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Hunting in Australia
HUNTING/TRAPPING AUSTRALIA
General Links:
General Links:
FERALS
Deer
Introduction-One of the hardest Games species in Australia to hunt, they require a large amount of skill and effort to locate and kill. Australia has multiple species of deer, ranging in difficulty to hunt; the hardest of these is the Sambar Deer. These are the only deer I personally have hunted but a lot of what you experience hunting one species can be applies to the others.
Species;
Sambar- Cervus unicolor
Distribution: Sambar deer are found in much of the forested areas of Victoria, most concentrated in the NE. Also found in some parts of NSW.
About: Sambar Deer have proved that they are able to adapt to the Australia environment very well as exemplified by the population explosion. Massive amounts of Sambar are running around Victorian and NSW forests. Despite the sheer amount of these deer they are not easy to find and put on the ground. They are by far the most challenging games species to hunt in Australia.
Stalking (sometimes with the aid of a dog) and dogging are the two methods used while hunting these deer, either with a bow or a rifle. You are legally required to use a firearm no smaller than a .270 (most hunter will use bigger, often 30-06) however in a survival situation, with a well-placed shot the deer could be taken down with a .223 or possibly a .22 if in dire need. The minimum poundage is 50lb.
The deer have a very well adapted sense of smell and sight, making them very hard to take down, especially with a bow. It requires an experience hunter, with a well place shot to kill a sambar, so its not advisable as someone’s first hunting experience.
The best times to hunt are during the morning and evening, following game trail or valleys. It is often best to spend a day scouting out a an area before hunting it, looking for the most used game trails, heavily singed valley, wallows and the like. Then these areas should be visited during the morning, and waited out at a good vantage point in the evenings. When hunting for Sambar you should spend more time looking, and glassing the bush than walking. It is important to see the deer before it sees you to ensure you have time to take a well-aimed shot.
Large amount of Sambar prints.
Camouflage- As mentioned above, it is very important to get as close to the deer as possible with out being seen, camo can really aid you in this pursuit.When hunting Sambar, especially with a bow I recommend you cover up every single part of your skin. So get glove, face veiland even possible camo boots (however this is notnecessary). It is also important to use camo that will work in your area, what might work in the dry part of NSW will notnecessarily work in the Victorian high country.
After taking the shot, people will often ‘loose’ the deer, this is due to the fact that Sambar can run for a while after being shot. However one should not give up looking easily, it make take hours to find but if you look you will find.
Licences required: Victorian game permit, No closed season. NSW permit + training see here.
Rabbit/Hare: Rabbits are found all throughout all of Australia. They are not exactly challenging to hunt but are good fun none the less. Most commonly they are spotlighted, but are also sometimes hunted at dawn and dusk. Again, these are often considered stepping stone for hunters, both with the bow and the rifle.
Deer
Introduction-One of the hardest Games species in Australia to hunt, they require a large amount of skill and effort to locate and kill. Australia has multiple species of deer, ranging in difficulty to hunt; the hardest of these is the Sambar Deer. These are the only deer I personally have hunted but a lot of what you experience hunting one species can be applies to the others.
Species;
Sambar- Cervus unicolor
Distribution: Sambar deer are found in much of the forested areas of Victoria, most concentrated in the NE. Also found in some parts of NSW.
About: Sambar Deer have proved that they are able to adapt to the Australia environment very well as exemplified by the population explosion. Massive amounts of Sambar are running around Victorian and NSW forests. Despite the sheer amount of these deer they are not easy to find and put on the ground. They are by far the most challenging games species to hunt in Australia.
Stalking (sometimes with the aid of a dog) and dogging are the two methods used while hunting these deer, either with a bow or a rifle. You are legally required to use a firearm no smaller than a .270 (most hunter will use bigger, often 30-06) however in a survival situation, with a well-placed shot the deer could be taken down with a .223 or possibly a .22 if in dire need. The minimum poundage is 50lb.
The deer have a very well adapted sense of smell and sight, making them very hard to take down, especially with a bow. It requires an experience hunter, with a well place shot to kill a sambar, so its not advisable as someone’s first hunting experience.
