dave h Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Shootertom asked me to tell of my Camel incident ! So here goes! I was out on a Camel cull /pet food contract ! Now we as a rule worked by ourselves in the edge of the Simpson desert ! This particular day I was shooting like steam ! (Money in the Bank ) I had a talley of 35 up for the day & there wa no stopping me !Until !!!!!! #36 I was'nt even concentrating on the job at hand anymore (first mistake ) Said camel just buckled & went down .I always went for neck shots as this breaks the spine & when a camel runs the neck presents a fair sized target ! I approched the "Dead Camel"to tie a chain round it's back legs & did'nt bother to check for any signs off life (second mistake ) I approched it from the belly side & not from it's back (third & almost fatal mistake ) AS I bent over to secure the chain ! The said Camel did laseris on me & came back from the "dead" !!! I'd only stunned it ! what followed was a kick into the ribs (mine ) & broke 6 of them . I'm rolling round on the ground & I sudenly realise that said camel is now getting to it's feet ! At this point of time I realised (sound quite calm do'nt I ? Hmm at the time ) that I now had a very sore & sorry beast on my hands ! About this time the Camel realised who had caused this sudden neck ach & decided to punnsh me ! So I'm crawling all over the place looking for my rifle & the camel is clearing it's head ! THe duel finnished with me shooting it in the chest whilst laying on the ground at a range of about 2 ft (it actualy had powder burns ) ! To make matters worse I had to drive myself cross country for about 90miles to get help & the flying doctor ! Many Pro shooters over here can tell you of the same experiances & many did'nt make it ! To Top it off when my partner heard of what had happened his reply was something to the affect of ...... So he won't be back out today? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwims Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Well Dave H, glad to here you survived your situation. It's great to be able to write about or tell these stories yourself rather than someone tell or write it about you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Yeah I've lost count of the Blokes who were crippled or worse through not sticking to tried & proven practices ! These accidents happen all to frequently unfortunatly ! It's one of the major reasons that I scaled back my work load ! That & the fact of the Gov increasing running costs for Pro Roo shooters whilst cutting back our quotas (better to let Kangaroos die of thirst & hunger in a drought than to control their numbers ! Now I concerntrate On dingos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwims Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Welcome to the board Dave H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hey Dave,are dingo's out of control there like the coyotes are here,at least in Texas.Townies are having fits to find coyotes have eating their cat Fluffy or their little yapping dog.A friend saw one on his porch eating out of his dogs bowl.You can forget having chickens around here unless you keep them couped up.I saw a big coyote walking down the street in front of my house last week at 9am.Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwims Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 I live about 100 miles northeast of Dallas, Texas and although it is a rural community we still are well populated. The other night comming home from Dallas as I exited from the Interstate at the edge of town about 8:00PM, just wandering around the intersection was a very large and healthly looking coyote. He wasn't afraid of anything. I was so shocked by what I saw I turned my car around and went back and he was still there not more than 50 yards form people pumping gas at the corner station. Eventhough I live in town almost every night you can here the coyote's howl. We got alot of them ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 WE've been lucky over hee as we have alway's had a heavy Dog control program ! I wa on a contract just before xmas that involved working in a Prohibited area of Australia (Mitary range) It had'nt had any form of control for many years .In 2 months I claimed 300 dogs through Trapping ,Baiting & shooting on site.I've still got to go back as soon as it cools down some what ! There used to be a bounty on Dog scalps ! But I belive this has stopped ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manureman Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short but howdy Dave ,good to hear from ya' and hope you come around often. