gutshotbob@gmail.com, Author at Hunting, Shooting and Off-road

July 14, 2017October 18, 2019

What is your hunting vehicle’s weight?

Overloaded vehicles

What is your hunting vehicle weight? We have all seen the overloaded Toyota Hilux or Landcruiser on the highway, bum dragging on the ground like a dog with worms. Many of us have probably been guilty of it at some stage (the overloaded vehicle that is).

In recent times, we have experienced the epidemic of the dreaded caravans on our outback roads. This has seen the likes of Queensland’s Transport and Main Roads department increasingly ever present. I know of 2 people with camper trailers being sent home and receiving a hefty fines in 2016 for being over their GCM. So the odds of being caught are high.

What’s possible worse than that is if you’re in an accident and your caught with your vehicle overweight, you could be found liable and have to pay damages out of your own pocket (with no coverage for your vehicle).

Steel dog box and awning, how strong are your dogs?

Vehicle GVM

So what is GVM? What is GCM? What is your payload or in layman’s terms; what’s the weight of your hunting vehicle?

GVM is Gross Vehicle Mass. This is the maximum recommended weight given to a vehicle by its manufacturer. Exceeding your GVM will void your warranty, void your insurance and wreck your springs.

GCM is Gross Combined Mass. This is the maximum recommended weight given to a vehicle and its trailer, by its manufacturer. Exceeding your GCM will void your warranty, void your insurance, wreck your springs and cause brake fade.

In this article we will address GVM and leave GCM for another day.

Payload

The payload of your vehicle is reflective of your GVM. That is the weight of your vehicle plus your payload. Let’s use an old 2013 Hilux dual cab turbo diesel manual as an example (a vehicle I’m sure most of you own or have owned). The Hilux has a kerb weight of 1,720kg and a payload (carrying capacity) of 990kg, the GVM is 2,710kg (sourced from Redbook).

The payload of 990kg includes everything; occupants, bull-bar, tow-bar, tray, service manual, air freshener, floor mats, lollies, drinks, the lot. Everything you have in your vehicle is included in your payload as your carrying capacity.

What’s your hunting vehicle weight?

*Please note some of these weights are guesstimates and your results may vary.

GVM	Weight	Quantity	Sub-total
Hilux	1720	1	1720
Tray – steel	250	1	250
Side steps	15	2	30
Bull-bar	75	1	75
Tow-bar	40	1	40
Under tray tool box	7	2	14
Winch	27	1	27
Recovery gear	20	1	20
Water	20	1	20
Long range tank	40	1	40
Air compressor	10	1	10
Bash plates	30	1	30
Spotties	2	2	4
Occupants	85	2	170
Dog cage	40	1	40
Dogs	40	2	80
Fridge	40	1	40
Firearms	5	4	20
Ammo	50	1	50
Quad	300	1	300
Unleaded	15	2	30
Cooking gear	40	1	40
Sleeping gear	30	1	30
		Total	3,080kg
		Hilux GVM	2,710kg
		Over by	-370kg

Even removing the quad bike your still over, no room for tow ball weight. Note this 3,080kg total does’t include; what’s in the glove-box, centre console, UHF, aerials, floor mats, light bar, shooting spotlight, etc.

As you can see, it’s very easy to go over you GVM/payload on your hunting rig (even on a quick hunting trip).

Basic vehicle weights

So let’s examine what weight we cant avoid and see what we are playing with.

GVM	Weight	Quantity	Sub-total
Hilux	1720	1	1720
Tray – Steel	250	1	250
Side steps	15	2	30
Bull-bar	75	1	75
Tow-bar	40	1	40
Under tray tool box	7	2	14
Winch	27	1	27
Long range tank	40	1	40
Bash plates	1	30	30
Spotties	2	2	4
Occupants	85	1	85
		Total	2,315kg
		Hilux GVM	2,710kg
		Under by	395kg

With only the driver and all the fix items I have 395kg to spare. That’s not much. As soon as you add a second or third person you only have half the weight left. Or you put a quad on your only left with 95kg. That’s not much weight to play with.

Under tray tool boxes, anywhere from 7kg each, plus however much junk you can fit.

