Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2016 i Sporting Shooter

A FEW WORDS FROM THE EDITOR IT had been a while since I’d caught up with Nick Harvey and his wife Nancy together, but the opportunity arose when Ken Harding, a stalwart mate of Nick’s, rang me to ask if Tony and I would come up for his surprise birthday lunch in Mudgee a few weeks hence. “Just try and stop us!” was my earnest and immediate reply. It was to be Nick’s 85th birthday and we had to do something special. When I told Yaffa Media’s Managing Director Tracy Yaffa, who was about to take off overseas, she organised a special congratulatory card signed by herself and her retired father (a contemporary of Nick’s) to add to the surprise. When I first came to Yaffa, I was sternly advised…

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. LETTER OF THE MONTH The .22-250 Fills The Bill Q I’m in the market for a new varmint rifle and like the look of the Howa with blued metalwork and sporter walnut stock. But I am unsure about which calibre to get it in - .223 or .22-250. Most of my shooting is at rabbits and foxes in open country where ranges are often very long. Can you offer advice on which calibre to choose and give me a couple of good loads for it and any info that might be useful? – Len Lawson A The .22-250 is probably…

“It seemed to take us back to the old days when we were kids.” DEER season can be a hectic time of year for a lot of hunters, what with plenty of kilometres driven, time spent in the field scouting deer herds in the hope of maybe finding a big one and letting off one good accurate shot to down the game. Sometimes, you can go a very long time between trigger squeezes which, while adding suspense, by using that trigger finger more often I reckon that you have more fun. The seriousness of a hunt is forgotten and you can just get down to some good old shooting fun (like when I first starting shooting years ago) potting off animals as you come across them. In the process, you…

PETA ACTIVIST CONVERTED? This month’s most popular story saw renowned animal lover, devout vegetarian and PETA activist Jodie Marsh going head to head with English huntress and competitive shooter Rachel Carrie. In a shock conclusion, Jodie found herself having more respect for people that hunted their own food.http://www.sportingshootermag.com. au/latest/hunter-vs-anti-hunter-the-impossible-conversion THIS MONTH’S POPULAR STORIES AND VIDEOS Hunter Vs Anti-Hunter - The Impossible Conversion How To Zero A Rifle In Two Shots Victorian Green’s Take A Direct Shot At Hunters Pigs Coming in to Clean-up a Buffalo Carcass Animal Justice MP says feral cats deserve equal consideration to threatened native wildlife Another National Gun Amnesty to be Announced Crocodile Hunting – Who Pulls the Trigger a $25000 Question Helicopter Hog Culing Slow Motion Kill Shots - It’s a Wonderful World Award winning…

NEW For 2016 Razor HD LH (Light Hunter) riflescopes feature top-tier glass and clean lines in a sleek lightweight package which won't add too much weight and bulk to a light sporter. Unlike some of the current crop of long-range riflescopes which feature 30 and 35mm main tubes, the Razor HD LH is built on a one-piece, one-inch tube machined from aircraft-grade aluminium, which features a dull anodised finish hardened to resist scuffs and scratches. The rear mounting section of the main tube is 57mm, and the forward section is 56mm, allowing plenty of latitude to slide the scope forth and back in the rings to gain proper eye relief. Ring spacing is important. We want the rings to give the scope as much support as possible without fouling the…

ONE significant tip about traipsing around goat hills carrying pack and rifle is that you should not carry anything that you will not use, particularly if it's heavy or bulky - just ask my old knees and lungs, because on my last hilly hunt I really felt it. That experience has prompted me to get back into training past my comfort levels harder and much more often than I have been recently. So where is this going? Having soldiered, snow camped and walked mountains a fair bit through my life I very rarely add gear to my essentials packing list. Most likely if I haven't used an item in three trips, I ditch it. But when I saw the Vortex 2X Doubler in their catalogue I did the opposite. Goran…

MY first experience of Bergara firearms was when Herron Security & Sport began importing and distributing a line of Spanish-made break-action single-shot rifles that impressed me with their innate design simplicity and wonderful accuracy. In the U.S they were sold under the CVA (Connecticut Valley Arms Co,) name. In 1999 CVA was purchased by BPI Outdoors, owned by Spanish parent Dikar, a company that in recent years has become a serious competitor by taking aim at the U.S bolt-action hunting and tactical rifle field. The history of Bergara is an interesting one and stems from a move by BPI to find a cheaper, more reliable source of barrels for their CVA subsidiary. With typical Yankee enterprise they approached Dikar who had a manufacturing plant in Spain to expand their operation…

AN ASSORTMENT OF HUNTING FACTS & FIGURES THE title is an old adage that I remember reading in an American magazine. If you are a stillhunter, you go pussyfooting through the bush, stopping often to look all around for game. This is when you are most likely to jump a deer out of its bed and have no alternative to taking a quick offhand shot, more often than not at a moving animal. To score a high percentage of clean kills calls for instant eye/hand coordination, and perfect trigger control. My old pal Elmer Keith summed it up for me rather succinctly one day, after I knocked off a running coyote at somewhere around 125 yards offhand, saying, "To enjoy any kind of success the hunting, a man must learn…

Nirey Sharp Well known for their range of electric knife sharpeners, Nirey currently have three models to choose from. All ensure a professional, razor sharp edge to your knives. Their base model is the KE-198, a very effective unit that incorporates two grinding wheels-fine and course. The Nirey KE198 is my choice in the field as although 240V for home use, it will also run off your cigarette lighter plug provided you run it through a small inverter. The second in the series is the model KE 280 which is widely used by butchers, chefs and professional skinners. Unlike the KE 198 this model incorporates continuous-grit belts that run on flexible drums; and a relatively new addition to the Nirey family, the Nirey KE 3000 Professional Knife Sharpening kit. The…

RELOADING TECHNICAL TIPS “Work up in increments from the starting load.” WHEN starting out to work up loads for a new rifle and/or cartridge, the handloader must adopt a systematic approach. There are so many variables in load development, it is important that he decides exactly what he is looking to achieve - accuracy, flatness of trajectory and maximum hitting power - or all three. Therefore our goals are not the same for an ultra-light mountain rifle, a varmint rifle or a dangerous game rifle. And there will be different pressure levels and techniques required for strong bolt-actions and lever-actions. If your only purpose is to drive a bullet as fast as possible in a standard calibre, first check your your loading manuals, find the powder and load that gives…

NEWS, VIEWS AND INSIGHTS “From his farming and hunting interests grew a love of overseas travel.” NEARBY, a small mob of kangaroos basked in the sunniest corner of the grounds, nocturnal home of a wild herd of rusa. Deer and ‘roo scat lay all around the grave sites. After a Catholic Church service, mourners had gathered around as the casket bearing hunting safari legend Kevin Michael Gleeson was lowered into the red soil. To this scribe, the display of nature seemed so appropriate. Kevin Michael Gleeson – who died in a Northern Territory hospital after a long illness on August 29, aged 69 – would probably have appreciated it all. The “Mighty Midget” of the Port Sharks first-grade side of the ‘70s loved nothing more than animals, particularly deer and…