REVIEW: Sodbuster won't let you down

The Sodbuster trapping tool available from F&T Fur Harvesters.

By Ned Makim
Hands-On Hunting

Finding good gear to help get your traps in the ground can be a hit and miss affair. Things bend, they break or they just don't work.
I am happy to experiment but I hate things that fail when you need them.
I am also happy to tell you all, the Sodbuster digging tool and hammer won't.
It won't bend, it won't break and it will definitely work.
A lot of my trapping is in trap rock country and the digging is ever easy. It's not that the ground is particularly hard but it is always full of rocks of all sizes.
I previously used an old rabbit trap setter which could be made to work among the rocks but it was a little light for the heavy work including driving my home made pegs deep enough and through enough rock to hold a fox, let alone an annoyed dog.
Of course, you can always carry another, heavier hammer but that just adds to the load and gives you something else to leave behind if you in a hurry and careless.

Enter the Sodbuster.
This thing I awesome. At 1.8kgs (or 4lbs) it is a heavy tool and might not suit everyone. It definitely suits me, however. I like things with a bit of heft about them and the Sodbuster fits that bill perfectly.
It marries a heavy hammer and a piece of thick plate steel with a bevelled leading edge to give you the balance and weight to either dig a decent set hole or drive in pegs properly.
If you trap in sandy or light country the Sodbuster might seem like a bit of overkill but on the rougher blocks it is the go-to tool to get the job one with the minimum of fuss or delay.
In my experience it will lever out rocks or crack them to give you access to a decent set hole, especially if you bang your pegs into the cone directly under your trap to minimise site disturbance.
The handle is padded to reduce transmitted shock when you hit those rocks by the way...
I found my Sodbuster on-line at F&T Fur Harvester's Trading Post. They are only $20 US which makes them less than $25 Aus plus shipping. Check out the site and add a few other bits and pieces and the average freight price per unit comes down.
While I'm at it, I'd like to add that F&T offer incredible service. I've dealt with them a few times and the service has been faultless. They are a trustworthy and well respected organisation and have been available to me for plenty of communication if I needed to know what was happening or when.
I am by no means a significant customer in volume terms but I've always felt like I might be their best customer, if you know what I mean.
Highly recommend the Sodbuster and F&T.
Link to the on-line store is below.

http://www.fntpost.com/?gclid=CJ-IwenI3rkCFUpZpQodBgcAYg

Laying the groundwork for wild dog management

If there is one thing that makes most landholders happy, it is taking another wild dog out of the paddock.
In Australia that can be done by poison baiting, shooting with rifles or bows or trapping. In terms of hunting wild dogs, observation, tracking and howling them up yield results.
But trapping is undergoing a resurgence of interest. Once the bastion of grizzled old bushies with secret skills and mysterious techniques, trapping has come into the light with more and more newbies joining the fold.
Aspiring trappers can attend workshops, training schools, trapping backgrounders organised by hunting forums including Australian Hunting Net and, if they are very lucky, spend some time with accomplished trappers in the field.
Before you do that, however, it might pay to have a look at one of the numerous Australian trapping DVDs on the market at the moment.
Hands-On Hunting was supplied a copy of Chris Thomas' DVD Trapping Adventures Down Under (Vol 1) which focusses on trapping wild dogs in South East Queensland.

The DVD predominantly documents Chris' pursuit of dogs on private property in South East Queensland. He shows viewers site selection, trap placement, the use of lures (in particular those developed by trapping legend Ted Mitchell) and the basics of securing traps using drags and trees.
He also shows a few little tricks of his own including the use of 'tamper' sticks for packing down the soil around a trap to eliminate movement by the concealed trap if the dog doesn't step directly onto the trigger plate.
Chris differs from some trappers in that he doesn't use bag or tarp in front of the tarp to manage his scent but one of the things you learn when you hang around trappers is that every one of them has there own way of doing things for their own reasons.
Of course, the real issue is whether or not a trapper's method gets dogs and Chris does on this DVD.
You will see a bunch of dogs caught including several off one meat dump. And you will get an insight into one man' approach to getting control of wild dogs on his patch.
The DVD also features a look at the evolution of dog trapping gear in Australia from the original lion and bear traps to the efficient and effective traps imported from the US today. There is also a look at the changes in cooling technology used by bushmen past and present...

Trapping Adventures is a great starter DVD for those interested in taking a look at a few days in the life of a trapper. It will provide you with an overview of trapping without becoming a 'how to'.
We'd recommend it as an introductory DVD for those with an interest in trapping who might want to see what basic equipment and tactics are used to get dogs in open woodland country. Production quality is good and the viewer gets a great look at the wild dogs that are everywhere in rural and hunting news as there numbers an impact grow.
If you want a look at what all the trapping fuss is about, get a copy of Trapping Adventures.

• Stand by for a special Trapping Adventures DVD offer for Hands-On Hunting readers. If you want a copy, watch this space...

What if your jacket had its own in built heater?

The Milwaukee M12 HJ jacket showing the
dust and dirt of a Winter's day in the shed.