Common mistakes

Upgrading your rear springs to 300kg constant load or similar does not increase your carrying capacity. What these springs are designed for is increasing you everyday carrying load (i.e. carrying tools everyday), so that your vehicle handles better.

Another temporary measure is; air bags or air assist. But these to are not for increasing your carrying capacity either.

To increase your carrying capacity you need to do a GVM upgrade such as that done by Creative Conversions, which is very expensive and involves beefing up your rear axle to take the extra load.

Although the 300kg constant load springs and airbags will keep your ride level and maybe the cops off your back, they wont keep you legal.

Hunting vehicle weight reduction

What are the solutions? Well of course you could start leaving stuff behind but most of what’s listed is required on a hunt.

My recommendation is to get a trailer. Even a small un-braked box trailer is going to be; much safer, reduce your hunting vehicle weight and keep you legal. If you use your hunting rig as a daily driver, the best part is you can pre-pack the trailer the day before you leave.

Hogs, dogs and quads have one of the best hunting trailers getting around http://www.hogsdogsquads.com.au/

Other heavy vehicle weight loss considerations

Why does everyone want a steel tray? An aluminum tray will save you about 130kg. By using an aluminum tray you would now have room for 525kg, this is getting to a respectable figure.

This heavy duty BW tray from Chinchilla would easily be 250kg plus the 800kg hydraulic hoist and 25L water tank, by removing this I probably saved close to 400kg.

I have heard some people complain about the aluminum tie-down rails bending when tying down quads. But the reality is they are probably strapping them down to excess.

I live in the city and I would suggest 90% of utes here have aluminum trays and I haven’t seen many with bent tie-down rails. I understand if you throwing stuff in them all the time steel will last longer. But how many people do you know of that had to replace a “worn out” aluminum tray?

Do you really need under tray tool boxes? What have you got in them? More unnecessary junk? Save 14kg plus the excess weight of the contents.

Could you do without a winch? Do you need bash plates? Might be time to do a stock-take. Work out what you actually do and don’t need in order to reduce your hunting vehicle weight. Consider building a dog box from aluminum instead of steal.

Heavy hunting rig payload conclusion

I think there are 2 reasonable options:
1. Fit an aluminum tray
2. Use a trailer

If most of your hunting is solo, fitting an aluminum tray is probably a great idea.

However if your hunting with friends, using a trailer is really the only way to reduce your hunting rig’s weight/payload, but retain all your hunting items.

Get yourself a good trailer!

Ripper of a trailer spotted on Brisbane high way, dual axle, aluminum bed and Off-road tyres

So coming soon is “What’s your hunting rig’s GVM?” and selecting the correct trailer.

July 6, 2017October 18, 2019

Hunting – it’s in my blood, its all I know

Hunter life

Carl here AKA Leeroy, I’m from Roma Queensland and I love to hunt. I have been hunting since I was a child.

My Uncle Mick was a keen accredited shooter and hunter. He got me hooked on the sport from a very young age. I’ve hunted all across varying parts of Australia, from Northern NSW, Central Qld and as far north as Cape York.

Living in Roma hunting is very common, so I never have to explain myself to anyone for hunting or shooting. My partner is on board as well because she to loves the outdoors.

My favourite species to hunt would have to be pigs. I probably spend about 80% of my hunting at night and 20% during the day. When I’m specifically chasing pigs, I take dogs (occasionally I would shoot them, but that would only be while I’m harvesting). When hunting with the dogs we are either hunting off a ute or out of my Polaris Ranger 570 UTV/side by side/all terrain buggy.

I don’t really participate in any non-hunting shooting related activities. Once I went to a charity shotgun shoot once. I think I was better at drinking the beers than hitting the targets.

Shooting equipment

For profession kangaroo harvesting I use a bolt action Tikka T3 .223 fitted out with a Hawke Sidewinder 6–24×56. It’s a relatively inexpensive scope that has never let me down and allows me to shadow shoot. My spare harvesting rifle is a bolt action Howa 1500 .223 with a Leopold scope, because you cant be a professional without a backup.

