Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2018 i Sporting Shooter

THE photo shows my old Leupold M8 fixed 4-power riflescope with the repair statement sent to me recently for work on it. Stroebel's book "Old Rifle Scopes" lists the M-8 4X as being produced from 1965 to 1979; that would put mine at at least 39 years old – and it is a crystal clear scope with great long forgiving eye relief and long mounting area – just a nice, timeless design. I had mounted it on my Brno Model 2 for small game getting and shooting our local service rimfire matches. Having 150 yard parallax setting from the Beaverton factory, I eventually opted to change it out for a Leupold VXII 3-9x33 EFR with adjustable parallax. Shooting at closer ranges, parallax becomes very important, as I was informed by…

SURE, recoil from a firearm can be measured using a mathematical formula, but there are too many variables involved to allow "felt recoil" to be determined scientifically. The physical effect of recoil transmitted to the shooter's shoulder is influenced by not only by the rifle's weight, but by the varying characteristics of the stock. And no l ess important is the tolerance level of the individual shooter. A shooter who has worked with firearms most of his life, and gains experience with powerful heavy calibre rifles generally develops a higher level of recoil tolerance than the casual shooter with a small calibre rifle. Another factor: the conditions under which a firearm is used has a tremendous influence on how well a shooter handles recoil. I know a number of duck…

WE were packed, the landholder was excited, the forecast was perfect and the stags were roaring. Cyclone Debbie had just ripped through the coast and with it brought 4inches of water to the property. The grass was long, green and quiet under foot. It was dad and my 10th year travelling north to hunt the majestic QLD red stags. I had high hopes for this trip, as dad was after that big double-six. If there was a year to bag the big guy it was this one. The weather was pleasant, sitting at 25.5 degrees and dropping as evening approached. Then a loud, dominant and aggressive roar boomed out. So we stalked in around 100 metres until I spotted movement between the trees. We were above the deer perched high…

THIS new German PCP is state-of-the-art, runs on compressed air from a built-in rechargeable cylinder and has a 10-shot cylindrical magazine which offers plenty of firepower for pests. The Germans excel at making match air rifles that shoot all their pellets into one hole, representing the finest in engineering skills. We've been seeing the results of intensive development for over six decades now and the latest model to reach me for review is the Weihrauch HW 110, a highly sophisticated PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) air rifle that represents the finest of its type. This impressive air rifle is actually the latest rendition of the early basic PCP pneumatic or pump-up mechanism which appeared as early as 1600 and held a charge of compressed air in a reservoir. Essentially, this the same…

ARB – JACK ARB recently launched a new hydraulic long-travel jack that offers the latest in engineered hydraulic technology. This new recovery device not only looks sturdy, but also offers safety benefits and a different functionality to the common mechanical jack. Firstly, it offers a sturdy pivot base that can be rotated through 360 degrees for optimal placement of unstable ground and its forged aluminium hook can be quickly and easily locked into one of nine hooking points on the outer body of the jack. The way JACK works is simple, once a connection is made between the hook and a lifting point on the vehicle, by simply pumping the jack handle you can raise the vehicle. Although I’ve not had the opportunity to try the new ARB-JACK, I’m told…

“The last shot landing exactly alonside the first in the bullseye.” ZEISS Victory Superzoom V8 line of riflescopes, boasts eight-times zoom, an illuminated reticle and a new ASV ballistic compensation system. It was a game changer. The V8 together with the higher-priced, top-of-the-line Victory Diarange (with integral rangefinder) are state-of-the-art and priced accordingly. Lately, the Conquest line is more affordable for the average hunters. Never resting on their laurels, Zeiss has introduced the Conquest V6 3-18x50 and 5-30x50 - with six-times zoom, and optional new ballistic turrets and reticles, ZMOA and ZBR, for long range hunting and shooting. There is also a 1-6x24mm V6 with high-tech features such as an intelligent motion sensing illuminated reticle and huge eye box for faster target acquisition for dangerous game hunters. The V6 was…

WITH this year's low bag limit I tried to go out to the hunting reserve as often as I could and I enjoyed a full bag of geese on every occasion. Once I brought my mate Karl, who is… a vegan. He obviously wasn’t shooting but he tagged along after I insisted to show him how I get meat for my family. At the reserve we found a good spot behind scrub ready to ambush the birds as they appear from behind the tree line. I knew that the geese wouldn’t fly back until a few minutes before sunset, at that time a flock came in, then another until there were thousands of magpie geese flying back into the swamp from the surrounding farms, my mate Karl said: “They are…

“The LLS have been trying to bully small farmers.” ROBERT WAS MINCING venison from a plump young buck shot the day before when it happened. He was working one of those Chinese bandsaw-mincer combos, thinking the saw was turned off. It wasn’t. “Next thing I know my right hand hit the blade going full pelt. It grabbed me and sawed in two centimetres just in front of the wrist,” he told me later. Rushed to hospital then to the RPA in Sydney for micro-surgery, he was “lucky.” No infection. No major bone damage. Only severed tendons and nerves. Only? His thoughts: “It just shows how an assumption and a mini-second lack in concentration can cause serious problems. But it could have been a lot worse.” Indeed. I’d actually rung him…

Letters containing questions for answering by Nick Harvey must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. Mail your letters to: The Technical Editor, 3 Reef Street, Hill End, NSW 2850. “But .22 calibre projectiles are not designed for hunting big game.” Q I keep reading time and time again that the hot .22 centrefires are not adequate for big game hunting. Well, I beg to differ. I’ve used a .220 Swift to shoot everything - goats, pigs and fallow deer. I’ve also tried a number of other calibres, but none of them did the job any better than the .220 Swift. Speer makes a 70gn bullet specifically for this purpose and Nosler makes a 60gn Partition. I have shot a lot of game with these two bullets with excellent results.…

“The move we experience, the better we feel, and the more we know.” HARDLY a day goes by where there isn’t some horrible event being reported, be it overseas or in Australia. Sometimes it’s necessary to take a step back and remind ourselves that the world is still a beautiful place, despite the fact that it seems a bit crazy at the moment. The more we get outside and experience the beauty that mother nature has to offer, the better our lives will be. Some people pride themselves on being worldly; they base their identity on the knowledge they have gained through travelling the world, and what they have experienced as a result. I feel that hunters are similar. We identify as hunters, through our development of knowledge from experiences…

RECREATIONAL and professional hunters play a major role in the control of fox and wild dog populations and this is being recognised. The program, introduced in 2011, rewards eligible Victorian hunters with a $10 bounty for each fox killed, and $120 for each wild dog killed. A DEPI spokesman said, “Effective management requires an integrated approach utilising all available management practices including poison baiting, trapping, exclusion fencing, fumigation and appropriate animal husbandry.” The spokesperson said the scheme played an essential role in engaging Victorian hunters in pest control. See can read more when you search for "fox and wild dog" under the NEWS tab when you log on to sportingshooter.com.au…

“Often highly fanciful names are added, such as 7mm Shooting Times Westerner.” THERE must be almost a thousand different brands, weights and styles of jacketed bullets available today for reloading and selecting the perfect bullet for each load is the most crucial factor in obtaining the finest accuracy. Measuring the groove diameter of a .308 bullet, you'll find that it measures .308". And you'll find a .308 barrel measures .308" too. Obviously, you'd expect to get the best accuracy if the bullet-to-barrel fit is perfect - or nearly so. While we accept that a bullet may be equal in length, core weight, jacket weight and bearing length, the diameter may differ slightly. At one time variations in the diameter of European bullets in popular calibres could vary by up to…