Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Sporting Shooter

I highly recommend the short article on page 70 of this issue about firearm ownership and crime. It provides information that we shooters have always known to be true, but it presents it in black-and-white figures. The simple fact is that while the number of legally owned firearms in Australia has grown to (shock! horror!) more than there were before Flak Jacket Johnny Howard’s gun laws of 1996, gun-related crimes have plummeted. This is, of course, not what the anti-gun lobby wants the public to believe, and so they keep implying the opposite is true. The general media keep repeating the anti-gunners’ lies and so the public — including our own friends and families, in many cases — believe guns are bad. I hope this issue’s article, which contains official…

Hunting in Australia offers some of the most remarkable opportunities in the world. With a wide variety of animals — many considered pests — our landscape provides not just sport but a deeply rewarding way to gather nutrient-rich, fresh meat for family and friends. In today’s economic climate, with the rising cost of living, there’s a lot to be said for harvesting your own meat. But for many of us, while the hunt may be the catalyst, it’s the experience, the mateship and the memories that become the real trophies. FOR those of us who hunt, there’s a deeper sense of responsibility that comes with it. Ethical hunting is one of the most powerful conservation tools we have. Through licence fees, tag systems and taxes on firearms and ammunition, hunters…

SWAROVSKI has added new design features to its Z5 rifle scopes, adding an apt + to the name in the process. The Z5+ and Z5(i)+ scopes have fatter main tubes, greater reticle adjustment, newly designed ballistic reticles and a revised version of the optional Ballistic Turret that gives long-range shooters some flexible and beneficial choices. There’s one subtraction, though: the range has been rationalised from four sizes to three. The 2-10x42 and 5-25x56 models still bookend the series but the 2.5-12x50 is no longer, and the 3.5-18x has been given a bigger 50mm objective lens instead of a 44. It makes sense as there’s not much between a 2-10 and 2.5-12x anyway, and the larger 3.5-18x50 does a better job of filling in the middle ground. All come with either…

ONE of the biggest challenges we face as a shooting organisation is dealing with media bias on firearms issues. I don’t just mean the media only writing negative stories about guns, I mean getting our viewpoint into the general media in the first place. We regularly send out media releases to hundreds of outlets – everyone from the ABC and News.com.au to metro radio stations to regional and community newspapers. It is very uncommon for more than a couple to pick up on the releases. Interestingly, the two outlets most likely to contact us about them are the ABC and Queensland Country Life. Lately, we have been dealing with the ongoing saga of a report issued earlier this year by the Australia Institute. Shooters Union, the Shooting Industry Foundation of…

THERE are lots of good reasons that fallow hunting, and deer hunting in general, is primarily carried out when the weather is cool. For hunters willing to make slight adjustments to their style, however, fallow deer can be hunted very successfully during the summer months. Do it right and the rewards are some prime venison for the table and stunning summer pelts for the man cave. Summer hunting isn’t all beer and skittles though, so let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons. One of the first things that comes to mind when I think about hunting in summer in Australia are sticks that wriggle: snakes! We have some of the deadliest in the world and no matter where you are in the Aussie bush in summer,…

The Australian government introduced and enforced the National Feral Deer Action Plan on 14 August, 2023. The movement is primarily driven by National Parks and Wildlife, the Invasive Species Council and other government and non-government agencies. South Australia is now leading the country in progressing the strategic plan to fully eradicate deer by 2032, which has set an example for all other states and territories to follow. IT is no surprise that modern technology has the ability to cause irreparable damage to our game animals. Advancements in thermal and AI infused geothermal aerial tracking could send our wild game into a state of disrepair in less than 10 years, while in some areas it has already achieved permanent extermination. A clear example is the effect that this technology has had…

Berger Elite Hunter bullets Berger Elite Hunter bullets utilise the same long Hybrid ogive (nose) as its Hybrid Target bullets, a popular choice in the competitive long-range shooting discipline. As the bearing surface ends, the tangent ogive begins, resulting in much less sensitivity to seating depth. As you move beyond the tangent ogive, the shape changes to a secant ogive, maximising efficiency in the wind. The long-nosed Elite Hunter projectiles produce the highest possible ballistic coefficients. By design, it’s intended for hunters meticulously handloading and who either have extended-length magazines or single feed their ammunition. The Elite Hunter bullets also incorporate a slightly thinner J4 Precision hunting jacket, which allows the projectile to penetrate 5cm to 7.5cm (2-3”) before rapidly expanding. Upon expansion, the projectile sheds most of its weight,…

FINDING the right balance between hunting for the passion of it and controlling pest animal populations can be difficult. If you’re lucky to have access to a wide range of country you can sometimes feel the pressure of rising numbers of animals and having difficultly in finding the time to get to it all. We all like to think we are part of a larger solution in which we manage numbers of pest animals as a collective, but the amount of effort required for an individual enthusiast to truly make a difference can be enormous. Since ramping up my magazine contributions, and becoming a dad, my hunts have had to change slightly. I still get out as much as possible, but they have become much more about my enjoyment in…

SOME rifles you admire on the rack. Others you trust to do the job. The Barrett MRAD SMR belongs to the second camp. MRAD stands for Multi-Role Adaptive Design, while SMR means Single Mission Rifle and it’s the kind of platform that doesn’t just promise performance. It delivers it without apology or compromise. Barrett built this rifle for precision under pressure. Designed originally for military application, this version has been adapted with a fixed barrel and fixed stock, simplifying it, reducing the price and shaving about 1kg from its weight. However, I didn’t test this expecting it to be a lightweight mountain rifle. I tested it to see if it would perform. Chambered in .308 Win, it proved it could. It is one of the most capable long-range rifles available…