IT is strange to read that your new jacket is regarded as a power tool.
But that's the way it is with the Milwaukee M12 HJ.
The HJ stands for 'heated jacket', that's right, heated jacket. It's a battery-powered jacket with a heating element that runs on either low, medium or high.
And it works.
At first glance this might seem an extravagance in the Australian climate but I have been using mine in the pre-dawn cold of a NSW New England Winter and, for me, it's worth it.

The heating system operates on a rechargeable battery that sits in a holder which is plugged into the heating element that runs up and down your back. The front of the jacket features a press button that allows you to pre-heat the element and then operate it on low, medium or high.

The on-off switch sits on the left chest side of
the jacket and is easy to use..

It all starts with the 12v battery charger you plug into the mains power. Everyone knows how they work...red light means not charged, green means go. Once the battery charger shows green, usually in about an hour, you slide it into the holder and attach the holder to the jacket and slide the lot into its own pocket low-down on the jacket's left side.

The battery pack in its pocket.

Once the battery pack is in place, the focus turns to the press-button switch on the left breast of the jacket. The first press activates the pre-heat function and the button flashes red. Once the pre-heat phase is complete the button will glow white to indicate the medium setting. Pressing the button cycles through the heat settings from medium up to high (red continuous light) and to low (blue continuous light).

The level of heat determines the battery life. On low the battery will last about six hours . On high the battery is one in about two hours.

 

But does it work?

In short, yes. I use mine when I get up to get ready for a hunt. That usually involves getting out of bed at 4am, going out and letting the dogs out for a run in the frost or fog before getting them on the truck and saddled up ready for a 5am departure. There are other things I have to do as well but most of them involve being cold and trying to warm up. With the Milwaukee jacket I just put it on, press go and it goes. Within minutes I am warm and I feel I can concentrate on what I am doing.

I don't take the jacket hunting but I do take it camping.

Getting back to camp after dark and waiting for a fire and your dinner to heat up is now a piece of cake. Just put on the jacket, even on low and the pressure is off.

 

There are a few rules with a heated jacket. Hand wash it only (minus the battery pack and holder), don't iron it and don't wring it out.

It is said the be water resistant but I wouldn't wear mine in the rain, it just doesn't strike me as a smart thing to do.

 

The latest versions of the jacket now feature USB points to recharge your phone and pocket warmers but mine is the simpler style. I can, however, buy a camo 'skin' to use for stalking which will take the same little battery pack and give me another option.

Indeed, I could also buy a skin in blaze orange or red or yellow to go with my formal black.

 

The heated jacked is one of those things you might not buy for yourself because it can seem, as I said earlier, a bit extravagant.

But it is exactly the sort of thing someone else can buy you for your birthday or Christmas to fill a niche in the wardrobe and solve the gift givers' need to find something for the person who has everything.

 

The battery in its holder is surprisingly unobstrusive.

 

The battery slides into its housing which is then plug
into the cord which runs to the heating panel.

 

The battery will recharge from flat to fully charged in about an hour.

http://www.milwaukeetools.com.au/products/m12/show/m12hjcamo2-21

Getting down and dirty...

MAXTRAX

The Maxtrax fresh out of the box and ready for work.

I LEARNT a lot about the Maxtrax system today.
I took the new 'get out of jail free card' with me into the swampy mountain country to see just how effective they would be in getting a vehicle out of a bad bog.
The promotional material is glowing but experience has taught me to discount that sort of thing by about 50 per cent to get close to reality.
Even so, I expected too much...

I took the Maxtrax with me on a pest control trip up onto a high country station, known for its steep slopes, game animals and bottomless bogs.
The pigs were active and four were taken off the mountain side before I attempted to cross a particular soupy creek near the northern boundary. Predictably I went down to the axles in front and almost as far on the passenger side rear.
And so began a series of mistakes based on my belief that the Maxtrax would be like a magic spell that hoisted me out of the mire in minutes. They are designed to provide a grippy track to reduce wheel slip and create firm footing in the slosh. However, they won't do it properly unless you do your part.

The Hi-Lift jack plays its part in making way for the Maxtrax. The tracks are tough too. Mine were belted into place with a lump of wood without any apparent damage. (might void the warranty though I suspect...)

Lesson 1: Make sure you attach the recovery straps to the Maxtrax before you start.

The recovery straps are crucial to the whole operation. They allow you to drag the plastic tracks out of the bog once the wheels have passed over them. Leave them until later like I did and you'll be on your stomach in the mud trying to lever the tracks out of the suction to use on the next stage of the recovery.

Lesson 2: Get plenty of the track under the wheel.

The tracks have a dynamite look but you have to make sure you give them the chance to work properly. Too little track under the wheels in muddy conditions and nothing moves.

Lesson 3: You still have to do all the other basic stuff.

The advertising says 'no wheel slip' but you can get them to slip and that's a fact. Just leave a wall of mud behind the buried front wheels while you attempt to reverse. If you don't clean out a path for the front and there is enough of a wall there, your back wheels will slip and then can slide off the side of the Maxtrax to sink again.

