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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 07, 2007, 10:40:00 PM

Title: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 07, 2007, 10:40:00 PM
G'day All! I've just arrived back from a wonderful trip through some of Western Australia's desert country. A feral bull camel fell to one arrow from my 78lb Black Widow PLX "Bocote", and my mate grassed one with his Browning compound as well. Heavy rain followed the intense heat, and forced us to abandon plans to continue on in search of feral goats. We had to take a large detour around a good chunk of the country, as roads were cut, to get back home to Katherine, but this was good, as I was able to make a surprise visit to my parents and brothers in Esperance. Cheers, Ben

  (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l164/b_kleinig/DesertTripJanuary07030.jpg)
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Louutah on January 07, 2007, 10:44:00 PM
That looks like one heck of a pack job...nice photo and story.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: 9 Mile Archer on January 07, 2007, 11:02:00 PM
Wow!!! what in the heck do you do with a monster like that?? Do you eat it?????
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Dawn Patrol on January 07, 2007, 11:17:00 PM
Too cool!!! I have always wanted to shoot a camel!
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Al Kidner on January 08, 2007, 12:47:00 AM
G'day mate... Bloody well done to you and your hunting buddy! Your making it hard for me not to call FlightCentre and book some flights...lol.

 Again mate, well done. That pic is saved as my wallpaper too!

  :clapper:  

 alan.

P.S... pm sent also..
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: philil on January 08, 2007, 12:59:00 AM
Wow!! Great effort mate   :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Steve H. on January 08, 2007, 01:38:00 AM
Kick A$$!!!!  

That is sooo awesome.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Steve H. on January 08, 2007, 01:40:00 AM
When I first saw this thread I thought I was goina see someone with a 45# javelina, LOL......
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: pete p on January 08, 2007, 02:17:00 AM
backstraps anyone? what does camel taste like? do you give the meat to the "natives"?
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 08, 2007, 04:01:00 AM
Thanks lads! Camel tastes fine, but I would say that the meat at the restaurants or butcher's shops comes from cows or calves. I've never eaten camel while I've been in the bush hunting them, only at this really flash revolving restaurant in down-town Sydney once. In Australia, our hunting is mostly done to help control feral species, and as such we don't have the same laws regarding meat recovery that you have in the USA. Ferals are culled and hunted in various ways and in large numbers, and are mostly left for the native wildlife, like goannas and wedge-tailed eagles. Also, the heat and distances and sheer size of the animals make meat recovery difficult or impossible. As for the native people, they are in a situation quite different to those in, say, rural Africa. Rightly or wrongly, depending on your view, every person in Australia has a financial income, and every community has a well-stocked shop, so there isn't the great clamour to get to a carcass like you read about in Africa. Well, that's a little piece of my Australia! Cheers, Ben
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Al Kidner on January 08, 2007, 05:16:00 AM
Well stated Ben.

 But I think this is a poor thread with only one Pic!!!....  :goldtooth:
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 08, 2007, 08:19:00 AM
Right-o, Al, I'll see what I can rustle-up...
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: PrarrieDog on January 08, 2007, 08:52:00 AM
One heck of a "hump."
Prarrie Dog
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: coolpapabill on January 08, 2007, 09:06:00 AM
Ben
Great job on the camel.
BTW,very stealthy looking
camo you are wearing,LOL.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: vermonster13 on January 08, 2007, 09:11:00 AM
A bruiser there.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Goose on January 08, 2007, 10:22:00 AM
Yep, this is a new one one me!  
Goose
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: mike g on January 08, 2007, 11:11:00 AM
Good job on the Camel....
I heard they are very difficult animal to hunt.
They are very wary animal and have good eye sight....
    What yardgae did ya shoot from....
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 08, 2007, 11:19:00 AM
Mike, they are hard to hunt, especially if they've been shot at with rifles, and these ones haven't been. However, I must point out that this particular camel was quite a gift, standing with the rest of a bachelor mob by the side of the track, and not moving away in time. I was able to quickly hop out of the ute and make a twenty-five yard shot as he started to move away. So, no points for a good stalk or ambush, but I'm glad for the experience and am looking forward to having a go at getting one with more difficulty.

Here's a picture of the others:

  (http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l164/b_kleinig/a.jpg)
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: TexMex on January 08, 2007, 12:57:00 PM
Good job, thanks for sharing.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: 9 Mile Archer on January 08, 2007, 02:01:00 PM
Boy you really ought to cut the back straps out for a try, or at least a good dinner joke on friends!  The skull would make a great euro mount also.  Great going!
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Jerry Jeffer on January 08, 2007, 03:38:00 PM
Wow, that is really interesting! I love seeing what is being hunted in other countries besides Africa. Congrats.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Doc Nock on January 08, 2007, 04:29:00 PM
Dromedary stew, then? I saw that one video from Queensland on hunting feral hogs and they hunted boars for tusks..wondered about eating the meat...and they were backpacking...Course in the muck they were hunting and them hogs eating mussels...that meat might have had a tad odd flavor!    :eek:  

Good to see that all things are NOT universally the same the world over. When in Rome...

