Ever wondered how mastering wind and grass can change your game in bow hunting? This episode delivers tactical insights from Aussie bow hunter Brett Meldrum, who shares his expertise and gripping stories, including an intense encounter with severe blood poisoning during a rut camp in Northern New South Wales. We explore the challenges of hunting old bucks, preferred shooting distances, and the camaraderie of hunts organized by Wild Safaris, where community and top hunting brands come together for memorable game captures. Whether you're a seasoned hunter or a newcomer, Brett’s tales and tactics will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Bow hunting is more than just a sport; it's a lifestyle. Join us as we discuss the local wildlife, from fearless black swamp wallabies to the legal restrictions around hunting kangaroos with a bow. You'll hear heartwarming stories of the host's young son Finn's hunting successes and get a peek into the dedication involved in maintaining a top-notch bow setup like the Matthews V3X 33. The episode highlights the practice routines and family involvement that make bow hunting a lifelong passion and a bonding experience.
Curious about the nuances between bows or need expert advice for your next hunt? We delve into the differences between the V3X and Phase 4 bows, emphasizing the importance of comfort and fit. Brett offers invaluable tips for beginners, including recommendations for reputable bow shops across Australia like Bensons, Tobas and Abbey archery. We also cover strategies for stalking game in open country, facing the physical demands of the hunt, and the adrenaline rush of encounters with larger game like buffalo. Tune in for practical advice and exhilarating stories that will resonate with every hunter out there.
For the latest information, news, giveaways and anything mentioned on the show head over to our Facebook, Instagram or website.
If you have a question, comment, topic, gear review suggestion or a guest that you'd like to hear on the show, shoot an email to accuratehunts@gmail.com or via our socials.
Ever wondered how mastering wind and grass can change your game in bow hunting? This episode delivers tactical insights from Aussie bow hunter Brett Meldrum, who shares his expertise and gripping stories, including an intense encounter with severe blood poisoning during a rut camp in Northern New South Wales. We explore the challenges of hunting old bucks, preferred shooting distances, and the camaraderie of hunts organized by Wild Safaris, where community and top hunting brands come together for memorable game captures. Whether you're a seasoned hunter or a newcomer, Brett’s tales and tactics will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Bow hunting is more than just a sport; it's a lifestyle. Join us as we discuss the local wildlife, from fearless black swamp wallabies to the legal restrictions around hunting kangaroos with a bow. You'll hear heartwarming stories of the host's young son Finn's hunting successes and get a peek into the dedication involved in maintaining a top-notch bow setup like the Matthews V3X 33. The episode highlights the practice routines and family involvement that make bow hunting a lifelong passion and a bonding experience.
Curious about the nuances between bows or need expert advice for your next hunt? We delve into the differences between the V3X and Phase 4 bows, emphasizing the importance of comfort and fit. Brett offers invaluable tips for beginners, including recommendations for reputable bow shops across Australia like Bensons, Tobas and Abbey archery. We also cover strategies for stalking game in open country, facing the physical demands of the hunt, and the adrenaline rush of encounters with larger game like buffalo. Tune in for practical advice and exhilarating stories that will resonate with every hunter out there.
For the latest information, news, giveaways and anything mentioned on the show head over to our Facebook, Instagram or website.
If you have a question, comment, topic, gear review suggestion or a guest that you'd like to hear on the show, shoot an email to accuratehunts@gmail.com or via our socials.
Music what are you doing to get in on an open country rooster?
Speaker 2:Well, I use the grass and the wind to my advantage, like noise from wind and that I spotted them. It probably took almost an hour to get to them. What's long distance? I go out to 100 with my bow. I practice Most comfortable is at 40 meters. For me is where I'm most comfortable with my bow. But the old bucks. There's no point hunting with the wind, you know, in your favor and trying to ambush these older bucks because they're going to walk away with the wind in their face. They're never going to come with the wind blowing up their ass. So a lot of the time here I'll hunt crosswinds.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to another episode, accurate Hunter Life Outdoors. We're here with the Aussie bow hunter himself, brett Meldrum. Welcome to the show, mate. There you go, mate. Thanks for having me, that's all right. That's all right. That's all right. We've crossed paths a fair bit in the last six or eight months, but never physically tied each other down in the same location. No, and it all came to a point the other night when I had some clients out of my block, which is really close to where Brett lives and hunts, and he shoots me a message and it's a picture of one of the clients saying don't you feed these guys, because they were at the pub having a beer and I wasn't with them.
Speaker 1:The odds of you being at the pub when they were there.
Speaker 2:I would have went if.
Speaker 1:I knew you were going to be there.
Speaker 2:What was it? Saturday or Friday, I can't remember. Now it was the weekend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think it was Friday night. They went in on Saturday night too. They were chasing reception. They didn't do well without the reception one of them. He had some issues at home he had to sort out.
Speaker 2:But he said the feed was pretty good.
Speaker 1:I haven't been in there for Tucker yet. No it's good feed, you should come up. Yeah well, next time I'll try and come up a night earlier and tee it up and meet you out there.
Speaker 1:Once I get out to the block, though I couldn't really Like it's. You know, half an hour back out it's set up in there. I struggle to get back out. I usually tell the clients we're not coming out unless it's a medical emergency. That's what I got the EPIRB for. I can hit the helicopter button if I have to. That's it. Have you had any uh medical issues out in bushes? Um?
Speaker 2:I did this year actually at um this rut camp. We went to northern new south wales. I got um real bad blood poisoning and um had to get myself to hospital, I don't know bloody.
Speaker 2:I think it all was a series of things. I've been hunting for 22 plus days straight and, um, we had spike right here filming a video at home for a week and then we went somewhere else and I was doing my hunting, then went to do another um sort of video thing on this other hunt and, um, I think the body was just worn out and then the immune system was completely shot. Know, because you're up all night after guiding, all day sorting meat out and all that sort of stuff and bugger all sleep up at four in the morning. And yeah, I got a little tiny nick on my thumb when I was gutting deer out and that's all it took and it rolled me on the last night of deer camp and yeah, I got severe blood poisoning tossed and turned all night with the hot and cold flashes and that. And yeah, I had to hit up the hospital first thing in the morning and drive seven hours back home to another hospital. So that was a pretty wild day.
Speaker 1:But it could have been worse. Definitely not the plan. Was it a little Havalon or something you were using?
Speaker 2:No, no, it was just one of these new spiker knives we were trolling at the time and I was pretty lucky. I had to go for two rounds of intravenous antibiotics and then they had to cut it open and actually do surgery and clean all the bone out and stuff. It got pretty nasty. That's gnarly, did it scar up? Yeah, not really. They did a really good job when they glued it back together because the only little cut they had to do to it.
