Hunting Wild Dogs in Australia. Using thermal optics and a night vision scope - Another wild dog bites the dust. Plus a few bonus Foxes and Rabbits whilst I was out hunting. These feral pests (wild dogs) can be a huge challenge for the hunter to target. They are extremely in-tuned with their environment and super spooky to get within ethical shooting range of. Every wild dog that is reduced is a huge win for our agricultural industry and native animals.

This was also the maden run for my new XEYE E3Max thermal scanner, very impressed with it so far.

Hunting Gear Tips - I’ve shortlisted the Top 5 Items I take on EVERY SINGLE HUNT which help in the field.

Fortunately, I live in a location with hunting access that gets me in the bush most weeks. So over time you quickly learn what works and what is a waste of time. I could prattle on for hours on hunting gear and what I take but these are the 5 accessories that I take on all my hunts be that deer hunting, calling foxes or shooting feral pigs off the quad bike.

These five items assume that you have the staples like a rifle or bow, backpack, clothes boots etc.

Item #1 - Great Binoculars - I can't understate these enough. Get the best you can buy, you don't have to spend $3k to get sharp optics, just do your research and if possible try before you buy in low light. You'll use them for hours on end, or at least you should. Look more, walk less is a good motto. And to look more, in detail you are best served with a pair of binoculars. So many people pump huge dollars into a rifle scope, And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, If you’ve the cash go right ahead. But you'll look through that scope on a deer hunt potentially once for 15 seconds.... But bino's, you'll run the socks off in use all the time. So get good ones and you'll be much more inclined to use them on every hunt.

Item #2 - Bino chest pouch - Neck straps suck, simple, they allow your bino's to flop around, especially climbing around and under things like trees and fences, I've just never been a fan.
I ran a Vortex elastic bino harness for years and liked it, At a minimum get something like that for about $30-40.
About a year ago I finally got a bino chest pack and man o man I wish I'd done that sooner, my hunting mate said the same thing after he got one last year too. No more bouncing swinging bino's, They are easy to access your optics as you don’t need to run lens covers, They balance and distribute the weight your carrying well and they offer great protection for your expensive glass. Additionally you can run a rangefinder, GPS, wind check, range card and other handy items in the side pockets or by adding side pouches. The easier things are to access the better and less fumbling on a hunt. An added bonus I’ve found is if you take the bino’s out a chest pouch is a great storage option when night hunting for a thermal or NV monucular.

Item #4 - Safari Sling - Just get one, Best thing ever. Puts your rifle on the front and super fast to shoot. Makes carrying a rifle ready to shoot in seconds a breeze. Plenty of times I’ve thought I was in a non productive hunting area, or just walking back to the car, you glance over and
shit - Something I want to shoot has busted me unprepared. With a safari sling there’s no more trying to do that stealthy / unstealthy rifle jiggle as you unsuccessfully attempt to smoothly slip the rifle off your shoulder on a traditional sling without moving around and startling the animal you’ve just bumped up. With a Safari sling all that unnecessary body movement is eliminated as your rifle is all but in your hands ready to shoot always, but your not actually holding it in your hands

Item #4 - Soft Bullet Holder. Prepare your credit card - Go punch into eBay - buttstock ammo holder. These elastic wonder things are made to slip over your rifle buttstock and well, hold ammo. Get the type to suit your general cartridge diameter size (They are quite universal). This epic item costs around four bucks thirty three cents from China, so very expensive. Now once you have it - Get some scissors or a sharp knife and cut it down to “this” and burn the edges to stop it fraying. Now you have a very quiet way to hold bullets and brass in your pocket or pack that isn’t bulky and it cost you next to nothing. I hate rattling shells in a pocket whilst trying to hunt, this is an easy, not bulky and cheap solution

Item #5 - Nitecore NU25 Headlight - I find being so light and compact it’s always in my hunting pack or belt. They are USB rechargeable which I like for backpack hunts as I take a small power bank, but it’s simple to charge at home on a phone charger lead too (micro USB). This light has three different light sources. Good main beam with various powers and run times. It has a Hi CRI flood beam which is great for camp use and pictures, I use this a bunch as it’s a really nice beam in close and with the Hi CRi it shows natural colours, not the white washed out regular LED most lights are. And the red LED with two brightness levels I use a bunch when walking around as it's doesn't spook the critters much and I can see where I’m stepping. The runtimes for a light this small and light are very impressive and with the three light sources in one body it’s super handy I find. Often your walking into or out of a hunting area in the dark so a nice light headlamp will serve you much better than the light on your mobile phone - Yes, I’m sure most people have been reduced to using the phone light in a pinch and isn’t that fun

Bit of ATV Hunting on a family members farm. Scope view night vision & daytime footage hunting Foxes Rabbits & Feral Cat. The final reduction tally was 16 foxes, 1 feral cat, 40-50 rabbits and 6 crows.
Late December 2019.

Quick afternoon local lower Hunter Valley Hunting wander for Fallow Deer and Wild Pigs in December 2019. Property owner has been noticing an increase in pig sign, unusual for this area so I though it worth a quick look around.

Eaglehawk Ultralight Hunting Knives - Talon & Micro Skinner

My thoughts after usage on both these amazing little NV scopes.

Join me on a regular trip ATV Hunting in NSW Australia. We target all feral animals including Wild Pigs Deer Foxes Feral Cats Hares and Rabbits. Our aim is reduction of these introduced invasive species with the bonus of filling our freezers with free organic meat.

Below is a link to all the details with a bit of a rundown. If the link doesn't work to all the details and costs please let me know

Solo hunt into the Victorian High Country chasing the elusive Sambar Deer. These animals are addictively frustrating to hunt and the challenge of a multi day backpack hunting is a huge drawcard.

Solo hunt into the Victorian High Country chasing the elusive Sambar Deer. These animals are addictively frustrating to hunt and the challenge of a multi day backpack hunting is a huge drawcard.

Hi all this is a quick rundown of my hunting gear how I organised it and packing it all in my backpack. This will be what I'll be taking to the Aussie Alps for the October 2019. For a full gear list subscribe and jump on my "about" tab. Email address is in there.

Quick little lap around a local Hunter Valley Fallow Deer hunting area. Happy to harvest a meat animal and spend a few hours in the bush prior to some range time.