So did the Maxtrax work?

The short answer is yes, they did. They provide a great base to hold your wheels up out of the rubbish and a surface that allows genuine grip in bad conditions. They replace the hours of searching for suitable packing (logs, rocks, useless passengers...) to put under the wheels after you use your Hi-Lift jack or whatever to get the vehicle in the air. They will not, however, save you from getting muddy or wet in the mountains. You will still have to engage your brain and put your back into it. You will need to use your shovel to help provide an escape route by removing mud or rocks that provide anchor points for trailing wheels.

Would I use them again?

Definitely. In fact I might get another pair to go under all four wheels to allow the vehicle to develop the momentum that can be the difference between a quick exit and hours of dirty work. For the minimal amount of space they take up when they are stacked you may as well have four as two to give you a better chance of a speedy getaway.

Don't buy the Maxtrax thinking you will never be bogged again. You will and it will take time and effort to get out of it. However, they will provide the serious tester of four-wheel-drive capacity with an effective tool to speed up your exit in a safe and manageable way.

And another thing...if you do go down the Maxtrax road, watch the instructional DVD before you get bogged, not after. And whatever you do, attach those recovery straps from the word go.

http://www.maxtrax.com.au/

 

 

Equipment supplied by   
Inverell 4wd Centre 250 Byron Street Inverell, NSW 2360  (02) 6721 2516

 

Maxtrax...getting yourself out of the mire

GETTING bogged in mud or sand or stuck on the wrong side of a gully can be an almost weekly occurrence for those of us who like to live close to the ground. I've always been a 'jack and pack' type of person. If my vehicle is stuck, I jack it up, pack underneath with rocks and wood and attempt to drive out. Sometimes I have had to repeat that a few times before I'm clear. (On one memorable night I spent from midnight until 5am working to move 10 metres and that was with help...).
Anyway all that might be about to change. Hand-On Hunting has been given a pair of Maxtrax to destroy.

So what are Maxtrax? Well this is how the story goes according to www.maxtrax.com.au
 
Brad McCarthy, author of Dirty Weekends "The Essential 4WD Guides", devised the idea for MAXTRAX in 2001 after a particularly stressful incident on a remote north Queensland beach where he almost lost his bogged vehicle to the incoming tide, despite being equipped with all of the traditional recovery equipment. Brad's passion for the Australian bush, exploration and adventure sent him out, often solo throughout Queensland, to research bush tracks and locations to feature in his guide books.
From his experiences, Brad recognized the need for a system that makes vehicle recovery and extraction a safe, simple, one-person task and eliminates the need for any outside assistance such as towing, snatching, or winching. MAXTRAX came from Brad's idea to develop a foolproof and fail-safe quality Australian made product to make extracting or recovering a stranded or bogged vehicle a safe, simple, quick and easy procedure. Due to Brad's experience, ingenuity and "hands-on" research, the idea of an alternative and innovative vehicle recovery device that was safe, simple, quick and easy to use eventually came to fruition in the form of MAXTRAX.
We tested several types and grades of super tough nylons to create a lightweight, yet durable product that provides superior performance with our focus on the key issues of strength, effectiveness, usability and aesthetics. MAXTRAX was trialled countless times using typical (and not so typical) bogging scenarios and after many late nights and product refinements, MAXTRAX was ready to launch onto the Australian 4WD accessories market in late 2005. Not long after, MAXTRAX won Australian 4WD Monthly Magazine's award for Best New Product under $500.
Since then MAXTRAX have been discovered by 4WD adventurers around the world as the safe, simple, quick and easy method of vehicle recovery. MAXTRAX are now widely available around Australia at most ARB, TJM, Opposite Lock, BCF, and Supercheap Auto stores as well as a number of independent retailers, and from stockists in over 30 countries including the USA, Chile, South Africa, Egypt, France, England, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and UAE, to name just a few. Our customers now include mining, energy and exploration companies, government agencies, 4WD trainers and tour operators, rural fire services, State Emergency Service branches, off road rally drivers and the United Nations.
In November 2010, the new MAXTRAX MKII won 2 Global Media Awards for Best New Product at the 2010 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Not a bad result for a 5-year-old 'little Aussie company' on its first visit to SEMA!

All well and good but you'd expect the company to say stuff like that wouldn't you... Ours will be taken out pig catching in some swampy mountain country this weekend for a trial. It's not that I don't believe the advertising. It's just that if there is a way to break gear and ruin reputations, I can find it. I am not an 'equipment person' so I tend to push things to their limits because my focus is on whatever I am hunting rather than the gear I am using to do it.
I've had the Maxtrax out of the box for a bit of a play already. They certainly look the goods and to tell the truth I can't wait until I feel the truck sink and the wheels start to spin.

How many times in your outdoor life can you imagine saying that?

Equipment supplied by   
Inverell 4wd Centre 250 Byron Street Inverell, NSW 2360  (02) 6721 2516

Review to come

 

www.maxtrax.com.au