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From: Nitro (Original Message) Sent: 8/28/2002 12:01 AM
Kangaroos are at a all time high this year with the population estimated at 60 million.

This is despite a severe drought affecting many parts of Australia. Kangaroos are well suited to the Australian environment and can survive in country where sheep and cattle suffer. Where numbers are affected by drought their physiology allows a rapid re-building of numbers.

So when you see the Australian game meat on the supermarket shelves in Europe (USA - less common), know that you are not only going to enjoy a delicious low fat meat, but also help a industry that co-exists with the wildlife of the Australian continent.

And the more the Government allows sporting hunting of kangaroos the better. A "Big Red" rug on the floor. What an excellent trophy.

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Nitro

"I love the smell of cordite in the morning"

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From: gunner1 Sent: 8/29/2002 10:34 AM
what is the bag limit on them?Can you bar-b-q the meat?

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From: redbeard Sent: 8/29/2002 2:42 PM
hide makes good pair of boots,i understand

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From: Nitro Sent: 8/29/2002 9:52 PM
Kangaroo skin can make a very fine and soft leather. I have a couple of pairs of shoes in kangaroo leather and they are the softest leather shoes I have ever owned. Felt very worn in from the first time I put them on.

Hunting and shooting kangaroos. Each state has different laws. Victoria I believe allows no shooting of kangaroos at all. Tasmania has a wallaby season where reasonable bag limits exist. They are often shot by shotguns on drives. Queensland I have been told recently allows sporting hunters to buy a few "tags". That was the first time I had heard of that! Souith Australia has two types of permits to my knowledge, both for farmers and professional shooters. One is pure pest destruction. The farmer or his agent shoots the roo and can not remove it from the property. He may feed some to his dogs, and most is wasted. Which is a waste. The other type which a number of states have allows professional shooters to shoot a quota (based on the property) which is harvested, skinned and the meat used for dog food (in the past) and more and more for human consumption.

I need to research this topic for SA as I invited a friend to come over here to shoot one! So I need to be able to deliver, as I am sure he will want to take a nice "big red" skin back home with him. I have the access to properties and pest destruction culls but would need the right paperwork for exporting a skin. Though you can probably buy a skin in a shop and take it out. What's the difference?.

Roo meat is a deep red meat and is a low fat game meat. I enjoy it in stir frys , curries, casseroles, and steaks. It is lovely on a BBQ plate or grill but remember it is low fat.

Bag limits?
Well some smaller properties can shoot 20 or so. Larger ones several hundred. All told at least 3.5 million are harvested each year, and probably at least that number on top of that are shot. As they prolifically breed that's not a problem.

Species?
Red (plains) kangaroo, western grey kangaroo and eastern grey kangaroo

Euros - various species - smaller than a kangaroo

Wallabies - various species - smaller again than a Euro - some a very small

Nitro

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From: Bigfive Sent: 8/30/2002 4:39 PM
Nitro,
How would you go about hunting them?You said that they shoot them with shotguns in drives but what cal rifle will you use?Are their sense good,will they out-wit or out-play you?How much does the big ones weigh?

Have you shot any?Tell me more about them.Don't stirr my good way of thinking to much though you might just see me before you get here!!!!!!!!!!joking.

Bigfive

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From: NitroExpressCom Sent: 9/2/2002 9:58 PM
Here's some pics of roos

A young red kangaroo - your wives would love the wild flowers and "Salvation Jane".

On the hop - hey I've seen that profile on an airline's tail ...

An "old man roo" resting

A couple of greys - a mother and a older joey.

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From: NitroExpressCom Sent: 9/3/2002 12:17 AM
Kangaroos and Kangaroo hunting

"This land is cursed; the animals hop not run, birds run, not fly and the swans are black not white". Dirk Harthog, Dutch seafarer, West Coast of Australia 1688

"Kangaroos are one of the most numerous large wild land mammals on earth"

The quota for shooting in 2002 is 6.94 million. Last year 3.5 million animals were taken out of a quota of 5.53 million.

Firstly, most roos are shot by spotlight. IMO they are "shot", not "hunted" by this method. But it is the most efficient method of culling or harvesting wild roos. Professional roo shooters harvest their roos mostly exclusiviely with the use of the spotlight, driving utilities or traytop 4WDs allowing the roos to be hung on the racks on the trays. Most prof roo shooters operate alone, driving, spotlighting and shooting.

Roos are the most active at night, and of course can also be active in early mornings and evenings, like many other game animals. Roos have excellent eye sight, hearing and smell and they are very alert but not particularly wary. By this I mean it is usually quite easy to approach a roo within centrefire rifle range but often difficult to approach closer on foot. For example when trying to bow hunt roos I have found in mixed bush that they almost always are aware of you well before you close say to 50 metres and then hop along maybe stop about 100 metres to 300 metres away. Easy to shoot with a 222, 22/250 or 243, but very hard to take with an arrow.

