Hunting in Australia

[davidpollock]

Gday from Australia,
Only discovered your bulletin board 2 dys ago
alot of useful information and interesting facts on equipment not really seen in Australia. a bit of info on Aussie hunting, Wild pigs and goats are very widespread and are the most commonly hunted game/feral animals in Australia, also 6 species of deer, foxes,rabbits,hares,cats, Water Buffalo and Banteng( Wild Indonesion Cattle) crows so i guess fewer species than North America but widespread with no seasons for pigs, goats etc due to their feal animal status. As to Long rang hunting lots of potential but is probably limited to 500 or 600 yards being considered a long shot. I hunt with a Sako 75 300 Weatherby and have had success on Pigs, goats, Fallow Deer and Red Deer am planning on doing some longer range practicing on targets. Anyone loading 125gn baliistic tips in 300 Web for varmints or is it better to stick to 150 or 180 gn loads, My other rifle is a BLaser R93 in 7mm Brenneke, which has been very effective on pigs and fallow deer with 140gn ballistic tips, has been great to find such an informative bulletin board, anyone who like to do alot of shooting should visit Australia and chech it out, Bye Dave

 

[Mysticplayer]

Welcome to the site. Have read several articles about the hunting/shooting down under. Sounds like a great trip.

Presently, I shoot a 300Wby and have found that because of the freebore, I have had the best success with 150 to 168gr bullets seated as far out as possible.

With your Sako, the throat may be different. Unless, your varmint shooting is up close, I would still consider a 155gr or 168gr bullet as they usually work so much better and will make a big impression way out there. Your varmints are a whole lot bigger then ours, so I would lean towards a heavier bullet. My favorites are the Hornady Amax. Wonderfully accurate, and soft enough to splatter at long range. The nosler BT are also excellent but a tougher bullet and more expensive in Canada.

Either way, you have mucho gun to do the job. Have fun burning out the barrel and countryside.

Jerry

 

[Lostsheep]

I have heard that the gun laws in australia are very strict.
How easy, and how would a foreighner go about
planning a feral hunt in oz?

 

[Nodak7mm]

Welcome Dave,

It would appear from an North American Point of view (mine anyhow) considering the pix we've seen of Australia, that you would have an unlimited range to shoot as the flat plains appear to extend for miles. Is this a correct perception?

Do you eat many of the critters you mention, specifically the hogs?

Nodak7mm

 

[davidpollock]

Thanks for the Replies,

Gun laws are alot stricter than they were before 1996. at the moment it is hard to get a licence for a semi-auto rifle or shotgun and pump action shotguns are hard to get also, abou the only way to get a semi-auto is to be a landholder with alot of feral animals to control and even then it is not easy,
As for long distance shooting there is alotof open space and in central Australia, Wild Donkey shooting for overseas generally North American hunters has become popular, wild donkeys and camels are pest animals in the desert and a company called Hunt Asutralia, i think they are on the web , have hunts where they shoot up to 1,000 donkeys in few days. the best way to hunt ferals in Australia for an overseas hunter is to contact a safari operator as they can arrange permits for importing firearms and plaaning trips, Craig Boddington and the guy that runs Nosler have featured in a few Australin magazines hunting Buffalo in the Northern Territory, i would love to hunt Big game in North America, i have an uncle in North Carolina and on a trip over there i only saw 1 whitetail doe in West Virginia, i did not go hunting as my Uncle is not a hunter and i was only 15 years old wjen i ws there, however i do work for an American based company an dmay get ot go over there in the next few years, i will have to make sure it coincides with deer hunting season and bring my 300 Weatheby of Blaser 7mm,
another bad aspect of the new gun laws is availability of equipment, a lot of new stuff takes a few years to get here, i often walk in to a gunbshop and get blank looks when i ask about something i saw in Rifle shooter or Guns and Ammo, Later David

 

[davidpollock]

Guys, Forgot to mention about eating wild pigs,
I australia there is a large market for export wild pigs to europe, alot of people hunt pigs with dogs and then sell the pigs to wild game companies that sell it to Europeans, the industry is worth around 200million dollars per year, the pigs if shot have to be head shot, so most guys have dogs thet hold the pigs and they are then stabbed or shot at close range with a rimfire, i prefer shooting and the 300 weatherby puts large holes in them so i don't sell them, i have eaten Kangaroo and crocodile and red deer meat but not wild pigs most pigs have alot of lice and can have heart worms etc, i'd rather buy pork chops at the butchers, bye David