Innehållsförteckning för August 2024 från Sporting Shooter

IT is hard to fathom how undemocratically the Western Australian Government, under Premier Cook and Police Minister Papalia, has acted, and equally hard to understand why. From cooking up outrageous new gun laws in secret with the henchmen of the upper echelons of the WA police, to refusing to legitimately consult about them, and then ramming the laws through parliament without debate because it was suddenly an emergency, the WA Government trampled on everything good and meaningful in our democracy. WA’s example stands in stark contrast to the way common sense prevailed in the NT in June, where laws banning the sale of ammo to interstate licence-holders were temporarily set aside by a Commissioner’s exemption until a promised revision of the Act to fix the problem. That little victory for…

THE heart of Sauer’s new 505 is the action, a striking construction milled from a 6.5kg block of steel to become a skeletonised sculpture weighing 732g with uniquely sweeping curves, massive strength and the smoothest bolt travel you’ll probably ever feel. It is the central focus of what Sauer claims is the best looking bolt-action rifle in the world, and while I refuse to be drawn into that discussion, I thoroughly agree with the company’s statement that this rifle is silky smooth, super quiet and extremely fast. It’s all in the design and execution of the receiver and the bolt. The switch-barrel 505 is not completely new, but is an effort to take key features from the 202 and 404 models, add a few new concepts, and create Sauer’s best yet.…

H&N’S hollow-point slugs take air-rifle hunting to a whole new level of lethality, not just for their design but for the accuracy you can achieve with them and the harm they do over longer ranges. Experienced air gunners will know what I’m talking about but if this concept is new to you, start by forgetting everything you remember about your cheap old break-action. There is a huge range of slugs in the H&N line-up, taking up where the lighter pellets leave off. From as light as 10 grains in .177, they step up to a whopping 54gn in .30 calibre. I tested .22-cal slugs in 21gn, 23gn, 25gn and 30gn. Each batch of slugs weighed within .1gn of each other, based on a sample of 10 of each. H&N manufacturing…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY Powered By WINNER YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A WEATHERBY RIFLE & ZEROTECH SCOP PACKAGE IN EVERY ISSUE IN 2024 *THE WEATHERBY VANGUARD WILL BE CHAMBERED IN .223 WITH BLUED METALWORK AND SYNTHETIC STOCK With the basis of a cold hammer-forged 24-inch barrel, 3-position safety and adjustable Match-Quality Two-stage Trigger, the Weatherby Vanguard S2 Blued Synthetic guarantees sub-MoA accuracy and user safety. The Griptonite® stock and Weatherby recoil pad makes for comfortable shooting and the hinged floorplate allows instant unloading. To be eligible you need to include a box of any Fiocchi ammunition in the submitted photo. ENTRIES: please send your high resolution. jpg or. png image as an attachment to your email addressed to mickmatheson@yaffa.com.au – all images must be at least 1MB in size.…

SIG Sauer Buckmasters rifle scopes The new Buckmasters range of hunting optics features rifle scopes, rangefinders and binoculars that aim to provide the performance SIG Sauer Electro-Optics at a value that is within reach for every hunter. The Buckmasters rangefinder and rifle scopes were inspired by Jackie Bushman. They feature a custom Buckmasters Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC) reticle that has holdover dots out to 500 yards (about 450m). The rangefinder will provide lightning-fast ranging performance in a vivid red-illuminated display optimised for low-light hunting. As an extra value, the rangefinder can be used in Buckmasters Mode which includes eight onboard ballistic groups, so the rangefinder can indicate which of the reticle’s BDC holdover dots to use, based on the ammunition you’ve chosen. Buckmasters rifle scopes are available in 3-9x40mm,…

COMPETITION BROUGHT TO YOU BY WINNER WIN a GARMIN eTrex 22x EVERY MONTH! ENTRIES: Please email your high resolution. jpg or. png pig hunting image as an attachment to the email addressed to mickmatheson@yaffa.com.au – all images must be at least 1MB in size. For entry to be valid the following contact details must be included: First name, surname, full mail address, contact phone number and email address. A short explanatory sentence with the email is also needed. Garmin’s outdoor range features unparalleled innovation in hiking, camping and hunting tech in handheld or wearable configurations. Options span from navigation, communication, safety and tracking devices. Garmin also produces a range of bow sights with built-in rangefinder enabling better shot placement. A Garmin eTrex 22x GPS Navigator will be sent to the best entry…

LETTER OF THE MONTH Loading down .338 Win Mag Q I am interested in purchasing a .338 Win Mag rifle. Can you tell me if this cartridge can be loaded down for use on smaller species of deer and up to, say, red stag. Of course, I’d use full-power loads for sambar. I think the .338 is a great gun that can be used on everything from buffaloes down. Later, I intend using the .338 on a hunt in Alaska. I don’t want to buy a different rifle for each size game I hunt and am content to be a one-gun man. Sam Harrison A Certainly you may load the .338 Win Mag down for use on small deer. This is a better course of action than buying a light-calibre…

