oupa
.300 member
Reged: 01/03/06
Posts: 127
Loc: Maryland,USA
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I freely confess to being totally ignorant of Austrailian hunting... well perhaps not TOTALLY but nearly so. Any way, my question is thus,
What exactly is a scrub bull? 
Is this simply an immature Asian buffalo or some other specie? They sure look big.
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303
.300 member
Reged: 15/03/05
Posts: 136
Loc: west retreat
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wild cattle is all a scrub bull is as far as i know
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Marrakai
.416 member
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 3700
Loc: Darwin, Top End of Australia
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Spot on, 303. Wild feral cattle of the male gender, which have never been branded! Much of northern Australia was historically grazed by stocking large tracts of land with cattle and mustering them each year to brand calves and cut-out those worth selling. Fences were non-existant. As land use changed, many of these cattle now run wild in feral herds.
They can be very challenging to hunt, and the old bulls are considered as least as dangerous as buffalo. They certainly get as big!
Here's my mate Marty with a nice example:
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Marrakai
When the bull drops, the bullshit stops!
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www.marrakai-adventure.com.au
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CptCurl
.450 member
Reged: 01/05/04
Posts: 5317
Loc: Fincastle, Botetourt County, V...
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Marrakai,
Do you harvest the meat?
Curl
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RoscoeStephenson.com
YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.
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8x56mn
.300 member
Reged: 26/02/04
Posts: 149
Loc: Wine Country, Finger Lakes Wa...
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Well yes, havn't you heard of the "OutBack Steak house"! Camp on him with a fryen pan till he's all gone!   
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NitroX
.700 member
Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 40609
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...
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A nice red bull for the red gods of the chase ie Marty's bull.
***
Also some of the very large properties do not actually work the entire lease but only a small proportion of it. Any cattle outside of the worked or mustered areas can live their whole lives in the wild.
In addition to the the Top End of the Northern Territory, Far North Queensland also offers great scrub bull and boar hunting. "4seventy" (Alan Moon) who is a member here provides hunting safaris there if you are interested.
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John aka NitroX
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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"
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Marrakai
.416 member
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 3700
Loc: Darwin, Top End of Australia
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Curl:
I know this position often offends Americans, but most feral animals including scrub bulls are usually shot to waste in Australia. In the final analysis they are environmental pests rather than noble game, in most people's minds and even in Government legislation! In some jurisdictions it is illegal to retrieve field-shot meat for human consumption. Diseases such as brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis are the reason, and they are not trivial!
Having said that, if the opportunity arises we remove the back-straps and sometimes the rumps after inspecting for disease, however daytime temperatures well over your 100 degrees, and the 10km walk back to the vehicle, generally rule out the retrieval of meat. If an animal should be bagged close to vehicular access in the winter months, of course we take all we can.
Nothing beats buffalo whole-ribs roasted over an open fire!
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Marrakai
When the bull drops, the bullshit stops!
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www.marrakai-adventure.com.au
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4seventy
Sponsor
Reged: 07/05/03
Posts: 2210
Loc: Queensland Australia
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In reply to:
They can be very challenging to hunt, and the old bulls are considered as least as dangerous as buffalo. They certainly get as big!
True enough.
I've had a few close encounters of the bad kind with scrub bulls mainly when filming.
These bulls can be a challenge when hunted up close with a big bore rifle but things can sometimes get real dangerous when all you've got is a video camera.
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NitroX
.700 member
Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 40609
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...
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I think scrub bulls are under-rated and are more likely to charge unprovoked than either water or cape buffalo. I plan to hunt them again and again.
4seventy can have his filming unarmed! I've been chased by enough bulls already.
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A dig at 4seventy. When can we see one of these videos/DVDs again for sale. We all want one you know.
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John aka NitroX
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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"
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