Innehållsförteckning för February 2024 från Sporting Shooter

THE Model 307 may be nothing like what you’d expect from Weatherby but the Range XP version demonstrates unequivocally that this most traditional of US gunmakers can step outside its box to take on a new concept and get it right first time. True, the 307 is built on the Remington 700 platform and is therefore not a new concept as such, but it’s all new to a company that has been building the faithful Mark V for 66 years, the simpler Vanguard for 53 years, some shotguns and not much else. Except for the bolt-action design, this is a massive departure for Weatherby, precipitated by its move in 2018 to Sheridan, Wyoming (area code 307 if you’re wondering) and the enlistment of new blood. CEO Adam Weatherby, grandson of founder…

FLINCHING is a problem that causes big-game guides to take to the drink — not because they are susceptible to it themselves but because their hunting clients are often badly afflicted. It’s damned annoying making a long, tough stalk to get within range of a trophy animal, then see a paying guest throw a flinch and yank on the trigger of his rifle when he fires. Usually the game departs, unscathed, for parts unknown and the guide resigns himself to the fact that he must start looking for another target, knowing that he is likely to have a repeat performance staring him in the face. From the hunter’s viewpoint, flinching is an expensive malady, for often that trophy representing thousands of dollars worth of transportation, guide fees and licence money is…

WE bounced across a sea of gibber stones before stopping our motorbikes 50m shy of a lone rocky outcrop. The summit was the highest point in the area and gave us an excellent view of the surrounding countryside. As anyone who’s hunted goats knows, it certainly helps when you’re looking from a good vantage point and this particular location gave us a nice 360-degree view to the horizon. We had to spend time looking into the vastness because searching for goats in the lonely back blocks of far western Queensland can be a frustrating and time-consuming process that doesn’t always produce results. Both of us glassed into the distance. When hunting goats in this type of terrain, I always look for something white, simply because in most instances that’s the…

“Every part of the gun is well finished and quality appears to be good throughout” THE repeating shotgun market is now extremely competitive in Australia and one of the key tricks to succeeding in it is to give customers a repeater system that works more efficiently than any other. This is exactly what the new Emak Savunma Over Lord 12-gauge claims to do — and it certainly makes a good claim. It is an inertia-operated bolt-action gun with a push-button release — not the first of its kind but in this case the release button is set in the right side of the receiver, just above the trigger, where your trigger finger can reach it. It’s a very logical bit of design that requires an absolute minimum of disturbance to…

MAKE sure you have your shoes on and a torch,” our host Stuart said the evening we arrived. “There are some decent size snakes getting around.” Sage words. I am not especially concerned about the odd Joe Blake but when warned about big browns I take notice. So I jumped with a start when a six-foot olive python slithered past during breakfast the next morning! Sure, this one was harmless, but tell that to the piglet in its belly. Stuart said it had also killed the baby goat the kids were rearing. Such is life in the NT outback. After the nice cooked breakfast we met our guide Fergus, geared up and jumped in the buggy. As I closed the first gate of the trip I looked around in the…

ARB offers an excellent range of LED driving lights and bars designed to enhance visible range and clarity. The Bushranger Night Hawk LED range is available in four model variants including a light bar. The Intensity range of driving lights includes the V2 series, the Solis series and an Intensity 2 light bar. All offer a host of features including a dimming function on the Solis models. The latest Intensity IQ driving lights bring ground-breaking additions to the Intensity range. Intensity IQ lights offer a revolutionary new shape with four separate sections to the light, incorporating midrange, flood, spot and super spot reflectors so you choose and combine different beam patterns to suit the area you are driving in. This unique optical design allows a virtually unlimited choice of light…

EMBARKING on another daring expedition to hunt the formidable ‘black death’ Cape buffalo amidst the thorny wilderness of Africa is an exhilarating and demanding endeavour. It has enraptured the spirits of countless adventurous hunters, including me. After my first encounter with these magnificent creatures during a hunt in South Africa’s Limpopo I became addicted to their strength, resilience and dangerous nature. This time I was hunting Eastern Cape thorn bush buffalo, notorious for their aggressive behaviour and ability to inflict harm on hunters. The dense thorn bush on the Eastern Cape and the Karoo adds an extra layer of difficulty, requiring both the Professional Hunter (PH) and hunter to navigate challenging terrain while remaining undetected. It is a test of physical and mental abilities. This safari was planned during a…

PARKER-HALE is an old name in gun-cleaning gear but rather than rely on reputation I got a Parker-Hale rod, attachments and fluids, as well as a dirty 12-gauge shotgun, and focussed on its effectiveness and usefulness over a period of many months. The details are covered below but the overall impression after nearly a year is of good-quality stuff that works very well and hardware that should last well, too. The “Made in England” stamp is visible on many of the accessories. Pricing is on the money. You can find current prices on the website of Australian distributor Pro-Tactical: protactical.com.au. Parker-Hale implements Parker-Hale makes a range of different cleaning rods for rifles and shotguns. The one here is the one-piece hardwood shotgun rod; you can also get two- or three-piece wooden…

“On our first camping trip in quite a while,” Melanie Napier says, “we came across this boar on our morning round of the dams. It was taken with my Tikka .30-06. After Colin had to remind me that it was Father’s Day, I thought it best to let him get a photo with the hog.” Very magnanimous of you, Melanie! We’ll leave it to you to figure out which of you wins the Weatherby. “I’ve been reading Sporting Shooter for many, many years,” Jim Mason tells us. “I shot a rabbit behind the house this arvo and thought why not? Old gun, old Fiocchi ammo and the shooter has got a few miles on the clock, too. Little bugger was digging around the house tank, now headed for the frypan!”…

After almost nine months since my double knee replacement I was eager to test them in the High Country. I’d done several hunts in less demanding terrain but the real test would be a return trip to the mountains after sambar. I usually hunt them during the cooler months, particularly once the first snow has fallen — partly because there are fewer snakes to bother me and also because the snow tends to bring the deer down into the lower slopes where I hunt. “We headed out before sunrise to reach the higher slopes before first light” That said, it didn’t make the hunting any less demanding! I wasn’t ready for the High Country this past winter. My return happened in late October, when the snow was gone from the…

INTRODUCED in 1956, the 6.5 Remington Magnum was created to give the ballistics of a .270 Win in Remington’s little Model 600 carbine. It is essentially a necked-down version of the earlier .350 Rem Mag, a much-shortened belted rimless magnum based on the old Holland & Holland case. Whether it really deserves the title of ‘magnum’ is open to question, since case capacity is not much larger than that of the 6.5-06. An increased demand for short rifles or carbines began with the advent of short cartridge cases like the .308 Win, the .284 Win, the various 6mm rounds and even shorter cartridges which gave the designers a reason to bring out short actions. The use of short actions with carbine-length barrels of 20” or less gave the foot hunter a…