Sporting Shooter

it’s the economy…

ONCE again, impartial government reports in the two ground-breaking Australian states who have instigated regulated public land hunting have revealed that legal hunting is a huge money generator for rural and urban communities, as well as governments. NSW monetised hunting participation for 2019 at $1.6 billion. To prove that these reports are not empty, the Victorian and NSW Governments have each recently invested in hunting by releasing tens of thousands of hectares of new public land areas for hunting. For example, an additional 90,000ha of Victoria’s Alpine National Park were opened for deer hunting, while broadening hunting of feral species – foxes, hares and rabbits – permitted to be hunted on State Game Reserves during Duck Open Season. To support their efforts, the Victorian GMA has produced new, updated digital maps on…

sporting shooter

Editor: Marcus O’Dean Email: marcusodean@yaffa.com.au Technical Editor: Nick Harvey Contributors: Nick Harvey, Marcus O’Dean, Tony Pizzata, Col Allison, Goran Pehar, Paul O’Connor, Pete Briedahl, Leon Wright, Dylan Smith. ADVERTISING National Sales Manager: Tony Pizzata Tel: (02) 92138263 Mobile: 0411 592 389 Fax: (02) 9281 2750 Email: tonypizzata@yaffa.com.au Advertising Production: Michelle Carneiro Tel: (02) 92138219 Email: michellecarneiro@yaffa.com.au Marketing Manager: Lucy Yaffa Tel: (02) 92138245 Marketing Specialist: Simon Ancone Tel: (02) 92138242 Customer Service Manager: Martin Phillpott SPORTING SHOOTER is published by Yaffa Media Pty Ltd, 17-21 Bellevue St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010 Tel: (02) 9281 2333 Fax: (02) 9281 2750 ACN 54002 699 354 Publisher: Chris Yu Production Director: Matthew Gunn Art Director: Ana Heraud Studio Manager: Lauren Esdaile Designer: Ruby Ren…

roarin’ reds

IT’S the first week of April and the rut is upon us, my mate Lachlan and I saddled up and headed out to the property. The owner mentioned the stags had only just started to pipe up. The grass was green, a great sign on that first overcast afternoon when we heard our first roar. We stood by the fence line as the rain intensified as we glassed our first deer of the season. A cull 2x2 with long curling brows and bowed antlers. He was holding half a dozen hinds, an indicator that the stags were beginning to do their thing. A large mob of rusa were feeding on the nearest peak just 50 yards way, amongst them a nice up and coming velvet stag. (Pic 2) Swirling wind made stalking…

scope on a slug gun

Q What do you think about mounting a scope on a pump-action shotgun for hunting pigs with slug loads? Should the scope be mounted on the receiver or on the barrel? Or would a long eye relief scope mounted out on the barrel would be faster to aim with? – Paul Foster A Most pumps have quick-detachable barrels that fit into the receiver rather loosely. This means the barrel shifts about slightly from shot to shot which doesn’t do much to help accuracy. This may also look to be a problem when the scope is mounted on the receiver, but I find most shotguns to be more inherently accurate with the commonly available Foster-type slugs regardless of where the scope is mounted. On the other hand A Mossberg pumpgun I used on…

ask the gun editor

Stainless Steel Barrels In Remington 700s Q I recently bought a Remington Model 700 in 7mm Rem. Mag. from a deceased estate. It appears to have an original stainless-steel barrel, but I can't find any reference to this model having a stainless-steel barrel in any of its variations. What can you tell me about this model? – Lester Adams A In the early 1960s, Remington introduced stainless-steel barrels with the idea of reducing erosion in hot chamberings like the .264 Win. Mag. and the .17 Rem. and 7mm Rem.Mag. The company later discovered there was no significant increase in barrel life and, stainless-steel barrels were discontinued about 1979. Les Bowman had one of the first Model 700s in 7mm Rem. Mag. and he claimed he'd fired 5,000 rounds through the barrel and it…

keen hunters and the protein fix

I’M not sure when it happened, but at some point over the last few years I went from being someone who was full of beans and shot at every opportunity, to now being someone fortunate to have enough access to share it with friends and family who aren’t as lucky. we were kids, dad used to tell us that he was happy to watch my brothers and I catch the fish, and he would only wet his line occasionally. I used to think he was mad, until now, when I invite my friends out just to see them get excited about putting a deer on the ground, and we all share in the bounty of fresh protein. In some of my hunting spots, deer are still in big numbers, despite me…