THE SXR2 is Winchester’s dive into the realm of the pump-action hunting rifle. We haven’t seen anything quite like this from Winchester before, and it’s designed to put serious firepower down range as quickly and accurately as possible. Similar to the semi-automatic SXR2 available in the USA, the pump-action is a modified version for European and Australian markets where self-loaders are heavily restricted. Winchester hasn’t produced a pump-action rifle since the Model 62 rimfire in the 1950s. By today’s standards, it was a very traditional looking rifle, a far cry from the futuristic-looking SXR2’s modern design and large-calibre capability. “The barrel was very consistent with different types of ammunition” The fact that factory chamberings start at .308 gives you an idea that the SXR2 means business. The action is based…

HUNTING with bows and rifles constantly has me making comparisons between the two. The more I bow-hunt, the more I realise just how good we have it with our high-powered rifles. For the most part, as long as we can shoot accurately enough inside the distances we wish to pursue game, everything else should come easily. Of course, it would also go without saying that we are shooting a cartridge and projectile that is suitable for the game we are chasing. With archery, the fundamentals are similar, but the room for error is much smaller, so finding a good middle ground usually requires a bit more thought. The main reason I own a .300 Win Mag is because I like the idea of a bit more power over milder .30-calibre cartridges…

MY 12-year-old son and I set out on a beautiful autumn morning for an adventure in the Australian bush. We were both avid hunters and this was our first hunt at a new location that was full of creeks, rock outcrops and steep terrain, making it the perfect hunting ground. As we made our way through the dense vegetation, we heard a large red stag calling out. Excitement filled our hearts as we scanned the hills, knowing that we were getting closer to our quarry. The stag’s call echoed through the valleys and each time I called, he responded. Using the high terrain to our advantage, we caught sight of the stag and his eight hinds in the distance. We quickly moved into a position that would give us a…

I’VE owned two rifles chambered in the little .17 Hornet: a fairly beefy Savage Model 25 Laminated Walking Varminter and a more petite CZ 527 American. I can offer a limited personal perspective on the cartridge, as I have only dragged them out of the gun safe every few years on average to see if my perceptions of the cartridge have changed. Then they’ve been returned to the back of the safe until boredom, or a project like this column, renews my interest. I must shamelessly lean on the work of others to give some background, first from Nick Harvey, who borrowed my .17 Hornet Savage Model 25 to review, getting a quantum jump on the opposition in Australian gun journalism. “The .17 Hornet is arguably the best balanced of all…

INTERNATIONAL trophy hunting inspired me and became an obsession. I now pencil in every second year to make a trip somewhere around the globe. I imagine every deer hunter would have immense respect for moose, with their sheer size. The antler growth they can build on their heads is out of this world, especially for an Australian hunter. In my late teens I watched a lot of Billy Molls’ DVDs. Billy is a very famous guide in the USA, and this made the drive to get there even more aggressive for me. The money was my only issue. A long story short, after losing a best mate to MND I needed something to focus on and get me moving so I went out on a limb and booked that hunt with…

THESE Zamberlan Storm GTX CF hunting boots have clocked up over 200km of hiking now, all of it in rough country away from flat footpaths, and they are maintaining their condition and comfort. The Storms are fairly high-end boots, hand-made in Italy and retailing for just over $500 a pair, and they show every sign of living up to Zamberlan’s claims over the long term. I’ve walked trails and virgin bush in these boots in all but the most extreme conditions, and a lot of the hunting has been in steep, gravelly, rocky or muddy terrain with a few creek crossings thrown in. The Storms have come up trumps — certainly one of the best pairs of boots I’ve ever had. Their comfortable flexibility stands out, particularly in the Vibram Star…

THERE are many serious challenges facing shooters in Australia at the moment, from WA essentially deciding democracy is optional to Queensland wanting to give the police the ability to demand your holiday photos of a trip to Battlefield Vegas be taken offline. We’ve also — for the first time ever — experienced Facebook flagging our posts on issues as “containing misinformation”, based on an AAP Fact Check about our concerns over the Queensland Community Safety Bill. AAP Fact Check not only missed the point we were making, it failed to take into account our concerns had been confirmed as possibilities by Queensland Police themselves. Fact Check never bothered to contact us to ask us about how we’d interpreted the legislation. There was never an opportunity for us to respond and set…

YOU used to be able to start a campfire argument about whether the .257 Roberts or the .25-06 Remington was best, but today too few hunters know enough about the two rounds to make it an interesting debate. Things would have been totally different back in the days before World War II, when these .25s saw widespread use here and in North America. It is a wonder they are still around when you see how many competing cartridges have been introduced in recent years. They have a lot in common. They were developed in about 1920, specifically for use on varmints, and both were handicapped by being underloaded due to the lack of suitable propellants. Today’s powders and bullets, though, give them an entirely new level of performance. .257 Roberts The…

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