Speaker 1:Tell me a bit more about that spiker camp. That looked pretty fun. A bit of photo I miss now in that sort of party. There's some big names there and some cool animals dropping.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a really good time. It was a hunt organised by Wild Safaris up in northern New South Wales there and Zero Tech was there. Southern Cross Distributors, sporting Shooter, lifco Arms and Spiker were the main lot there. The Lighting Company came, I'm just not sure I can't remember exactly what their name was again, but no, it was a really good hunt and we had some international people there too and me, jasper, uh, going in from spike and that we sort of guided people and gave um, all these people here and trying to put deer down had some really good country out there, a lot of good deer and um, I think we guided. I got on the four good bucks and jasper got four good bucks as well and um, you know, we had a real good time out there, like meeting everyone and good times at camp every night. No, it was good fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it looked good. Fun. They're always putting out good photos and makes everyone jealous. And that rig they had out there with the Spiker logo on it was pretty big, the Unimog or whatever it is.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, the Unimog. Yeah, no, that was cool, that was Wild Safari's. Wild Safari's put on a really good show, A really good feed and that, and real professional boys. They made it really good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, seemed like a pretty primo setup from what we were watching. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It was pretty sport.
Speaker 1:Was it rifle and bow?
Speaker 2:Yeah, everyone else was rifle. I had a bow only section of the property that I guided on I guided two Canadians to start with onto deer but real, real thick black pine sort of country and that. And yeah, we had opportunities, we were under 20, had a few good bucks, but you just couldn't get a shot because the low branches on that black pine made it near impossible. And so now we saw some really cool critters and then I started taking rifle hunters in there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I started putting a few deer on my deck after that. What's the importance of having a bow-only section?
Speaker 2:We just tried to keep it from getting shot out too quick or like spooking everything up, because rifle will do that. But there's a fair few hundred. There's a few hundred acropatic, but it doesn't take long to push a deer out when you start letting shots off all day.
Speaker 1:Sure. And then you reckon just one rifle shot will spook them far enough away. Because my personal experience. You know I've shot. You shoot one off a scrape. You know you kill it whatever. But then another one will move in to the scrape. Yeah that's true.
Speaker 2:We had that happen here actually, but up this place apparently it's pretty pressured up there and it doesn't take much to turn the deer off and they just wanted to have a little bow hunting only section. And after a few days it's sort of like oh well, we've got good deer, we might as well let the rifle hunters in there. And I took them in and started putting some animals on the ground. But no, like you were saying, I've got this scrape here at home, had this monstrous deer, a bloody moose of a deer I call him the moose and I had a good mate, jesse Pokey, come out and he come out and he put that one on the deck and then it was only a day or two later and that same scrape got replaced and Jasper took our beautiful buck off that and then I think we got a third one off it as well, I'm pretty sure. But it just depends where it comes from. I don't rifle shoot here at all and hardly anyone does.
Speaker 1:So it's kind of not really pressured that hard in that way. Do you think that they're all working that scrape intermittently or it's you know, one guy's or one buck's holding it and it's only because he's gone that the others have an opportunity yeah, that's what it is, because when you take out that buck, you take out his harem as well.
Speaker 2:So then there's a. You know there could be seven to fifteen girls there ready for the pickup. The next dominant buck will move in and take that one. But I spent a lot of years here managing the deer, like shooting a lot of shitheads all the time and leaving all these good ones. So now these good ones that aren't old like, we filmed a video here with Unspike.
Speaker 2:It will be out probably late this year, next year, and that's going to be a really good one to watch, for we put down quite a few bucks in that video and they were all old, like old in the sense they had popped eyeballs and stuff from fighting. They started going backwards and they were just the dominant ones but the so much better deer that came through that. I sort of managed that. We thought we'll take out all these old ones finally and that will bring in the new ones to give them a chance to breed. And yeah, it's worked out too, because a lot of these deer were right on their end. A lot of them actually got bashed off their scrapes, and that by younger deer. So it's good to take out them old ones. They've done their job.
Speaker 1:Now let the new blood come through I, when I've, early in the hunting days, I used to think it was an odd thing that people would shoot a, shoot a buck pre-rut, because it never had its chance to, you know, spread its genetics and seed uh, but I can't remember who it was. We're having this discussion, but it was more like it doesn't matter what you do, because even its son, the tiny little spiker, has the same genetics. That's right, as long as you're doing what you're doing. The management and the genetics are of that line, hopefully.
Speaker 2:It shouldn't impact it too much. It's a long-term thing. It's not saying it happens quick Like eight years. I live on this place. I've managed it for that long. I've hunted on this place for probably 15 years. They've always really been real selective of the deer that we shoot here. Um, if there's spikers running around and we just want meat, we won't shoot longhorn spikers. You get some spikers here. They've got, like you know, eight inches to ten inches hanging out of them. It's like they're the spiders you want to leave alone because you know you're going to end up to be something special.
Speaker 2:It's all about I don't understand where I am. It's easy to do because, like I, live here, so you can sort of be picky. But if I only hunted twice a year, complete different story. You know, if you go to a block you're like, right, that's a good deal, that gets me excited, I'll shoot it. There's a big difference, like managing your herds, and if you're here all the time, you know what I mean the other tricky part of that is if you've got shared access with other people, that's right.
Speaker 1:It's hard to get other people on the same page, and even not just on your block, but neighbors. I mean, the property you're talking about is probably large enough that I know you've got neighbors access too. But if you're on a small block, a couple of hundred acres, and the neighbours are smashing everything it doesn't matter, then it's really hard to do that management on your block.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've got a really good block about two blocks away from here and got some really good fallow on it. I was a bit disheartened the other day. I was actually going there looking for goats and I got the head here. Actually, I found the head that the roo shooter got and it was just like I wish he'd never shot it. Young deer one side had 18 points for a young fellow. It had like the front end of a red deer, like it had the three times going off the start on both sides, not just the two. And I'm like, oh, he shot this Because you saw the head there. Then you saw the feet. I was like, oh, daru shot it. Daru should have got it. I was like, at the end of the day he's going to make money too, so it's just unlucky in that circumstance, but it would have been nice if a deer like that got to live on.
Speaker 1:Sure.
Speaker 2:It just is what it is, not everything control no, no.
Speaker 1:Do you know what they're getting at the moment for venison? The root boy?
Speaker 2:I think it's just under two bucks a kilo. I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I thought buck 90 or so. It's a considering. It's only half that, or something, for a room, isn't it?
Speaker 2:85, 90 cents, I think yeah at the minute, it's only just started up again here all right.
Speaker 1:Where's the local chiller?
