Innehållsförteckning för Edition 81 från Australian Hunter

Fiocchi has been producing top-notch ammunition since 1876 and is still based in Lecco, Italy, where it started, but in recent times has built facilities in the USA as well. Fiocchi make shotshell, centrefire rifle, pistol and rimfire ammunition for hunting, competition, defence and training purposes. The firm sponsors a wide variety of professional and competitive shooters, including a stable of Olympians. It also supports club and youth shooter programs with assistance for their ammo needs. Their Hyperformance bracket of centrefire ammo features loadings of premium projectiles specific to hunting, in 10 popular calibres from .243 Winchester to .300 Winchester Magnum. Projectile loadings include Sierra GameKing, Hornady SST and Swift Scirocco. The Field Dynamics section offers Hornady V-Max loadings in the varmint calibres from .204 Ruger to .22-250 Remington and…

Regardless of any hunting technique employed or species targeted, there are always pros and cons with the equipment and associated methods required. Ferreting is no different. Catching rabbits with purse nets for example allows for a warren with 40 burrows to be netted and all those nets will fit inside a daypack. If, on the other hand, you were using cage traps as your only capture devices you would just about require a semi-trailer to cart them around with you. By combining 37 purse nets and five cages, we hoped we would have the best of both worlds. The early morning dew soaked our boots as we walked into the paddock from the tea tree fringe to ensure the rabbits went down the burrows instead of into the bush. Rabbits…

Ever since ancient man discovered that he could make cutting tools from stone, he had problems keeping them sharp. Some of these Stone Age implements and sharpening stones are still found in the bush, a legacy from Indigenous Australians. In fact, I have seen them in use while traversing Arnhem Land. Of course, modern steels and tools surpass anything that was used previously by Stone Age people. However, sharpening techniques and tools remain like those used by them, albeit a tad more refined. Years ago, at Waterfall Hole, near Beswick, I observed an Aboriginal man grinding a stone spear point to a sharp edge on sandstone rock. He poured a little water onto the rock for better grinding. I reflected that the approach he used was little different to my…

You could rightly say that the .222 is one of, if not the, most perfect cartridge ever designed. Looking just like a scale model of a .30-06, with a fairly long neck, at least in comparison to most of today’s offerings, its petite dimensions leave a lot of shooters to dismiss it in favour of the .223. That’s a mistake. This cartridge case was new from the ground up. When it was developed it didn’t owe any previous designs a scrap of parentage, the like had never been seen before. It was adopted quickly by the Benchrest shooters of its day and some of the records shot with it have only been bettered recently by wildcats like the 6mm PPC. That record was shot in 1973 and measured 0.000. In…

Simply write your full name, address and contact number on a piece of paper and place it inside an envelope and send to: (Name of competition) Australian Hunter 81 PO Box 2520, Unley, SA 5061 …or enter online at ssaa.org.au/win Competitions close August 31, 2022. Check out ssaa.org.au/win for competition winners. Winchester Prize Pack 1x Decibullz Custom Molded Percussive Earplugs Black 1x Decibullz Zipper Carrying Case 1x Winchester Cap Black 1x Winchester Black Tee XL RRP $255.80 Kindly donated by Winchester Australia winchesteraustralia.com.au HIKMICRO Lynx LC06 Thermal Monocular RRP $599 Kindly donated by Hunstman Optics huntsmanoptics.com/au SSAA Apex Swag RRP $220 Kindly donated by SSAA onlineshop.ssaa.org.au…

In the annual hunting calendar, one of the most popular trips away is the deer rut. The fallow and red deer rut occurs at the same time every year and sees regional economies around rural Australia receive a welcome financial boost from an influx of travelling hunters. So as April was upon us, my mate Gus from Victoria arrived via plane in NSW. I picked him up at the airport and we were off for the four-hour drive to the deer property. We had planned a five-day hunt and allowed for travel days at each end of that time. We wanted to maximise our stay in the hills to try and land Gus a trophy red stag or fallow buck for his wall back home. My freezer was also low,…

I will admit that when it comes to load development and handloading rifle ammunition, I am a hopeless case who cannot help himself. Aside from personal requirements, it is of course necessary to illustrate and validate what you have written on the subject. The other issue is that every barrel is a law unto itself, which is where the questions start. Why does one particular barrel shoot better than another? As a great Benchrest rifleman once stressed, there is absolutely no way of knowing but to load up and shoot. After reloading and testing ammunition for more than 40 years, I have never read a set of rules to test ammunition of any sort, certainly not in the civilian context. So, how can you criticise another point of view when…

It’s been one hell of a ride over the past few years and Mother Nature has let us know we’re not in control. Flood, COVID, hailstorms, bushfires, record hot weather events, drought and more cyclones than normal. If you’re a fan of fiction, you’d be forgiven for thinking the apocalypse was near and keeping an eye out for the four horsemen. To alleviate the pain of it all and to help socially distance, myself, my wife Kath and our daughter Scout figured it was about time to drive out to a local rural property owned by an old Army mate to check the trail cameras we’d left there some three weeks before. Bordered on two sides by a nature reserve that stretches over 15,000 hectares, this place is a magnet…

Many an aspiring hunter is drawn to Africa’s alluring embrace with its unique landscape and impressive array of antelopes. There’s the diminutive and beautiful duiker to the majestic kudu, gemsbok and grand eland to name a few. And for the big game hunter, there is the tough and potentially dangerous Cape buffalo. However, as a result of the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, borders were closed and overseas travel was put on hold. For hunters who planned and paid their safari fees, cancellations have been a huge disappointment. We can also spare a thought for outfitters whose livelihood has been severely impacted from the loss of income, particularly in places like Tshipise, South Africa. This is a popular hunting destination, where they have been dealing with record floodwaters from the Limpopo River…

