Tabla de contenidos para September 2023 en Sporting Shooter

A line from Jared Matthews’ sambar-hunting story should be enshrined in hunting lore as a reminder to us all — well, most of us — of what we’re really trying to achieve. “Not the trophy it could have been but a hunt I will never forget,” he wrote. The trophies, the meat and the conservation benefits are imperatives in hunting but for each of us on a personal level the experience is almost always the critical element. There are occasionally times when the experience isn’t the immediate priority. There is certainly a small cohort for whom the trophy is worth more than the experience. Most us who choose to hunt, though, are in it first for the experience and everything else is a bonus. A few hours before I prepared…

THE famous Vanguard rifle was first added to the Weatherby family back in 1970 as a less powerful and less costly bolt-action rifle to boost sales by appealing to buyers who wanted a Weatherby but couldn’t afford a Mark V. Roy Weatherby approached Howa in Japan to make some changes to its Model 1500 action before introducing it as the Vanguard. “Weatherby sales quadrupled after the new Vanguard models were introduced” First released in standard calibres, the Vanguard was eventually chambered for hot cartridges like the .257 and .300 Weatherby Magnums. The 1500 action — Howa’s first high-powered rifle — has an interesting history that dates back to 1967. The rifle was introduced to America as the Dickson Howa Golden Bear but its arrival hardly rated a mention in US…

WE hear people say it all the time. “If you haven’t made a bad shot on an animal, you haven’t hunted enough.” No one feels good about it, and no one likes talking about it because it’s painful for plenty of reasons. A friend of mine likes to say, “hunting isn’t a game of tennis,” implying stuff can go wrong that we don’t plan for or is hard to predict. At the end of the day, all you can do is dust yourself off, chalk it up to experience and bounce back as best you can. Bowhunting brings about a lot more margin for error than rifle hunting, of course, which is why you see a lot of bowhunters practicing frequently and keeping their distances much closer. The fundamentals are…

IN the early morning darkness, cold settled over the Australian bush as the temperature dropped to a bone-chilling -3 degrees. Armed with my trusty Buckmaster shotgun equipped with a 1x30 Nikko Stirling red dot sight, I ventured out into the wilderness, ready to track down elusive prey. As I trudged through the underbrush, my breath escaped in white puffs, blending with the mist that hung in the air. The silence was broken only by the crunch of frost-covered leaves beneath my boots. The stillness of the forest amplified my senses, making every rustle and crackle seem magnified. Guided by the dim light of the moon, I followed a faint trail, hoping to stumble upon a group of feral pigs or a majestic deer. Suddenly, I found myself encircled by what…

SOMETIMES standard overall length — the overall length to which factory cartridges are loaded — doesn’t suit your purpose. In a bolt-action repeater, the length of the chamber throat dictates the overall length of your handloads, but quite often the magazine may be long enough to allow bullets to be seated out farther. A major concern, of course, will be the relationship of the bullet to the chamber throat when the loaded cartridge is fully chambered. If you want to seat the bullet out farther you get a gunsmith to lengthen the throat to suit. The increased distance of free bullet travel is known as free-bore. The reason that Weatherby cartridges use larger powder charges than other cases with similar bore diameters and bullet weights is due not to case capacity…

The new 7mm PRC Q I’ve heard that Hornady has brought out the new 7mm PRC, but haven’t heard much about it yet. Do you know the specs and ballistics? What can you tell me about it? Roger Anderson A The parent case for the 7mm PRC is the same as for the other PRC cartridges — the .375 Ruger. The 7mm PRC case has a length of 2.280” (57.91mm) and a 30-degree shoulder; maximum overall cartridge length is 3.340” (84.84mm). It has a 1:8” R/H twist and Hornady lists a 180gn ELD Match load at 2975fps which generates 24ft-lb of recoil. There’s also a 160gn CX and a 175gn load, both rated at 3000fps. Handloads are credited with driving a 139gn bullet at 3350fps; 154, 162 and 166gn bullets…