It’s always good to have a .22 for on farm kills such as sheep and pigs when the need arises. I’d recommend something like a bolt action Browning T-Bolt with a Hawke 6–12×50, that should handle most of those tasks.

My current spotlight setup is a roof centre mounted Powa Beam 9″ HID. I find the HID is great for picking out the pigs in most terrain due the whiteness of the HID light. If your harvesting it can make the roos skittish though.

I recommend getting a bi-pod. They are great for sighting in your rifles.

Dogging

My favourite type of dogs are Wolfhound x Arabs. Trackers I run a Garmin Alpha 100 GPS tracker with TT15 collars.

You should always run full chest plates on your dogs. I have a couple of FNQ plates from when I lived up there, but my current choice are the Duncan’s plates.

My dogs can usually run all night because I keep them nice and fit. However, if there is poor weather they will obviously pull up a bit sooner.

As I mentioned before I run them off the back of my ute or off my Polaris buggy. I normally let them free jump unless I’m training some new pups. I never have them locked up because I feel they work better that way.

When it comes to dogging my tip would be; don’t give up on your dog. The more they do the better they get. You can’t expect them to be a superstar overnight.

Culture

I shoot to make a living and I hunt for pest control. My harvesting is mostly commercial for the box. But occasionally I make jerky out of the young sows.

If I had to explain hunting to someone that has never hunted before, so they could understand, I would tell them benefits to the country, conservation of grazing land and as well as the crops. It’s also important that they understand the need to cull numbers to a reasonable level with humane methods. But because I live in Roma I rarely have to have this conversation.

In the modern day I feel the benefits of hunting are harvesting wild meat before it is culled by inappropriate methods. But for me personally I make an income, get a lot of enjoyment out of it, the conservation side of it, physical fitness and the social side.

What I don’t appreciate is the discrimination, particularly by people that don’t know anything about the industry. Of course there is the wear and tear on the vehicles and sometimes injuries to dogs. So I do everything I can to protect my dogs by providing the best food, fitness and treatment. But at the end of the day they absolutely love it, if they didn’t I wouldn’t do it.

I will never quit hunting and shooting because its in my blood, its all I know! I love being in the bush, I live here and I love it. No need to go to the “Outback” I’m already there.

Politics

What are your thoughts on firearms ownership in Australia currently?

I think there is a problem in Australia with firearm laws, because people are making rules on things they don’t know about or understand.

I’d really like to see changes to the laws regarding categories of firearms. Those licenced to hold a firearm should be able to hold any firearm. For example an A/B licence holder should be able to hold a category H firearm.

What can hunters and shooters do to further protect firearm ownership in Australia?

if hunters and shooters want to further protect firearm ownership in Australia they need to be an ethical and responsible firearm owner. Number one thing: invest in proper storage.

Vehicle and setup

My current hunting rig is a Toyota 75 Series Landcruiser.

For the bar work I’ve fitted it out with an ARB bull-bar, side steps and a tow-bar. Also it wasn’t complete without custom dints in driver side doors from multiple kamikaze kangaroos.

In-cab I’ve added an after market sound system, UHF and switches for everything. Off-road equipment I’ve fitted is; 9000lbs winch, snorkel, 2 inch lift kit, dual batteries and a light bar.

The tyres have been upgraded to Federal Couragia M/Ts they are unreal I have not been staked yet!

Fitted to the cab are shooting rests on drivers and passengers sides, with a rifle holder on the outside of the drivers door. A center roof mounted Powa Beam 9″ HID spotlight.

On the tray is an accredited macropod harvesting rack, a small dog box and tray/work lights for getting the job done.

I also have a 2012 Polaris Ranger 570 UTV side by side. It’s fitted out with a UHF, gun rack and a roof mounted spotlight.

Camp setup

I don’t have a camp setup because all my hunting is within 200km of home and we always return after a trip. It’s one of the biggest advantages of living here. But if I’m on a hunt I’ll take a 25L esky strapped to the back and a flask.

Conclusion

My one piece of advice for Aussie hunters and shooters is to get permission, and have fun. If your given the chance get to Cape York – the hunting lives up to its reputation!

