Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i Sporting Shooter

A FEW WORDS FROM THE EDITOR TO all you keen hunters who would like to share their most cherished hunting experience, we have put together a great new page named Hunter's Diary. This initiative has been backed most generously by Extravision Australia with fantastic Vortex Optics prizes for those who are published. Thankyou Extravision. YOU don't have to write a novel, just 400 to 500 words maximum will do and you must include just one high quality digital photograph that will illustrate your story in the pages of Sporting Shooter. Take note, you cannot use Facebook to submit this entry; you must email your entry to marcusodean@yaffa.com.au with the article attached as a Microsoft Word document and the photo attached as a jpeg image of at least 1 megapixel/300 dpi…

Loads For The K-Hornet Q After reading your reply to a reader about the K-Hornet and loads using Lil Gun powder, I recently acquired a Brno Fox and would like loads for the 30gn Sierra TNT, 35gn Hornady V-Max, 40gn Speer spire point,and 45gn Speer softpoint. I have two cans of Lil Gun which seems to be the powder for the Hornet. Who could rechamber my Brno Fox for the K-Hornet and supply dies within a few hundred kilometres. – David Rogan AWith two cans of Lil Gun you have the right propellant for the K- Hornet. Loads for Lil Gun in the K-Hornet as follows: 30gn Sierra TNT and 15gn ; 35gn V-Max and 14.5gn; Speer 40gn SP 14gn; 45gn Super SP 13.5gn; and 50gn V-Max and 13gn.If your…

DESPITE the distance at still over 300 metres, I was prepared to send a pill his way, probably due to us not seeing any Kudu and maybe not any more either. Before I could take up the trigger pressure, the bull stopped behind a bush with only his head and horns poking up over it. “Don’t move,” Boet hissed at me, him standing there with bino’s glued to his head and myself still lining the bull up over the sticks. The bull meanwhile, just standing there, head in our direction, eyeing us over. Our stance wasn’t a comfortable one, muscles started aching from the lack of movement while being stuck in awkward positions, but we had no choice. Move and the bull would be gone. Boets watch beeped to indicate…

AN ASSORTMENT OF HUNTING FACTS & FIGURES WE are also aware that a heavier gun will reduce felt recoil or kick, but is more tiring to carry all day. A lighter gun will recoil more,but is easier to carry. Muzzle energy will also affect recoil, however, most hunters will pick the cartridge best suited for the size of the game hunted and a light rifle, preferring to tolerate a few harder kicks rather than to be worn out through carrying a heavy rifle. Without lingering too long on the technical aspects let's look at the practicalities and ponder how we can lick flinch- making kick. As a hunter/rifleman and experimenter I have always taken an interest in finding out why some guns are hard "kickers" and others of the same…

“As the dog rushed the sheep and they scattered, it offered a brief yet clear shot and I took it.” POKING through the paddock in my old Hilux trying to fill roo tags for one of my farmers, fresh lambs were dropping all over. I was of course, also going to try and nail any foxes, like I usually do, but at this time of year with all the lambs, it is even more important to shoot as many as you can. Swinging the light, my brother and I spotted something a bit different way out in the extremity of the spotlight beam Peering through the scope of my Howa .223 on 9x, it was a black dog heading our way. The ewes and lambs were between us and I…

TECHNICAL TIPS & INFO THE .303 British cartridge still sees considerable use in Australia, Canada, Africa, India, and New Zealand. In various Lee Enfield models, this old-timer has been around for 129 years, and shows no sign of becoming obsolete. It has seen use all over the world by everyone from roo shooters to ivory hunters, not to suggest it is ideal for pachyderms. The .303 British (from the nominal bore diameter of its barrel), was one of the most successful military cartridges in history. Adopted in 1888 it was the official British Commonwealth cartridge during the Boer War and two World Wars, only being replaced by the 7.62 NATO cartridge in 1957. The original loading fired a 215gn round-nosed bullet propelled at 1850fps by a compressed charge of 70gn…

UPPER HUNTER’S ‘HANNIBAL LECTER’ OF DOGS HAS BEEN KILLED Wild dog predation of stock and native animals has reached serious levels in may parts of rural Australia and this localised story tells of its horrifying effect on one rural community. The Scone Advocate's Louise Nichols ran an interesting article about a notorious wild dog that has eluded capture for six years all while killing and maiming sheep. On day break on a property west of Scone, trapper Jonathan Randle was successful at long last in destroying the notorious dog. Once the news was passed onto landholder Norm Black of "Sofia Hill' he cried tears of joy. Mr Black’s life has been a constant torment since the wild dog moved onto his 2100 acre property way back in 2011. Since his…

