thought I'de tell you about this one
 

Just back from three weeks in the bush. I had decided before I went that I would kill for the camp only, so I ignored "trophys" an shot only as needed.
We were driving along the base of some big breakaways, admirering the scenery when I spoted something that didn't look right on the cliff face. I checked it out through my rifle scope, and there it was, a goat on a ledge about ten ft down from the top.
Now, unfortunatly for him we needed meat, and he was a young billy. The range was about 300yds, and he was spooky about our presence, so I took the shot as it stood.
Used the car as a rest, and he never knew what hit him. I do! it was a 6.5mm 140gn HP Sirrera going at about 2600fps.
Ken made a fine curry outa him:D:D:D
And I did a roast the next day:D:D:D
He was in that niche left top, about 50 ft up, tenderised himself on the way down.

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Swanie, those goats are also European introduced, aren't they, much like the wild camels in Australia?

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That's mighty good eatin', Swannie. :)

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Yes Pistol. They, along with camels,pigs,rabbits,foxes,donkeys etc have all been intoduced, and have gone ferral.
If it wern't for the "ferral's" we would have no hunting at all, because all native animals are protected, with the exception of roos which require a culling permiy.
It could be inferred from this that I don't always comply with the legal niceties.

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I understand also that the Australian wild pig population has exploded in recent years. Are you allowed to hunt them? Here in the States, farral pigs have become quite a problem in some areas, especially in the deep South.

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You must be kidding! Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter; if they keep taking away your guns you won't have anything to hunt with anyway. My friends in TAZ say the roos are taking over and nothing can be done (legally). Are you still allowed to go fishing down-under?

p.s. When I saw the photo of your dead goat it looked like one of my wife's pets. I should be so lucky.

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Yes Pistol, and Contenerizer, pigs are a problem. As with all hunting in Aus we can only legaly shoot on private property with the owners permission. Given that then yes, we can get in there and blow em all to hell and gone. This applys to all ferral species. The trick is finding a place to do it.
The property owners come under a lot of pressure from family, friends, and associates who want to shoot, and are, quite reasonably, reluctant to hand out permissions to all and sundry. So having that letter ( the permission must be written) is like gold, and is jelousley gaurded. To be invited to shoot on someone elses patch is a mark of high esteem indeed, and there are strict unwritten protocols to be observed.

The permission to shoot roos works like this:
The property owner get permission to cull X number of roos, and gets issued with x number of tags.
He can then hand out the tags to anyone he pleases because the shooter is technically performing the cull for the owner.
the tags must be attached to the carcass of the dead roo. If it has been harvasted for meat then the tag must be kept attached to both ears.
Inspections are rare, but if they are done, then the numbers had better match up.
The people who have to police this "CALM". Conservation and land managment, do not have the personell or the time to do it effectivly so every once in a while they'll bust somebody just to make a point, but mostly it's just a matter of not getting caught with a dead roo at your feet.

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whats kangaroo taste like?

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Good. Very dark, a bit gamey, very lean. If poorly cooked it can get hard and stringy, but if done right, very nice. Makes exelent soup, stew, chili, curry type meals. Like any meat if you don't let it sit for at least a day it will be tough.

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I don't know about roo, but goats are excellent eating. I live in Florida and the folks from the islands that have moved here brought along their goat recipes. Almost all Jamaican restaurants in South Florida serve goat, and it's become so popular that it can now be purchased in many grocery stores.

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Ohhh yeah, you're not wrong on that count. Can do just about anything with it.
What did surprise me on this trip was camel meat. It is very good. light colour, almost like veal, very tender, and lean. If it has a fault, it is that once again like veal, it tends to lack flavor. We had it roasted, stewed, chilied, and as steaks. All were good. :):)
On the other hand emu was bloody horrible, I wanted to find out-----I found out. I would eat it rather than starve, but that's it.:(:(
And somehow a couple of pidgeons and a duck found their way into our pot as well.Damn, but it was a good trip:D:D:D

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Dang sounds like a great trip to me! Here I am stuck here in North Idaho and about to put a nice trout into my smoker today. Never tried Trout smoked before so this is my trial run with it. Used a pretty plain recipe for a dry rub so it will probably get changed a dozen times before I get it right. Well I have to go let the wife pamper me this morning,having Elk breakfast sausage biscuits and gravy. Dang wish I could afford fish eggs,I mean caviar-NOT. :eek: Later and again congratulations on a great trip.:D catfish