For those interested there is quite a bit involved in becoming an accredited kangaroo shooter. There is a TAFE course made up of 2 modules, a marksmanship test, an application for EHP licence, an accreditation for Food Safe QLD. During which, your rack and vehicle must pass rigorous standards, purchase; tags, return books, equipment and cleaning chemicals. All of these things come with a great deal of paperwork and of course fees apply as well.

Once all of this is done, shooters will then need to find ample property to shoot on. Land is becoming harder to come across so it is important that hunters treat properties with respect and always do the right thing, to ensure we keep a good name and that property owners continue to allow us to shoot.

June 30, 2017October 18, 2019

Howa 1500 .223 best varmint gun

Howa 1500 best varmint gun, big call. Of course this article will cause a lot of contention. But what I want to provoke more is the importance of “purpose of use” and as such why the Howa 1500 varmint in .223 is the best varmint gun for my purpose.

I’ve been hunting since I was 18 (I’ve been going hunting with my Dad since I was 4). Last year 2016, saw me buy my first firearm smaller than a .308. My Dad had given my a .22 air rifle and a .22 rim fire, but I never bought them and never hunted with them.

I had always said .308 was the perfect caliber. Big enough to smash every pig I’d ever come across and the perfect size for a cat and best varmint gun.

I was indiscriminate, under spotlight if a saw it, I shot it with a .308. Why because it was what I had and it was cheap (well I thought it was cheap). To me it was cheap because I’d reloaded about 1000 rounds and 6 years later I was still shooting off those rounds. They were in fact, expensive. I’d just forgotten how much they cost.

Purpose of use

When I started getting low on .308 rounds I needed to reload and I realised the cost. So it was time to reconsider. I thought about what I was using the firearm for and identified 95% of my shooting was under spotlight, off the back of a vehicle at varmint. The .308 was overkill and I was paying for it. So I knew it was time to get a .22 caliber rifle cartridge varmint gun.

Caliber selection

22-hornet-vs-222-vs-223-cartridges — Left to right .22 Hornet, .223 Remington, .222 Remington

The obvious choices were .222, .223 and my Dad insisted on the .22 hornet. The triple 2 is definitely a more accurate caliber than the .223. All the stats I looked at and all the comparisons I could find indicated that. But it wasn’t as cheap. The hornet… well it’s not cheap and not readily available, so sorry Dad, no.

The .223 is a cheap reliable cartridge you can pickup anywhere. You can probably get free secondhand cases from most of your mates if you reload. It’s also available in bulk packs. It’s one of the cheapest rifle cartridges by a long shot.

Most of my shooting off the vehicle is under spotlight shooting at; foxes, hares, rabbits, cats and occasional certified mitigation of macropods. The .223 in a 55gr has plenty of stopping power.

So the caliber was sorted.

Choices

My next obstacle was being left eye dominate. This eliminates a lot of firearms. My budget was to stick below $1500, because it was to be a knock about, to rattle around in the back of the Ute.

Now I could consider a right handed gun, being right handed, it’s very convenient for reloading. But if you have ever sliced your thumb open with a bolt… It feels very similar to levering your finger into a 30 30 trigger, very painful. So right handed bolt is out.

So my obvious options for a varmint gun where; Remington 700, Savage Axis, Tikka T3, Browning T-bolt and Ruger Scout (Howa do not make a left handed firearm). There are plenty of good reviews of these firearms on YouTube.

Magazine

Because of our hunting style there were some other factors I wanted to consider. The biggest annoyance with my Tikka T3 .308 was the inability to top load the magazine. The Tikka requires removal of the magazine to fill it. It also does not like single loading over an empty magazine.

Now in the middle of the night in the freezing cold racing across the paddock. Means I have to hold the roll-bar with my armpit, magazine in one hand, open the ammo box and load with the other hand, while holding the firearm between my legs and with my bicep. With frozen fingers try to precisely get the rounds into the magazine without dropping anything or falling over. So top load only.

So this immediately eliminated the; Tikka, Savage and Browning. At this point I discovered the Sako was prefect, removable box mag that holds 6, flush mounted and can be top loaded. The only one of its kind and highest mag capacity. Unfortunately way out of my price range.