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 As usual I'm a day late and a dollar short but howdy Dave ,good to hear from ya' and hope you come around often. Jim 9707[/snapback] Know where your comming from Jim (I hope to be late for my own funeral ....only cause I'm too broke to afford it ) As I have a fair bit of time on my hands these days (hope the wife don't read this ) I hope to get on a fair amount Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShooterTom Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 You're lucky to be here! Your partner sounds like a guy my sister worked for. When our Grandmother died he asked her "If they were close" (meaning...do you feel the need to even go to the funeral?) Then when our Dad passed, he asked her if shed be in to the office after the funeral. Thanks for sharing the story. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 Dave, We could sure use your expertise on our feral hogs here in Texas. We are overrun with the fugitives from hell. Trapping them only gets the dumb ones. The smart ones will never enter a trap. That leaves hunting, and at night since they are nocturnal. I am at the age where I need my sleep at night, and we have all these fundillo laws in Texas about calling the game warden before going out hunting. Yeah, really! Feral hogs put me out of the row crop farming business, and into cattle. For this, they may have done me a favor--there is no profit in grain farming in Texas anymore. There was for my father, and his father, but no longer. But the damage they do to the hay meadows and the grazing lands is very noticable. I can hardly drive a 4-wheel truck in parts of my land. When you have the time, we can use your hunting skills here in Texas. It seems that the ranchers will have to grab the bull by the horns, so to speak, because the Texas legislature does nothing but talk about the problem. Talk, no action. Not even a program to hire a professional hunter/trapper, and the ranchers would gladly subsidize such a program if the state would only give it a chance. Right now, politics in Texas is all about the schools. It is all for the children, after all. fritz fritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 You shot camels for dog food? Where? 90 miles with broken ribs had to be the trip from hell. Coyotes- all my brother's cats and chickens, as well as guinea hens are dead. My nephew also shot 4 wild dogs in a row. Dave, We could sure use your expertise on our feral hogs here in Texas. We are overrun with the fugitives from hell. Trapping them only gets the dumb ones. The smart ones will never enter a trap. That leaves hunting, and at night since they are nocturnal. I am at the age where I need my sleep at night, and we have all these fundillo laws in Texas about calling the game warden before going out hunting. Yeah, really! Feral hogs put me out of the row crop farming business, and into cattle. For this, they may have done me a favor--there is no profit in grain farming in Texas anymore. There was for my father, and his father, but no longer. But the damage they do to the hay meadows and the grazing lands is very noticable. I can hardly drive a 4-wheel truck in parts of my land. When you have the time, we can use your hunting skills here in Texas. It seems that the ranchers will have to grab the bull by the horns, so to speak, because the Texas legislature does nothing but talk about the problem. Talk, no action. Not even a program to hire a professional hunter/trapper, and the ranchers would gladly subsidize such a program if the state would only give it a chance. Right now, politics in Texas is all about the schools. It is all for the children, after all. fritz fritz 9777[/snapback] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 You shot camels for dog food? Where? 90 miles with broken ribs had to be the trip from hell. Coyotes- all my brother's cats and chickens, as well as guinea hens are dead. My nephew also shot 4 wild dogs in a row. FC Camels wander around most of the Northern areas of Australia from the middle of Nth western aust right through to the eastern states . There is a estimated 700,000 feral camels in the Northern Territory alone ! Not only are they shot for Pet food these days but there is a market for Human consumption ,as well as a live export trade for calves & younger camels a Good one can bring up to 40'000 dollars ! I was away this last 10 days on a dingo control project ! I was also asked to destroy any Camels I came across but to leave any juvinile & calves .When I enquired why the sudden show of feelings by the property manager ? He informed me that they would muster up any young stock but did'nt need the hassel of the Old Bulls & Cows . (Hey I got a nice bonus out of it so I'm not complaining ) My incident with the ribs is a common issue with Pro Shooters over here ,a number are injured or killed each year. It's just not a publisied thing (it don't sell papers) This week I accounted for 37 dogs & 15 Camels Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Now that sounds like fun! Wild dog hunting. Camels in Australia! Who'd have thunk it?