Speaker 2:you know it's uh, sort of near you. Yeah, right, you're right out that way. Yeah, about half an hour from here, maybe not even.
Speaker 1:Yeah right, I hope they don't come too close to our place, but there's plenty of roos around. There's actually more wallabies. I see more wallabies than I see roos.
Speaker 2:They have exploded here. Yeah, those black swamp wallabies we call them. They have exploded everywhere now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've got sort of two types. I'm calling one a wallaroo and the other one a wallaby, but both of them man, like every hillside's, just crawling at night time and mornings.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you get the brown ones and the grey ones, eh. Yeah, and they don't care.
Speaker 1:Because they know they've got no fear. Yeah, no, they don't care, because they know they've got no fear. Yeah, no one shoots them. That's why no fear bred into them. And just for the record, someone asked me this on the weekend. You can't shoot kangaroos with a bow. Just to clarify for anyone listening.
Speaker 2:No, I'm not sure. I'm a native species.
Speaker 1:Can't shoot them with a bow. No, now you told me off air that you are bow only. It's not something I am by any means. I call myself a bow shooter, not so much a bow hunter, meaning that I'll happily go for a bow hunt, but I'm also usually got the rifle over the other shoulder. I don't mind the personal challenge, but yeah, I'm a slacker. I'll take the easy option. Why bow? Only Like what's? Why is?
Speaker 2:that so special for you? I've been doing it all my life well, literally, and I don't know, it's just something about it. I've always loved it. I never get tired of it. I'm even practicing every day. I never get tired of it. I always pick up my bow and have a few shots at the target and that. And yeah, that's pretty much it. It's part of me. If I didn't bow hunt I'd go crazy, I reckon.
Speaker 1:Yeah right. And it's nice that you've got it there on your own block. I see a video you put up on the weekend your kids out and about. That was your young fella.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I took our young Finn out. He's nine years old now.
Speaker 1:He's got two, three goats and a pig and a hare under his belt.
Speaker 2:Now, with the bow. So he's going pretty good, he got his first kill when he was seven actually, so you know he goes really good at it.
Speaker 1:What about the other boys Are?
Speaker 2:they into it too. Yeah, sort of I bought them all a bow and Finn's the one that really took off of it, the other ones sort of didn't. And they're older. But they're going through that stage in life now. They're starting to go from boys into men and they're too worried about their mates and that yeah they might circle back. Yeah, they might come back to it. If not, it doesn't matter. They do what they want to do.
Speaker 1:What bow are you shooting right now? What's your current setup?
Speaker 2:what? What bow are you shooting right now? What's your current setup? I got a matthews v3x 33. Um, it's a bow I've had for a couple of years now. I did get the phase four, but I wasn't the biggest fan of it, so I gave it away in one of my instagram giveaways and um, yeah, I've got two v3x's. Now actually got one. I use all the time in a backup one because it's just such a good bow from a from a non-bow person point of view.
Speaker 1:Why is it such a good bow like and what was the difference when hitting the phase four?
Speaker 2:I don't know, it's just it fit me better. It felt better like they're pretty much the same bow. They just the phase four had the split limbs on them and, um, I don't know, I found that I hand talked to phase the Phase 4 a bit more. It just didn't feel as comfortable and consistent as my V3X does. That's why I just stuck to it. No point changing anything. That's no good.
Speaker 1:There's nothing wrong with it From a beginner's point of view, if someone's starting into bow hunting, do you think that, feel that you've got develops? Or you can just pick up any bow and make it work for you early on and then, once you start developing skills, or it's important to spend time at a bow shop or something and actually find one that fits you well before you develop a hat.
Speaker 2:That's the best bit of advice I'll give you. If you can get to a bow shop, shoot as many bows as you can, like I know you'll look at bows and think I really like the look of that, but it might shoot like shit for you, like it might not feel right, really inconsistent. So the best thing just shoot as many different brands as you can If the pro shop has them, whatever and then find the bow that, whatever bow suits you, that's the bow you should go with and like knowing how a bow should feel a lot of outcomes from a lot of experience as well. But, um, you will build that up as you start off. Everything will change.
Speaker 2:You'll go through so many different changes even with the same bow. You'll be playing with draw length, half inch here, half there, um, or your knock heights and all sorts of stuff. Like you, really, the more you get into it, the more you'll develop with it and, um, get more in depth, in a sense, and that's when you really start to feel what's right. Then you might shoot someone else's bow and go, oh, don't like that, or I really like that. So you develop like, yeah, your skill as you go along with it and you'll start sensing these things and I'd assume even with that phase four you were talking about, you were still shooting accurately.
Speaker 1:It was just a feeling and a comfort thing, so it's still performing it's just for me, yeah, for me.
Speaker 2:It just wasn't right, it's still a good day. Thank you really good, but I just didn't have the confidence in it like I do with me matthew's me v4x one that was all sure.
Speaker 2:Just becomes an extension of your arm at some point yeah, like I knew that bow so well, I killed that many deer camelsels, buffalo, pigs, all sorts of stuff with it. I had it fly out of the ute when we were hunting buffalo and it got smashed up all down the road but nothing wrong with it. So it's a good, solid bow. I've taken it all over Australia and that and they never let me down.
Speaker 1:One thing I find from a rifle point of view is sometimes you walk into the smaller shops and, as a beginner as a beginner, you ask the wrong question sometimes and the people behind the counter can go one way or the other. Hey, I just got my license, I want to shoot deer, what should I buy? And quite often, unfortunately, they get sold whatever's on the shelf. Yeah, not what's specifically right for them. Is there a shop that you'd recommend or that you like?
Speaker 2:what's your shop that you go to? I've got no shop where I am because I'm in a bloody no area. But if you want to get to broad like a Mount of Bows different brands I'd recommend probably go to Benton Archeries or Abbey in Sydney if you're there. If not, if you're in Sydney you want to drive a bit further up to Newcastle. Bowhunting only them boys. They're on top of their game and exactly what they're doing, like Nick and Jack Crick and that they got it all sorted there. And if you're in Queensland, apex is up there and I believe he's got quite a big range. There's a few other mobs. There's Far Ahead Bowhunting, I think it's called, and Ian Summers, he's a guru, he's the one I talk to. He knows all his stuff that good about every single bow because of all the tuning he does for everyone.
Speaker 2:And that, yeah, it just depends where he's based really, but those would be the main ones I'd look at.
Speaker 1:That Far Ahead Bow bow hunting. Is he the one who's got a range inside his factory unit as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah it looks like that, like an industrial airs got a range in it. I'm pretty sure he does. I don't know him. I've never spoken to him. I've just seen it come up on Instagram and that yeah likewise. They do days and stuff there in shoots and chewing people's bows up for them and stuff yeah, well, that's important.