Tikka-T3-Lucky-13-magazine — Tikka T3 with Lucky 13 10 shot magazine

This left me with the Ruger Scout and Remington 700. This brought me to my next problem, magazine length. On my Tikka .308 I have a 10 round mag that hungs well below the stock. This often knocks on the roll bar or gets caught in the window. It was terrible for shooting from a vehicle or on a rest.

So the Ruger Scout was out and another firearm modded with a DBM.

Barrel

Another factor I considered was the barrel. Because I intended to do no walking with this firearm, it was purely for off the back of a Ute or out the window. The varmint barrel was an easy choice, for its renowned accuracy.

So all that research left the Remington 700, available in blued, stainless and varmint barrels, with a 5 shot mag. The firearm has a great reputation and a favorite amongst many people.

So I headed down to my LGS (local gun shop) to have a look. Firstly there were no left handed ones in stock. Everyone kept trying to make me buy a Tikka, the obvious left handed choice, but the worst choice for my purpose.

I had a play with some right handed Remington 700s. Compared to my Tikka they are so clunky and agricultural. It felt rough, unfinished and the synthetic stock was hollow and flexed under my cheek. I could not get how horrible this stock was out of my head. I know I could replace it, but with the price of a new stock the Sako is becoming very attractive.

I went home felt my Tikka’s synthetic stock, felt my Remington 7600’s synthetic stock (on 2 guns), the 700’s stock was absolutely garbage.

But it was the perfect firearm for my needs. So I started looking at replacement stocks. The option I liked the most was a Boyd stock, which if under $100USD they would ship to Australia.

Decision made I headed back down to the LGS (understand I’d been researching this for like 8 weeks to make this decision). Slapped my credit card on the table and said “order me a left handed Remington varmint gun”, “we can’t, Remington is in such high demand they have stopped manufacturing left handed guns!” What! No way! I left the shop and was like liars! I’ll shop else where. But several calls later no one had one and the distributor confirmed there was an unknown ETA of the next shipment.

Outside choices

So I started looking at secondhand firearm websites and dribbling around the internet frustrated. I started googling ‘left-handed right eye dominate’ in my frustration and low and behold I found that Boyd did a left handed thumb-hole stock for a right handed bolt… This allows the bolt to go over the hand without making contact.

From my original researching early on watching YouTube videos the Howa was a clear winner but only a 4 shot mag and right handed. But it top loads, in .223, in stainless, in varmint, in the price range and available.

howa-1500-223-right-handed-bolt-left-handed-stock — Howa 1500 .223 and Boyd left handed stock

But here is the best part, being right handed but left eye dominate; having a right handed firearm is awesome for reloading! I would suggest that for my purposes this is the best outcome.

Howa-1500-left-eye-dominate-right-handed-boyd-stock — Howa 1500 .223 and Boyd left handed thumb-hole stock

So I purchased a Howa 1500 in stainless steel with a varmint barrel and a Boyd stock in nutmeg (the only choice for under $100). It’s fantastic I love it, even after a year I feel my choice was right and I purchased the best varmint gun for my needs.

Modifications

Turns out though I was scrolling through a gun shop website looking for a second Howa 1500 in .223 (yes I love the gun that much I can justify 2) and I couldn’t help but notice this:

Top is a magazine and trigger guard for a .223 Howa, below that is a magazine and trigger guard for a .308 Howa. If I remove these limiting tabs I can gain an extra 2 rounds in, making the Howa 1500 a 6 shot, 1 round more than the Remington 700.

Considerations

I know that there are a lot of other guns out there, I know everyone has their personal opinions about what’s the best gun. But for my requirements;

Budget
Caliber
Window shooting
Back of Ute shooting
Under spotlight
Flush magazine
Higher magazine capacity
Top loading
Varmint barrel
Left eye dominate
Right handed
Available

After checking off all these requirements the Howa 1500 was the best varmint gun for a left eye dominate – right handed – spotlighter – shooting varmint from a vehicle.