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Now that sounds like fun! Wild dog hunting. Camels in Australia! Who'd have thunk it?! FC. Dog stifferning used to be a "trade" unto it's self as it were. Doggers were always viewed with suspition by all & sundry! THere is a Fence that starts on the Great Austrailian Bight (infact it hangs over the Clifts) & then travels through the desert between SA, WA, the Northern Territory & into NSW & finnishes up in a field in the middle of nowhere ! Although it was buil;t as a Rbbit Proof fence it later became a Dog Fence to control Dingos .In the early days there were control Officers (Doggers ) ever 20 mile & they were issued Push bikes to patrol their section of the Fence ! Imagine a push bike (we're talking early 1900's) carrying Crow bar ,Fencing gear ,shovel ,Water Bag ,Rations ,Rifle ect through sand ! These were hard men indeed ! I did a stint on the Fence .But I had the luxury of a 4x4 & 500miles of fence to maintain ! The Gov used to pay a bounty for Dog scalps ,but now it is up to the indavidual Property owners to pay the Dogger the price per scalp varies from about$60.00 to 160.00 per scalp with several states still emploing their own Officers on a limited scale & then contracting out work ! In the past when working on Stations(large Properties ) I have been known to stop on my way out to work if I saw a Dog that had been run over in town & scalp it & faithfully "cash" it in on the Station ,stating that I got it on the Station !!!!! For many years there was a bounty paid on Feral Pigs it wa about $1.00 per snout ,so we would get dried apricots & punch 2 holes in them with a pencil & mix them in with the snouts & leave them out in the sun for about a week! THere was not a Gov inspector in the world that had the stomach to really take care in counting them !In Western Australia there is still I belive a $5.00 bounty paid on Starlings (Black birds ) As it is free of the damned things .Whilst working for the WA gov as a pest control Officer (Dingos Camels,Horses ,Donkys )I lined my Little brother up in SA to shoot Starlings with his Air rifle ,pack em on ice & frieght em over to me were I trckled them on to the market! Like all good things though word got round on what I was doing & other greedy people flooded the market as it were & it did'nt take long before some one realised what was going on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FC Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Dried apricots! Yer crackin' me up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Dried apricots! Yer crackin' me up! Mate I just pray the statureof limitations is up on the things we used to do ! In the Northern Territry Dog scalps were worth 5/8's of nothing due to it being cattle country ! Yet over the Border in WA or down south in SA they were worth in those days about $30.00 in Gov bounty It would scare the Bejeeze out of the Berucrats in the Deptment s concerned in Feral & Dog control of the number of Dingos that crossed the borders to comit suicide ! (Well their scalps crossed the borders anyway ) A good Dogger before they modified the rules on scalps could get a good 6 or 7 out of one dog ! In my Dad's day 1930's until the 60's they used to use Kangaroo hides cut up & then mixed & left in the sun to make up scalp Numbers ! Funny thing is young Blokes ask these days why it's so hard to break into the industry ???????? Before the kangaroo Indutry was reclassified as for Human consumption & monitered more closely I was selling to one Processor BoB Jesser (He still owes me money ) That would take Goats as Roos & stick the Tags we were issued on them ! THereby classing them as Roo meat & getting more for the meat ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 I too am laughing yet about the dried apricots! But $1 a snout is $1 more than we get here in Texas. Our legislature is too damned distracted by the school financing problem than to take the feral hog problem under consideration. Texas needs more money (hell, who don't?) I may have missed it, but how do you you show proof of doing in a camel? Scalp? Snout? We used to have a bounty on coyote scalps, but that was before the school children problem came about. It don't help the state that we have to educate the children of not only Texas, but also of Mexico! fritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 I too am laughing yet about the dried apricots! But $1 a snout is $1 more than we get here in Texas. Our legislature is too damned distracted by the school financing problem than to take the feral hog problem under consideration. Texas needs more money (hell, who don't?) I may have missed it, but how do you you show proof of doing in a camel? Scalp? Snout? We used to have a bounty on coyote scalps, but that was before the school children problem came about. It don't help the state that we have to educate the children of not only Texas, but also of Mexico! fritz WE take the Ears as proof of a kill when just culling ! Everthing is taken when shooting for human /Pet food consumption The animal is dressed in the Field (the Liver ,Kidneys ,Heart & lungs must be left in the beast for inspection the same thing applies for Kangeroos) they are then moved to a large