shifted directions.  They all hit their feet simultaneously and tried to locate me.  Mick made some motions and the lead cow came toward him, moving broadside to me  But, as luck, or the lack thereof, would have it she stopped behind the only tree she could have and prevented me from getting a shot.  Once again, awesome experience. Off on our way back again.

Still on our way back, we spotted a huge bull(100+ points) staring our way, essentially asleep. We got down into some cover to watch him.  After 15 minutes or so, we decided we needed to try something before the wind switched.  I was going to crawl 80 yards ahead and toward the right  yards and Mick was going to distract him and hope he came in.  Those old bulls can be pretty curious and territorial.  Unfortunately he saw some movement before I able to leave, so I quickly crawled behind a bush around 10 yards away.  That was the best I could do because he was coming in fast.  He was going to pass broadside at around 8-10 yards, but when he was still 30 yards out the wind did a 180, and he was out of there.  That pretty much ended the morning hunt and we didn't have any luck on buff in the afternoon.

:thumbsup:   Good stuff, keep it coming!

great stuff.  much fun.  carry on.  thanks

i'm back in botswana in '98!

joe

It was nice shooting and talking with Pat today at the archery range. I got there first because someone I won't name ran out of gas.       Fortunately, I was able to shoot a little and warm up before Pat showed up. For those of you who don't know both of us, Pat is about 2/3rds my age, and I am about 2/3rds his strength. He is shooting an 82 pound bow, while mine is only 70 pounds, and he can still draw his much easier than I can draw mine. Besides, he was having a good shooting day, when mine was only okay. I'll let Pat show you the pictures I took of the first two arrows he shot today as well as the last two. Must be something he learned in Australia while he was forgetting that cars need fuel to keep running.

I can hardly wait to get back to Oz (and Andy and Mick). Pat's pictures and story are bringing it all back to me, as are the stories of Craig and his hunt. Thanks guys.

Allan

Okay, Allan.  I'll be happy to show those shots as long as I don't have to show the ones in between.  I'll also include a few pics of the beautiful bows that you were shooting today.  Please beware, I look even more like crap than I normally do in these pictures.  I am still tired and haven't recovered from the trip.

Here are the first 2 shots at 20 yards.  Who needs to warm up?
  (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/2012-06-23_17-09-23_335-2.jpg)


Here are the last 2 shots.  I guess I needed to.  In fairness, this may be the best 2 shot group that I ever have made.  Yes, I have made robin hoods.  That was just consistancy in form, not in the x ring.
       (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/2012-06-23_18-22-00_406-1.jpg)

(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/P1020467.jpg)
3 beauties.  Allan can correct me if I am wrong on the description.
Top bow: Shrew Samarai with koa veneers and sapwood overlay, carbon limbs.
Middle bow: Shrew Safari, koa veneers, mystery core, cape buffalo tips and overlays, bow-bolt takedown.
Lower bow:  Big Jim Thunderchild, sleeve takedown, beavertail grip, springbok tips and overlays, veneers are either black and white ebony or dalmation ebony(and are stunning)
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/P1020468.jpg)

(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/P1020469.jpg)


It's now day 4, and I am back hunting with Andy.  I am again filled with positive thoughts and believe that today is going to be the day that I get a shot on a buff.  We start off the day moving north, hoping to get to the north end of the flat and move south to take advantage of the prevailing winds.  We come across a lone bull and a group of scrub bulls, all making their way toward cover to the west.  We see a few more buff to the west before we spot a lone bull on the far side of a waterhole and treeline to the east.  We get in position just to his north in the cover of the trees and things are looking good for a stalk until he decides to take an early nap in a narrow strip facing us and no good approach.  The only chance was for us to wait him out and we figured that the wind would not hold up so we moved to the north and continued with the morning hunt.


We spotted a group of buff to our northeast with a very nice bull at the front.  They are moving to the west, and we make the decision to try to get to the north of them so we don't get winded.  We take off running while bent over 90 degrees and it takes around a mile on an arc before we can get around them because they have turned mostly toward the north, heading along a tree line edge and moving from waterhole to waterhole.  We have to circle wide from time to time to avoid getting seen and we eventually are at the same lattitude as the buff, right across a waterhole from the buff.  We get focused on the cows and somehow the buff must have snuck behind the waterhole and made it to cover.  The cows are there for awhile before the wind switches and we get busted.  Crap.