Speaker 1:I'm south of sydney, I live in um barrel, midigong sided, and we've got one in marool and I'm just trying to think tobis archery. It's actually run by a fellow called graham benson, not to be confused with benson archery, but he's he's doesn't have a amazing range of bows, but can get them in for you once you decide what you want, but what he's got is a full 3d archery target range out there and an amazing ability to spend time with you and help you set it up or correct any problems you have.
Speaker 2:That's the thing you go to the bigger shops and use all their sort of stuff and work it out. Then if you've got to do a day trip, make a weekend of it to do that. Then if you've got a small local store, then you know what you want or whatever. And I find is get like this, the smaller local ones. You get sort of more of an intimate um like time with them and they'll really focus on you and help you out a lot these, uh, these fellas I had on the weekend.
Speaker 1:They're very new to uh bow hunting especially. This was their first hunt but they they were full of advice from 3 000 different people. And that gets tricky too, because everyone you ask has a different opinion. Uh, you know, you shoot what you shoot. I shoot a hoyt like only because that's what I've got, it's not because I've shot all the others. So everyone you has has a different opinion on whether they're like ford or holden sort of thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right. So you've got to take it with a grain of salt and give it a go. But that's hard when they're $3,000 per setup. You're not going to go and buy three or four and pick which one you want.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of money, eh. Well yeah, it's an investment.
Speaker 1:Definitely investment, I think it's on par with rifle hunting. I mean, a rifle is the same sort of money. And then you've got to buy bullets or you've got to buy arrows. You can reuse an arrow, you can't reuse a bullet. That's right. So what?
Speaker 2:arrows. Are you running? Was that sorry?
Speaker 1:What arrows are you running?
Speaker 2:Nap time Nap time. Crucifix 250s they are 250 spine. We've beenifix 250s they are 250 spine. We've been running them for three, four years, maybe a bit longer now. They're a good arrow On a technical side of things. What does spine mean? To be honest, I don't really know.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:As far as I know, as high as a pound is lower to spine, it's a flexing arrow like stiffness. As far as I know. As far as I know, the higher the pound is, lower the spine. It's the flex in the arrow like stiffness. As far as I know, I don't get like I'm going to get crucified here. I don't really get into that stuff like grains per square inch and all that shit.
Speaker 2:I just it's the way I started that many bloody years ago, like over 20 years ago now. It's like I just shot the arrow and it worked. Yeah, you know what I mean. Like I know, 250s are good coming out of my 75-pound bow Through paper. They shoot good, you get a good bullet out with them and you watch them fly. I shoot a lot of long distance at home when I'm practicing and they fly by dart Sure.
Speaker 1:What's long?
Speaker 2:distance I go out to 100 with my bow if I practice.
Speaker 1:Most comfortable is at 40 metres for me is where I'm most comfortable with my bow, but I can take it out to 100. 40 or less, or is that the sweet spot?
Speaker 2:The sweet spot for me is 40, just on target. But when I'm hunting I do take a few longer shots when I have to. But I do prefer to be 30 and under. But 40 has always been sweet for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah With practising anything. The more you practise, obviously, the better you get at it. But it's interesting that you want to practise at 100, even though you're not really going to use that in actual hunting, even though you're not really going to use that in actual hunting.
Speaker 2:If you can hit, you know, buddy a bit bigger than a tennis ball at 100, then when you get into 40s or 20s and 30s it's like a chip shot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, makes those easier. And what about broadheads Cayuga? I'm actually been using the Cayuga Trizot since it come out and that is an awesome freaking head. I um did a bit of management on that block the day before. I took my son there to cocky runs cattle and um, yeah, goats aren't worth anything there and I used to muster his goats for him and he goes. We just got to take him out, otherwise he'd be spending a fortune on hay to try and feed his cattle. So he said, go in there and just, yeah, smack as many as you can. And I, in under an hour I smack four pretty good billy goats for them tries us, and it just carnage. I like everything I've shot with them. It won't go more than 10 meters if you shoot in the right spot, but they are a very, very good head.
Speaker 1:Those go good drives yeah, yeah, I put a lot of research into that.
Speaker 2:And they're accurate too. Actually, my russety in that big, wide open country because I drove so far to go hit one. The shot ended up being a 65-metre shot. It was the only opportunity I had and I was that confident in the gear and I hit him. It's all on camera. I got, and I was that confident in the gear and I hit him. It's all on camera. I got him smacked square bang in the heart. He probably went 10 metres and he did one spin and that was it fell over.
Speaker 1:That's a bit of a dream animal for you. Been keen on that for a while. It was your first one, wasn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, first time I've ever seen him. Never seen a rooster.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I often get asked how do you hunt a species? Pretty fun say when the video comes out.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm keen to see it. But I get asked you know, when you change species or areas and things like that, how do you take your skills that you've got now and then put them in place in a whole new area? You were self-guiding or something, weren't you up there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I was just on my own. I got into a private block there, 100 solo, um the cocky, he showed me where water was and like in that country I was central queensland, like water's life, so they're not going to be too far from it and um, when I came into the place, there's a creek. Well, it's off a ball that runs into a creek. And um, yeah, there was. I saw two hinds there on the way in so I go, go, oh, there's a deer here, so I also focus my energies here. And then he took me, showed me a couple of water holes. There's only like six water holes on this place. There's like tens and tens of thousands of acres.
Speaker 2:And I just came back that afternoon, walked a fair few k's along this creek and just stopping and glassing, stopping and glassing, trying to get high. It was all fat country like climb up trees and that, and just looking in the grass or antlers and whatnot, yeah, I found four of them and bedded up and um, hey, that's how it all happened with them. And um, yeah, the whole time I was there it's the only time I saw d that one afternoon. So I was pretty stoked. It was the first afternoon I was there first hunt afternoon so I was pretty stoked. It was the first afternoon I was there, first hunt, yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I just put in everything I had to get that done so and that's a good reminder to people the old don't pass up on Monday what you'd shoot on Friday sort of thing, exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, don't let walk on the first day what you shoot on the last, and you know they've been a 31 inch rooster, so I was bloody pumped about that open country stalking.
Speaker 1:How do you go about that Question from a listener, michael Galbraith, shout out because he sent it to me. But you're pretty successful in stalking open country fallow especially. But what are you doing to get in on an open country rooster?
