Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Sporting Shooter

ROBERT Borsak MLC called me half an hour before this hit the keyboard to discuss the upshot of the Victorian Election with me. I was a bit doom and gloom, but Robert told me that Victoria was doing pretty well for hunters and shooters under what had been touted widely as a socialist-leaning Labor administration. The fact that Labor came back with a resounding win and kicked the LNP into the political wilderness. Luckily, the Greens ended up in that same wilderness, due mostly to poorly selected candidates. With all the hand wringing under a Labor Government the l'il ol' ADA has been racking up really meaningful wins for Victorian hunters, under the able stewardship of Barry Howlett, who is a really good bloke, by the bye. More (hunting) access…

I am so lucky I have a mate who lives in Zimbabwe. I visit him and his family once a yea rand I've just returned from a hunt were my target animal was pound for pound the toughest plains animal in Africa. So the story starts with Len (my mate), me and the two trackers checking out a water hole at 06.30 for sign. It to only five minutes and the trackers were on to it. To watch these blokes track is amazing; after a 4-hour walk all of a sudden both of them fell backwards and I thought "What the …. they've been hit by a sniper". Being a veteran, all sorts of thoughts went though my mind, but after they pointed out the wildebeest herd I relaxed we…

SAMBAR hunting is often a frustrating, emotionally exhausting and physically demanding past time. Although nowhere near as steep as other hunting climes, the Australian Alps hold their own unique challenges. These ancient mountains contain ants that can kill, spiders that can kill, snakes that can kill and God knows what else that can kill. (black panthers? - Ed) Sudden weather changes catch lackadaisical, semi prepared hunters out, as well as unreliable water sources that harbour Guardia and other charming bacteria… Getting into “back country” is a difficult proposition requiring planning, fitness and a close eye on the weather, particularly in the prime months of August and September. The prospect of heading into the Australian Alps and unsuccessfully hunting Sambar is the reality that most people are faced with, myself included.…

Pro Tactical Max Target We are all familiar with the instant feedback targets that make a splatter outline around bullet holes and now Pro Tactical has brought a line of them into Australia in 8-inch and 12-inch diameters. With peel-off self-adhesive backs you can easily attach them to a larger sheets or cardboard boxes. And when you have shot them up a bit, the included splatter patches prolong the life of your target for an extended session. Ten to a pack, these are a great way of easily identifying the hit which will save walking and efficiently get you on with zeroing and target practice. Ask for them at your local gun shop or for more information visit www.protactical.com.au Hoppe’s Black After more than 100 years of success, Hoppe’s are…

ALMOST half the price of European models and produced with 30mm main tubes with 1/4 MOA clicks, the OCTA 2-16x50 lends a high degree of flexibility to the optics. In 1956 Malcolm Fuller head honcho of Fuller Firearms saw the need for a scope of moderate price. Quality scopes were available to big game hunters – the imported Pecar and Kahles and American Lyman and Redfields for example – but their price was far greater than the average hunter could scrape together. With a typical Aussie attitude, Malcolm Fuller founded the Stirling Scope Company Ltd, in Tokyo, Japan and introduced the economically priced Nikko Stirling line of riflescopes to Aussie shooters. They've been around for a long time now and have gained a reputation for being good value for money.…

WHEN Winchester Australia sent me the Gerber Truss to review I did not know what to expect, so I was looking forward to a new experience. Sitting squarely in the mid-size rage for such tools, the Gerber Truss impresses with a solid attractive appearance straight from the box. At a hand-filling 105mm in length and solid 258 grams cased, it is tapered from 48mm wide at the accessories end to 34mm at the pliers end folded. The tools are all in a brushed stainless steel finish while the casing, also of stainless steel is of a battleship grey colour. Gerber Truss Listed Functions: • Spring-loaded needlenose/standard pliers• Wood Saw• Clip point drop-point blade• Half-serrated drop-point point blade• Phillips Head screwdriver• Wire Strippers• Wire Cutters• Bottle & Can Opener – Small…

Problem With Oversize Chambers Q My Winchester Model 70 in .338 Win. Mag. has a chamber problem with case neck-to-shoulder-splits that can’t be fixed. I’ve been wondering whether the affected area might be fixed by re-cutting with a .300 Win. Mag. reamer and then by necking the cases up to .338? Would this produce a viable cartridge (.300-.338 Mag) using 180-225gn bullets. Also, the 8x57mm fired cases I sent you which turned out to have near-maximum specs has now progressed to “smoking” on firing. Would rechambering to 8mm-06 be worthwhile, or would it compete with my .338 when using 160-180gn bullets? What do you think of my proposed “remedies.” – Roger Real A I think the solution you suggested to fix the problem with a faulty chamber in your .338 is…

SAUER has introduced a new "stainless/synthetic" rifle that's an entirely different design to the previous Sauer 101. The new Sauer Model 100 has a strong, smooth action, a case-head encircling bolt face which locks directly into the receiver and a unique new bedding system. The Model 100's neo-classical style ERGO MAX black polymer stock is slim and trim, with a straight comb, schnabel fore-end tip and ambidextrous palm swellings on the grip. At first glance, the stock bears some resemblance to that of the Model 101, but actually is quite different. The fore-end is slimmer and trimmer, and the front sling swivel stud is more conventionally placed than the 101's. The molded-in checkering pattern on fore-end and grip is not a diamond pattern, but affords just as firm a grasp.…

CONFIDENCE breeds competence. Acknowledging that confidence can sometimes lead to cockiness is also vital in being critical of yourself as a hunter and remaining grounded. Making mistakes on the way to becoming the best rifleman you can be may help you to realise that cockiness is a sure way to sabotage your performance. A morning hunt with my dad late in the 2018 deer season reminded me of this. We set out from the vehicle just as the sun pierced the wooded horizon. Having hunted the property a few times I knew the good areas. We pushed harder than we should have to try and make good time and, sure enough, bumped some deer in an awkward spot. They were onto us and I needed to act quickly. So—at only…

With the basis of a cold hammer-forged 24-inch barrel, 3-position safety and adjustable Match-Quality Twostage 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 marcusodean@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. PLEASE NOTE: this competition is not a game of chance. To achieve entry, photos…

I TOOK A quick look at two bands of deer up the road. Yes, one good rusa stag remains among the 20 hinds and calves. It seemed like a good pick-me-up before penning this column. “Penning” is the operative word; I’m writing with a ballpoint on paper. A quaint idea forced on my after 35 years of computer use. You see, my six-year-old computer and backup drive fried a week ago. And my techies can’t retrieve any data at all. They’ve tried everything. But I seem to have lost all my pictures from the last decade, half an autobiography, a few partly written articles, plus e-mails, my contact list, etc. Irretrievable. True, I have most if not all photos and words backed up on thumb-drives and discs, but it will…