We press on to the north and find a huge group of buff spread out in the flat and make a wide circle around a swamp into a nice bedding area on the east side of swamp which is at nice pinch point between to hills.  Looks good if the wind holds.  We slowly move south and here noise up ahead.  We have a group of buff with a very nice cow, again, moving toward us.  Sweet, this is gonna work out.  Wrong.  They bed down with the big cow on the other side of a blowdown looking in my direction and the rest are scattered around her.  On the bright side, a cow is sleeping while standing facing to the east and obscuring the big cows view of me and I am standing on a buffalo path which should be quiet walking.  I have to move exceedingly slowly and close about half of the necessary distance with my bow in front of me and an arrow nocked.  Here comes my luck again.  I young bull ambles in and stops and chews his cud staring right at me, but he won't bed down or anything.  I am frozen.  I stand there motionless with the sun baking on me for a little over a half hour, seriously.  I eventually am getting shaky legs and decide I have to try something, so I very slowly start moving again, maybe a couple of inches a minute.  It is going well, but eventually the buff turns to the west and I start getting a feeling things may work out.  Nope, the buff knows something is up and spooks to the rear of the group.  They all get up and wander around looking for what is up.  They are settling down an coming back to the the bedding tree, so there is still a slight hope.  That is, until the wind swirls and that is all she wrote.  This was the most physically taxing part of the hunt.  What a great morning of hunting!  No luck in the afternoon, which was fairly typical.  I go to sleep anxious for the next days hunt.

awesome Pat !

keep it coming bud !

Patrick, Great pics and story. A trip is on my priority list. More please.     :clapper:

Day 5, and Mick is feeling supremely confident.  He knows where some buff are, and this is going to be the day.  We head out to near where we went on day three, but further to the northeast hoping to get ahead of them and have good wind.  We are onto a group of buff quick, and there are a couple of bulls and several cows in the field with the wind right in our face.  Perfect setup.  I sneak in between 2 trees at the edge of the field and Mick sneaks off back and to my left and is planning on trying to get the attention of the big bull to draw him over.  It would have been extremely difficult to get up on him in the field with the random feeding of scattered buff.  It looks to me like it is going to be over before it begins when the big buff chases a smaller buff out of the field to the left, but as Mick expected, the large buff isn't getting too far from his cows, and he comes back into the field and is feeding away from us.  After maybe 10-15 minutes, the cows are eventually feeding away and the bull is facing us and Mick gets his attention.  He comes in like he is on a mission.  Unfortunately he angles off to my left so that when he approaches Mick he is quartering toward me.  When he finally gets broadside he is 15-20 yards away, and stopped behind the only branch that obscures my shot.  Luck again, right.  He knows that something is up where I am at, so I can't kneel or bend enough to get a clear shot.  Crap.  All I can hope for is that he turns and gives me a shot, and eventually that is just what he does.  Here is the bad part of the story.  I have a very small window of opportunity and have to rush the shot.  When he turns away from me and goes 180 degress and broadside I raise my bow while he is moving and take the shot, but I didn't pick a spot and hit high and forward on the shoulder.  Even with my heavy setup, The arrow barely penetrates at all and is barely sticking in the bull at all.  I never get a follow up shot and feel stupid and disgusted the rest of the day.  On the way out we find a nice cow that almost looks like a bull that spots us and plays around with us for awhile until she heads out of there.  We spot a buffalo skeleton on the way out and I take out some aggression on a scapula.  First shot blows through the skinny part.  I target the thick part right next to the glenoid and shoot.  The arrow sticks an maybe 1/2 inch of the broadhead makes it through to the back of the scapula.  I actually thought it would do more than that, but those are some tough bones.  Mick has to use the back of a hatchet to get it out.  I sharpened it up after we got back to camp and put it the arrow back in my quiver.  In the afternoon we came up on a group of cows just before dusk that never know we are there, but nothing worth trying to get a shot.  The end of the day.  I am still extremely optimistic, but really hoping for an opportunity to make amends for my hasty shot.  One thing is for sure, unless you are using a rifle, you are not getting through the hard part of the shoulder with a bow.

