Table of contents for Edition 59 in Australian Hunter

We clambered up the ladder, arranged our gear on the floor of the tree stand and settled down to wait - my sense of déjà vu strong and very welcome. It was four years since I had last sat and waited in a stand for a hog deer. Then I had needed a representative stag to complete my ‘grand slam’ of Australian deer species - a goal I had set for myself several decades before. As luck would have it, I shot my stag at ground level on the last day of that season, but I had never forgotten how intrinsically pleasant it was to simply sit and watch the deer go about their daily business. Needing to revive those experiences, I made a phone call early in April…

Having recently reviewed the Mossberg Patriot Synthetic rifle (June 2016 Australian Shooter), I was more than happy to receive a new sample in Mossberg’s MVP range to put through its paces. American firearms manufacturers, it would seem, are all big on acronyms and Mossberg is no different. MVP literally stands for ‘Mossberg Varmint & Predator’ and covers a rather diverse range of rifles under that umbrella. There is the MVP-LR (Long Range), MVP-LC (Light Chassis), MVP Scout, MVP FLEX, MVP Varmint, MVP Predator and last but not least and the subject of this review, the MVP Patrol. As the name suggests, the MVP Patrol is manufactured in the vein of the ‘patrol rifle’ concept. This is a short, handy magazine-fed carbine that could easily ride along in a police squad…

Leica’s relatively new ER5 range of scopes are engineered in Germany and made in America. Now they are available in Australia. The collection includes a 1-5x24, 1.5-8x32, 2-10x50, 3-15x56, 4-20x50 and a 5-25x56. Over the past couple of months I have had the opportunity to have a good look at the ER5 2-10x50 model, which impressed me greatly. This particular scope is quite versatile and I found it to be suitable on several different rifles for game including rabbits and foxes to pigs and goats and up to sambar deer. For shots above 250m I felt that a higher magnification would have been helpful but due to the excellent light transmission and large objective diameter, the scope is not out of its league at these distances and beyond. While the…

Goa in India is an unusual place. Colonised by the Portuguese for four centuries, a Jesuit priest achieved a balance between three religions - Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Goa is an example of religious tolerance and the local cuisine has benefited. Pork and beef dishes are not common in India. Yet here is a pork recipe that balances the religious and cultural influences in Goa, with a little added tweaking. Enjoying Goan Pork in the Australian red soil country seems to add even more flavour. Ingredients • 2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil, depending on amount of pork • 1kg pork - cubed into 2-3cm pieces • 1 tablespoon ginger • 1 tablespoon garlic • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric • ½ cinnamon stick or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1-2 chopped red…

Several large herds of buffaloes were feeding on the floodplain as we drove along the track between the ever-present pandanus palms. Two mobs off to our right, and unfortunately downwind, quickly became aware of our presence and nervously moved further out onto the floodplain towards the distant tree line that marked the river. But luckily for us, another mob about 1500 yards to our left and upwind, were still feeding contentedly, totally unaware of our presence. A quick discussion determined that we would attempt a stalk over the open ground, our first stalk towards Australia’s largest ‘big game’ animal - Bubalus bubalis, the Asian water-buffalo. This trip had been a long time in the planning, as I had wanted to hunt the big bovines for many years and hopefully…

My moose trip began when a friend died of a heart attack at age 46 and I began thinking about my bucket list. So I started to look for a moose hunt in Canada. After much research, I finally settled on Don Lind’s South Peace Outfitters as the people I would hunt with and booked a trek for moose, American black bears, mule deer and elks. I knew I would be unlikely to harvest all the animals I had tags for, but I did not want to come across one and not have a tag. So the extra expense for the tags was no problem. A wolf tag was added as there is always a chance of seeing one because they are plentiful in the Peace River area and really…

Standing at the counter of the local gunshop recently, an older gentleman made the statement to the salesperson behind the counter: “I need a scope with more magnification to let the light in. As I’m getting older, I can’t see so well in poor light.” Most serious hunters hunt in the lowlight conditions of dawn and dusk when game animals are at their most active. However, it occurred to me that this gentleman, who had probably been hunting all his life, and using telescopic sights for most of it, really didn’t know how to evaluate his needs, or calculate his specific requirements. We began chatting about the basic formula for light transmission, and his ‘eyes were opened’ in more ways than one. Now, while some of us already understand the…

After some consideration I recently bought myself a Champion 13.5-23" bipod. As the name implies, the legs can be set at either 13.5" or extended out to 23". For shooting over rocky outcrops I find the 13.5" length ideal. When sitting on the ground the extended 23" leg length gives me a comfortable shooting position at the right height. I find it a great asset when hunting wild dogs where most often the shots are in open country over longish ranges. I typically fit the bipod to either my .223 Remington or .257 Weatherby Magnum rifles. The Champion 13.5-23" bipod has other features that attracted me to it. But first, why shoot with a bipod? A rifle bipod can greatly improve your stability and aim in the field, particularly on…