Glad you're home safe.  Now share some of those cheeky moments for our edification and entertainment, Hoss!  :)
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 08, 2007, 06:39:00 PM
Cheeky moments, Doc? I'm not sure what you mean, except that we say an animal, particularly a snake, is "a cheeky one", if it is dangerous and wants to get you. Well, Matt's bull, the one he shot with his compound, leaked like a sieve but was hit a wee-bit far back. We tracked it into the Never-Never, caught sight of it, and watched as it sat down. We then moved up close, and he put another through it, and it got back up and started for us, taking a few steps (we were ten metres from it). I was armed with the camera bag, and I said "I'll draw his attention while you flank him and put him down", which is what we did. We were both glad he didn't have much go in him, as they can smash you, as attested to in RM Williams' book, "I Once Met a Man." So, that camel got a little bit cheeky.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Al Kidner on January 08, 2007, 07:17:00 PM
What ben's saying is true. I've delt with these animals in yards after mustering time. There not like a horse or a beast, these fellas will walk/run over you and motobike and won't even look back! Seen it happen more than once.

 And yes due to there height it makes them one hard critter to stalk in the Desert country.

 these pics are from an area that I had but the place was sold off to other people and the new owners did not want camels hunted....

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/Camel.jpg)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/CamelPrints.jpg)

 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/Longbow_lad/BullCamel.jpg)

 Sorry to hijack your thread to Ben.

 al
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: mmgrode on January 08, 2007, 07:25:00 PM
This is really interesting! How thick is their skin? Looks like a blast. "armed with the camera bag."LOL I'll betcha that'll stop a charging camel.  Take care, Matt
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Rick McGowan on January 08, 2007, 08:06:00 PM
Good on ya Ben! You are getting me pumped up!
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 08, 2007, 09:28:00 PM
Hey Al, it seems funny to see them in such a lush setting like that! Matt, they're pretty thin-skinned. I'm a bit of a fan of using heavy bows, and I think a camel would require it...any bow that can comfortably shoot through two side-by-side moose should do the trick...just kidding! I'm no expert, but 65 pounds with a 700 grain arrow might be a safe minimum bet. Well, Rick, we'll save a few for you!
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Desert Rat on January 09, 2007, 01:35:00 AM
Ben,
Sounds like a great trip in beautiful country.  Congrats on the camel.   :thumbsup:    Now, I just wish our desert had game animals like that.

Brad
Mojave Desert, CA
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Jim/LI on January 09, 2007, 04:57:00 AM
Looks like open country.  How do you sneak up on a camel?
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: hunt it on January 09, 2007, 11:58:00 AM
You guys are havin way too much fun over there!!
Whaking camels for fun, it dosn't get any better. A guy I know shot about twelve of them one day, they put big goofy sunglasses on them and took pictures. Caption said "fighting lung disease in Australia" Around here our varmints go 20lbs tops so whaking camels looks like a blast. Go whak a few more for me!!!!
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Doc Nock on January 09, 2007, 01:33:00 PM
Ben,

That would qualify as a "pucker moment" in my book..or what some guys from down under used to call "cheeky" moments... ya'll talk funnie to me anywho!    :bigsmyl:   Sorry if I got the vernacular "frahouddled". (ha...that's PA "Deutch")  :)  

Thanks for sharing that additional story...I sure had to raise my eyebrows reading how you were distracting him waving a camera bag! No wonder you asked for some prayers... you guys are wild!   :)
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: pucci on January 09, 2007, 09:42:00 PM
You did it, Ben! Congratulations!
I'd like to know how was the penetration, with your camel and the same taken with a compound.

Good job!
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on January 09, 2007, 11:53:00 PM
José, my arrow went in tight behind the front left shoulder, and stopped dead on the off-side shoulder. The compound did the job nicely too, getting complete penetration except once when a rib was hit. Ben
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: LEOPARD on May 09, 2008, 05:43:00 AM
Excellant camel, Ben! I can't wait to get over there next year!  ;)
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Benny Nganabbarru on May 09, 2008, 06:39:00 AM
When are you planning on popping over, Nige? Bringing the Wolverine? If you can, line it up for NT school holidays, and we'll try to have a crack at 'em...
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Chris Surtees on May 09, 2008, 08:58:00 AM
Very nice Ben...congrats on the fine camel!
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: Talondale on May 09, 2008, 09:12:00 AM
Is camel leather any good?   Just think how much sinew would be in those long legs.
Title: Re: Back from the desert...
Post by: frassettor on May 09, 2008, 10:58:00 AM
Did you get a pass through on that beast?