Now it is day 6, and I am hunting with Andy again.  I should mention at this point that when I booked the hunt, I had the option of booking a 9 day hunt, or 6 days hunting and 3 days fishing on a houseboat.  I knew that Doug burns had bad luck with the wind last year and only had the opportunity to hunt for 6 days.  I also knew that If I didn't shoot a buff during the first 6 days that I wouldn't enjoy the days fishing, so I signed up for the 9 day hunt.  At this point, I was extremely happy for that decision.  Now to the days hunt.

We headed out through "the gap".  This was a beautiful shaded trail through a gap in the highlands that buff use to move from flat to flat.  I am kicking myself for not taking pictures of it.  Two rivers converge at the end of the gap, and we are hoping to run into buff after crossing those 2 rivers.  I guess we didn't have to wait that long, because not soon after entering the gap we came nearly face to face with a nice bull.  He knew we were there, but didn't scoot out of there until the wind got us.  No shot opportunities, but another good experience.  We tried to be more careful on the way out, but still came face to face with another nice bull.  He saw us, but curiously didn't blow out of there and we sidestepped behind a skinny tree that had a little bush in front of it, but we still could be seen.  Andy was better concealed than me, but with the way the buff was facing, the lack of open area to our left, and Andy trying to draw the buff to our right, I knelt in a position to try to get a shot to the right of the tree if the buff came in.  Another side-note here.  There were 3 bulls shot and recovered in camp this year with compound bows using frontal shots.  Given that my bow was the highest energy traditional setup that has been in camp, the guide told me that if a shot presented itself that I felt confident in that I could take it.  This bull did give such a shot.  At 7 yards away, with snot running down his nose, saliva dripping out of his mouth, and sucking as much wind as he could in his nostrils, the buff was facing me but on the left side of the tree.  Figures.  I was frozen, and didn't think that I could safely move. The bull eventually moved out to 25 yards broadside and Andy, wondering why I didn't shoot, turned and saw my body position.  We quietly talked and he told me that I needed to risk changing my position, but after I did I never got a shot opportunity and the buff moved out into cover from us.  This was a very cool looking buff with big swooping horns that he swung back and forth turning back to look at us.  I am surprised that I wasn't crapping my pants, but I was so focused on getting a shot that I wasn't nervous at all.  I know that Andy felt the same way.

We headed out of the gap and didn't see any more buff in the flat, but Andy eventually saw a black spot on the bank of a waterhole in the distance and glassed it.  A nice boar was rooting there.  Andy kinda gave me this inquisitive look.  I said let's go kill the ^*&$$&, and he gave me a nod of approval.  No slow motion stalk here.  We knew how the wind was currently and this was a hog and no buff.  I took off at a brisk walk and circled around the hole with Andy at my back.  I put a tree between the hog and myself and quickly closed the distance.  I saw the hog feeding toward my left and had a gap between two trees.  With all of the swirling winds, I was not waiting for him to come fully broadside, so I took as slightly quartering shot with me being at a higher elevation than that hog and took my shot.  The arrow buried to around the fletching with alot of arrow out the back side of the hog.  This was the same arrow/broadhead that had made a kill earlier in the week and then was tested on the buff scapula.  Still hit a little further back than I wanted, but he blew of the waterhole and stood for a few seconds, took off toward a group of trees, laid down, kicked his legs, and it was done.  I am sure that he was dead within a couple of minutes after being seen.  Here is the pic.  

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020425.jpg)


Spooked a couple of buff on the way out, and no luck in the afternoon.  Still feeling good about my chances on day 7, but starting to get a little nervous.  Really glad that I am not fishing tomorrow.

Great story what an epic journey Thanks Shane

Day 7 now, and Mick is on a mission to help me get a buff.  He decides to take me to this huge flat which is near his second camp.  The buff out here haven't been hunted much the last 2 years because rain/mud made access via the roads impossible to set up a camp.  These buffalo were noticably more relaxed, but more of that later.