Speaker 2:Well, I use the grass and the wind to my advantage, like noise from wind and that I spotted them. It probably took almost an hour to get to them. I got to within about 40 metres it was 42, I'm pretty sure until it was last cover. So I took off my binar, harness, everything and I was literally on my belly trying to just keep my profile below the grass and whatnot, because there's no undulation there to sort of assist with me. And, yeah, like there's a creek, so I'm like sweet, if I come in close to the creek, the sound of the water running will sort of hide my noise through the grass and whatnot. And it was a hard crawl too, because it was every cat head bindi, thistle spike you could think of. Like I went back, I still had antibiotics from last time I got blood poisoning and I actually took a few of them when I got back, as all my knees are infected, my hands, my elbows, uh parts on my mid-body from crawling through all this shit.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, I got to last cover, which was a tree where they were bedded up about 42 meters away, and I sat there for two and a half hours on my knees behind this tree and, um, that was freaking hard. That's the thing it's a lot of. It's mental, like something like that in front of you, like you'll wait hours and hours if you have to, and um, yeah, here with the fallow it's a bit different with the open country, because you got the undulations of the hills here in the grass country and that, and that's what I've grew up hunting. So that's how I've learned it and I try not to move unless there's a good breeze of wind and stuff. That's when I start to move because I know that grass is making a bit of noise and I always watch the deer or the pig's tails, make sure to wag them side to side, whatever, and when everything goes still on an animal, you sort of know they're sort of listening.
Speaker 2:You've got a bit of alertness about them. So there's kind of a lot of it to do of reading body language of the animals and stuff. And with deer you can see their antlers. They keep moving as they're feeding and stuff. As soon as they stop, I'll stop and um, it's just sort of like that and playing the wind, most important of anything, like getting that scent going the right way and um, that can be tricky with deer here or deer anywhere, um, in the open, like the old bucks. There's no point hunting with the wind, you know, in your favor and trying to ambush these older bucks, because they're going to walk away with the wind in their face. They're never going to come with the wind blowing up their ass. So a lot of the time here I'll hunt crosswinds, and there's some times you get busted from swirls and that, but other times that's when I've been most successful.
Speaker 1:All right, a few little tips about yeah, no, they're all good ones with uh circling back to these clients out on the weekend, just something it reminded me of. That doesn't again happen so much when you're rifle hunting, but when you're close and I'm going to use goats because that's where we're on you blow the stalk right, the goat spots, you movement, sound, smell, whatever it needs to be, but they look at you and if you freeze they're still staring at you and, depending on the level of alertness and the level of blown you've been, they quite often put their head back down. And then the mistake the client made it was just a learning mistake, it's fine. As soon as it put its head back down he started moving. But in my experience what I found is they put their head down as a ploy and then put it straight back up. Is that something you found as well? They'll put it down and then trick you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people get into a stare off with them and it's sort of like you know if you hold out you win. But they always do that. They will always look back, go no matter what If they see a bit of movement. You can sometimes trick them. If you just stay still long enough and they finally get over it and they walk off, start feeding again. Or it comes to the point if they've smelt, you it's all over. They may not run right off, but as soon as they sneeze, you know it's all over for you. They will do that, they will look away and you'll go oh sweet, how good is this. And then boom, they'll turn around straight away. It depends how heavy they're hunted as well, what pressure's on them, and that.
Speaker 1:The sneeze is interesting because it'll be one. It's not the one you're hunting usually, but another one spots you, it'll sneeze, and the others they all look at it and then look at what it's looking at and then they go back to feeding quite quickly because they're like, ah, I can't see what they're talking about. And then they they up. But that one, like we literally had a group of 60 within 50 of us the other day and there was just this one that was about a third of the way up from the back of the group and it pinged us pretty early. We were stuck in an open because we didn't know these goats were there. We were just moving through a bit of an open country, heading to a spot, and one come over the crest. I thought, oh, that's cool, there's a goat here. It turned out he was the leader of this long procession, but it pinged us and it did not give up and we outstared it, but it was still semi-alert for an hour. It was never, never fully comfortable like the others were.
Speaker 2:But we ended up losing light.
Speaker 1:That day ran out and bailed.
Speaker 2:There's always a century goat that's always looking out for him.
Speaker 1:Yes, have you someone said the other day too. If there's one nanny that's particularly spotty and she's always spotting you and giving away, you should shoot her.
Speaker 2:Oh, you want to. You want to shoot her, because she always gets you yeah. The nannies are the hardest because they're the most switched on, because they've got kids on them most of the time. Like an old nanny, she's always looking around see what's about.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you use calls when you're outside of deer hunting and the rut, but do you use calls for goats? No, no, you've never bleeped one in.
Speaker 2:I sort of tried once, like I'll use a call to stop them. If I'm drawn back and they start moving, I'll go back or you know whatever, and they'll stop. Then I'll let the arrow go. But I've never called one in. I haven't really tried, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Well, I've got a story to tell you and I've never done it before successfully. But we had a lonely goat. He was in a group in a thick of green stuff. We spotted him from 150 away and we made a plan. We made two steps forward in our plan and there was three behind a tree that I couldn't see and they spotted me and they were alert, but this other one wasn't. We continued with our plan and it turned out that those three racked off with whatever others were there, but they didn't make a sound and they left this one in the thick stuff. And then we got to the thick stuff and we saw it. We were 30 and he had moved just to the other side of it and then he realized he was by himself. So he was screaming and it's a noise I hadn't heard before from a goat. And I've heard most of their calls, but this was literally hey guys, where are you?
Speaker 2:where is?
Speaker 1:everyone what? What's happened? Why is there no one around? And he'd moved. It was about 50 from us and we sat down behind a bush and I just gave a little meh meh and he's like, oh, oh, no, no, there is someone back there. There is someone that stayed behind and he literally came into 10 and the client I had with me. It was his first bow kill, just actually hit it, perfect shot, but straight through this brush in front of me. I thought he was going to wait until it popped out on the left-hand side, but he had a little opening that I couldn't see.
Speaker 2:Any no unleashed he had an old-school cayuga on the front and that thing, uh, did some damage. Yeah, they did damage. There's like any animal you can call in if you say the right thing in the right situation. I like what you're saying describing then he's lost in that and one of everyone else went and you make sound of a goat. They got him in drag. So a lot of it depends on the situation too.
Speaker 1:It was young too. If it was an old Nene or an old Billy, I don't think they would have understood my accent. But I've tried it before too, and it works the opposite they run. So it's anecdotal that it worked, but it's definitely worked.
Speaker 2:I want to circle back to.
Speaker 1:You spoke about earlier some of your trips you've been on. You know camel, buffalo and things like that. Are you changing your setup for different species on the?
Speaker 2:bigger things, my boat from down to rabbits, up to buffalo, it's all the same. So I don't really shoot rabbits, but they're like goats and pigs, deer, buffalo, whatever it is, it's all the same. I don't change anything.