All hunters are different. For some, stalking through thick cover chasing deer is their passion. Others are committed to hunting ducks in the swamps and lakes, while some love nothing more than heading out west to pursue pigs on the vast plains. The beauty of our pastime is the variety of opportunities available and the assorted quarry that can be hunted. There is a small but dedicated band of hunters out there who relish the challenge of longer range shooting of pest species such as rabbits, foxes, feral cats and so on - varminters. With their preferred rifle - usually but not exclusively a full-load .22-calibre centrefire - they will set up in a likely spot overlooking a rabbit warren or some other productive location and with a pair…

My dad’s goal for the 2016 roar was to put me onto my first red stag. With this in mind, Dad has spent a lot of time teaching me fieldcraft. This means how to move through the bush quietly, how to use dead ground and manage the wind, how to identify and range a target and how to read and age deer sign. We have discussed at length the habits of deer, practised good shot placement and I have also read every book on Australian deer hunting that I can find. Over spring and summer 2015, we put in two ‘training’ stalks designed to test our skills. Both would have resulted in a stag on the ground had they been good-quality heads. Unfortunately, they were not. In the first instance,…

Driving up to the house, I couldn’t help but shout “They’re all gone!” The bumper apple crop from nine trees, which we had fertilised, irrigated and nurtured though the hot, dry summer, had almost all disappeared. Only about two dozen apples were left on one tree nearest to the house - from a crop that had numbered as many as 300 to 400 apples. After an absence of many weeks due to a family illness, which had included the Easter holiday period, it was late autumn when we made it back to our property in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in southern New South Wales. To protect the crop from birds, the canopies of the apple trees were all covered with netting, which in turn was fastened to…

I have hunted Cape York in Far North Queensland for more than 30 years, wondering on every adventure what surprises lie ahead. Does this dry creek lead to a pool of water where a crusty old boar has a drink, or naps under a shady tree? Should I turn around, or try a new direction? However, I no longer ponder such mysteries, as Google Earth has come to my aid. With this program and my GPS, a whole new world has opened up before my eyes. For those unfamiliar with Google Earth, it is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program, originally called Earthviewer 3D created by Keyhole Ink - a CIA-funded company acquired by Google in 2004. It maps the planet by superimposition of images obtained from aerial…

Anyone with even a passing interest in knives and multi-tools will have heard of the name Leatherman. Indeed, the label has become a generic term for the plethora of different brands and models of multi-tools available today. This did not happen by accident; the company’s reputation has been built on a tradition of innovation and quality over the 30-plus years that Leatherman has been putting out its range of products. But make no mistake, while there may be plenty of imitators, there is only one Leatherman brand. From humble beginnings with just a single model, the company has grown and the range has expanded to include many different versions of knives, multi-tools, pocket tools, assorted accessories and even watches. Zen Imports, the Australian distributor of Leatherman, supplied two comparatively new…

The Australian release in March 2016 of the new Tikka T3x range of centrefire rifles has caused quite a degree of excitement among the hunting and shooting fraternity. One of Beretta Holdings’ most popular rifle lines in the Tikka T3 had received a welcomed update in the T3x, but the team at Beretta Australia also had another special surprise for Australian fans of the Tikka T3 and T3x - a range of quality, precision-loaded hunting ammunition in various popular calibres. This new ammunition, loaded by Sako in Finland for Tikka, is aimed squarely at the Australian hunter, being released in .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester and the venerable .30-06 Springfield calibres. However, this ammunition is certain to appeal to users of other rifle makes and models,…

After a good few years and many hunting trips my old boots had finally given out on me and it was time to find a replacement. I needed a pair that would suit my needs and style of hunting, which consists of plenty of walking, sometimes in rough, steep or wet terrain and whatever weather conditions prevail at the time. They needed to be waterproof, comfortable, durable and provide ample ankle support. I looked at a few different options before settling on a pair made by the New Zealand company, Hunters Element. New Zealand has some of the most demanding and arduous landscapes to be found anywhere in the world so I hoped that the product would be able to handle anything I could throw at it, but time…

For your chance to win one of these competitions, write your name, address and daytime contact number on a piece of paper and place it inside an envelope, and write the name of the competition on the front of the envelope, and send it to: Australian Hunter 59 competition PO Box 2520, Unley SA 5061 Or enter online at ssaa.org.au/win Competitions close February 28, 2017 WIN Kizlyar Supreme Kid hunting knife Valued at $129.95 Kindly donated by Kizlyar Knives kizlyarknifestore.com.au Winner must be at least 18 years old WIN Set of 3 Winchester t-shirts (large size only) Valued at $119.95 Kindly donated by Winchester Australia winchesteraustralia.com.au WIN 1 of 4 AHA DVD and drink holder packs Valued at $44.95 Kindly donated by Aussie Hunting Adventures TV ahatv.com.au SSAA’s Cooks Companion…