We come up to the flat early in the morning, and it is loaded with buffalo.  Loaded with scrub bulls and horses too.  We wait by the vehicle for the buff to settle down a bit.  Most of them stay in the field feeding and later on move away.  When the coast is clear we move off toward our left with our plan being to circle around this large flat, get into the trees and head toward a river pinch point that the buffalo move through on their way out of the flat.  We see two smaller bulls(maybe 75-80 points) that are feeding away from us.  We decide to try for the larger one, but they are feeding away from us so quickly that is hard to close the gap.  Eventually we get around 40 yards away and get spotted.  We crouch down and hope that they come in, but they come no closer than 35 yards, then amble off, feeding!  They just can't be bothered.  This game goes on across the flat.  They feed, we follow.  We speed up, they speed up.  Broadside at 35 yards once.  Easy pickings for a compounder, but not me. Mick gets so frustrated at one point when he can't get a reaction that he literally starts dancing.  Funny sight folks.  Two buff staring at him while he is dancing and not really giving a crap.  After an eternity they pick up the pace to a speed that we can't keep up with, then we circle like we originally planned.

We circled and crossed a river to a nice pinch point.  There were multiple buff river crossings and I setup in a natural blind by a buffalo path next to the river, while Mick stayed on the high ground to alert me to any buffalo on the way.  This is the same spot that I took a picture of the lorikeets.  I had a great spot for an ambush and a shot broadside or slightly quartering away. Buffalo were crossing at multiple spots and two different buff came by me at around 12-15 yards, but as "luck" would have it, they were both essentially babies.  Crap.  Then a commotion behind me, and a big bull ran another bull down right to me and it stopped broadside at about the same 12-15 yards from me.  I was contemplating shooting it until I noticed the big bull still on the high ground.  He didn't see me, but for some reason decided at that point that he had chased the smaller buff far enough. Crap again.  By the time I realized the bigger buff wasn't coming, I no longer had a shot at the smaller one. We started to head out with a herd on the flat on the high ground, but the swirling winds soon took care of any opportunities that we might have had.  We decided to head to the second camp for lunch and hunt the afternoon out of that camp, all the while Mick joking that I should have my "Irish
Card" revoked due to my lack of luck.  We got in the truck and drove over some of the roughest terrain possible to get to the other camp.

During the drive we were consistantly seeing buffalo on the flats, but most all of them knew we were there, and none looked like a stalk on them would be succesful.  Mick must have thought that I looked worried or something, because he reassured me that he was just looking for the right one.  I had full faith in him, so no worries on my part.  Just before we got to camp we saw a group of cows with a nice bull on the edge of a flat next to a dried up creek in a wooded section.  The cows ambled to our right away from us pretty quickly, but the bull stared at us for quite awhile before slowly moving off. We just kept on driving until we went down into the creek bottom.  

We quietly got out of the truck without closing the doors and double-timed it down the creek bed for several hundred yards, trying to get ahead of the buff and hoping it was still on the flat edge.  As soon as we came out of the creek, the buff was 30 yards ahead of us broadside behind cover staring at us.  Crap.  We ducked down behind a skinny tree, and then he started coming at us fast!  The wind was in our favor for now and the buff was angled slightly to our left.  This time I had my body positioned for a shot wherever he wound up.  He got to 7 yards away and was just to my left.  I picked my spot/line and drew on him.  I was so focused on my spot that I didn't notice that he brought his head down nearly to chest level when I released the string.  It happened so fast after that.  The buff standing up and scooting out of there.  The fletching looking high up on his neck.  The buff stopping around 40 yards away broadside.  Mick used his .416 to break his shoulder since it looked like a high hit.  We went after him fast, me following Mick so I didn't see a washout and fell hard on the side of my ankle, but I was up in a flash, following Mick again.  Mick had put him down with the broken shoulder and the buff was breathing hard.  We were 25-30 yards away from the bull and since he was still alive I decided to put more arrows in him.  The bottom of his body was mostly obscured, but I could see his head and what I though was his body behind the shoulder.  I put 1 arrow where I wanted to, and I heard Mick say that it was in the neck.  Neck?  I shot a little further back and hit where I wanted to.  Still in the neck, he says.  What?  I confess that I didn't want to get too close to wounded bull to get a better look, so I aimed as far back as I could see but the arrow ricocheted off of the tree that was obscuring his body.  He was fading fast now, and Mick left me with the gun and went to get the truck, and the bull expired while he was away.  I pulled my arrows out, minus the broadheads.  My first arrow had hit the line that I was aiming at, just a little to the right since he was a little to my left, and penetrated just a little over 2 feet into the chest cavity, breaking of just past the fletching.