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Swanie, if you ever make a trip up into the Northern Territory, maybe along the Adelaide, be sure and tell us how those salties taste. I understand that most Australian recipes for crocodile begin with, "First, catch a big croc . . ." :D;):p

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Damn but you are obsesed with croc's arn't you Pistol??:D:D
Yes Damitt I have been around croc's in the Northern Kimberly's, (look it up), and damn near gotten bitten when I sat down on a stump and talked to one to see how long he would pretend he wasn't there. Croc's and I have an understanding; I stay away, and they don't eat me. I have a similar arrangement with snakes.:eek::eek::D

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You send me some smoked trout, I'll send you a dead Emu.:D:D

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All kidding aside, Swanie, I do find the crocs fascinating. They are the apex ambush predator, so perfectly adapted that they have changed very little, except for size, in the last 150 million years. Australia is the only place I know where common citizens have to worry about being eaten in their own back yards! :D

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Sounds like things have changed in Australia. When I was a boy growing up in Iowa around 1970 a young man who had spent a year in Australia came to the house. He showed pictures of hunting roos, rabbits, pigs and I believe either dingos or fox. He made it sound like a promised land for hunters. I always wanted to visited after that.

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My son in law is from Bendigo, he he has the "proper" dim view of Australian hunting/firearms laws. He confirms that roo is tasty.
He's here now. (My stepdaughter has delivered my first grandchild.) I'm going to take him shooting. He's never shot a handgun so I'm going to let him have a go with mine. Too bad it's not hunting season!

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Yeah Whip and max. Things have changed a bit since I was a whipper snapper:D (I'm pushin 60 now).
Now I gotta be a little carefull about what I say here, but let it be sufficent to say that there is no way in hell an gone that "they" can effectivly police their own laws.
A lot of people (not me of course;);)), having made sure they were alone, just ignore the guys.

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Man that looks like fun... As I was reading along I wondered how you preserved the meat until the next day while hunting, then I noticed your temperature gauge... 43 degrees mid morning! Geeze, how nice! It will come close to 100 here today. :(

I love the pictures! Got more?

Thanks for sharing your story with us, it is nice to take a peek at things like this, that I'd never experience otherwise.

Crpdeth

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How about dinner in the fire as the sun sets?:):):)
I haven't had a chance to get all the pic's together, but when I do I'll put the lot on photo bucket, and give y'all a link. There is only a couple of "hunting" pics. Mostly it's scenery, and camp photos.

Actually the daytime temps throughout the trip were in the range of 60 to 75 degrees. A couple of days of rain, but mostly sunshine.

Meat will keep fine for 48hrs if it is kept dry, and the flies are kept off it.
After letting the meat bleed out for a few hrs on some piled up sticks in an empty cooler box, I then wrap it in cotton cloth. Flour bags are good for this.
Then I keep out of the sun and it'll be fine. Just gotta make sure it's then well cooked.
Note: Boil the cloth before reuse.

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That looks like red clay soil, Swanie. Is that correct, and if so, is that common over most of Australia?

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I wouldn't go so far as to say that Australia is made out of it, but yes, it's common. Outback roads are often nothing more that a compacted grade of the natural clay. In the dry you can choke in the dust of a car that's half a mile in front of you, and an hour of rain will do this.

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Sorry to resurect an oldie, but I finally got the rest of the pic's organized.
This is a selection, because there are jut too many to upload.
Fraid I was too lazy to caption, so if you're curious about any, just put it back on here with you're query.
P.S. I'm the bloke that didn't shave.:D:D
http://s329.photobucket.com/albums/l363/SwanShot/

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First of all, nice shooting on the goat. Second, truly wonderful pictures. I especially liked the sunset scene, rather breathtaking. Third, you are nice looking and a well spoken elder statesman in progress. :D I also could not help but notice that there were very few other folks, cars, etc. in any of your pictures. It was therefore quite easy to get a bit caught up in the the primitive spirit of your three week walkabout (or in this case driveabout). The desolate nature of the country made it appear to be a place where you constantly have to keep your wits about you or you could end being on the menu for some scavenger. You obviously know exactly what you're doing. And thanks again for your sharing so much with all with us.