Conclusion

So I hope you learnt something for your next varmint gun or firearm purchase. Make sure you define your perimeters and requirements, so you can make sure your choice is perfect for your needs. There’s a high chance the Howa 1500 is not perfect for you. So I refer you to my original statement: “purpose of use”

June 27, 2017October 18, 2019

Shotgun weddings

Hunting life

I’m Kadeja my friends call me Kadz. I live in urban NSW. I’m a mother of 4 and work for HPO – Hunting Properties Online. I also own a Wedding planner business. I am a hunter, a shooter, love fishing and love 4 wheel driving!

I tan my own hides and also have a blog on Facebook which is; The Life of a Huntress.

I grew up going on outdoor adventures with my Dad, mostly fishing and bush walking. We also had a veggie farm and it was always great being with nature.

When people first learn I hunt and shot, initially they are shocked. But then they understand when I explain how important it is to source healthy organic meat for my children and friends.

I don’t mind collecting knives. I like to have a new knife for each hunt, that way each knife has a unique memory from a particular hunt!

My favourite species to target would have to be deer. So almost all my hunting is during the day. Typically I would be driving and walking. If we shooting at night we use a hand held spotlight.

Outside of hunting I love going to the range to target shoot with my daughter. I feel it’s very important to include my family in shooting activities.

I have a Tikka T3 Hunter in .243 which is pretty nice to use and a Savage 22 Magnum that’s great for small vermin such as rabbits and foxes. One accessory I can recommend is a tripod, I have one on all my firearms.

What I love about hunting is it is the source of beautiful healthy meat. I’m able to source meat for my children and have a great story to tell. Also I get to teach my children how to be safe around firearms.

I won’t quit hunting because I love being outside in the country side. Sometimes it’s not about hunting, but the awakening of our souls. I feel alive and being there taking in the surrounding is just divine. Especially the fresh air and the smell of the outback. Nothing can compare to that.

Politics

I think it is important to have the right to own a firearm if you have a clean history and are a good person in the community and with people.

Some changes I’d like to see with the law is with the permits to acquire, as it takes forever to get one here.

I think it’s important to vote pro-gun as they are our backbone. If they can gather more input from hunters and shooters and have our words heard, they might be able to get more changes through. By abiding we shall conquer.

Best hunt

My favourite hunt was when I had my first Sambar Deer. No words could ever explain the shock and adrenaline that came to me once I knew I had her. It was amazing!

Shooting rig

My current hunting vehicle is a Toyota Landcruiser Prado turbo diesel. It’s fitted out with; bullbar, side steps, towbar, roof rack, awning, high jack, shovel, UHF, dash cam, 9 inch LED spot lights, all terrain tyres and a snorkel.

For recovery gear I got; recovery tracks, a huge tool box packed with recovery gear (all essentials needed if stuck or lost) and a first aid kit.

I’m still wanting to add; a winch, lift kit, bar lights front and back and a few other extra things to be added. Also I’m going to add a second battery soon to have more energy for the extra attachments.

It would be nothing for us to drive 9 hours to a hunt, so reliability is important.

Camp setup

Generally when we head out bush we just camp with swags and cook on the open fire with a BBQ plate or portable gas stove. I love my cooking, but mostly I heat up easy foods like noodles haha!

Finale

Being a hunter is about being considerate and cautious off your surroundings. Never leave the area unclean and always make sure you practice the highest level of safety and everyone around you is safe. Most of all always have a always have a plan.

Thank you for the opportunity, follow me on Facebook @kadzhuntress.

Regards Kadz

June 20, 2017October 18, 2019

I named my son Remington…

Shooting life
Hey guys I’m Stirling from Perth, 34 years old and I work for Toyota. I love to hunt, compete in Sporting clays with Field and Game and recreational 4x4ing. I also do volunteer work with Parks department culling goats.

My Father got me into shooting. Back when I was a kid we would go and shoot 3 position .22.

Dad was from Singapore and ended up boarding at Scotch collage, so all his mates were farmers sons. So we used head out and get rabbits, foxes and roos. But it all stopped as I hit teenage years in 96 and we all know why, he only kept one bolt action .22.

My first gun was a Daisy lever action BB my Dad bought me when I was 5. Mum wasn’t to excited about it and I had it confiscated a couple times.

