Tabla de contenidos para Edition 87 en Australian Hunter

Although the nifty pluck foam blocks come sturdy, my SealCase616 will get a lot of use and I wanted to ensure everything remains in shape and in place. Plasti Dip is a rubberised automotive spray paint that works a treat for fixing foam pluck into a robust single block after you have created the gear cavities. You could simply mask your gun case and spray the pluck foam in situ, therefore not having to pull out the whole block. However, having Blue Glue at the ready to glue any loose cubes together, I carefully extracted the pluck foam block and employed several coats of Plasti Dip in a wind-free environment. The whole procedure was simple and will see my case through many years of travel, including to the range and…

An important part of my hunting has always been about putting healthy food on the table. The meat I shoot myself beats anything I can buy in a store, any day. Depending on how far off the beaten track I venture and what the animal is like, I either field butcher and pack out the choice cuts, or I take more. When the prospect of good meat is not too arduous to carry out, entire animals make it home. And this is where the ‘fun’ begins. It is one thing to use a sharp knife to pull the backstraps, upper legs and tail off an animal in the bush, but butchering an entire carcass is something else entirely. You deal with a more elaborate process, with a lot of work…

This has to be one the simplest ways to prepare venison. You can employ virtually any lidded barbecue, using smoker boxes. Use a thermometer - preferably digital, or better still a remote digital thermometer and watch the temperature carefully. Ingredients: • 1 x venison backstrap approximately 500g - silver skin trimmed off• Woodchips for smoker - soaked for a minimum of 25 minutes Rub: • 1 tablespoon garlic powder• 1 tablespoon salt• 2 tablespoons paprika• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika• 2 teaspoons black pepper• 1 tablespoon onion powder• ¾ teaspoon mustard powder• ¾ cup brown sugar• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper – optional Method Light your smoker or lidded barbecue and wait for a generous amount of smoke to appear. Combine rub ingredients and generously coat backstrap. Set smoker to 125-150 degrees…

Early May saw me out on my first hunt for the year. It was an afternoon in my favourite gully system, where I saw the same two deer I had spotted on my last outing the year before. A red doe and her fawn, which turned out to be a young stag, a goat head as I call them or spiker. The young stag eyed me first as I was walking up a small ridge in the other direction from him. He half grunted and half barked at me. As I turned around, there he was standing 200m away looking at me. My heart rate was pumping from walking uphill and there was no way I was going to hit him with an off the shoulder shot at that distance…

Whether it is because I am old-fashioned or just a purist, I do not know, but I always attempt to use as much of an animal as possible. There is a limit though, as I only use whatever part I can as long as I know of a way to cook it so it tastes good. Some of the bits which are overlooked by many, but which I have eaten all my life, are tails of various animals. And few tails rank as high up the good tucker list as those of young scrub bulls or other young bovines. There is a reason why French cuisine has always used ox tail to prepare fine broths. Scrub bull tails, as well as those of bantengs, are full of flavour and the…

In the years leading up to World War Two, British gunmakers set the bar high when it came to double rifles. So high, that few modern gunmakers (including some of the surviving British innovators) have been able to equal the same levels. However, as time goes by old doubles become even older but, occasionally, a rifle such as Heym’s 89B comes along. The 89B is, according to Heym’s own company literature, the finest British double rifle made in Germany, and one look at the rifle shows that there’s a large grain of truth in this statement. Heym’s earlier design, the 88B, earned a solid reputation for reliability and accuracy, styled rather uniquely with prominent extended shoulders. The 89B, on the other hand, looks distinctively British from across the room and…

DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid is nature’s playbook for all living creatures. It is the hereditary material – the double helix – carrying the genetic instructions for the development, function and growth of all known organisms. In fact, the variations that we see in the animals we encounter, whether beneficial or abhorrent, reflect their DNA or genetic code. To the casual observer, one member of a particular species may seem identical to another, but a closer look can reveal a myriad of interesting differences which in turn invite speculation as to their origin – genetic or otherwise. Over the years many encounters with red deer stags and the obvious variations from rack to rack have given me cause to ponder this matter. Natural variation Genetic variation within a species is not…