VANGUARD is a name synonymous with high quality camera gear, tripods, heads, camera bags, mid-priced riflescopes and binoculars and packs and is highly regarded by serious photographers. My first exposure to the brand happened when C.R. Kennedy, Vanguard’s Australian agent, sent me a hunter’s tripod/bipod/monopod to test. It was an innovative, very high quality item and it excelled as a field rifle rest to be used from standing, kneeling or sitting, while being a great adaptable trekking pole(s) to support knees and backs of hunters who eat up the miles on foot. You can see a video test report when you hit the “GEAR” tab on www.sportingshooter.com.au. Next I tested the Pro-1 Rifle Bipod in the October 2016 issue and I found it again a innovative-design, lightweight and rugged rifle…

First Of The Short-Action Magnums THE .350 Remington Magnum was introduced by Remington arms company as a factory sporting cartridge in 1965, along with its smaller sibling the 6.5mm Remington Magnum. At the time, it was marketed as the most powerful short-action cartridge available, fitting in a standard .308 Winchester length action, and it is considered by many the first true “short magnum”. History The first rifle available in this chambering was Remington’s model 600 bolt-action carbine, which was very light at just 6.5 pounds and featured a ventilated rib atop the stubby 18.5” barrel, with a laminated stock in the magnum version. Fair to say, it wasn’t the prettiest of rifles, and because of its light weight and short barrel, the .350RM quickly got a reputation for vicious recoil…

NEWS, VIEWS AND INSIGHTS “Prowse’s head was the Australian record for decades.” WELL THERE I am in full colour on page 156 of Aaron’s treatise on the rusa deer posing with Tony Prowse’s Australian record head of 1978. Ironically, I’d just finished shoulder-mounting the head that day. The head I was beaten to by the Wagga lad. For several years in the 1970s, my mate Joe Hall and I were in a contest with other dedicated hunters, the second wave of pioneers rusa stalkers in southern NSW after Alford, Cook, Leslie and Payne. My artist wife, Alita – aka The Redhead - called the great stag “God’s deer” because it lived around a Christian compound fed treats by the brethren. We knew how good it was, having seen it many…

THE .257 Roberts is being offered only in the Ruger M77 Hawkeye model, which has an integral base receiver and the sporter-weight 550mm barrel sans sights. The rifle comes with a pair of Ruger's all-steel scope rings for mounting a hunting-type scope and my gun wears a light, compact Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 The Model 77 has another innovative design feature. The forward action screw enters the recoil lug at a 45-degree angle, pulling the action not only downward in the stock, but rearward as well. A special floorplate hinge is designed for the angled screw. The M 77 Hawkeye is a front-locking turnbolt design with twin-opposed front locking lugs, a Mauser-type claw extractor, standard ejector and controlled round feed. The three-position safety lever at the right side of the bolt…

Ruger American Rimfire Target Ruger’s outstanding American Rimfire series has now been extended with the addition of a new American Rimfire Target model. Punching above its weight in terms of value and accuracy, the new Target model takes the American Rimfire line to a whole new level. Features include a heavy diameter (0.860”), cold hammer forged free-floating target barrel which is also threaded. Topped with a one-piece picatinny rail, it also features Ruger’s Power Bedding integral bedding blocks, Ruger’s Marksman adjustable trigger and a smooth operating detachable rotating magazine. In addition, it sports a weather-stable black laminate stock featuring an Alexander Henry forend and a grippy rubber butt plate at the rear of the stock. Target models will be available in three different calibres including .22LR, .22WMR and 17HMR. At…

IMPORTED by Outdoor Sporting Agencies, Nitesite is an adaptable system that uses your existing mounted rifle scope and offers you the advantages of night vision. Shooters who have the need to hunt game at night, in an undisturbed way with or without the use of a spotlight should really check this product out. One quite unique feature of Nitesite is that the camera has a record function and all your video footage can be played back via a AV cable, Wifi or shared by the Nitesite app. If anyone wishes to see the unit in action (and I recommend it) simply look up Nitesite in YouTube and see it in action for yourself. Nitesite comes in three models. THE VIPER. This is the Nitesite's short range sight. Powered by a…

IT’S my opinion that Nikon Sporting Optics have been badly underrated and never promoted forcefully enough in Australia. This is why shooters don't understand how good they really are. That's sad because Nikons have first class optics and excellent mechanics. Every scope is impact tested and leak-proofed before being boxed and shipped. The 3-15x42 Monarch sent for testing mounted on a new Sauer 404 is a specialised instrument that can be relied upon to perform tasks that go beyond simply providing shooters with a specific aiming point zeroed to one distance. Nikon developed this scope with a 5-times zoom for optimal versatility and utility. It will serve the needs of foot hunters who want an all-round big-game sight. Set on 3x, it gives the kind of target acquisition speed necessary…