mobile Chiller were they are then shipped to the Processing Plants ! On a Culling job like I was just involed in each camel is worth $200.00 to me & I work by my self where as For The Meat industry It is a case of hiring several Hands to assist in the removal & dressing of the Carcass .A large Bull or cow is worth round the $800.00 mark ,but after I allow for wages for the crew & find a reliable crew at that it whittles down my profit margin ! Roos are normaly a one man operation although I've hired Off siders over the years in times of Plenty when I was Training up New Guys (They work for nothing ) The first time I ever saw the Dried apricot idea I did'nt belive that it would work ! It was a art form in it's self to get it just right ! But the expression of discussd on the Inspectors face on opening the bag was always priceless ! Most would stand up wind & get you to count them out ,then rebag them & into the furnace to be destroyed! This went on for years before somebody got careless & got too greedy & added to many Home made Snouts (ruined a perfectly good cottage industry ! Apricot growers must of felt the Pinch ! To say nothing of the Fall in Pigs destroied on the Books of the Gov inspectors ) Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 Dave,40 years ago or so,when ranchers in North Texas thought the coyotes were bad,would raise hell with the state enough that they'd send what they called govt. trappers out to thin the critters,but they didn't trap at all.They put out cynied bombs (sorry about the spelling).They had a string on the bomb that had a scent lure on it,and when the coyote pulled it,cynied gas hit them in the face killing them real fast.I've seen dead coyotes less than 10 feet from the bomb.The trappers put warning signs all around the bombs warning folks to keep their dogs away.They thought they had lots of singing dogs then,but there's 10 times more now.About 15 years ago I saw the same warning signs around Junction Texas,and figured tree huggers would have put a stop to that.I have a stupid little question for you Dave.If we have a ranch,we're ranchers,but if ya'll call them stations,are you considered ranchers?Stationers don't sound so good.Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Dave,40 years ago or so,when ranchers in North Texas thought the coyotes were bad,would raise hell with the state enough that they'd send what they called govt. trappers out to thin the critters,but they didn't trap at all.They put out cynied bombs (sorry about the spelling).They had a string on the bomb that had a scent lure on it,and when the coyote pulled it,cynied gas hit them in the face killing them real fast.I've seen dead coyotes less than 10 feet from the bomb.The trappers put warning signs all around the bombs warning folks to keep their dogs away.They thought they had lots of singing dogs then,but there's 10 times more now.About 15 years ago I saw the same warning signs around Junction Texas,and figured tree huggers would have put a stop to that.I have a stupid little question for you Dave.If we have a ranch,we're ranchers,but if ya'll call them stations,are you considered ranchers?Stationers don't sound so good.Jerry Down here a Station owner is Known as just that .They are also refered to as "Cockies" (a Native bird that causes great damage to crops .A pink & grey parrot ! The term is not one of indearment ) Most of the larger Stations are owned by large coorparations & employ Managers to see to the day to day Running of the Land ! VRD in the North was the size of Belgium & was owned by a Lord Vestery of the Blue star Shipping company .It is said that he never came to Australia to see what he had invested in .It has since changed hands & I have No idea of which company owns it these days ! The Bombs you speak of .Would have been the Duck's Guts over here ! Instead we have until recently used Stichnyne & 1080 .There is now a test going on to use Pure Cocaine in the baits as it causes the animal to go into Hyperthermia & Die in a "Humaine Fashion " (Please note my political correctness ,in my line of work I'm dealing with do gooders & tree huggers all the time these days !!!!) Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 But Dave,if someone here say's "there's Joe Blow,he's a rancher down south,would ya'll say "there's Joe Blow,he's a stationer down south? I know it's a silly question,but it's the kinda crap I think about.Texas had huge ranches owned by dudes from Scotland in years past.I guess all pulled out when the cattle business turned into a gamble. What kind of bird hunting do you have?I'm wanting to go somewhere like your neck of the woods once in my life before I stroke out or fall and break a hip,and after lots of years,I'm getting back into quail and dove shooting,and think that wood be a good excuse to go somewhere wild and different.I'm past the point of having to kill some big game animal on a hunt to feel successful.Nowadays,it's the experience of the trip and the hunt I'm after.I would like to shoot a dingo and have a full mount.That'd be something to have a dingo and coyote full mount just to see the difference.Lets us know about the cocaine bombs.It would take care of several kinds of varmits around here.Jerry One more thing Dave,is the ducks guts a good thing or bad?Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 But Dave,if someone here say's "there's Joe Blow,he's a rancher down south,would ya'll say "there's Joe Blow,he's a stationer down south? I know it's a silly question,but it's the kinda crap I think about.Texas had huge ranches owned by dudes from Scotland in years past.I guess all pulled out when the cattle business turned into a gamble. What kind of bird hunting do you have?I'm wanting to go somewhere like your neck of the woods once in my life before I stroke out or fall and break a hip,and after lots of years,I'm getting back into quail and dove shooting,and think that wood be a good excuse to go somewhere wild and different.I'm past the point of having to kill some big game animal on a hunt to feel successful.Nowadays,it's the experience of the trip and the hunt I'm after.I would like to shoot a dingo and have a full mount.That'd be something to have a dingo and coyote full mount just to see the difference.Lets us know about the cocaine bombs.It would take care of several kinds of varmits around here.Jerry One more thing Dave,is the ducks guts a good thing or bad?Jerry Sorry bout that Jerry I forget myself on occastion with our slang ! The ducks guts means something is just right or exellant ! As flash as a "rat with a gold tooth" is another way of saying it ! If something is just right it is "Just like a brought one " Down here it would be (depending on the size of the proprty ) Joe from down south ? Yeah "his a Big Cockie" or Joe from down south ? "No mate his just a small time Cockie" It's funny most of the big stations over here were taken up by Blokes from Scotland ! They must have colinized the world of Cattle farming (must be a small country syndrome or something ) Vestery was a Scot as were the Mac Lachlins who owned Commonwealth hills (the biggest sheep station in the southern hemisphere in it's day ) As for bird shooting ? There you have me ! I know there is a duck season .There is also quail ,dove ,& Geese in the Northern Territory .But it's something I've never delt in (as there was no money in it ) I live on a large property of roughly 20,000 acres (No I'm not a Cockie I leave that up to my Brother ) I enjoy shooting crows ,Rabbits ,Foxes ,Goats in my spare time anything else is like work! The curse of shooting for a living is trying to relax & seperate leasure from Work ! My 12 yr old step son has given me a second lease of life as he & his sisters were born in the city & had never ventured out of there until their mother & I got together ! So in the last 5 yrs the Lad has his own Bush bashing car (Minus doors, front fenders trunk lid ,& windscreen & uit's a case of every night I'm Home of can we go spotlighting Dad ???????? It's nice to go out without haveing to worry about hitting or missing & tallies ect ! He quite often helps himself to a .22 out of the safe & goes to scare a rabbit or 2 or takes his .310cadet & clobbers a Goat ! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks for the info Dave.So our friend fritz is our cockie friend!We have some strange slang here too.Glad to hear some young feller is going to get a raising that he can always look back at and think those were the good days.I applaud you for that.My son is grown and gone,and I sorely miss the days we had hunting together and the setting around the campfires,cooking,lying,farting,and telling jokes.I thought they'd never end.When you get time,send us more hunting stories.I love gun work,but hunting is my no.1 love in life.Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave h Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Thanks for the info Dave.So our friend fritz is our cockie friend!We have some strange slang here too.Glad to hear some young feller is going to get a raising that he can always look back at and think those were the good days.I applaud you for that.My son is grown and gone,and I sorely miss the days we had hunting together and the setting around the campfires,cooking,lying,farting,and telling jokes.I thought they'd never end.When you get time,send us more hunting stories.I love gun work,but hunting is my no.1 love in life.Jerry I'm lucky in the sence that I got a second chance with having another son to hunt with as this is my second marraige !My Kids are grown up & now have in one case a Child of their own ! My eldest son is serving overseas with the SAS with the Army so we don't see much of him ! It's fantastic when he pays us a visit as it involves going out for a couple of days of just the Boys as it were . Only problem being his leading his step brother astray ! Teaching him how to out shoot Dad !!!!!!! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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