There is an old saying: “Beware the man who has only one gun, because he probably knows how to use it.” It’s true enough even today, when most hunters can usually be counted on to have at least one safe full of firearms and often more besides. Nothing wrong with having more than one gun, because there is a wide array of animals to be hunted, and for most of us one firearm won’t be sufficient. But there’s another factor at work here that will always determine our increasing collections. It seems that barely a week goes by when one of the firearms manufacturers doesn’t come up with what they believe will be the latest and greatest in hunting rifles and cartridges. But as hunters, and therefore buyers of firearms,…

Far out in the distance I could hear the typical eerie moonlit serenade of a pack of coyotes as I nestled deeper into my sleeping bag. Normally such sounds in a predator hunters’ camp would be foremost in everyone’s mind, but what seemed more important to me at that particular moment was simply trying to keep the cold desert wind from creeping down my neck. I wiggled deeper into the bag, pulling my legs up into the foetal position then forcing my head further into the bag. We had travelled long and far to reach the United States’ Great Salt Lake Desert of Utah in hopes of ridding some of its coyote population. To many of us this area, located near the state border of Utah and Nevada, was a…

In just about every article in relation to reloading, there is one piece of advice for the newcomer that is inviolate - do not exceed maximum powder charges. In the scheme of things, it is good valid advice based on the fact that without the ability to know exactly what pressure is being developed within a certain cartridge case, you are literally groping in the dark. The potential to cross the line into dangerous pressure territory is alive. The simple way to prevent this occurring is to never exceed the published maximum powder charge and start at a lower value. But the question continues to be asked - just which maximum charge? Look at 10 different manuals for the XYZ cartridge using ABC powder and the maximum load for every…

Anybody who hunts for game meat should have a food vacuum sealer. The already outstanding qualities of free-range, totally organic, lean meat are significantly enhanced by vacuum sealing the prime cuts. And sealing the meat in robust vacuum bags provides a very tidy package for stacking in the freezer, while enabling longer storage times and eliminating freezer burn. Recently, my old vacuum sealer began to struggle to reach the vacuum it once did. After a lot of use over the years, I presumed it needed new seals. I called the company I had originally purchased the unit from and found it under changed management. Bryce, the new owner of Food Vacuum Sealers Australia, said that parts for my old sealer were no longer available. We moved into conversation and the…

Consider this. As humans, our hearing range is typically between the frequencies of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Now, reflect on the hearing of our quarry. We know that most mammals generally have better hearing than we do and that many animals with exceptional hearing also have big ears to help channel the soundwaves into their ear canal. Further, many animals can manipulate their ears to help triangulate which direction the sound is coming from. And some of these are among the feral introduced pests that we like to hunt. Take for example, the pesky cat. Their hearing range is between 48 Hz and a whopping 85,000 Hz, which is among the broadest hearing scope of all mammals. Supporting this impressive capacity, cats can move their conical-shaped ears up to…

Real custom bullet makers are fairly rare. When it comes to the conventional non-commercial jacketed rifle bullets, a phone call and a quick search of the internet yields little in terms of numbers within Australia. Those listed tend to be specific in what they produce. Copperhead Bullets: Large-range .20 to .30 calibre, Match, varmint, benchrest. Rexem Projectiles: Limited range .224 and 6.5mm projectiles. Outer Edge Projectiles: Reasonable range. Machined copper. There are more numerous producers of pistol projectiles. There are individuals who produce projectiles for a particular use - they only make one type. Short-range benchrest used to have several makers of 68gr flatbased hollow-point projectiles for use in the 6mm PPC cartridge. I still have some and they are accurate enough in the .243 Winchester for light game, while…