Speaker 2:Got it the shot placement is more important than yeah, that's where you hit them. And um, yeah, my bow is just, it's all around. So that's why I love it so much. It's just an all round bow, even though it's 75 pound. That hell shoot. You'll take anything in Australia with it. Put it that way Around the world. Even I reckon Yep.
Speaker 1:And what's been one of the harder ones, whether it be, you know, hard to get the access to, hard to make the stalk on or hard to actually kill.
Speaker 2:Buffalo are pretty hard where we were. Hey, like, buffalo is my favorite hunt hands down. Look, there's something about hunting buffalo. I love it. And um, yeah, a lot of those stalks are freaking hard. Hey, like, once they're cleared on the zone, that's it, it's over. You can chase them all day if you want. You won't ever catch up to them. But, um, yeah, camel was pretty similar to sort of hunting deer because they're so tall, open, flat country their eyesight's frigging incredible. But the buffalo was quite hard. It was real challenging in that different country and that hot climate and that. But everything can be as hard as the next thing. It just depends on the situation, how pressured the animal is and how hard they're hunted. If they're not hunted at all, I'm pretty sure you could get away with a lot with a buffalo or a pig or anything if they're never pressured. But it just all depends on the circumstances as well, I think.
Speaker 1:But I think the yeah when there's nothing much more spine tingling memory than a buffalo staring you down because he spotted you at 30 or something. That's good, I love it.
Speaker 1:You know with a deer, you know with a fellow that they're not coming for you, like that's not an option, it's a it's away from you, but that's, I'm gonna say it's pretty much the only animal in Australia that other than scrub bull maybe I've heard of probably a samba that's attacked someone, maybe by accident, but that's coming for you at some, like that's an option for it.
Speaker 2:That's not an option for a fellow.
Speaker 1:He's got choices, yeah, and we've got less than him. That's right, it's not much backup with a 75-pound bow.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, buddy, we got charged. Eh, when I was up there I shot my bull. Then I think we got the ball and I shot a cow this day like a big buffalo cow, and they were skinning it out, taking a heap of meat off it and stuff, and I was on one side of the cow and Harry was on the other. And next minute he's just like oh shit, and he's launched over the cow and nearly landed on me and I'm like what's going on? You get bit by a snake or something and he just grabbed his gun. I looked up and here's this frigging bull. He's like under 10 of us. He just come in and say quiet for his fiction, and he was not going to leave us alone and he came in. He tried to get us and Harry had to put him down. But they're crazy animals. Like you were saying, if they want you and they decide that's what they're doing, they'll get you. They're not an animal to mess with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, very similar situation, but I hadn't got to the skinning part it was. I don't even know if I've spoken about this on the podcast. I had an interesting bow hunting trajectory which involved a rabbit one week, a fallow doe the next day and then two weeks later I was buffalo hunting. That was my entry to bow hunting, with very minimal skill study or tuning. Anyway, I shot it. I shot a buff. It was facing straight on right in the little white triangle, which I learned later is a good idea, but it was purely just instinct and luck, mostly luck and this thing turned around and bled out within 30, 50, whatever fell on its side. But what happened instantly was another one came in and flipped it over. A bull that we hadn't even really seen like was in the periphery. He came in and had a go at this bull that was having his last breaths, which I was, you know that was pretty crazy to watch the strength to flip a bull over with its horns.
Speaker 1:Like those, things are a ton.
Speaker 2:They're just tanks of animals. They're very powerful and very precise. I've got a mate who worked up the territory and they were catching wild buffalo and he said, like back in them days they had little tobacco tins. He goes, you could flick the tobacco tin into the yards and the bull will hit it with the very tip of its horn and knows exactly where that is. I asked a few people about that when I was up there. True story. They know exactly how big they are.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Freaking crazy, that's a skill and a tough.
Speaker 1:Harry's got a pretty good outfit up there. He's got some amazing access.
Speaker 2:Oh it's freaking, incredible mate. I'm actually going to go back up there. I'm going to start talking with him, work out another trip.
Speaker 1:I fly out, I'm going up in two and a half weeks, I think. Oh yeah, sure, yeah, good to know, but yeah, not a personal one. Well, sort of I've got two American clients where I'm hosting, taking them up there, yep, but we're not going with Harry, we're going with Jaggers in his.
Speaker 2:Ardenley Yep.
Speaker 1:They're both rifle hunters from Texas, but yeah, it'll be good to get up there. It's a special part of the world. Oh, it's magic, isn't it? I love the comments online. Why do people pay to shoot cows? Well, you've obviously never experienced it. Because that's right.
Speaker 2:Go out there and do it.
Speaker 1:It's hard to explain the buffalo hunting part itself, especially from a rifle point of view. Not hard, it's not hard at all. It's which one you want to shoot, but it's the whole experience. It's the flight, it's the eight hour drive, it's the middle of nowhere, it's the people, the community. If you're in the blackfella country or the farm, like at harry's place, it's a working rent cattle station. Um, you know that that farm is pumping with life 24 7. There's always someone coming in the door for a feed and, uh, whether it be a you know 300 millionaire american client or someone that's just there to rustle some cattle, like that's it.
Speaker 2:That's it incredible perception of community, but the buffalo like you can drive past a lot of them and that was just standard. But as soon as you get out of that car and go near them, it's a whole different story. They will piss off that frigging quick. It's not as easy, like you said that one snuck up on you. That's right, it's not as easy as it looks.
Speaker 1:Did you have a chance at any scrub bulls while you were up?
Speaker 2:there there was two, we saw two or three. We saw two regularly and then one random one. But yeah, I wanted one but never got a chance, because after I shot my ball I don't give a shit about scoring that it was a 97. But then later in the trip we come across this other ball and it was just frigging out of its world like next level, like massive bull, and he offered it to me if I'd have a crack at him, like shit, yeah. So then we spent a fair bit of time chasing him but never got to make it happen on him. There's too many donkeys that would get in the frigging way and ruin stalks and stuff, because once a donkey knows you're there, that's it.
Speaker 2:Eh, like they will just stay at you and just honk at you the whole frigging time and eh never got a chance on him. But I had some awesome frigging stalks and calling in Buffalo. We had Buffalo walking behind us and that and, like you said, the experience of having someone that can kill you so quick and being surrounded by them it's a pretty cool feeling, it's pretty surreal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it's all part of what you pay for too, True, true.
Speaker 2:There's not many goats that have gored people to death. There is Buffalo, there's not many goats that have gored people to death.
