Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2016 i Sporting Shooter

IT was a Sunday that would be non-stop, the only day I can get to take the pooch for a long walk, cook my wife a nice breakfast after her dose of pneumonia, visit my Mum in the nursing home on the other side of Sydney, do a fair whack of housework, shop for the week and get in a swim in the marine reserve down the road. Number one was the dog walk and we were out of bread, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone, swinging by Iggy’s, a marvellous sourdough bakery that is not expensive, but all the trendy young families in the area queue outside to stock up there on Sunday morning. I was standing behind a young man with a papoose slung…

Mbalabala Safaris Mbalabala Safaris is based about an hour’s drive west of Bulawayo in southern Zimbabwe. The business is owned and operated by the legendary professional hunter Charlie Stanton and his wife pam: Charlie and Pam have hosted countless Australian hunters over a number of decades, and in that time have built a solid reputation in this country as a trustworthy, value-for-money operation that provide a top-shelf African hunting experience. Most of the guiding is now done by Charlie’s son, Lindon, who lives on site at Mbalabala and is rapidly developing a reputation of his own to match that of his father. Besides that, Lindon is also a damn nice bloke and great company on a hunt. The Stantons have at their disposal a number of hunting concessions including their…

ATA 686EL – Shotgun If you’re someone who appreciates shotguns with elegant old-world styling take a look at the new 686EL from ATA. The first thing you’ll notice is the side-plate receiver embellished with a classic rose and scroll engraving and finished in a tasteful satin silver tone. To compliment the metal work, the 686EL features well figured 2.5 grade Turkish walnut providing some character and depth of colour, which really lifts the look of the gun. Underneath the exterior lies ATA’s high technology back-bored barrels, lengthened forcing cones and extended length chokes delivering excellent shooting performance and a perfect pattern. The barrels also sport black chrome external and hard chrome interior finishes for low maintenance and longevity of use. In addition, the two most important contact points, the trigger…

MY partner Sam has lived in the country her whole life and her brother and cousin are both hunters, but she had never been out on a hunt. While she was keen to see what all the fuss was about, dressing in old clothes didn't really appeal, but mentioning that that the animals don't really care what we looked like reassured her somewhat. The first trip out after tagged kangaroos was a success, my Howa .223 accounting for a few: there was no trace of squeamishness on her part. Walking back to my truck in the dark through the bush was different. I knew where I was and where I was going, so didn't bother putting on the head torch. After some stony silence, I turned around and asked how…

COURT BATTLE TO SAVE SAMBAR FAWN In Victoria a court battle is looming over a sambar fawn rescued by teenager Andrew Foots. The fawn was subsequently seized by Government officers, who say the deer needs to be killed because it could pose a danger to public safety (image: Paul Boag). www.sportingshooter.com.au/ latest/vic-government-to-kill-rescued-fawn TOP 10 MOST POPULAR SUMMER STORIES 1. State by state guide to travelling with firearms 2. Environmentalists oppose bowfishing trial 3. Test report: the businesslike Tikka T3 hunter 4. Call for offsite storage of guns while on holiday 5. Reloading the .17 Hornet 6. Free printable targets 7. Is there a minimum area of land for shooting on? 8. Funny Kiwi Hilux ad featuring hunting and fishing: Video 9. 22 rimfire or 17 hmr 10. Nick Harvey reviews…

IT brought me an awareness of what a high velocity smallbore was capable of and to be more careful with my reloads. I bought my first .243, a BSA Featherweight from Bruce Hill, the founder of Hillver reloading equipment and scope mounts, who imported half a dozen rifles from England shortly after the .243 made its debut in 1955. In those days I was doing a lot of mountain hunting and although that Beezer was a joy to carry, it was a horror to shoot since it had an the integral muzzle brake, that blew my hat off and made my ears ring every time I fired it. My first outing with the BSA .243 had me shooting at a herd of goats across the wide Macquarie river. The 75gn…