During the heat of the day the roos will rest in the shade sleeping or resting but usually still aware. They associate in small groups to up to say 20 animals in my experience.

They can be shot with .22 and .22 Magnum rimfires if within range. .17 Remingtons can be used if headshooting. .22 Hornets are also used. The most popular cartridges are probably the .222 (and the .223), the .22/250 and the .243 Winchester. The .22/250 with a 55 gr softpoint is probably the ideal cartridge in terms of range and minimal skin damage. I use a .222 Remington with 55 gr Nosler Solid bases. A .243 with a 75 gr HP is also good but if shot in the chest may penetrate and damage the skin on the far side. Professionals usually go for brain shots to minimise skin and meat damage. Other cartridges used include the 6.5x55 with 100 gr projectiles, 270 s with 110 gr HPs, and 30 calibres with 110 to 135 gr fragile bullets.

Scopes are essentile for accurate long range shooting. The bolt action is standard.

They are hunted in the usual way. Early morning and late evening they will be feeding, returning to cover or coming out of it. Stalk along the edges of open fields with the wind in your face, scanning the edge of cover and the open paddocks. During the day look in mixed cover if hot for trees or bushes with shade. Running or hoping shots are very common and are great practice for running targets. Roos can reach considerable speeds.

The wallabies I mentioned and drives. I have not experienced this but many Tasmanians go on drives for wallabies wifth 12 gauge shotguns. The shotgunners may be positioned near an open field and the "beaters" beat patches of scrub towards them. I aim to take part in some of these drives one of these days.

Roos can be shot with shotguns using the shot sizes - BBs and no. 2s. But you need to be close for Western and Eastern Greys and Reds.

All told there are 48 species of "macropods" in Australia.

Kangaroos have narrow sheeplike heads with large and movable ears. The have slim chests and sizable hindquarters. Their front legs are short and have five digits. The large long hind legs are muscled with tendons to allow spring loaded hopping. Hops can cover a distance of 9 metres. Speeds of up to 70 kilometres an hour are possible for a large red at full hop. When hopping they use only their rear legs and tail to some extent. Their long muscled tail acts to balance the animal during the hop and is also used as a support when walking.

Normally not dangerous they can attack if cornered and will attack dogs using their hind legs and claws to disembowl a dog. A particular tactic is to lure dogs into a dam or other water where they will drown the dog.

Females have a pouch and will carry their young for from 5 to 9 months. The young are known as a "Joey". The Joey will emerge from the pouch but still be carried in the pouch until about 12 to 18 months. If a female is shot it is necessary to examine the pouch and dispatch the joey if present.

Red Kangaroos

Macropus rufus is the largest marsupial and can be as tall as 1.8 metres to 2 metres (measured sitting at their haunches) and as heavy as 90 kilograms. Females weigh to 35 kgs and up to 1.25 metres high.

Their habitat is dry country inland and includes deserts and savannah / grasslands, mallee and mulga. If green grass is available they are able to go without drinking water and thus are suited to Australian droughts. Their colour can be a clay red to a grey-blue.

Eastern and Western Grey Kangaroos

Macropus giganteus and Macropus fuliginosus.

The grey roos are more found in higher rainfall regions ranging from Eastern Australia down across Southern Australia along the cost to South-Western Western Australia. These are the most common of roos in Australia.

Grey males can be 1.6 metres tall and 70 kgs in weight. Females are smaller but similar in size to the "red" females at 1.2 m and 35 kgs.

Euros
Euros, Macropus robustus, are also known as Wallaroos. Found throughout Australia on rocky hills and often use small ledges and overhangs for shelter.

Euros are often mistaken for a kangaroo but are smaller and sized between the Western and Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Wallabies. Euros are usually a shade of grey as well. Euros at 1.6 metres and males at 58 kgs. Females to 1.2 metres and 25 kgs.

Wallabies - Rock Wallabies

Found throughout Australia as well and found in rocky hills. Competition with feral goats and predation by foxes has reduced their numbers in some locales.

Wallabies are quite small so would not be difficult to kill with suitable shot from a shotgun. I have seen minature albino nocturnal wallabies in the Northern Territory. Usual colour would be grey.

A wallaby can be between 45 cms and 1.05 metres tall, 5 to 15 kgs in weight.

Here is a reference to check out http://www.kangaroo-industry.asn.au/index.html

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Any Aussies have a tale to tell, disagree with what I have said, have a favourite method? Please share.

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Nitro

"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."

http://NitroExpress.com

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