Hunting?

[MrThumper]

Hey guys, I work in the security industry with guns and regularly visit the range. The only thing I'm yet to do is go hunting.

I know this is a long shot but if anyone goes hunting, u reckon I could tag along?

I'd be self sufficient and am an easy going bloke. Would just to like to pick up and experience feral hunting.

I'm in SE QLD and would travel to west QLD and NSW

thanks all

 

[kkjkdt1]

If you want to shoot deer, pigs & slightly larger beasts .243 is perfect. I'm not a fan of big calibers, mostly use .204, .17, .222, .220 swift..

Totally agree with you, the .17 and .220 are very underated imo but still love my .243.
I was told by an old bloke once that the only 3 guns you need are a shotgun, .22 and a 6mm-6-5mm centerfire rifle eg .243 .308 i'd agree with this but im the firm belever that you can NEVER HAVE ENOUGH FIRE POWER ha ha ha.

 

[Kenshin]

thats a huge exit wound on that feral cat

 

[PhilK]

Thanks kkjkdt1, appreciate it.

My mate said most people go a .223 AND a .308 but I doubt Id be able to afford that, so I think a .243 is probably a good choice... as long as it can stop pigs and goats, deer etc. .308 sounds a bit big!

 

[scorps]

If you want to shoot deer, pigs & slightly larger beasts .243 is perfect. I'm not a fan of big calibers, mostly use .204, .17, .222, .220 swift..

Totally agree with you, the .17 and .220 are very underated imo but still love my .243.
I was told by an old bloke once that the only 3 guns you need are a shotgun, .22 and a 6mm-6-5mm centerfire rifle eg .243 .308 i'd agree with this but im the firm belever that you can NEVER HAVE ENOUGH FIRE POWER ha ha ha.

I to have been told that a few times the only three guns you need, shotty, .22 and a .308 lol

Scorps

 

[diprotodon]

great thread !!

 

[waruikazi]

I started shooting last year. I have a .308 ruger hawkeye with a leupold VXIII 1.5x5 scope and a lanber 12g shotty.

I haven't had alot of opportunity to use the Ruger yet but if i was about to buy a new gun again i would get a 6.5x55 rather than the .308. Reason for this is that the 6.5 has the same ammount (or more?) punch than the .308 but has a smaller projectile which i think makes it a more versatile round and can be used on bigger game, makes less of a mess on small game and even though neither of them kick much the 6.5 has less recoil. I would also go for either open sights or get a red dot scope (which isn't really a scope but anyway) because you will develop a better reaction shot. Also spend the time zeroing your gun in at a distance that you think you will do most of your shooting, i still haven't done this because i don't have access to a range and it is not good for your confidence. I also reccomend wearing ear plugs when you take your shots, at best without them you get a bad headache at worst you develop a massive flinch which (i know from experience) are very difficult to lose. But there is alot more to choosing a weapon than just looking at the round, the weight of the gun, size of the barrel, action etc etc etc are all very important.

I would reccomend being very very picky about who you go shooting with. I've had one mate decide it was ok to shoot over my shoulder, which scared the bejeezuz out of me and made me deaf in that ear for the rest of the day. I haven't been shooting with him since. I have another mate who i was once goose shooting with, we were standing about 20m apart and hadn't got anything that whole trip when a goose literally flew straight between us neither of us even flinched to shoot it because it wasn't safe. That is the kind of person who it is safe to shoot with.

Don't feel like you are less of a man for going for a larger calibre rifle than you might need. Just because it is possible to kill a buffalo with a .222 doesn't mean you have a good enough shot to do it. It is better to go a bit over and be certain of an instant kill than it is to make an animal suffer. Last night i made a decision to shoot a stray dog that decided it lived at my house, she was a sweet little dog but had no owner and was making my dog sick. I used a .308 round right in the top of her skull. The round did so much damage that it blew her bottom jaw off and butterflied the remains of her head so that from cheek to cheek her head was literally flat. I felt and still feel like a word that i can't say here and the mess almost made me feel ill but i know that she did not suffer. And that is the most important thing.

Wow this post has turned out massive. Just one last piece of advice. You can buy some very good second hand guns and if you are strapped for cash i think it's the way to go. You can get a good 6.5x55 Mauser rifle for less than $400 which means you'll have more money to buy your safe and more guns!!!

 

[waruikazi]

Oh and here's a rotten pic of my two weapons.

 

[PhilK]

I know next to nothing about guns.. and the only way I can look at calibres is .22 or .243 etc... what does 6.5x55 mean?

I have a mate who has been shooting for years and is really responsible. When I go for my licence I will be asking him if he doesn't mind putting plenty of time in with me at the range. He also recommended a .243 calibre.

I agree with the one shot one kill thing waruikazi... looked at some videos on YouTube and some of the hunters out there are apalling... I reckon if you can't kill it straight away don't take the shot.. it's one of the reasons I would never bow hunt - they always run off and die within a few minutes which I reckon is not too good.

