I'm off culling Brumby's and Donkeys in 18 months. Also will try for a Scrub Bull.

My 9.3x62 will handle the scrub bull but what works on Brumby's and Donks ? I've read a .308 and 150's is more than enough. Any other combinations that have worked well for you ?

375H&H
The donks can be pretty hard to put down so I'd rather stick with the 9.3 for all the shooting. Unless you really want to cart around the 2nd rifle

I agree with Hendrik. Just use your 9.3. Of course if you have a need for a second rifle then you'll have no worries with the .308. The donkeys I've shot have been hit with a 6.5x55 and 140gr bullets(I tend to like heavy bullets.)

The .308 was mentioned by a third party. My back up rifle would be a 7x57 with 160's. Thx Bakes.

I shot several hundred donkeys with a 308 and high rate of one shot kills all the way out to 548 yards. PMC ammo did fine tried a bunch of other stuff and would not recommend the soft tips like siver tip, balistic tips etc. plenty of damage but not doa's. Also Barnes x kill well and do little hide or meat damage but do not put donks on the ground unless you do neck shots or double shoulder and the like.

My thougths are; don't use cartridges that hold and burn excess powder as it causes recoil and barrel heat neither of which are conducive to high volume shooting.

I wrote up an article about it in our KYSCI magazine.

Pest control down under style Part one

Pest Control Down Under part 2

How does one get on to such shoots without having to spend big bucks on outfitters etc? I'd love to shoot a number of donkeys, pigs, scrub cattle etc. with my 9,3X62 or my 9.5X57 Mannlicher Schoenauer!

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
How does one get on to such shoots without having to spend big bucks on outfitters etc? I'd love to shoot a number of donkeys, pigs, scrub cattle etc. with my 9,3X62 or my 9.5X57 Mannlicher Schoenauer!

pretty tough on those species mate. There are some avenues for DIY in some states but they may not have that particular game in big numbers OR you can always go chasing your own access but that is pretty hard too. Problem is - there is no real public land hunting in the tropical north.

I am in volved with a hunting club that could get you some access up in the NT but that doesnt guarantee anything either and the costs and logistics are great. You are welcome to goive it a go though (if you join).

Cheers
Matt

Code 4,

The 7x57 should work well with decent bullets.

Big thing is if you are culling large mobs you will be surprised at the amount of rounds you will go through. If you're using a large round it all adds up in recoil and cost.

Although it is ideal to drop brumbies & donkeys with one shot, don't expect it to happen every time. If the first shot doesn't do the job, it will usually take a few rounds. They are hardy animals and once they've had their adrenalin dump, are much harder to drop and the damage they can sustain is unbelievable.

The calibres I mostly use for horses are .338 Fed, .338 RUM, .308Win & 6.5x55. I have used .243 but only in ideal circumstances.