After laying the groundwork, Anthony Puddicombe stops an alpha male dead in its tracks
My hunting mate Niel let out a long wild dog howl, the time was 6.30pm, just on dark. His howl was met with some replies up in the hills, about 700m away. It appeared to be from two different groups of wild dogs. One reply was deeper and longer than the rest. Niel seemed to think they were stirred up and the big male not happy.
We had spent the previous week on this NSW cattle property, recording images on trail cameras to work out the travel pattern of these elusive wild dogs. It was wild dog breeding season and they would be looking to partner up and mark out their territory. The cameras told us they were using a particular track to come out of the hills and access the cattle property. We had our foothold traps set near this track but they changed their pattern and all we caught was a fox. So, the final day was spent driving or walking tracks and cattle pads looking for where they were travelling. Then, bingo, their new tracks were found.
As this was the last night, we decided to have a crack at them with our thermal gear. Niel had his Pulsar Thermal monocular with a rangefinder and I had my Howa Mini in 6.5 Grendel with a Pulsar Thermion 2 XQ50 thermal scope. We had a perfect set-up down on the flats, with a running creek just behind us to muffle any noise we made. We were pointing at the hill where the dogs should come down a track that joined up with another on the flats where the fresh dog tracks were located. Niel’s rangefinder showed the bottom track 166m away, which was within range of the Grendel. The scene was set.
After those energetic howling responses, we waited. Niel’s years of experience had taught him less is better when howling in wild dogs. About 20 minutes elapsed, with no further responses. Just a fox that we watched, out on a nighttime hunt. It is often difficult to tell the difference between a wild dog and a fox when looking through a thermal, but a fox’s body shape is usually thinner and their tail is always down and just off the ground at a slight angle, while a wild dog’s body is more solid and the tail usually up and curling over their back.
Niel let out another series of howls, but no response this time, so again we waited and kept scouring the surrounding hillside looking for a thermal heat signature, but nothing. We waited another 30 minutes, then Niel let out a series of howls that echoed up in the hills on the still night air. After he went back to looking through his thermal, I heard the words, “We’re on!”
I switched on my thermal and picked up two dogs coming down the track from the top of the hill, a slighter dog at the front and a much thicker looking dog not far behind. It was interesting watching them travel this 4WD track. They would stop every now and then, sniff the ground and usually mark their scent, then move on. I had Niel standing next to me and when asked, he would tell me their distance. They got to a steel gate 166m away, where the track turned to runs parallel with our position, so weren’t going to get any closer. Niel told me to take out the big one as he was probably the leader that had been killing all the calves. They were trotting from left to right as I whispered to Niel to get them to pull up. Niel let out some dog whimpers that carried to them on the cold night air, and both dogs propped and looked our way. I had the reticle on the shoulder of the larger dog and gently squeezed the trigger. The Grendel sent the 123gr hollow-point on its way and with a resounding “thwock” dropped the big dog on the spot. “Dog down!” I said as I quickly cycled another round hoping to get the other dog, but it literally vanished and was not seen again.
I was ecstatic, a lot of homework and teamwork had gone into this hunt and we had finally succeeded. After clearing the rifle, we hopped in the HiLux to go and collect the dog. The grass was waist high and we couldn’t see much, even with the thermals. We grabbed our head torches and found the dog at the base of a tree.
It was an extremely solid canine, with a bit of age judging by the grey around his muzzle. He had thick legs and was in top condition with no ribs showing. We dragged it back to the ute and it weighed 21.2kg, which is very decent for a wild dog. The bullet had hit it a bit further back than expected. We rang the jubilant property owner the following day, he had lost 25 calves in the preceding months and Niel reckons this dog was probably the dominant dog for the pack.
Thermal hunting when done right definitely gives you an edge. We had done the groundwork by establishing their pattern, picked an excellent spot, got the wind right and had a good field of view. We were running quality thermal gear that allowed correct identification of our target species. Those dogs had no idea we were there and we took them completely by surprise.
As with previous hunts that are special, I always take something as a memento. The hide, horns, antlers, tusks etc. This was no different, the head was removed, then the skin with as much flesh removed as possible and the skull put in the car fridge for the trip home.
Once home, I prepare skulls as follows: Water is heated over the gas cooker, but not to boiling point as too hot can damage bone and teeth. After the flesh softens, more flesh is removed then the skull returned to the hot water, repeating as necessary, being careful with the teeth as they will start falling out. Once clean, rinsed and dried, any remaining flesh is sorted by maggots and ants. When there is no smell, it’s time for the next step.
With gloves and eye protection on and in a well-ventilated area, the skull is soaked in cloudy ammonia from the supermarket to remove any fat and oils trapped in the bone. This can take a minimum of 24 hours and up to three days, then the skull is rinsed and let to dry. The skull is then soaked in hydrogen peroxide, between 3-10 per cent solution, to whiten it, again for a minimum of 24hrs and up to three days then rinsed and let to dry. All the teeth are glued in place with quality superglue, even if they haven’t fallen out. Then the jaw is glued in place at the hinge with Araldite Super Strength. Whether opened or closed is a personal preference.
Because I shot this wild dog under darkness, I decided to paint the skull matte black, which highlights its teeth. It now sits with my other ‘tokens’ from the wild as a reminder of such a memorable hunt.