JAPAN-BASED Howa has long been famous for its line of bolt- action rifles chambered for a wide range of cartridges and value- priced to meet the needs of the budget-conscious shooter. The push-feed design began life as a close copy of the Sako L61 Finnbear action complete with tapered dovetails. In 1967 it was introduced into the USA as the Dickson-Howa "Golden Bear." After Sako complained about patent infringements, the rifle was discontinued in 1970. But toward the end of that year, Howa reintroduced the same action with only minor changes as the Weatherby Vanguard, but they did leave off Sako's trademark dovetail bases. However, Sako still claimed that their patents were being infringed, so in 1973 Howa brought out a new redesigned action that did away with the L61's…

Waterbuck Waterbuck are a large antelope that occur in good numbers across much of southern and eastern Africa. It’s probably fair to say that they slip under the radar of many Australian hunters, even though they usually occur somewhere towards the top of plains game price lists. I hadn’t given them much thought myself until I booked my hunt. In my brief experience, they are not as wary to hunt as some other antelope species (kudu, for example) but they tick most of the other boxes. The males are a very handsome animal indeed, standing over 1.2m at the shoulder and with impressive horns that curve forward not back. They are big-bodied, with thick, shaggy grey-brown coats that feature a prominent white circle around the rump – much like a…

After a brief look at Browning’s new Hell’s Canyon Ultra-Lite pants I simply had to have a pair. While most of my hunting apparel seemed to do the job, I was yet to find a pair of camo trousers that didn’t hold grass seed and burr. Cotton blend and canvas don’t hold seed, however, they do tend to be a bit restrictive, hot in warm weather and hard to dry quickly if they get wet. Browning have recently redesigned their range of Hell’s Canyon outerwear and as the name implies, it’s tough and hard wearing. What’s more this gear is weather resistant and very quiet in the bush. While Browning also produce the “Wasatch” insulated jacket and RealTree pants, their Hell’s Canyon Ultra-Lite outerwear range which includes both jacket and…

WAAL, old buddy, I thought I'd seen just about everything when it comes to firearms, but the latest replica from Pedersoli really had me goggle-eyed. It's a modern stainless version of the Winchester Model 1886 with a next GI Vista camo stock. When they lay their critical eyes on this gun traditional Winchester aficionados are going to feel nauseous, and to add insult to injury, its fitted with TruGlo sights which replace the traditional Rocky Mountain sights. Hunters who like a .45-70 lever-action for pigs and deer, however, are gonna be jumping with joy. Lever-action rifles played a big part in the opening up of the American West and U.S manufacturers continued their manufacture until fairly recent times. Unfortunately, U.S Repeating Arms Co., maker of iconic Winchester rifles, closed down…

I JUST GAVE MYSELF a Christmas present - a week’s fishing on the Great Barrier Reef with my 37-year-old son, David. He doesn’t hunt any more, but he’s a mad keen fisherman. So Swaine’s Reefs, 200km off Gladstone it was. It wasn’t a case of hot weather, pack up the rifles and dust off the rods. I hunt and fish all year round – like almost every outdoor bloke up where I live. Dave and my grandson, Archie, 4, cast a line in the lake over the road occasionally, with my daughter Jane’s two sons. While summer is an uncomfortable time to hunt, and the deer season is long over, this was not a deciding factor. Dave and I had decided to take a major fishing trip every year. Just…

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. Q I’m going to visit a relative in Canada. He lives in the bush and has told me that I can hunt mule deer and black bear during the time I’m there. He will lend me his rifle, a Model 70 Winchester in .300 WSM and 180gn ammunition. Never having hunted mule deer I would like you to tell me what to look for and how to evaluate the antlers? – Peter Dixon Antler spread is the first thing to look for. Any buck with antlers that spread beyond his ears is a keeper. A typical mule deer head will have…

IN recent years, interest in the cartridges used by European hunters has grown apace, since European arms have become more widely distributed. Today, one will find European arms in the racks of any good-sized gun shop. Hundreds of them change hands every week through the medium of advertising to be found in gun magazines and on internet programs like "Used Guns." Surplus dealers have imported many thousands of obsolete military rifles into the country and most of them are chambered for European cartridges, like the 6.5x55mm Swede. This has raised considerable interest in these cartridges. Continental cartridge designation have puzzled several generations of hunter/riflemen. A string of numbers with a few initials and possibly a word or phrase of an unfamiliar language can be very confusing. However, the metric system…