 
 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020452.jpg)


 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020447-1.jpg)

 (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020453.jpg)

This buffalo measured 95 points, but alot of that score was due to the fact that he measured 17 1/2 inches around the base.  That is the thickest that has been shot at the ranch so far.  He was a fighter that had his nose bones broken nearly completely off and would look better as a shoulder mount than as a skull mount.  Unfortunately, I cut a slice all down the side of his neck since his head was down, and my cape is ruined.  Hopefully someone in the next groups will shoot one that they don't want the cape from.  One way or the other, I am extremely happy with this animal.  Just as a note, a shot like this has to have nearly perfect conditions to attempt and I would certainly not take it lightly, even with heavy gear.


The afternoon hunt was anticlimactic.  We climbed a tree and waited for buffalo that didn't come to a wallow we were watching.  My swollen ankle was happy for the rest.

Here is a pic of Mick, up in the tree glassing for buff.
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020463.jpg)

Congrats,awesome pics. Thanks for sharing.  :clapper:

The 8th day of the hunt came, and we were concerned about how much I would be able to do with my swollen ankle.  No worries.  I tightened my boots up and went looking for another buff.  We covered around 25 kilometer, or roughly 16 miles this day.  The most of the hunt.  Nearly 18km were done in the morning.

We headed in along cover at the base of the highlands and were working our way north when we spotted a bull that was feeding right to us.  This was perfect.  He had no idea that we were there.  He was going to give me a broadside shot or slightly quartering away at a little less than 15 yards.  You know what happens next, right.  He gets around 20 yards away and snorts and jumps back like he saw a ghost.  Yep.  Wind shifted at just the wrong moment and that was that.  

Then we spotted an extremely large group of buff spread out on a flat.  Probably 30 of them.  I will use some of the local terminology here.  I don't know if this is what a group of buff are normally called, but Mick and Andy called them a 'mob'.  They also called the buffalo paths 'pads'.  Okay, moving on.

Now, the wind was swirling so bad that when we were deciding the best way to circle around them, we would start one way, then 50 yards later change our mind, then 50 yards later turn around again.  Mick said that back at camp the smoke from the campfire looked like it was trying to screw itself into the ground.  Odds of success, pretty low.  

We glassed and glassed, and followed these buff for a long ways trying our best not to get winded.  There had to be a bull with them, right?  Never did find one.  Eventually a pretty large cow with a few smaller ones separated to the back while the others moved to the north to cover.  Problem was it was noisy tall grass and way out in the open.  We were going that direction anyway so I gave it a go.  I got within 30 yards and had a broadside shot, but she knew I was there and I wasn't risking it.  Much better than I expected to get.  Andy says that he has a good picture of it and hopefully he can post it after buff camp is over.  No more luck the rest of the morning or in the afternoon.  Sadly, my hunting with Andy was over.

OK, day 9.  Last day of the hunt.  We know that we are not going to hunt late into the day, and are going to pack up camp early, since I have an early morning flight out of Mcarthur River and Mick has booked a hotel room for the night at a roadhouse within a half hour of the airport.

Several small groups of buff and scrub bulls are sighted, but each time the wind changes and we get busted.  It seems that as soon as we see the buff it changes.  I am laughing about it at this point.  Mick wants me to bend over so he can kick me in the rear for it.  I still think that he doesn't believe that I am Irish, lol.  That is essentially all of the hunting for the trip.

We headed back to camp, finished packing, and headed for the roadhouse.  Now Mick and Andy are fine offroad drivers and have excellent vision, but most of the drive off of the ranch, I could not have told you that we were on the road.  There is no way that anyone could have done that in the dark, so I am glad that we left when we did.    We arrived at the roadhouse, which was called Heartbreak Hotel.  Indeed, anyone having to leave this area should be heartbroken.  We were able to get showers a good meal, and a good nights sleep before me catching my flight.  Nothing eventful there and I made it back to the states safely, just dog tired again.  I hope that I gave enough details so that you guys kinda felt like you were there a little.  I am sure that I have forgotten a ton of little things, like Mick and his ongoing battle with the crows, but I didn't keep a very good journal.  Just a few notes here and there.  I really feel fortunate to have had this experience.