Sensible people would have stayed at home, as the weather forecast told of rain, strong winds and snow as low as 1000m. But desire overrode commonsense. There were compelling factors in our defence - my freezer was devoid of venison for the first time in years, Rod’s son was bursting with excitement to accompany him on a deer hunt, and we had already postponed twice due to bad conditions. Friday night, under dark skies and gentle drizzle, we loaded our sleeping gear into the small hut where at least it would stay dry. We had realistic expectations of what the next two days may bring and were just happy to be away for the weekend. The rain tapered off in the early hours of the morning, and we slipped out…

Like so many of us, the pandemic has seen me spending more time at home than normal. It was during one of the lockdowns that my wife mentioned she would like to order a hat/coat rack, with an unpronounceable name, from a certain Scandinavian furniture chain. I was eager for something to keep me occupied, if even for a short while, and immediately had an idea that would not involve any Allen keys. I am fortunate to have occasional opportunities to shoot fallow deer on private property to protect crops and pasture. As is often the case, this is usually done under spotlight. While I understand the farmers who see these animals as nothing but pests, I have an appreciation of them as both food and game animals. So even…

Preparing and cooking various game meats has been a passion that spans back many years. New hunting opportunities sometimes give rise to chances of taking different species, which can lead to fresh cooking options and subsequent great game meals. A couple of years back while doing a bit of gold prospecting on some new country it was interesting to note the considerable number of wild goats wandering about the property. Talking to the landowner, he mentioned that from time to time he would muster the goats and truck them off to the markets as a secondary form of income. This was a welcome outcome particularly during the drought years. For this reason, he understandably did not want anyone hunting them, but on subsequent visits he did allow me to take…

It was the wet season in the Top End and torrential, much-needed rain was making pig chasing difficult, but not impossible. Already a number of our regular spots were under water or access was too risky due to the amount of surface water, washouts, flooding and swift-moving creek crossings. With all that said, after three days without a hunt (or a game of golf) cooped up at home, ‘cabin fever’ was getting the better of me. So, like the United States Postal Service motto ‘Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night’ would keep my good mate Neil and I from a hunt. The sky was dark and gloomy but we were determined to give it a go. The bad news was (just what we needed) heavy rain…

Landowners seem to like the concept of bowhunting as much as hunters, thanks to the limited range of arrows plus lack of noise when game is taken. Great, it is a win/win all round. Moreover, with a bow in lieu of a rifle there is an enjoyable sensation of achievement when hunting and stalking leads to a clean kill. The question is, of course, what is involved with all this? Let us take it a step at a time to find out, as I did over two decades. The legalities Positives certainly abound with bow-hunting but first, let’s consider some legalities. Bowhunting animals – note: ferals and game only, nothing else – is legal in every state except Tasmania, so long as the usual landowner permission to enter and hunt…

I doubt if there’s a single hunter who hasn’t been entertained by someone who had an uncle or grandfather who was simply the best shot in history and apparently had no trouble shooting running deer or antelopes in the head at 300m with an open-sighted .303 and military ammunition. Unfortunately, I’ve had to endure my fair share of such tiring and meaningless conversations over the years. I’ve enjoyed numerous hunts in regions such as the Kalahari and Karoo where long-range shooting is the norm rather than the exception. In many instances, I’ve shot animals at longer range than I care to remember, and even though I’m by no means an exceptional shot, I’ve always concluded these hunts successfully. Along the way, I’ve also done a bit of thinking on this…

I had noticed that my tumbled cases were not as clean as I would like. Longer periods of cleaning in my Lyman case tumbler did not seem to improve on that. Also, fouling on the case necks and shoulder was not coming off at all. My tumbling media was dusty. I thought about that for a moment and realised that I had not recharged the tumbling media in a long time and had been putting a lot of cases through it in recent years. I spent some time on the internet looking for the best options to improve my tumble cleaning. I found many references to using ground walnut shell along with a dash of the car polish ‘Nu Finish’. In the USA a lot of shooters turn to a…

Like many hunters, I had in the past been guilty of discarding deer necks. However, thanks to the influence of Steven Rinella – his cookbooks and the excellent ‘MeatEater’ television show – that all changed a couple of years ago and I will never again allow a neck to go to waste. Nor will I go to the effort of boning the neck meat for mince or sausages. I am now totally converted to the ease and delicious results of slowly braising whole venison necks. The meat once pulled from the bone can be used in countless dishes. The best results are achieved by braising slowly in the oven using a large French enamelled cast iron casserole dish. But it is a lengthy process that can take more than six…

The real problem associated with hunting feral pigs is that you never quite know just what you might be confronted with around the other side of the next bush. Of course, it’s a bit different on the plains where visibility is much better. The other difficulty is that a rifle ideal for a set shot over a known distance becomes totally inappropriate when the animal is fleeing. Just which are suitable or unsuitable depends a great deal on the circumstances, what is available and, in this day and age, cost. There is also the small matter of the ability of the person pulling the trigger. A further catch with feral animals is when you might actually come across them. Consider the case of a professional kangaroo shooter chasing his quarry…

It’s early in the morning, very early actually, there’s the bare hint of sunrise in the eastern sky but full light is still a good hour away. The weight of the daypack sits with a comfortable familiarity on your shoulders. You checked the contents the night before so you know everything is where it should be. The weight of the rifle too has that familiar feel about it as you open the bolt and press the four shiny brass cartridges down with the soft click of metal on metal. As you close the bolt on an empty chamber, there’s a barely perceptible aroma of gun oil. If you hunt with a mate, there’s little need for conversation. You both know what’s happening on this day because you discussed it over…