The best times to hunt are during the morning and evening, following game trail or valleys. It is often best to spend a day scouting out a an area before hunting it, looking for the most used game trails, heavily singed valley, wallows and the like. Then these areas should be visited during the morning, and waited out at a good vantage point in the evenings. When hunting for Sambar you should spend more time looking, and glassing the bush than walking. It is important to see the deer before it sees you to ensure you have time to take a well-aimed shot.
Large amount of Sambar prints.Camouflage- As mentioned above, it is very important to get as close to the deer as possible with out being seen, camo can really aid you in this pursuit.When hunting Sambar, especially with a bow I recommend you cover up every single part of your skin. So get glove, face veiland even possible camo boots (however this is notnecessary). It is also important to use camo that will work in your area, what might work in the dry part of NSW will notnecessarily work in the Victorian high country.
After taking the shot, people will often ‘loose’ the deer, this is due to the fact that Sambar can run for a while after being shot. However one should not give up looking easily, it make take hours to find but if you look you will find.
Licences required: Victorian game permit, No closed season. NSW permit + training see here.
Links/resources:
Errol Masons. 'Secrets of Sambar'
Rabbit/Hare: Rabbits are found all throughout all of Australia. They are not exactly challenging to hunt but are good fun none the less. Most commonly they are spotlighted, but are also sometimes hunted at dawn and dusk. Again, these are often considered stepping stone for hunters, both with the bow and the rifle.
There are other methods used that do not require firearms, these will be best in a survival situation as they will not attract attention and will save ammunition. -Rabbits may scream if you hurt them but don't kill them in one blow. It sounds awful so do these things a favour and kill them.
Ferreting- Ferrets are sent down rabbit warrens to flush the rabbits out, once the rabbits have been flushed the use of either nets,dogs, or shotguns are required to kill the fleeing rabbits. Nets a probably the most common, shotgun require skill and good reflexes.
Another method used are trap, snare or jaw traps. These are put out side the warren, or on a choke point e.g. hole under a wire fence. These are one of the best methods in a survival situation as you can 'set and forget' it does not take up time or effort. However it is less guaranteed for success than the other above methods. these traps can also trap native wildlife, so make sure you set them in know rabbit areas and away from where native roam. Having said that, in a survivalsituationkilling and eating any animals is fine if it will keep you alive. In a survival situation however, it would be different. You can even use rat traps -make sure there are no toxic substances, especially if you want to eat the quarry.
No licence is required to hunt rabbits in Australia
Pigs: Bovines are common in many parts of Australia; however peak concentration is in NSW, WA, QLD. The best time to hunt is in the mornings and evening, water sources are often the best places to look.
No licence or open season applies
Goats
Common in many parts of Australia, but most concentrated in NSW and WA. Goats, compared to deer are easy however they can offer somewhat of a challenge to bow hunters and are often seen a stepping stone for novice hunter who want to progress to deer hunting.
No licence is required to hunt goats in Australia nor is there a closed season.
Pigs: Bovines are common in many parts of Australia; however peak concentration is in NSW, WA, QLD. The best time to hunt is in the mornings and evening, water sources are often the best places to look.
No licence or open season applies
Goats
Common in many parts of Australia, but most concentrated in NSW and WA. Goats, compared to deer are easy however they can offer somewhat of a challenge to bow hunters and are often seen a stepping stone for novice hunter who want to progress to deer hunting.
No licence is required to hunt goats in Australia nor is there a closed season.
whitefang10 |
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, Nov 23 2011, 5:21 AM EST
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| NomadWolfPack | Hunting Deer | 2 | Mar 20 2012, 5:11 AM EDT by whitefang10 | ||
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Thread started: Mar 20 2012, 4:33 AM EDT
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I live in the Illawarra South of Sydney. There are plenty of feral goat and deer in the bushy mountains which are only about a 20 minute walk from my house. I see them nearly everytime I go to the outskirts of my suburb so I am fairly confident I could locate them easily.
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