Pig and Boar Hunting Townsville Queensland

Thick pig tusks                                         3 1/2" pig Tusks           Elizabeth's first pig with her Kimber .243 rifle

Pig and Boar hunting - older bigger pigs with longer tusks are more likely to be encountered in North Qld as the climate is more suitable for breeding and there is less hunting pressure, also the more readily available food supplies and cover provided by sugar cane crops produce some real monster boars, there are pigs all over North Qld country.  PIG free range hunting, no trophy fees or limits on pigs taken , but we avoid shooting sows with pigletts. Hunting along the rivers and extensive wetlands of creeks, marshes, billabongs which provide ideal habitat for thriving pig populations. Pigs are excellent swimmers and the annual wet season flooding provides food and cover to breed large pig populations quickly. Pigs are nomadic, opportunist feeders, rooting up the ground with their noses and teeth in their search for roots, grubs and worms, then moving on. For this reason hunting pigs is more a case of intercepting them on the move plus checking areas that they have occupied before, and local crops for fresh pig signs of recent activity, the hardest part of pig hunting is finding the pigs, they won't be where you found them yesterday,unless you are feeding them and have them conditioned to eating and relying on the food supplied, usually grains, corn, wheat, barley, fishmeal, molasis. The preferred method of pig hunting in Europe and America is sitting up all night in a tree house looking hopefully at a pig feeder. We also try to concentrate pigs useing troughs with mollasis and grain to providing additional shooting oppertunities for those hunters with patience to sit up a tree and wait until the pigs show up, an LED flashlight mounted on your rifle is an asset with this hunting technique. Long dry periods will concentrate pigs close to water where the ground is still soft. Rain will disperse the pigs into new areas softened by the rain, they use rivers and creeks as highways when travelling. Hunting pigs offers a real challenge, excitement and a degree of risk.  Pigs are one of the smartest animals, very secretive, with excellent hearing and scenting ability and they don't hesitate to attack when chased and cornered. Their poor eyesight is their only weakness, however they rely on the eyesight of other animals and birds nearby and instinctively take the best option to avoid being shot, pigs are difficult for young and inexperienced hunters to be successful with.  A light weight (3kg) short bolt action rifle of .7mm 08, 30/30 or .308 calibre fitted with a 1 1/2 to 6 power telescopic sight or alternatively open sights are required for hunting pigs in cover where most of the shots are under 50 metres in amongst trees and bushes requiring snap shooting skills to hit running pigs.

Liams first pig hunt

Father & son's first pig hunt

When pigs haven't been hunted much, they can be seen moving around swamps, lakes and visiting dams during the day, also in June & July frosty nights will keep them sleeping huddled together under a bush to keep warm at night, then having to feed openly during the day. Other months with warmer nights plus hunting pressure and hot sun (pigs suffer from sunburn) pigs will only feed at night, moveing into cover at first light.

Our usual hunting method is walk and stalk, pigs make a lot of noise, snuffling, grunting, squeeling and are not hard to approach when they are feeding. if no pigs are in view and fresh sign present, we can let the dogs sniff out the pigs, these dogs make no attempt to bite the pigs, just run them down usually within 300mts, running around and barking at the pigs until we arrive. 

There are many dingos moving around the property in packs, and if you are quick and accurate with your rifle you should be able to collect a couple of scalps, my predator call will usually catch their attention and bring them towards us, or at least get them to stop and look, long enough for a shot.

Jarrod & Son with Trophy Boar

Roy from Melbourne shoots swamp monster

Mobs of pigs pushed out of cover by the dogs disperse along their game trails and cattle pads, most of the shots are under 50 yards. (Iron sights or low powered telescopic sights are an advantage under these conditions) .Boars will bail up quickly with their attention focused on the dogs, providing shooting opportunities and excitement.  Pointers can flush dingoes and tree wild cats. As to the best time for pigs:- Out west the January, February, March wet season is usually too hot and wet with flooded creeks and boggy bush tracks making access difficult plus pigs spread far and wide. Coastal pigs are still available but in smaller mobs. April, May are good with mobs of pigs digging up the nut grass areas before the ground becomes dry and hard. June, July, are frosty, August, September are comfortable dry months with shorter grass as the cattle have eaten it down. October, November, December are hot and dry with pigs concentrated near water and forced to wallow and drink during heat of the day. This is a good time to wait on stock dams for pigs to visit, also dead cows and molasis put out in troughs to help the cattle get some nutrient during this dry period, are all the pigs have got to eat at this time. Waiting over these can be successful at night.	Pig Tusk Trophy                4 Inches of fighting Ivory
Experienced clients have shot 20 or  more pigs taking trophy tusks over 9 inches in length during their hunt refer to "Grants Excellent Adventure" page 72 Oct - Dec 2008 Bacon Busters Magazine
Early morning on Camp Lagoon	Elizabeth's ivory tusk trophy

Almost all the rain falls in the February wet season, by March we know how much rainwater we have to work with for the rest of the year, good, poor or average, North Queensland has had good rains each year over the past 6 years producing many pigs and spreading them out all over the North.

The length of the grass doesn't affect pig hunting success when we are hunting with dogs, we use English pointers that range out as we walk 500 or 600 metres either side, covering a 1 km front as we are hunting, the dogs are friendly with the best noses and have regularly wind scented pigs at 500metrs, they are athletes and can run all day in the cooler weather.
 
The dogs find and bark at the pigs until we arrive on the scene, the dogs often are running around bushes containing 20 pigs, a dog whistle is used to call the dogs away from the pigs then  clients can shoot the pigs.The big trophy boars are living by themselves, often hiding under  bushes, the dogs find them, the boars make short charges at the dogs until we arrive.

The hotter and drier it is, the harder it is on the dogs, however if you wish to hunt without the dogs late in the year is better as the cattle have chewed the grass down short, there is very little water and food for the pigs. The pigs are concentrated around water, molasis troughs and any dead cows which are usually in plentiful supply during October, November and December.

You fly into Townsville, if 3 hunters hire a 2 wheel drive car the day before the hunt, We can meet you at the airport and guide you to the safari camp, 2 hunters can fit in my Defender tray for a 250km drive out west to the pig country with creeks, rivers and swamps on different properties, most have aircraft landing strips, and light aircraft can be chartered from Townsville and Cairns.

FISHING IS ALSO AVAILABLE, THERE ARE FRESH WATER FISH AND YABBIES IN THE WESTERN CREEKS, RIVERS AND DAMS, PLUS BIRD SHOOTING.

10cm Ivory Tusks

Zoren's First Dingo

Bomb up at West Lake

Gary's Trophy Boar

                                                                                                                           Bacon bail up by Bob and Tom

                                                       
Bomb up at Horse Swamp
Heaths First Pig Hunt

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