Here are a couple of before and after pics of me at the OKC airport before leaving on the trip and after getting back.  I don't think the last one does justice to how tired I was.

(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/IMAG0112.jpg)

(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/IMAG0138.jpg)

Damn good story, Pat.  Glad you had a great time too.

Great story-telling, Pat, along with lots of typing. It's not much fun walking 16 miles with an injured ankle, is it? You're way tougher than I am! Hunting with those changing winds is really difficult. You did well despite that. I'm sure that buff would have died with your chest-on shot, but the ethical thing to do is always to pay the insurance by taking the backup shot with the big gun so the animal does not get away to die undiscovered or to live and hurt someone later. I sure would not want to run into someone else's wounded buff when I'm hunting over there, so thanks from me for the follow-up shot. Great buff and boar!!!

Allan

Wow! What a great experience.  Thanks for the ride!

Agreed, Allan.  It was definitely the right thing to do. We didn't know for sure until the partial disection.  As far as toughness goes, I am not the one trying to finish bike races with multiple broken ribs.  Thanks everyone for the kind words.

:thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Awesome story Pat!  Congrats on a great hunt!     :clapper:    :clapper:    :clapper:
Thanks for taking us along!!!

Aloha!
Ryan

Awesome trip and story  :thumbsup:

Simply outstanding Pat!  You had me hanging on every word.  What a dream trip - thanks for taking us all along for the ride!!

Pat,

Great story, great pictures and story telling.
Congratulations on the good bull.   :clapper:

What a great adventure! Australia is one place that I decided long ago that if I were to travel, I would want to see. Hunting is the icing on a very spicy cake!

What was the extent of your ankle injury? (Recovering from a minor break, here.)

You are a tough, all-out hunter! If I were to pick somebody who would milk all he could from a hunt, it wpuld be you.
Haha. MILK a bovine hunt!     :wavey:

Congratulations on a fine hunt and a great story!  Well done!  :thumbsup:

Thanks for taking the time to share such a great adventure. So fine when a dream comes true.
You've got quite a wife.

Wow, truly awesome. Wish we could have pulled that oz trip off together. Congrats in attaining such a lofty goal in a hunters life, no easy feat.  This tale was an inspiration and I vow to get there when my boys are a little older and won't notice me gone for 2 weeks. Your story telling was superb and the amount of interaction that you had with game is astonishing. Way to go sir, fine hunt.

Fantastic!,and I mean fantastic. Thanks ever so much for sharing.You were never in any real danger as I had your back !LOL you made me feel I was right there with ya.
I always thoght my ideal hunt would be with Andy,but after hiking the way you fellas did,I'd have to tie a 100# log to his butt.LOL Thanks again.

Just had time to read this. Couldnt be happier for Pat. After those 50 miles we walked together in Texas, wondering how it would turn out! I  have to say it was well worth the trip and everything that went into it. Glad your home safe.
All three of your Ohio brothers agree the next dinner is on you!   :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Wonderful story.  It's made the weekend at my in-laws somewhat bearable...

Very Cool.......

Great Adventure Pat!!!!  You made your dream hunt happen!!!  :archer:

Thats a nice story and awesome pics. Thanks for taking time out to share this wonderful experience.

-Inder

Epic Adventure! Thanks for taking the time to write that all up and NOT dragging it out.

Great story there Pat, was some fine sun mourning reading.

Very nice story and wonderful pictures!  Congratulations on your outstanding adventure!     :clapper:

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

Awesome amazing adventure! Thanks for the pix & story.

Thanks everyone. It was really a great time.  Mike, if you can get Tim and Dave out here, dinner will be on me.  Kathy, thanks for the footing material. They fit perfectly. As far as the ankle goes, it is still a little swollen and just a touch black and blue, but really no problem. Probably just some sprained ligaments.

Nice Pat, thanks for the story telling, some day.... Looking forward to hearing Allan and Doug's adventures in AU again too!

Great story and pics,thanks.       :cool:

GREAT STORY!

I hunted red deer with Mick in April and he  is a really great guide. He knows his stuff and how to operate an exquisite bush camp!

Congrats on your bull.

