So called duck hunt?

Okay, so the dog and Paora went down to a spot south of Te Kuiti to try some jump shooting creeks for the ducks and to have a go at some upland birds too.

A very full Subaru and the two keen blokes heading out of the big smoke late on Friday night. The original place to crash for the night was now out of bounds, so instead we tented it by the main shearing sheds, which has a flushing loo, so not all bad. ;)
The battle of the chainsaws on Friday night must have scared all the bunnies and hares away, for not a single one was seen all weekend. :(

Up before dawn on Saturday, we cut to the creek straight away, only to see 2 mallards take off and circle around us, but the cunning blighters managed to keep the farm house behind them, so no shots were fired. Typical.

Lots of breeding parries were around, but we were after mallards, so the parries are left mostly alone (translation, the dog missed!). At the first creek crossing I noticed my right gumboot had a friggen leak. !@@#!!@!

Not a good start. >:(

Back to the car to head to a different part of the valley and to check out some more wetland areas. Paora spooks some quail within 30 metres, but the blighters are like lightening and gone. We then discover the wetland area is being drained for pasture and not that wet anymore. Double @#!!!@!
Up the valley for a wander instead, we see lots of fresh pig rooting, confirming the fact there are a few running around. No question of keeping a pig population in the area though. This is search and destroy.
We arrive back at car, only to discover a flat tyre. Triple !#@!#@!! >:( :(>:(
Of course, the proper spare is sitting at home, only the space saver is in the boot. Had to drive into town to fix the tyre, so lost 2 hours out of the morning.

Back at the farm finally, head towards option three.
Not a peep or quack to be heard though and I know this valley has a resident rooster. At the car, dog decides to shoot one of the gizzillion goats on the farm for the crock pot. So nice little nanny is the victim. Bang flop at 188m with the Sako .223. The 65gn Gamekings do their usual excellent job. :)

Then Murphy decides to play his little game. As dog and Paora are strolling to recover said goat. 2 mallards then decide to wing it from the creek. Idiots we are, the shotties are back in the car, only a .223 is at hand. Duh! ::)

So the ducks live another day at least. Within minutes, its Murphy’s Law times two! As the resident rooster I mentioned earlier makes his appearance and breaks cover from the roadside scrub above us, slowly climbs altitude and eventually wings it down the valley. We could have shot him 5 times, IF we had the shotties on us, not the .223.
Damn you Murphy! >:(

Back to camp for lunch, just sitting down in the deck chair when Paora spots a pig only 200m from us. 7mm08 and .223 at hand, we stalk after the pig, which has disappeared up by the old house site. Murphy hasn’t finished with us yet through, he decides to place two more roosters in the long grass at our feet, 100m from camp, but only when we have centrefires in our hands. Lucky blighters are teasing us as they lazily fly away. Thanks Murphy! >:(

Anyway, back to the pigs. We had lost them by now, so dog heads up one ridge, Paora up the other. As it happens, I can only see the piglets, he can only see the sow. Luckily Paora drops the sow on the spot. The next few minutes are spent with 5 black piglets either suckling on dead mum or screaming around panicking. We decide on our plan of action. As mentioned, these are not welcome on the farm. Its all or nothing, so we pick the little beggars off. Photo op done, pigs hung up and back to camp for a well deserved beer or two, dinner and round two in the battle of the chainsaws, only interrupted by the appearance of the only two coons in the whole valley, in the trees right behind the tents. One coon down with the .22, the other makes his escape before the chainsaws start up again.
Sunday morning was spent either watching the rain or walking in the rain. A brief fine patch allowed the Molot Vepr to be christened on a few turkeys and a goat. Sadly couldn’t take any meat, as the A-Maxes are pretty messy on game that size.
A detour to Te Awamutu for some KFC and it was back to Jafaland. A duck hunting trip where we accounted for 6 pigs, 3 goats, 3 turkeys and one possum, but not a single duck, WTF?! ;D

Pics to come.