Hey guys,

Was thinking of talking to my school mate in WA about coming over for a hunt later this year, as he has made the offer to me in the past. While there will be pigs to shoot, there will also be Camels as well.

Was thinking about taking my 6.5 mm SAUM (similar ballistics to the 264 Win mag), and maybe shooting a 140gr monolithic (Barnes) or maybe the 160gr Woodleighs - they still have a good BC.

Being an overall lighter cartridge means I can take more ammo, which is why I'm considering it. My mate has a .338 Lapua, so there's backup if necessary, or I could use my 6.5 for the pigs and use his gun for the Camels.

What are the recommendations here?

I just had a closer look at the spec's on the 6.5mm 160gr Woodleigh PP. BC is .509, SD is .328.

I've only shot camels once and that was with a 338Fed.

I'm down for another trip at the end of April and this time, I'll probably take my 300SAUM running 170gr Lapua naturalis.

Having said that, the son of the bloke I go with uses a 243 very effectively taking head and neck shots and both the head and neck are big targets. In my limited experience, camels aren't the sharpest tack in the box, so those shot placements are pretty easy.

I would be perfectly happy using a 6.5SAUM with any of the bullets you mentioned.

Totally nothing to do with your question, BUT it's amazing your friend has a licence (well, I'm assuming he does) for a .338 Lap.

A few years ago an acquaintance of mine in WA tried for a licence and was turned down because the .338 Lap was military, and sniper, and armour pircing, and ...

I fact the WA cops then were turning down almost any applications for any .338 - amazingly you could get a .340 Weatherby quite easily ....

But that's WA police for you

I'll back up what John Fox said. On my last Camel hunt my Kiwi mate used my 270 all were one shot stops. 6.5 SUAM will drop a Camel no trouble.

Thanks Rule303.

Any idea what weight projectile he was using in his .270?

Cheers,

Michael.

I saw quite a few wild camel when working up in the iron belt of Western Australia, we used to chase them in our Landcruisers, weren't allowed firearms in our camp but saw a few tipped over with 308Wins.

They are not tough animals and not dangerous game in terms of wanting to charge, pretty light skinned too so any good deer rifle putting a bullet in the boiler room will drop these animals.

The 338 Lapua or anything like this cartridge is an overkill other than if wanting to use the ranging abilities for taking long shots.

quote:

Originally posted by kiwiwildcat:
Thanks Rule303.

Any idea what weight projectile he was using in his .270?

Cheers,

Michael.

130 grain medium Australian Custom Projectiles. A monometal with 3 petals.

Good to see the SAUM's are still alive and kicking. (Well kicking not so much.)

quote:

Good to see the SAUM's are still alive and kicking.

Just received 100 brand new 300 Norma SAUM cases for a very good price. Not too difficult to obtain either, certainly a lot easier than some of the WSM's.

It'll work, for sure. Have used a broad range of cartridges on camels.

I'm the bloke who took John Foxwell and Rule303 out on their first trip for camels.
I've shot my largest Camel with a 264WM and 140 Woodleighs. It took two through the lungs and spun on the spot.



Those projectiles open nicely and did not over penetrate like the heavier ones can.eg 175 Woodleighs in my 7x57.

Your 6.5 will be fine.

Some mining mates I work with have .338 lapuas for Camels in W.A..They use them simply to shoot flatter at long range.

For newbs I recommend a minimum of 338WM, but if you can honestly say your a good shot then a head or neck shot with a .243 or larger is far more humane.



Camel body shot (too far back) twice. Once on each side with a 9.3 x 62.. The shot you see is the 2nd shot. My son dropped him with a lung shot from his .243. Not all plans work the way you want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81qizfK_eW4

That's a really great bull.

Thx Ben. If it had been a bow he would have gone #4. Note the photography makes him look bigger, but he was a monster alright.

Still on my bucket list ...