I didn’t pick the shooting back up until my Dad wanted to sell the .22 in my mid 20s. I told my wife that it was a family heirloom and its a part of my child hood (little did she know that it would start an Addiction that has consumed my life). She thinks I’m obsessed, I called My son Remington.

When colleagues at work and strangers first find out that I shoot and hunt they think that I’m sick or crazy. But I take it upon myself to educate them a on pest management and how invasive pests are. How detrimental they are to our fragile native fauna. I sell the fact I’m great for the environment and it usually works.

My favourite species to hunt would be foxes and that’s mostly because I have access to them close to home.

Mostly we hunt under spotlights at night but we also did a bit of whistling/calling during the day.

Other than that I’m a field and game member and compete in Sporting clays. I’m just starting to get in to long range and I’ve just set up a 300WM Remington Sendero. It has a Bushnell XRS Elite Tactical 4.5–30×50, Timny trigger set @1.5lbs, T2 muzzle break and bedded front lug.

Equipment recommendations

It’s always good to have a cheap .22 rim-fire for field basher. Great for quickly dispatching game, something like a Stirling MP14. They are also great for target plinking, like my herloom Bruno 1947 model 1.

Shotguns are another good firearm, I like to use a Beretta SV10111 for clays. If you need a field basher for things like; ducks, corellas, foxes and rabbits I’d suggest an Akkar for the task.

For an all rounder a Steyr Pro Hunter in .243 is a great cartridge for spotlighting and stalking goats and foxes. Fit it out with a 10 round magazine, Ziess Conquest 4.5–14×50 with Kenton Industries ballistic turrets matched to 95gr @3100fps and you will be seriously in business.

A good pig gun would have to be a Steyr Pro Hunter aswell, but with a red dot. Great for out of the vehicle.

Dedicated fox shooting an easy choice would be a Weatherby sub MOA fitted out with a Bell and Carlson target stock – Ceracotked in Cyotetan, finished off with a Leica Visus LW I 3–12×50. Fantastic piece of equipment for shooting out of the vehicle under light.

Stalking for goats, deer and pigs a good choice would be a Remington 1991 BDL with a Bushnell Elite 3500 3–9×40.

I think that would have you covered for most applications.

For shooting from the vehicle the driver has a roof mounted Lightforce 170 Custom HID Spotlight and on the rear a hand held custom HID spotlight. When spotlighting I use a 28 (parrot) caller from a blue-tooth speaker taped to the bullbar, Koplin gun racks, Leica HDB range-finding binos (the most bad ass set of binos for long range hunting).

Hunting life

I hunt to getaway and forget about life. It’s great for distressing and free dog food! But I mostly hunt for pest control and if a goat project comes up I take as much as i can carry.

If I have to explain hunting to someone that has never hunted before, I start by saying it’s not about shooting that comes secondary, it’s about being outside enjoying nature and understanding conservation. Most of us are far from yahoos or rednecks.

I then usually go on to say that most people are becoming aware of where their food is coming from. If they want to eat fresh, organic and free range then what better way to eat fresh, organic and free range… hunt… your now taking responsibility for yourself to get out there be part of nature.

Feral pest control is doing a good deed for farmers, country native fauna and Flora. If they saw the contents of a feral cats stomach, they would probably go home and kill their own cat.

As a modern hunter it’s becoming more comfortable, I wouldn’t say easier but the comfort of the gear that is available is awesome. From range finding binos that calculate bullet drop, thermal gear and clothing. But you still have to do the hard yards to get your quarry.

The positives I take away from being a hunter and shooter is the food, free free-range meat, the outdoors, getting away and being more aware of our environment and conservation.

Some of the negatives are being part of a small minority, which in turn has made firearm ownership taboo and being blamed for the stupid actions of a few.

I’m hooked on hunting because of the rush you get when you spot the game and start stalking. The heart pounding before the shot, nothing beats that feeling . Seeing and being in beautiful places, the adventure and the travel, that’s why I won’t quit.

My favourite part about going out bush would have to be the peace, the quiet and the stars at night.

Politics

Firearm ownership in Australia is almost a taboo subject, I believe that shooting should be taught in school. What I would like to see changed is that once you are licensed then you licensed, you are able to have multiples of a calibre and as many firearms as you can afford. Sound moderators to be legalised as its safety item. Because of the safety factor I can’t believe they aren’t legal.