FOR 25 years, Australia has collectively bragged that it has “the best gun laws in the world”. But if that’s the case, why are there constant demands for new restrictions, new bans on guns, and a continued demonisation of law-abiding firearms users? First, there is a tiny but very well-funded group of anti-firearm extremists who will never stop until even pictures of guns are banned. Next, we have a heritage of media reporters who are either completely ignorant about legitimate firearms use or completely city based with a general anti-gun sentiment. Politicians and political parties see that media bias, so will jump onto any criminal misuse of firearms with glee in order to distract the public from looking too closely at their other failings in government or opposition. Perhaps the…

VAST improvements in stock quality, construction and design have made synthetic stocks an even more viable alternative to wood. Shooters have realised the advantages offered by synthetic stocks and most rifles from the major manufacturers are fitted with them; now it is wood stocks that are offered as an option. Many hunters are bolting on a drop-in synthetic stock to replace their rifle’s tired old wood stock which soaks up moisture and changes the rifle’s impact point when carried afield in wet conditions. An added benefit: they can choose a stock design that’s better suited to their build and hunting technique. Some shooters with an expensive rifle often have it fitted with two stocks. They want to preserve the appearance of a fine, highly figured walnut stock, so they remove…

DO you often throw a pillow or sleeping bag on the bonnet, let loose a few shots at a tree or rock at some unknown distance and then go off hunting, thinking she’ll be right? Instead of wobbling the crosshairs on target and pulling the trigger as the sights hover past your aiming point, how about holding rock steady and squeezing the shot off when everything is absolutely perfect? If you’re looking for a solid but portable rest in which to sight-in a rifle, Ridgeline has come up with the recoil-damping Steady Rest, based on a proven design and featuring an anodised frame with adjustable weight bed that has rubber pads for bigger and heavier weight plates. The fore-end rest can be adjusted for height with one hand and then locked…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY BROUGHT TO YOU BY TSA Australian distributor for Weatherby, ZeroTech and Fiocchi. YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A WEATHERBY RIFLE & ZEROTECH SCOPE PACKAGE IN EVERY ISSUE IN 2023 AVAILABLE CHAMBERINGS TO WINNERS INCLUDE 223REM, 22-250REM, 243WIN, 270WIN, 308WIN, 30-06SPRG, 300WIN-MAG. SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. With the basis of a cold hammer-forged 24-inch barrel, 3-position safety and adjustable Match-Quality Two-stage Trigger, the Weatherby Vanguard S2 Blued Synthetic guarantees sub-MoA accuracy and user safety. The Griptonite® stock and Weatherby recoil pad makes for comfortable shooting and the hinged floorplate allows instant unloading. To be eligible you need to include a box of any Fiocchi ammunition in the submitted photo. ENTRIES: please send your high resolution. jpg or. png image as an attachment to your email addressed to mickmatheson@yaffa.com.au…

Buffalo River hunting knife set This rugged, three-piece knife set is the ideal kit when skinning and butchering in the field. It includes a handy saw with rubber TPR handle and blade length of 281mm. The saw, which is constructed of 420 stainless steel, is ideal for cutting through bone or removing the scull cap of a trophy. Next is a skinner featuring a gut hook for ease of use when making those initial cuts before skinning. This knife has a 100mm blade of 420 stainless steel and an overall length of 221mm. The third piece of this kit is a drop-point skinner, ideal for flaying or slicing. This knife also has a 100mm blade and overall length of 221mm. Both the gut-hook skinner and skinner blades are hollow ground…

A young child has a natural instinct to catch small creatures — lizards, cicadas, anything close enough to snatch at, as long as it is not scary or threatening. Some children don’t have a hunter in them and do not go in for the chase but most do. They rarely lose this deeply rooted urge although it gets suppressed in most people by the pressures and distractions that come later in life. The next phase in a hunter’s life may come when they can handle a bow or they become old enough to use a firearm. This is a turning point when they can find focus and purpose. Prior to this, catching reptiles and insects had mostly been opportunistic, random. Armed with a tool of the trade and able to…