 

[waruikazi]

6.5x55 is just the name of the round same as some rounds are 30.06, .308, .223, .22, 45-70 etc. The way ammunition is named is really retarded, i had to do a bit of reading on how ammunition was named for it make sense. In this case the 6.5 is the literal measurments of the round in mm (slug is 6.5mm and the case is 55mm).

I also have some strange views on shooting animals and them not dieing instantly. If you shoot (bow or gun) an animal and it doesn't die straight away you basically end up with one of three outcomes. Lets say a chest shot that missed the heart, generally the animal will bleed out in a few minutes. Gut or head shot will usually end up with the animal dieing over about 3 days from infection/blood poisoning. Or if you miss all organs the animal will be in pain but survive. Lets go for a fourth case and say worst case scenario you blow the animals bottom jaw off and it can't feed or drink and it dies over week to 10 days. Compare all these to what most ferals die of in the wild which is disease, starvation and thirst (which can take weeks to months of the animal feeling really really ordinary) makes me think that an animal getting away wounded isn't the worst thing that could happen.

That said i will not take a shot unless i am 100% that i will get either an instant kill or death in seconds. You should never intentionally leave an animal in pain.

I know next to nothing about guns.. and the only way I can look at calibres is .22 or .243 etc... what does 6.5x55 mean?

I have a mate who has been shooting for years and is really responsible. When I go for my licence I will be asking him if he doesn't mind putting plenty of time in with me at the range. He also recommended a .243 calibre.

I agree with the one shot one kill thing waruikazi... looked at some videos on YouTube and some of the hunters out there are apalling... I reckon if you can't kill it straight away don't take the shot.. it's one of the reasons I would never bow hunt - they always run off and die within a few minutes which I reckon is not too good.

 

[kkjkdt1]

Just a pic of some of my babies.
Guns are like snakes - you just cant stop at one ha ha ha

 

[waruikazi]

Here's a good page illustrating the kill zone on pigs. Hopefully it will help you decide where to place your round.

WILD BOAR ANATOMY, HUNTING WILD BOAR TEXAS, TEXAS HOG HUNTING HEART LUNG SHOT PLACEMNET

 

[PhilK]

Waruikazi I see where you're coming from but I think there is a difference to the way they die naturally and the way they might if we shoot them with an arrow...

We are causing them physical pain and considerable stress when it is generally not their time to die... Ferals may die slowly of starvation or disease but they aren't in the same pain as they are with a bullet wound in their gut or their jaws shot off. I think the two things aren't really comparable personally. When ferals get to that weakened elderly state they are usually killed by another animal - goats etc I'm sure are probably fair game to feral dogs or dingoes, buffalo to crocodiles, they don't always just waste away to nothing, and when they do they aren't in the same state as with a gunshot wound or arrow in them. Just my two cents on that.

Back to the topic though - any more pictures of hunters guns or kills?

 

[ericrs]

go on wikapedia and type in .308 or .243. heaps of info on there. that's where i learnt heaps about different calibers and whats good for what. has all grain variations and fps speeds etc. good luck with it all. personally i would go .243 or even 6.5 55

 

[elapid68]

Thanks kkjkdt1, appreciate it.

My mate said most people go a .223 AND a .308 but I doubt Id be able to afford that, so I think a .243 is probably a good choice... as long as it can stop pigs and goats, deer etc. .308 sounds a bit big!

You might want to check with your State regs in relation to Deer. In certain States there is a legal minimum caliber when shooting certain Deer.
.223 is too small for Deer here in Vic, need a minimum of a .270.
I use a .223 (55gr projectiles) and it has plenty of stopping power for goats. Deer and pigs I upgrade to the 30-06.

 

[elapid68]

Back to the topic though - any more pictures of hunters guns or kills?

 

[PhilK]

elapid... two things mate.

1. what is that gun, it's a beauty!

2. your moustache is amazing and I am eternally jealous.

The more I read up on this stuff the more I want my licence.. I'd love to be able to go out and do my bit for the environment by dispatching some ferals one day.

 

[townsvillepython]

this is my boom stick LOL dont really need to be a great shot .338 turns most things inside out

 

[elapid68]

elapid... two things mate.

1. what is that gun, it's a beauty!

2. your moustache is amazing and I am eternally jealous.

Hahaha, the moustache is now gone, but thanks any way.
As for the rifle, it's a Weatherby Vangard, chambered in 30-06. I removed the original stock and replaced it with a Axiom Spec OP stock from Blackhawk in the US (I prefer pistol grips and it was the only pistol grip I could find for my rifle). The scope is a 4 X 16 Nikko Stirling Nighteater.

 

[bigi]

i know nothing about guns except pull trigger and bang so how accurate are these at what distances