I’m not big on politics but I’ll consider Shooters, Fishers and Farmers next because there is no one else really. I’d really like to see them try bring all shooters together. If we can ban together to make the vote count, 800,000 strong that is a small but major minority and should protect shooting in Australia.

Best hunting trip

I was in NZ for a ski trip with the wife and a another couple. We met up with one of the other couples uncle’s. His name was Ed and we got talking because I had made a comment when I walked out of the hunting and fishing store ‘that the arsenal is out of control…’ (I want to retire to NZ by the way).

So we got chatting, then Ed started to quiz me hard and fast. About what guns I have, what guns I use for what and how often I shoot etc., I said “what’s will all the questions?” Then he asked “would you like to shoot some goats?” I said “sure why not? Sounds great!” Ed said meet at this address tomorrow.

I rolled up to a small farm house with a big shed there I met Sam. Ed said “Sam will be your Pilot”. I said “Pilot” loudly. “Yeah mate.” He opened the shed door which was a hanger for an R22. We pushed the chopper out and I asked Sam “are you dropping me on a mountain?” “No mate you will be shooting out of the chopper!” “Get #%&^ed!”

We head over to the safe and Sam pulled out a HK SL8. To Sam’s surprise I knew what that was; semi-auto .223 with a 4x Leupold scope.

He handed me three 30 round mags and a couple boxes of .223 ammo and we hit the sky. I couldn’t wipes the smile off my face.

When we were in the air I asked Sam “you don’t know me, how do you know if I can do this?” “I will know is about 3 seconds! We are turning around in a second there are some goats. Don’t shoot the white ones!” and that was the only request.

So with the seat belt around my waist and my foot on the skid, I hanging out of this chopper like Rambo!

We would fly over the ridges and spot the white goats from hundreds of meters away (which is why you don’t shoot the white ones, so you can find them). We would go over a mob and then and come back at on them from below. This would force the goats to climb. Because they are climbing they are slow moving and at max 20m away, so not hard to shoot. All shots were lethal neck and head shots.

1 hour and 20 minutes later I’ve shot 86 goats. We then spend another hour collecting carcass’s for the farmer who turn them into dog food. It was hands down the most amazing random experience I have ever had. Not really hunting, more like fishing in a bucket, none the less an awesome story!

Hunting rig

This is my second Toyota Landcruiser 80 series. I work for Toyota so everything is done professionally. It’s a 1990 80 series turbo diesel 280,000km 3” exhaust and tuned to 14 psi @430nm.

It’s fitted out with; a steel bullbar, LED spotties, UHF, dual batteries with solar, Clisby under bonnet air compressor, 2 inch lift and 33 mudgrabbers.

The shooting system is Rhino roof rack Pioneer, with 4 shovel holders that holds the Jesus bar that goes around the back of the rack. Just loosen the shovel holders, pull the Jesus bar out and tighten the shovel holders up. Now you can stand on the tail gate safely.

This give us a standing bench-rest to shoot from, super stable and accurate. To the right of the rack I have 4 Kolpin gun racks to hold a rifle and a shottie. Along with 2 cigarette sockets (for power in the rear) for the shooters spottie.

I’m pretty lucky my closest hunting spot is 45min from home, but it would be nothing for me to travel up to a couple hours to go for a good hunt.

Camp setup

I’m a swag guy. So I always have my double swag on the roof and that way I always have a double bed where ever I go.

Kasler chops (bacon chops) always come with me. They are pork chops done in a bacon style. They go on the grill or skillet.

So usually I bring a camp stove or I carry an old BBQ grill and love throwing it over the open fire.

Conclusion

To the other Aussie hunters and shooters out there; educate and inspire people who don’t hunt, be proud of what and how you hunt, and don’t poach!

My next trip I will be hunting in Czech for roe and pigs in July.

Follow us @WHISTLING REDS. Follow the conservation efforts of my friends and I on Facebook @whistlingreds and Instagram @whistlingreds.

http://www.whistlingreds.com.au/

Thanks,

Stirling