I just read that Australia is having a problem controlling camels that are free ranging in the outback. When the country's interior was being settled there were no roads or rail lines to the interior. Camels were the best way of moving people and provisions. Once they had trains and roads the camels were no longer needed, and were released. Now there are in excess of 260,000 camels wandering around. Apparently they thrive very nicely in the arid conditions. The government is unsure what to do about them. I never realized they were such prolific breeders. I don't think a decision has been reached yet, but at least the government admits there is indeed a problem with them. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

You are absolutely right CAL ABOUT THEM THRIVING OVER THERE!

On a year out after leaving college i went travelling with some mates in the Australian out back and got work on a remote cattle station. We were told to carry a rifle at all times which was alawys a .223 as the ranch had at least 10 of these rifles for ranch hands, usually wichesters or Sako's.

We were told to shoot any annimal that wasnt a cow! and always carried around a can of 500 .223 IMI soft points that shot quite good actually 1in at 100yds! After shooting literally 100's of Roos , pigs and foxes we discoverd the camels!!! Boy we had some fun knockin em over with the little 55grain bullets, I saw my mate drop a big male from at least 300yds running!!! the bullet caught him in the head (he was aiming for the heart!)

In 3months we musta shot well over 200camels , 300 donkeys, 1,000 roos, and 75 big hogs!! Great fun!

The .223 will drop a camel no probs with a head shot, and with a heart shot taken within 300yds they can run at least 300yds before they pack in!

How can you sign up to work at one of these cattle stations ??

Sounds like a fun way to spend a few months on a "hunting" vacation

Dimitri

There are literally 000's covering huge expanses of land they cover in cattle. The other annimals are left to their own devices and due to the lack of people thrive and thus need controlling. If you are a usefull chap and happy to work on the ranch you can take advantage of this free sport on a daily basis! ii fired more rouunds and did things with a .223 i never thought possible! The aussie's are not bound with crazy laws and we would leave all these annimals where they fell! as fertilizer!

Best moment was shooting a Wild bufflalo bull with an old side by side 12gauge non ejector with solids, he took over a box till we put him down and charged several times! but finally succumbed to the sheer amount of lead weighing him down!

If you want a contact ill hook you up, i take it your fit and young? cos youll have a great time, im 26 now and am desperate to go back!
Just watch out for one thing over there, the SHEILAS!! theyll eat a nice american boy for breakfast!

Deermanager,

I'm not afrid of any Sheilas I'm Canadian

I donno it might be fun to do for a little while after college we will see though

Mind you I'd probrobly try some of the animals after shooting them if I did go

Dimitri

260,000 camels doesen't sound like that many critters in the vast outback. We have over a million deer in my state that is only a small fraction of the land area of Aussieland and we don't make a dent in the heard every year. The deer don't consume so much wild vegitation and crops as to cause a ruckus except in isolated areas. But, I don't live in Aussieland and I have no idea what the real problem is. Even if it's the camels bad attitude it's not my place to condemn shooting them if they are a problem animal aka: varmint.

Dimitri,
"I'm not afraid of any Sheilas I'm Canadian."



You go dude! "A!"

Popgun,

They are a plant. A pink plant I found out after



I didnt mean any by it execpt comming up for a response to " Just watch out for one thing over there, the SHEILAS!! theyll eat a nice american boy for breakfast! " And I'm not American so I said that

PS Its "Eh" Not "A" eventhough it sounds the same.

Dimitri

What calibers to the guys down under use on the Camels?

Dimitri,
I stand corrected 'Eh'. I still hear everything with a southern accent. I was on a diving trip that half the folks were from Canada. I swear, after a week with them, it was 'A' they were saying even if they intended to say 'Eh'.

Popgun,

Well I dont actually say "Eh" or "A" too much, Most of the places I lived in didnt actually say it much

Humm he said he used the 223 up there for everything. But would be neat to know if they used anything else

Dimitri

Camels? I did not know there was that many!

I would say that Wild Donkeys, and scrub bulls have a more established population than camels, there was some big culls going on a while back on both Wild Donkeys and scrub bulls, but as with all pest in Australia Im sure camels have gotten out of hand aswell

there is an up side

cheers

Hi Skip,
Welcome to the forum. It would seem that frogs and mice have been bigger problems down under at different times. What do ya do when you have more mice than mouse traps and frogs that are poision to the touch?

popgun wrote:

Hi Skip, Welcome to the forum. It would seem that frogs and mice have been bigger problems down under at different times. What do ya do when you have more mice than mouse traps and frogs that are poision to the touch?

Thanks popgun,

Frogs are easily dispatched with any golf club from the bag.
mice well ratshot or napalm what ever is on hand.

cheers

Same happened with Mules--goats--pigs etc--deer here ar all imports also--In Vic, NSW, and Queensland we had a lot of fun with everything that wasn't a sheep--although some folks me thinks had fun with them. Roos and wallabees make nice shooting also.

Camels aren't a major problem out here in Aussie. They stick to the outback and pretty well keep to themselves. Don't hit one with a car though......ugh...nasty.
There is an upside to the camels out here, but, not for the hunters. It seems that Australia have the only remaining clean, pure camel bloodlines left in the world. (No jokes about why that may be.)
The camels were originally bought out here by Afghani traders then let loose when the traders realised that they weren't going to make their million. There is a rumour going around that Middle Eastern camel breeders are willing to pay massive amounts for the right camel bull.

As for the calibres used up north and in the outback..... .308 is usually one of the more favoured calibres but I have heard of just about anything BIG being the "duck's guts". When you are hunting big wild scrub bulls, buffalo or big outback pigs you need something with a bit of punch, and yes 1895ss, the 45.70 does get a good showing.

Dimitri. Shiela is an "affectionate" term (definitely not derogatory) used to describe an Aussie woman. It is a term that has been around for a lot of years. As for them being tough....well have you ever seen a woman kick start a 747? But seriosly, aussie women in the outback need to be tough because it is not uncommon to see them working alongside the men and every bit as hard. My eldest daughter worked as a Jillaroo (like a cowboy) on a 100 square mile cattle station (and that's a small one) for 12 months and I didn't recognise her when she came home.

Hunting the Northern Territory is the dream of a lot of aussie hunters, but like everywhere else in the world you need to know someone to get approval to hunt on a station.

Cheers, Vince

.223 will kill anything over there! beleive me ive tried!