Speaker 1:They're not worth being scared of what's left on your list For those that are listening. Behind Brett, he's got a fair trophy wall happening.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do have a list. After shooting that rooster. I'm kind of getting a bit obsessed with the Grand Slam now and I've been looking at Chittle and I'm pretty sure I found a place not far from where I got my rooster. I can go hunt Chittle, but before I think I hit the grand slam, like when you start going into, like the chitterland, the hog deer, which is very hard to do, I'm pretty obsessed still with bavines. So I was just I need to scrub cattle and a band tank and that's all the bavines ticked off the list, but their band tangs are top of the list. Chittle, second sambers, third.
Speaker 2:For me at the minute, but I'm still going to go hit victoria as much as I can trying to um get a sandbird, but on public land. But um, yeah, it's time I start really looking at either going chittle hunting or going after a bantang you uh nearly don't have to go that far now I'm in the thing.
Speaker 1:You uh nearly don't have to go that far now I'm in the the weird noise outside the um, the sambra pushed up into new south wales pretty heavily and there's a facebook page new south wales, sambah hunters or something some stonkers.
Speaker 2:Like I've hunted them a fair bit, like I've been in their country a lot. I've only seen a few. I've been a part of two getting shot. But at my place actually I was with Jasper. It was when he was last here, I'm convinced in the back there in this real thick country we're walking through, I found a pile of sandbush shit Convinced of sandbush shit it's too big to be a fellow and I've seen a lot of Sambas shit so I'm pretty convinced they've come up here now. Well, I know of one that's not too far from here that my mate sent me a video of, and I've got another mate who's got. He's a fair few k's from here, but he's got cameras up and he sent me a picture of it to see what type of deer it was, and it was a Samus tag that went past his camera. So I'm like shit, they're here now. But I want a Victorian public land, one. That's a dream, right, that's the pinnacle, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's what I want.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:Having one at your back doorstep is pretty exciting.
Speaker 2:Oh mate, it got me frigging excited. Eh, so I've out there now in all different spots in order to fix shit on good game trials and hoping that one comes up on it. That'd be pretty cool to see, because they've only got fallow here, so something else that'd be pretty cool.
Speaker 1:What about wild dogs? Got many of those at all Not here.
Speaker 2:There was one shot about 20 k's away I'd say 17, 20 k's away, because I'm a farmer, I am a part of baiting programs and stuff like the foxes and wild dogs and that, and we have a wild dog baiting group here and all the farmers in this district or our area, our village, we all get together twice a year with local land services and we supply baits to them and they inject them for us. We've double shot at 1080. So we all bait at the exact same times. So we've kept a check on them pretty well. We haven't had any sightings here, like I found dog tracks and that, but I assume they're just pig dogs because I've had no stock attacked or anything and no one else has yet. But we're pretty on top of them with our baiting program.
Speaker 1:And when you say wild dog shot 20k's away, are we talking, like I said, pig dog gone wild, or no? No, it was a proper wild dog.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this one. Yeah, the howling of that.
Speaker 1:It looked like a dingo talking about, uh, big high country that's. You know spine tingling. I've had it a couple of nights down there. Just you spend the whole time you're like where is that?
Speaker 2:is it close? What's?
Speaker 1:happening. That's right. That's like um, the dingo stole my baby, is it? It's gonna be a fairly big dingo to drag me out of a tent, but that's it.
Speaker 2:Wherever I was at um queensland, every night the dogs got closer and closer. Because I was out there on my own and at one point the cocky had to go somewhere else, about 170 k's away, for shearing at a different block, and he said you know, you'll probably be the only bloke in 100 k radius. Right now, after I leave here, I'm like, yeah, no, that's all sweet and I work on my own. I've had my whole life alone, pretty much like work-wise and whatnot, and um, yeah, friggin, every night the friggin dogs. They got closer and closer and closer. I got to the point I took a bit of meat off the rooster, like the bones, and had. After I banged it out and I took them about 400 meters away from camp. Yeah, sure as shit. That night you could hear him all going mental down there. There's an eerie feeling, hey, like you're laying there in your swag and you know there's freaking dogs out there but it's up there with that buffalo stuff.
Speaker 1:I mean, we just these american clients have got coming. They're not so much them specifically, but the comment from americans is, oh you know, we're so scared of snakes and spiders like, no, no, I'm worried about the bears and cougars and stuff. The bigger thing is that's right?
Speaker 2:the?
Speaker 1:wolves yeah, like a wild dog is up there with. It hasn't happened much like comparatively to mountain lions taking people and things, but they have the ability to, Like we said with the buffalo, it is an option for them. That's right, I feel a lot safer with snakes than I would bears and that, yeah, snakes and spies. I mean they're in your shoes or around your shoes and around the house and things. But you know you can shoo them away. It's a bit hard to shoo an 800-pound bear away, 300-pound bear or whatever it is.
Speaker 2:That'd be another hunt that might be coming up too bear hunt.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Swapsies for your Canadian friends.
Speaker 2:That's right. We've got the connection there, so we're sort of trying to work out getting over there when the best time is and getting a what do you call it? It's not an alien tag, I think it is Alien tag that you can hunt a predator. I think it is Alien tag you can hunt a predator, I think yeah, you know hate more than I would have been. Predator tag, I'm pretty sure it is.
Speaker 1:So that's something that might be in the works too soon. In Canada? Yeah, I think. Well, the areas we hunt in Canada, which is Saskatchewan mostly, but I don't think you're allowed to spot and stalk. No, that's right, I'm pretty sure it's tree stand.
Speaker 2:That's where we're going Saskatchewan or whatever it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's a tongue twister Saskatchewan, and there's a town there called Saskatchewan. Yeah, right, there you go. Just to add to it. But yeah, I'm pretty sure, how do you feel about tree stand hunting versus?
Speaker 2:spot and stalk. That's the thing. If I hunt bear, I want to spot and stalk it. Eh, I don't want to sit there and bait it. I know it just doesn't feel sporting to me. I'd rather be on its level and hunt it that way. But when you get an opportunity like that, you've got to just roll with it, eh.
Speaker 1:Sure, yeah, and I think my experience with that in the past is I think from a legal point of view, it's actually not legal to spot and stalk them. However, because they do that all the time and just sit in tree stands, I don't think the bears would know what's going on. If you spot and stalked one Like I think they'd be like like I think you do. Quite well, they're not used to that style of being hunted.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's how I'd like to do it, but I've got to do what I've got to have they do it, I guess well, the other thing they do is they usually put you in a stand and leave you there, so if you hop down and walk around, they might not know I don't want to get arrested over there, mate.
Speaker 2:Oh back.
Speaker 1:Well, the cops aren't walking around in the bush, but yeah, in, yeah, in Montana you can spot and stalk. They're a smaller bear, normally the black bears, but man, yeah, they're an incredible critter. There's some big ones coming out this year of our block over there. So on the international side. So bears predators interest you, and if you want to go to the bovines, does that mean you want to do like african bovine stuff? Is that interesting?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm not too interested in africa at the minute. A lot of africa is out of blinds too. In it like hunting over water.