Bisch

Pat thanks  for filling us in on this great adventure.
Forsome of us this is the closeset we wil get to the real thing.
Again thanks for telling your story. i also would like to thank you for choosing TuffHead broadheads to use on this hunt.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FINE TOPHY!
  :clapper:

Great story and hunt,congrats.  :clapper:    :clapper:

Good deal Pat.
 I was able to spend a few days with Pat in the swamp and can say he does hunt hard and earns the critters he gat. Great trip and tale.RC

Incredible hunt, Thank you for sharing!

Thanks

OUTSTANDING story and pics! Way to go and congrats on a hunt of a lifetime   :campfire:

Thanks for taking the time to share your great adventure!
Bill

Sounds like you had a great adventure Pat. The Outback sure is a fantastic place to hunt and hunting with Andy and Mic makes it even more enjoyable. Thanks for the great story and pics.

Thanks, Dave. Andy had some great stories about you and your Texas Sweat days.

Pat knowing how hard you work and the dedication you have, it is nice to hear that it all payed off.  Way to go on a fine buff!!!!

enjoyed the visit this morn at the hospital, congrats on the hunt.

Way to go Pat...awesome man!

Thanks for sharing Pat! I am gonna try to get back to OK next spring for turkey and hogs with Cam. I promise I won't on such a tight time schedule this trip and we will get together. Great hunt!!!!! Mike

Thanks again, everyone.  Nice seeing you again, Mr. Jones. I will look forward to hunting with you when you get to OK, Mike. Dave and RC, I wouldn't have to work so hard if I was a little better at it, lol.

Thanks for the story and pictures !!!

Very well done on all counts, congratulations.

Great story Pat. thanks for sharing your trip with us.   :thumbsup:

Wow, great read Pat, thoroughly enjoyed it! Yeah, that flight is a BEAR for me too, and I'm 3000+ miles closer than you!

Awesome story, really glad you enjoyed your time in Australia, thanks for the pics and congrats on your success.
Northern Territory is on my list of places to hunt and I have heard nothing but glowing reports about Mick Baker and his guiding.
Thanks again
Clint

A plethora of held-fast memories from one adventure is truly golden.

Congrats and thoroughly enjoyed being included in sharing in the bounty of the all-embracing vast treasures of gold.

Much thanks!!!

QuoteOriginally posted by Friend:
A plethora of held-fast memories from one adventure is truly golden.

Congrats and thoroughly enjoyed being included in sharing in the bounty of the all-embracing vast treasures of gold.

Much thanks!!!

?

Thanks, I guess.  That was too hard to follow for this simple guy  :)

Absolutely the stuff from which a hunter's dreams are made. Thanks for sharing. It was a great experience to share.

Thanks, Don.  Your quiver worked very well on my setup.

:thumbsup:    :notworthy:    Well done!

Congratulations on the ultimate trophy with a longbow Pat!!!  See ya soon.

Yeah, Barry! Looking forward to chasing some hogs with you in September.  

One thing that I forgot to mention about this hunt.  Before I went on the hunt, I asked Allan what binocs he used and he strongly recommended a pair of 10x.
I only have a pair of 6x32 and a pair 8x42 and I took the 6x to save carrying weight and space. Big mistake. Both Andy and Mick were using 10x42 binocs, and the difference in size was very small compared to the greatly improved detail when glassing across those big floodplains.  I hope that nobody makes the same mistake that I did.

Either 8x or 10x would work well. I recommended 10x to Pat because that is what Andy and Mick were using. A REALLY top-notch pair of 8x binoculars works as well as a good, average pair of 10x binoculars in observing animals over some of those long distances. But unless you have the quality of a Leica, Swarovski, Zeiss or other premium binocular, the 10x will work better at distance. I like 8x and took my 8x30 Swarovskis last year. I will either take those again or switch to my 8x32 Leicas or my 10x32 Vortex Vipers. The Vipers have the same relatively small objective lenses but the higher magnification. The only problem with the Vortex (besides being slightly lower quality than the other two binoculars) is that with 10 power and a 32mm objective, they require more frequent adjustment of the focus. Light gathering isn't as good either, but the buffalo hunting doesn't require it. I have several outstanding pairs of 10x42 binoculars, but with all the walking I do in OZ, I would rather not deal with the extra weight and bulk since I have such nice 32mm binoculars available to me. There is a big difference between 6x and 8x when it comes to viewing. I relegate 6x binoculars to forested areas where distances are short, and they are nearly perfect for those conditions. Pat would have been much better with his 8x42 binoculars, and a pair of 10x42 is nearly perfect if weight and bulk are not a problem for you.

