Big Game Hunter Australia
About My Big Game Hunting Blog & Online Hunting Magazine
Welcome to The Big Game Hunter Australia & My Hunting Blog
G’day, I’m JR Hossack—your guide through the rugged, real world of hunting, fishing, four-wheel driving, and the untamed outdoors. This isn’t just another hunting site—it’s a campfire for the bold, a tribute to the chase, and a deep dive into the ethics, thrill, and soul of hunting.
Why This Blog—and Why the Magazine?
I started this blog to document a lifetime of wild pursuits. What began as a personal collection of stories soon grew into something bigger. I realised there were too many tales left untold. Too many great hunters, wild places, and real lessons from the field getting lost in the noise of social media or buried under commercial fluff.
That’s why I launched Big Game Hunter Australia, an online magazine by hunters, for hunters. It’s built on honesty, grit, and a genuine love for the chase. No influencers. No gimmicks. Just real stories, gear reviews you can trust, hard-earned advice, and content that speaks to the heart of the hunter.
This magazine is more than a passion project—it's a platform for the forgotten voices of hunting. From the back-blocks of the Northern Territory to the wide rivers of Alaska, from bow-hunts for Cape buffalo to hog hunts deep in Texas mesquite, we cover it all.
A Journey Across Continents
The dust of the Australian high country is still in my veins. I cut my teeth stalking sambar and hog deer, learned the patience of bowhunting rabbits, and came face to face with the Cape buffalo in Africa's thornveld. Along the way, I discovered that the true trophies aren’t just antlers on a wall—but the memories, the mates, and the raw, unfiltered experience of being in wild places.
North America called to me with its vast promise—elk bugling through the aspens, Coues deer ghosts in the canyons, and bears roaming the boreal edge. I've hunted alongside locals, outfitters, and old-timers, and every story has deepened my respect for the land and those who walk it.
This Is More Than a Blog
It’s a voyage. A gritty, thrilling, sometimes humbling expedition into the beating heart of the hunt. Whether you're a lifelong hunter, a weekend wanderer, or someone just starting out, you're welcome here.
So read on. Learn. Laugh. Shake your head at the close calls, and maybe shed a quiet nod at the lessons learned in silence.
Because the land still whispers… and if you’re patient enough, it just might speak to you too.
Welcome to Big Game Hunter Australia. Let’s hunt.
With over 55 years of hunting
I cut my teeth on the magnificent Sambar deer. Back in those days there were no hunting blogs, crowds or tared roads just a heck of a lot of places for a young fella to hunt in the High Country practically every weekend.
I owned and operated a very successful ARB 4 Wheel Drive Accessories and Outdoor business on the border of N.S.W. and Victoria, so the bush was really my home away from home!
During the 80's 2-3 mates and I would regularly backpack into the Humphrey River for 10 days of unspoilt wilderness hunting Sambar Stags and pristine trout fishing in the mountain streams and creeks.
In fact, our remote backpacking shelter/hut still stands today 30 years later in the Humphrey River somehow surviving many bush-fire periods.
These days I am a Queenslander on the Gold Coast. My passion for travel and hunting and working in the outdoor industry in Australia started in 2008... It began in Texas, with Whitetails and Hogs.
I have road-tripped around 40 States so far - there’s so much to see and do. Sending an arrow on its way from a tree stand in the deep snow to bear country in deep Alaska - the hunting has been an adrenaline-charged adventure!
“Hunting: In Our Blood, But Not the Way You Think”
Since the beginning of mankind, hunting has been at the very heart of survival.It gave us food, clothing, tools, and a deeper connection with the land. It wasn’t about sport or trophies—it was about providing for the family, staying warm, and making use of every part of the animal. It was a cycle of respect and necessity.
That relationship with nature still exists today for many of us. But sadly, many modern critics—especially anti-hunters—have lost sight of it.
They call us bloodthirsty. Say we enjoy killing. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
We hunt to feed our families. My freezer is full of wild venison, pork, duck and game birds—clean, organic meat that lived wild and free. I know where it came from. I harvested it myself. And I make sure nothing is wasted. In today’s world of factory-farmed meat, that’s something to be proud of.
We hunt to conserve the land and the animals. Hunting licenses, game tags, and gear taxes pay for the vast majority of wildlife conservation. Those funds go directly into managing habitats, controlling invasive species, funding anti-poaching patrols, and supporting endangered species programs. Without hunters, that money disappears—and so does the protection it funds.
We hunt with purpose, respect, and understanding. Most ethical hunters know more about the animals they pursue than the average person watching a documentary. We know their habits, their movements, their role in the ecosystem. We take only what the land can give. We never shoot more than we can use. And we give thanks—quietly, honestly.
Hunting is not cruelty. It is connection. It is conservation. It is food on the table and boots on the ground.
If more people could see it from our eyes—not just the shot, but the story behind it—they might understand. They might not all agree, but they might see that hunters are not the problem. More often than not, we're part of the solution.