Anyone who goes out in the dark will have one or more flashlights. There are endless options, however, as with many things, you tend to get what you pay for. Reliability and the amount of light produced can be rather limited. For anyone who needs a torch to just work, even in adverse conditions, look at more premium offerings. Battery technology and light-emitting diode (LED) expertise are developing at an incredible pace. This means that modern premium flashlights put out a previously unknown number of lumens, while batteries last a long time without overheating, even at high outputs. Where I have been partial to lights powered by 18650 batteries for a while, I increasingly find myself grabbing 16340/CR123A alternatives. A great compact light is the Olight Baton 3, which now…

Tanning an animal hide and turning it into an attractive floor rug is a rewarding experience. If you are planning on taking the skin (or meat) for later use, then time is of the essence after you have despatched the animal. Obviously the hotter it is, the quicker you will have to work. Basically, once the animal is dead, bacteria will start to break it down. With the hide it targets the base of the hair follicles and if not stopped, you will acquire ‘hair slip’ and the hide cannot be saved. Preserving and tanning the hide: Step 1. When skinning the animal, make precise cuts, as this determines the overall shape later. It’s all about making it look as symmetrical as possible. Pay particular attention to the tail. It’s…

For quite some time we have been making and enjoying our home cured and smoked bacon using store-bought pork belly and a product called Misty Gully Maple Bacon Cure. On a recent trip to the local home brew store to pick up another pack of the bacon cure, they had added the Misty Gully Maple Ham Cure to the range. Food for thought. Take into account that wild/feral pork meat is perhaps not a good source of pork, so it was more or less back to the drawing board in terms of selection if we wanted to try this new version. The good results experienced with the bacon cure suggested it might be well worth trying the ham cure. Fast forward a couple of months. I arrived home from a…

When travelling with firearms, robust and secure carry cases are a must. This is especially so if you are flying commercial where the brutality towards luggage by rogue baggage handlers is a global curse. I have personally witnessed Australian gear personnel violently trashing belongings and it has made the news as well with covert video from Melbourne airport. That, and the propensity of airlines to also lose my checked-in items, long ago prompted me to travel with cabin kit only. However, you cannot take firearms on board as cabin luggage, so the approaching likelihood of airline travel prompted me to look for a suitable hard case for my rifle. My particular need was for a compact case, not much bigger than a briefcase, to handle my Merkel K3 take-down rifle.…

Some time ago, my mate and cohort, Lu Cervi, penned a poem, The Clear Creek Stag, which tells the tale of a hound hunt and expresses some of the emotions a hunter may feel when they hear the baying of the dogs. As with all of Lu’s poetry, he captures the moment so vividly. I won’t dare try to imitate his art but will tell the story from my own perspective. The phone rang one wintery evening, as I answered the call I heard Lu say: “Hey what you doing around August?” “Nothing,” I replied. “Then why not come down and join us for a hound hunt?” I instantly felt apprehensive, as many years before I had given hound hunting a try with an unsuccessful team, out of Stratford, Victoria.…

Massive and widespread poaching drove wildlife to near extinction in many parts of Mozambique. A civil war spanning 1977-1992 saw tens of thousands of animals eaten by villagers and soldiers for survival, playing its part in creating wastelands throughout the country. In 1994, Zambeze Delta Safaris was established by Mark Haldane and Carlos Faria in the Coutada 11 block of the Marromeu Complex in eastern Mozambique. The aim was to restore the once flourishing ecosystems and the animals that thrived in the area. In Bringing Back the Lions, Mike Arnold communicates the important message of conservation through paid trophy hunting as he interweaves his trips and unique experiences in Coutada 11 with the extensive environmental efforts ongoing in the zone. He vividly paints a picture of what the area is…

I was born in the Netherlands on a farm that fringed the German border, an area dangerous with discarded Second World War ordinance - live ammunition, rifles, machine guns, grenades, mines and mortar bombs. I was taught at an early age not to touch anything that I found in old bunkers that were hidden in the pine forests and woodlands on both sides of the border, but of course I did. I even learnt from an invalided German soldier how to toss hand grenades into ponds to stun trout, always a welcome addition to game meat I brought into the house. As a youngster, I was an accomplished poacher and smuggler, able to ‘steal’ royal game and traffick tobacco and coffee to needy Germans who were doing it hard, even…