Outstanding dogs may only come your way a few times in your life. Chocky Ya Ya (also known as Chock, the old General, La La to his countless friends) was one of those dogs. Super smart, a superb hunting mate but he was getting old. On one of his sojourns away from the lodge, he crossed paths with some seriously bad wild dogs and the rest, unfortunately is history. He paid the ultimate price, so will they.

The first traps were in and we had just had light rain overnight which would help to kill the man scent along the trapline. Time to go out and see if Skunk had helped select our trap sites wisely.

Those that know us will testify, we are crazy about our working line of Border Collies. Some that have seen them working called them "Bad-Ass" and the name has sort of stuck! There's nothing nasty about this new bunch though!

Some call them dingoes and some call them wild dogs.
Some say two thirds means they are nearly all pure, while others say that means one third are hybrid.
Some want to see every last one gone, while others want every last one protected no matter what damage they do.
I wish more people would aim for a balanced approach - sustainable management of an animal that can be both a pest and an asset. Maybe the first thing we need to own up to, is that data can be interpreted many ways and it often depends on who has the deepest pockets. After all, what difference can 10-20% really make?
Let the debate continue.

To start our "Throwback Thursday" series of clips, what better than a big red stag with a Warnham Throwback tine. Thursdays will be our day to bring you clips from the past, footage we have taken and locked away in our archives.

Often we are asked, "Is this your real job?", "where do you live?" or even, "are you saying you don't watch TV?". Well, here is a glimpse into how, where and why Judy and I live life the way we do. This is the "Glenfiddich Lodge", way up in the headwater country of the Brisbane Valley.

Fellhoelter Pens - TiBolt Celtic Blue, Copper Topo & TinyBolt Fluted with FAP Cap

Omega Seamaster Professional 300 2531.80.00 Automatic Watch

Zelos Mako Blue 40mm Automatic Watch

Stones used noted below. About the only main variable I run might be to use a 125/160 Micron Venev Diamond stone to reprofile a new edge angle or do major chip removal etc.

Progression on this video are as follows:
- Venev Bonded Diamond in 40/50 Micron (210x35mm)
- Venev Bonded Diamond in 14/20 Micron (210x35mm)
- Naniwa Chosera 1,000 grit (150x25mm)
- Naniwa Chosera 3,000 grit (150x25mm)
- Sigma Power Sellect II 6,000 grit (150x25mm)
- Sigma Power Sellect II 13,000 (150x25mm)
- Premium Kangaroo Leather Strop with Jende Poly Diamond 0.25 Micron Emulsion, Home made Strop (210x40mm).

I don't like to strop too much. As I've learned with the BESS edge tester you get sharper results with minimal stropping. Too much stropping results in a less sharp edge. And I like a hard strop. The only nano cloth strop I really find gives a great edge finish is the 0.025 micron after the roo leather.

My thoughts on the B2's stacked up against Tract Toric 8x42mm, Leica Ultravid 10x42mm and Swarovski SLC 15x56mm

Eaglehawk Ultralight Hunting Knives - Talon & Micro Skinner

On this little weekend ATV Hunting Trip in Australia we do a bit of quadbike shooting, a bit of pre-rut fallow deer scouting and a tonne of general ride around looking for feral pigs foxes hares and rabbits. It's so great to see the drought pretty much busted in this area with grass (and weeds) in abundance. The feral numbers were definitely lower that usual, but that's to be expected after the rough last few years.

I've been using this XEYE E3MAX thermal hunting monocular for a few months now. Here's my thoughts and a few insights of the practicalities of thermal hunting in Australia.

It should be noted that I paid full retail price for this thermal and in no way is this some type of biased or sponsored review.

Great to get away hunting foxes with my new 204 Ruger thermal scope rifle build. Shooting 18 foxes had my cousin happy to reduce the numbers. Have had a few things in the pipeline for a while now to get a thermal scope on my Howa Mini Action 204 Ruger Varmint. Specifically for fox and wild dog hunting / shooting at night. This setup really needed a higher comb than the previous blue thumb-hole stock so I've mounted it in a MDT LSS Gen 2 Chassis system system. This set-up certainly proved a very efficient method for thinning out the foxes on this property. Running a red LED powerful thrower headlight I was quite surprised how many foxes and rabbits didn't show up in the light. Yet I'd look through the thermal hand scanner and sure enough there would be a fox snaking around in the paddock. Certainly nice to see a bit more feed in the paddocks in NSW Australia.

I'm away this trip on a family property fox hunting with my hunting ATV and thermal scope / scanner. At this time of year the ewes are lambing and the foxes must be controlled to reduce damage to young lambs birthing. I'm fox hunting off my ATV quadbike as transport and using a Pulsar Thermion XQ50 thermal rifle scope. It's a huge fox hunting advantage at night shooting these problem foxes. Call it passive hunting and the foxes aren't alerted like they would be to a traditional spotlight.

Awesome little compact hunting throw beam flashlight. My thoughts and review on the Olight Warrior X Turbo torch. Prime option for a weapon mounted torch / flashlight.

On this trip I was out hunting and shooting again on the ATV with thermal equipment. Great to get a few miles under the wheels on the quad, explore a new area and shoot some feral animals for the farmer.

Feral pig numbers are on the rise again with the rain and abundance of feed. Catch 22 trying to shoot them as it's extremely difficult to see them in the 1m + long grass. Even with thermal hunting equipment you can only achieve so much.

This little swift overnight hunt was into a new area for me. Well worth the effort and it will be a very rewarding location with a huge spectrum of target species.

On this trip I'm back shooting my 308 Winchester and the XQ50 Thermion scope. I had the ATV quadbike, all the thermal gear and night lights plus an ammo box full of Hornady 150 grain SST reloads. Unfortunately the feral pigs didn't come out to play but I managed to thin out two feral cats, a dozen foxes and a few other assorted feral critters. (I may have shot another mouse.....)

These feral invasive animals don't stand much of a sporting chance with this type of pest control / shooting / night hunting. But that's the idea......... Critters on the deck and not killing native animals is the aim of the game !!!

2021 Fallow Deer Rut - I've been keen as to get out hunting fallow bucks this year after the debacle that was 2020 and COVID lockdowns. Like most Hunter Valley NSW deer habitat, Feral pig numbers have certainly spiked recently with some big boars getting around in prime condition.

This is part #2 of a two part series on my late March adventures hunting these amazing animals. Feral and introduced game these critters may be. But as passionate hunters we cherish the opportunity in the rut for dynamic hunting.