ABOUT six months ago my battery-operated clay thrower finally died after thousands of rounds. It was one of those mystery-brand Chinese models that we have seen in recent years and I couldn’t repair it as no parts were available. I was not impressed. However, from that problem I found a fantastic replacement that is more flexible and user friendly than my old machine, yet still well priced. It’s from Caldwell, which seems to constantly find solutions for shooters as it adds to its large, innovate range of shooting accessories. Now, I should state at the outset that I am a very casual clay shooter who does not compete but enjoys having family and friends at the farm for a clay shoot a few times a year. It is great fun and…

The rut had passed. The bucks had croaked, chased and charged until their necks thickened and their flanks ran lean. But now it was May. Velvet long since shed, antlers polished and bodies worn thin from fighting. For Harry and me, this was an awesome time: post-rut fallow in the country around Tumbarumba-Jingellic. A time when the forests settle, the mobs regroup and the bucks, spent and distracted by feed, offer opportunities to those patient enough to watch the fringes. THE phone calls went out earlier in the week, and the weekend was lining up. After a full-on March and April chasing sika and reds through the hill country of New Zealand, it was time to turn our attention back home and see how our local boys had fared. Harry…

I occasionally get down to the NSW Snowy Mountains to go after fallow deer and have successfully used 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x55 and 7x57 rifles to shoot them without fuss. It had been a few years since I had taken a .303 out hunting. Last time it was to bag a big rusa hind at 200 metres with a 174gn Woodleigh bullet right in the shoulder. She went down hard and fast. Mindful that I’d possibly encounter not only fallow, but perhaps sambar or reds also, I dreamed up a need for a heavier bullet pusher, so I settled on my nice cobbledto-gether US-made Savage Lee Enfield No 4 to which I had fitted a 25-inch full-length military-profile barrel. I shot a big, tough billy goat through both shoulders with this…

Nick Harvey passed away in February 2024 after almost 50 years as our Technical Editor. He left us with scores of unpublished answers to readers’ queries. To honour his memory, we will continue his column until we have run them all. 6.5 Creedmoor and small rifle primers Q I have obtained 100 Lapua cases for my 6.5 Creedmoor which use small rifle primers and need answers to several questions before handloading them for my rifle. I am presently loading Reloder 17 behind 120-and 130-grain bullets and AR2209 with 140 grainers, in standard 6.5 Creedmoor cases with large rifle primer pockets. Can I use the same loads in Lapua cases with small rifle primer pockets? If so, how will my switching cases affect velocity? Can I expect to gain better accuracy…

THE Taipan has come of age. The third-generation Evo model puts the finishing touches on the Southern Cross Small Arms carbine and brings some flare that had been on the designers’ wish list since day one. This version is a better fit, nicer to use and more attractive than the Taipan X and Lite that came before it. Early in my testing I had the feeling I was shooting more accurately than I had with the other Taipans, and subsequent drills seemed to confirm it. I had found the X pretty good for making solid hits on fleeting or moving targets, but I am sure I was able to do even better with this one. It’s not that much has changed, but one of the new features is the polymer…

I was on a sheep station in the middle of NSW. The property owner and his family had become quite close friends of ours over the years. The property covered thousands of acres, and in good times ran about 10,000 head of merino sheep, with wheat also as a back up for the lean times. I had my wife, three kids and father-in-law along. I had cut down a Lithgow single-shot .22 for my eldest son — 10 at the time — and he was having a ball knocking off top-knots, as we called crested pigeons. They are protected now, but not then. Needless to say, you had to hit the bird in the head, or there was very little bird to pick up! My father-in-law loved cooking these little…

MY eldest two kids, Thomas and Caitlyn, asked me if they could go out hunting in the afternoon with Mr Ball (Paul). Paul had been hunting with his mate, John, and his two sons but they had left for home in the morning. “You’d better ask Mr Ball if he’s willing to take you, since he’s on his own and staying for another day,” I told them. They went to see him in the quarters straight away. The answer was yes and my kids came back excited. Paul had told them they’d leave at 4pm and be back by 6pm for our campfire dinner together. Mr Ball had also told Thomas he could use his .243, seeing as our old rifle, a .223, was not sighted in properly after a…

There was no answer when I knocked on Pete’s door about 30 minutes before first light, a prearranged time to pick him up and head out to the floodplain. The plan was for redemption, to try to knock over a couple of magpie geese for our friends in the community after failing to hit a single bird the evening before. Clearly, Pete had stayed up too late watching the footy and couldn’t be woken. SO I headed out solo and managed to redeem myself with two geese for the morning. As usual, the birds went quiet not long after the sun came up. In most cases, after an early morning session on the floodplains, we would head back to my place in town for a coffee. But as I was solo…

COMPETITION BROUGHT TO YOU BY WIN a GARMIN eTrex 22x EVERY MONTH! ENTRIES: Please email your high resolution. jpg or. png pig hunting image as an attachment to the email addressed to mickmatheson@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. A short explanatory sentence with the email is also needed. Garmin’s outdoor range features unparalleled innovation in hiking, camping and hunting tech in handheld or wearable configurations. Options span from navigation, communication, safety and tracking devices. Garmin also produces a range of bow sights with built-in rangefinder enabling better shot placement. A Garmin eTrex 22x GPS Navigator will be sent to the best entry every…