Speaker 2:Yeah, africa to me saying I'd like to leave you know, until you're old and crippled. Yeah, until I'm crippled up While I'm still going the way I am like I want to do New Zealand 100% on this. I want to get a tar and a chamois with the bow and, if I get the chance ever in the tag system I'm doing, to go to America mule deer, which is weird. I'd rather shoot a mule deer over an elk, to be honest. So he's saying about mule deer. So that'd be like backcountry mule deer in the snow, or if you can hunt them in the snow for both days. I don't know if you can, but that is, that's a dream. If, if the opportunity come up to do that, I'd jump on it in the heartbeat well, I wouldn't blame you for it.
Speaker 1:They're a pretty spectacular animal animal and a little bit underrated. I think the white tail gets a lot of rap just because it's. It's a bit like the, the fallow of america. You know, the most people have access to it and it's hard or easy, whatever, but a lot of them get shot. But the mule deer are impressive and similar to our rusa and samba in the way that. This is my experience anyway. Huge ears, humongous ears and good luck. Like that's where they get mule name from, isn't it? Yeah, well, I suppose. No, no, I hadn't considered that, but it's um, they don't taste amazing. The ones where we were in Montana, they ate sagebrush. So they literally just use sage as a herb. When you're cooking, that's fine, but when all you're eating is sage, it's hard to leave the flavor. Are you an eater? I mean?
Speaker 2:everyone's an eater, but do you eat? Yeah, live on it. Live on the.
Speaker 1:Eat it every week.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I actually got the back legs off the goat my young mate just shot. I won't eat like a bigger goat or nothing, because they just taste like shit, like billy goats and that they just you smelled them. They're not very appetizing, but I won't eat pig only because I know exactly what's in them around here and the worms and parasites and whatnot. But deer I eat probably four times a week. Yeah right, like as in like for a dinner meal. But I eat it every day because I make you know like smoked up sausages and that, like Metworths and stuff like that and jerky all the time. So I've always got some form of venison on me.
Speaker 1:Hardly ever buy red meat.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah shit.
Speaker 1:yeah, I love it Because you're on the farm. You might have, you know, the odd cow or lamb here and there that you can knock.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we don't have cattle Like I'll kill lamb here and there, but they are main source, or lamb here and there, but they are main source, even for the family, the main source of red meat's venison here.
Speaker 1:We've got cool room and all that stuff Makes it easy. It's nice to hear. I think the only protein we buy is pork and chicken, and the wife only buys pork when it's on sale, and chicken we buy semi-regularly. But my kids are a bit younger than yours, so steaks are kind of off the record, off the you know, off the menu at the moment.
Speaker 1:So it's mostly mince you know, man, you can put mince into so many things. Oh shit, dude, it's very versatile. Eh, it is. I did two dishes on the weekend for these guys and one I'd never tried before. I just saw a picture on Instagram the night before I went. I was like I'm going to do that and I'm calling it dodgebachi, which is dodgy habachi, meaning like three. You can use it if you want, but it's three Bessa blocks I picked up from Colburn Bunnings on my way down, so you put one next to each other and then one at the back, a shovel full of coals or two underneath it, and then I cut the back strap up in like three to five mil, tiny little slices, tiny little stakes, and then I fed it back and forth over the skewer with a little bit of onion between each layer.
Speaker 1:I did about eight, eight tiny slices with eight little bits of onion on this metal skewer and then dropped it over the top of the. I'll put some photos up. And one guy wanted it a bit more cooked, so we just left his on longer. I like mine rare, medium rare, so I pulled. Oh, it was so nice cooked on the coals. Give that a go.
Speaker 2:Next, time you sit down. I might have to come and crash your deer camp next time you're up here.
Speaker 1:Dodge Barchie.
Speaker 2:Well, I might actually see you in person.
Speaker 1:If you're cooking that, I might have to come over and take a bit. Yeah, well, the hardest part was making them. It just took forever to thread in the needle. Yeah, Little bits on stupid skewers. It'd be pretty tedious. But I said, are you guys full? Oh no, oh bugger, I don't make, make another one Start making some more, but the venison rump, I think, is my favourite cut.
Speaker 1:It's either the shoulder or the rump just above that hip joint, that whole big muscle on the top. Yeah, that's always nice up there. Cooked that up for him too. But no, you and I are both the size of good eaters. The kids, they don't really know any difference.
Speaker 2:No, they grew up with it. Yeah, and I love it.
Speaker 1:Did your missus hunt or anything, she just enjoy the food no, I don't know.
Speaker 2:And she just eats a bit of it, isn't that?
Speaker 1:yeah, that's fair enough oh well, let's uh cover what I needed, and I just want to have a chat about your bow hunting experience and expertise, and I appreciate your little tips and tricks too. That'll surely help me. I'm uh, I'm going to put a little bit more effort into the bow, I think, especially from a personal point of view. It was just a really good reminder these last few days with these guys about how easy it is with a rifle, and even one of them said if I want meat, I would use a rifle. If I want to enjoy the hunt, I would use a bow, and that kind of reminded me how it was. If I want meat, I would use a rifle, if I want to enjoy the hunt, I would use a bow, and that kind of reminded me.
Speaker 2:True, I don't take anything away from rifle hunters or that, but you can be a hell of a lot more selective with a rifle when you're going to bow. Yes, yeah, like I saw it happen this year, I watched 16 bucks hit the deck. It was the first time he really did it with rifles and, um, yeah, trying to knock a few of the numbers down. And every other year I'll do it myself with a bow. It might get three or four there you can see. You can see the difference in it, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, it's an effective tool and again, I'm not going to take any away from it either, because I mean I'm sitting next to a gun safe with a heap in it and I've got one bow and a heap more guns but and I love shooting them it's just nothing better than the smell of an empty cartridge. But it's if, uh, yeah, from a personal point of view, I think I'll I'll slowly put a little bit more effort into it, um, but but I hope you need any help, hesitate to ask.
Speaker 1:Well, I that and I'll take you up on that, but it's more the help getting up the hill I probably need. Those hills near you aren't small. That's why I asked that question about the flatland stuff. You know approaching deer on flatland. That interests me.
Speaker 2:Bowhunting definitely makes you fitter too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you can't get to the end of a stalk and be puffed. You got to be ready to perform. Yeah, that's right. So anyway, thanks for jumping on, brett. It's been good talking to you and look forward to seeing you down at the local pub yeah, mate, no worries, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:No worries, talk soon. Bye, bye, thank you.