Allan

Well, Andy got done with his buffalo camp and sent me a couple of pictures that he took during our hunt. The first group is a pic of me stalking up on the hog that I shot, followed up by the shot of the hog that I previously posted.  Then next group of pics are from the long stalk on a group of cows that I mentioned across the plain when the noisy grasses eventually got me busted.  Looking at the pics, maybe I should have taken the opportunity that I had at that cow, but at the time it I was more interested in a larger bull.  If I had a 10-15 yard shot I definitely would have taken it.

    (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/IMG_1025.jpg)

     (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/Buff%20Hunting%20Trip/P1020425.jpg)


Stalking

    (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/IMG_1080.jpg)


Busted

    (http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd102/pdk25/IMG_1083.jpg)

What beautiful country to look at Pat.  I'm glad you made good.

Wow! Great hunt great story!

Thanks for the show and tell! Great to see an okie do good!

Nice write up Pat I enjoyed that.

So we pick Pat up from the "middle of Know where" Mine Airstrip and by the time we get to camp I just remember thinking "Geezz this Guy's mind thinks just like mine!"  Scary "just like mine" and I Like him already, strait up calls a Spade a Spade.
I was going to have the 9 days off but Mick Asked if I would take Pat out for 4 days... "Um Yes you bet!"
Pat told me he was prepared to go as hard and as far as it would take...Thats what I like to hear...So we did what we needed to, to get into Buffalo, earnt him the "toughest" Client of the year so far!
The only problem was that he is the most Unlucky so called Irishman I know...    :readit:    
We found the Buff alright .. plenty of them... But Mother Nature worked us over... Properly! time and time again.  Never the less we had a great hunt, And i look forward to catching up again buddy.

All the Trad Guys this year really put in the right preparation for a Big game hunt. All the Set-ups were well thought out and put together.
Pats Morrison is the heaviest Trad Set-up we have ever had. So for that alone I tip my Hat to Craig Moy, Brian Lum, Patrick Kelly, Allan DeVore And Doug Burns.

Here's Pat Hooked Up...Remember the Cast that got you that Fish.....Had some Character

(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_0972.jpg)

Whats that you got there
(http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/tradtusker/IMG_1085.jpg)

Pleasure to have hunted with you Pat and I look forward to putting some miles on the boots again one day.

:campfire:

Thanks alot, Andy.  I thought we were on the same page too.  I look forward to getting after some game with you some time in the future.  

That cast had character all right, lol.  I forgot about that.  That was my luckiest moment of the trip.

I am sure that you two are very amused, remeniscing about that cast, but the view from here appears to be of Pat struggling with a diving Rapala that snagged on a sunken log, or the weighted body of the last client.

Killdeer   :saywhat:

Well, there could be bodies down there if the crocs didn't get em.  It's dangerous not to compliment Mick on his cooking.

THANKS a ton for sharing everything....

Awesome story and pics...the terrain is amazing!

Still want the story of the all-star cast. You get Andy's pants on the backswing?

I caught a German Shepherd learning to flyfish.
Killdeer

Nothing like that.  We were using spinning reels. I think I retrieved on a loose line on prior cast and got wrapped around the spool.  Cast went maybe 10 feet and the crankbait slammed the water like a boulder. The stupid big catfish must have been hungry for a boulder.

Pat,
I'm sitting here after back surgery on the edge of my chair with each stalk you made.  After each suspenseful stalk, I had to resist going to the end to see if you finally got one!  Great story telling on a spectacular hunt. Congrats  :thumbsup:

Andy,
PM me sometime with your thoughts on knife designs & size for the outback.  I'd like to see if a tippit blade would hold up to those critters.

Thanks Jeff,
I could tell by talking to Andy in camp that he really enjoyed spending time hunting with you.  I hope that your back surgery went well and hope that it wasn't too serious.

That's what I was looking for! Whenever I did that I would pop the lure off into the depths, sans line. Or give free food to the bluegills.

Killdeer   :knothead: