Guns and Shooting.

[ManDownUnder]

BTW, you Christian(s) who posted in this thread....what happened to the 6th Commandment - "Thou shall not kill"????

LOL - it is actually "thou shalt not commit murder" but hey - and lets leave the interpretation of that statement to those most able to put it in context?

... off to get MY popcorn now...

[sels1]

LOL - it is actually "thou shalt not commit murder" but hey - and lets leave the interpretation of that statement to those most able to put it in context?

... off to get MY popcorn now...

I think the original hebrew to greek translation was "not kill" and the same sentiment is expressed in other early scriptures such as the Bagavad Gita.
Later translations tended to suit the atitudes and culture of the translators
Anyway, no need to start another scottish tread - got enough bites with that troll....

[Swoop]

Myself and a freind are thinking of getting our gun liscences and starting hunting as a hobby. I have had a bit of time on .22s shooting rabbits and not a whole lot else.

From what I can see a .308 seems to be a decent gun for most things, or is it just too big for a newb? I don't want to spend too much, mabey $500 or so for a first gun.

Anyone care to give me a brief rundown on the whole hunting rules and ways to go around it (where and when what how etc). I'm just investigating more before I decide to take the jump.

Cheers.

P.s. Keep it on topic please.

Go for it! Get your licence!!! You will enjoy the endless hours comparing calibres and rifles, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.......................

[Wolf]

Thanks for your comments guys - Wolf, whats that 'shower' thing you mentioned??

308 Saiga Carbine. Based on the ak47 action.

7.62x39 Norinco SKS. I think also based on the ak47.

Both semi auto's, good reliable all rounders apparently, and great as bush guns. I'm leaning toward the 308 at the moment but it doesn't come with a scope which is another $299.

Any advice?

Showers are what you make do with if you haven't got a bath. Recently shifted house and the new place has a nice deep old fashioned bath so showers are a thing of the past.

But back on topic after joking around and feeding the trolls:

I have a genuine Russian "Simonov" albeit rather modified - no bayonet lug and I replaced the old wooden stock with a synthetic Hole-through "Target" stock and cut down the magazine to five shots so I don't need the MSSA endorsement. I can hear the Military Enthusiasts groaning from here - "You did what to a genuine Russian SKS?!?!?!?" I still have the original wooden stock in storage.

I haven't had a chance to fire it yet.

A Miroku lever action is indeed a good hunting weapon - I had one in .243, detachable box mag was handy. I prefer a bolt action or a military semi-auto as the removal of the bolt is a trivial task and I was brought up with the "enter the house with the bolt in one hand and the rifle in the other or leave the house horizontal, at speed" regime - and mum wasn't joking about punching me back out the door, either. Lever actions and many "sporting semis" are difficult to strip.

I like .243 as it is a good flat trajectory and is quieter and more manageable than a .308 (7.62x51). The Miroku was a great weapon to shoot and nicely accurate. The action was like oiled glass - after the initial resistance as the bolt unlocked the lever took no effort to move. I sold it because I needed the cash - gut-wrenching that was.

AFAIK Miroku = Browning - it was a Browning Lever Action made under licence by Miroku.

I had an old Russian Mosin-Nagant rifle - NOT the carbine - in 7.62x54R and would not recommend it (especially not firing in "prone" position - better to stand or kneel and let it knock you on your arse than lie down and try to absorb all the recoil on your shoulder...) Made a noise like a Howitzer and in any standard DOC shooting block you'd better pray your first shot is a kill - if you miss then you might as well pack up and go home because there's not going to be any game in your block by the time the echoes die away...

I don't know what .308 sport rifles sound like but I fired an L1A1 (semi-auto version of the FAL) and I would've sworn it was audible all the way to town, I'd hate to hear a FAL on "Rock 'n' Roll".

I want to buy another hunting rifle, most likely a bolt action .243 of some flavour.

My .22 is a Brno - damned fine weapon. My original Brno got stolen and never recovered but it was such a wonderful weapon I bought the same model again (almost - the new one is the "Luxus" model while the original was the "Standard" - better quality stock on the new one.)

I need to get a decent scope for the new Brno - the old one had a second hand but still reasonably good scope on it.

Edit: The attached pic is the same model as my Brno

[SpankMe]

hmmm, sounds like NZ needs a firearms/hunting forum. If I had any spare time (which I don't) I'd start one. I haven't been out shooting in a donkeys age. The rifle collection has just been gathering dust (and some rust).

[Drunken Monkey]

Maybe we need to arrange the KB stalker's club shoot...

Good hunting places are few and far between these days, people like to keep them secret, especially around Aucks. I know I did when I had one. Alas it is being used for grazing now...

[SpankMe]

The place I used to go hunting has now become too built up to hunt there anymore. I even had the Police helicopter called out on me once while I was target shooting to zero in some new high velocity ammo on my .22 magnum bolt-action. Too many townies moving to the country and not used to the sound of gunfire. The Police Helicopter circled and came down real low then over its loud speaker I heard "drop your weapon and walk to wards the road". There were two plain clothes officers waiting there for me and they had pulled the plugs from my GB (the first one I owned). Apparently they had been after me for months but I was always gone before they got there. I usually just hunt at my friends place, but there is some large council property next to it which is always good for bunnys and target practise. They said it wasn't a problem, just that I needed council approval to shoot there. They put back my spark plugs in the GB and that was it. So from then on I only used a .22 with silencer when I went on that bit of land.

About a week later the Police helicopter fell out of the sky and crashed on the Auckland central motorway.

[ManDownUnder]

About a week later the Police helicopter fell out of the sky and crashed on the Auckland central motorway.

a .22" hole in the tail rotor was it? Seriously though - I know what you mean.

I'm on the lookout for some bunny or possum hunting grounds, so if anyone knows any out west and or wants to come out for a walk one night. I have all the gears, the licence and the spotlight (none of this "bright torch" shit... I'm talking 100W Halogen bunny blinder)

MDU

[ManDownUnder]

Maybe we need to arrange the KB stalker's club shoot...

Good hunting places are few and far between these days, people like to keep them secret, especially around Aucks. I know I did when I had one. Alas it is being used for grazing now...

Count/consider me for that.

MDU

[Wolf]

About a week later the Police helicopter fell out of the sky and crashed on the Auckland central motorway.

Hmm, and they thought you were a danger to the public...

[Swoop]

hmmm, sounds like NZ needs a firearms/hunting forum. If I had any spare time (which I don't) I'd start one. I haven't been out shooting in a donkeys age. The rifle collection has just been gathering dust (and some rust).

There is already one on the IMAS site. Dunno how much use it gets though...

[scumdog]

Maybe we need to arrange the KB stalker's club shoot......

Hell no! The way these pricks operate they would be shooting themselves in the arse every 40 metres or so - going by their riding/binning ratio!!

[scumdog]

I don't know what .308 sport rifles sound like but I fired an L1A1 (semi-auto version of the FAL) and I would've sworn it was audible all the way to town, I'd hate to hear a FAL on "Rock 'n' Roll".

I want to buy another hunting rifle, most likely a bolt action .243 of some flavour.

My .22 is a Brno - damned fine weapon.

Hmm, 308 is o.k., only rattles your fillings when you get to the 220grn mark!!

I hand-load and my shots are LOUD! but deadly, best part is that a bit of scrub has no effect on the accuracy/power!!.

My .22 is 1950's Sako - 10mm groups at 50 yards with Winchester Power-Point bullets, got a 4X40 Gold Crown on it, THE best .22 rifle scope combo I've had.

[Wolf]

I hand-load and my shots are LOUD! but deadly, best part is that a bit of scrub has no effect on the accuracy/power!!.

My .22 is 1950's Sako - 10mm groups at 50 yards with Winchester Power-Point bullets, got a 4X40 Gold Crown on it, THE best .22 rifle scope combo I've had.

Yeah, .243 can be a bit light in scrub. Your Sako sounds like a wet dream.

Never did a proper bench test on the "old" Brno when I had the scope on it (can't even remember what make scope I had, was around the same specs as yours - 4x40 (chose the 40 for light catching ability at dusk/night)) but it was certainly accurate enough to drop possums cleanly over various distances. The factory test on the new Brno looks fair but they weren't exactly trying to shoot a UIT match with it so it's not that tight. Will have to get a good scope and take it out and give it a proper bench test.

[MSTRS:Me]

My .22 is 1950's Sako - 10mm groups at 50 yards with Winchester Power-Point bullets, got a 4X40 Gold Crown on it, THE best .22 rifle scope combo I've had.

Sounds like a veeery nice combo. Got a Voere myself. Puts 5 shots in an under 1cent coin-sized group at 25m including 1 'flier'.
Wolf, I am bleeding for you (having to sell the Miroku). You are right - they are a Japanese Browning. Best thing as far as lever actions are concerned, these rifles side-eject, so no scope issues.