The firearm thread

**jono035** · 30th June 2011, 12:37

Extra random thoughts:

Suppressors: It's $50-100 to get a rifle threaded for a suppressor. For .22LR the plain hushpower suppressors like http://www.guncity.co.nz/hushpower-....idp106342.html are pretty good and only $60. Those are proper baffled suppressors, where the cheaper ones are springs and washers which make them noticeably louder.

Scope rings: Lots of cheap ones out there that are a little on the crap side. Steel is best, but I've got a nice UK-made aluminium pair on my possum rifle at the moment. Assume $60 for an aluminium pair for a .22LR rifle and I'd spend $100-200 for a a steel pair for a centerfire rifle depending on the scope and rifle.

Scopes: I've got a Nikko-Stirling Laserking at the moment that was pretty damn good for the money, $130 from reloader's supplies.

**sAsLEX** · 30th June 2011, 12:48

Originally Posted by Beren

The only issue is that KKK is a bit of a ways north for you Auckland peeps - We are on the awesome SH16 if people wanted to combine ride and shoot... though I guess carrying rifles on a bike could be a little um frowned upon by the fuzz.

I carry mine around on my back.

Stopped and got petrol.... no questions.

Stopped and got fish and chips.... got into a conversation on the merits of the 10/22 with another customer.

All in the Auckland region, not game to try wandering into a bank though!

They do make "100" kmhr a bit tricky as they pull you back a touch.

**jono035** · 30th June 2011, 12:56

Originally Posted by Beren

Oops forgot that bit - I think $3-500 is about my budget - It's birthday time in August... so will combine presents from different people for rifle bags etc...

Cool was wondering about storage - I can set that up in a lockable area in the shed for slightly more security.

Ahh I can see them feeding on the ground so will be taking them with the same rifle... I can get to 25m from them and will be very dissapointed if I can't headshot a bird from that range!

So potentially a .22 or a .243 if I can get one? Is the ammunition vastly different in price? .22 seems pretty cheap...

We have a pretty damn good scope on the .177 (No idea quite why!) certainly good enough for shooting out to 100+ Yards and would be rather depressed if even a cheap rifle wasn't accurate to within an inch at that short a range. (Not the marksman mind you... I'm not bad but I am a LONG way from good!)

All good for the storage. Call the local arms officer if you've got any questions, he'll let you know what he prefers to see, really.

Pheasants - I was always brought up being told never to shoot fowl with a rifle because if you don't make the shot count, it can be pretty inhumane. That's all personal prefence though, really. If you're going for headshots then all good.

.22LR vs .243. The common calibers are .22LR (short stubby rimfire cartridge, most common round in the world), .223 (same diameter as .22LR but longer bullet, much bigger centerfire casing), .243 (slightly larger diameter bullet, much bigger casing again) and then .308 or .303 which are basically same case size as .243 but bigger bullets.

For rabbits I'd say .22LR is perfect to 50m, .223 is overkill unless at 50-150m, anything bigger is pointless.

Possums - .22LR or shotgun, everything else is too dangerous to fire into the air unless you're in a really uninhabited area

Deer - .223 is possible for Fallow depending on range and shot placement, but .243 is realistically a far better choice.

Price wise, good .22LR ammo can be had for around $10/100 (CCI Mini-Mag for high velocity, CCI Subsonic for a suppressed rifle) while anything centerfire is going to be more like $50/100 or higher. .22LR is also cheap enough that buying in 1000 round lots can get you a pretty good saving without breaking the bank.

I'd always say get a .22LR, no matter what else you get because you'll probably get far more enjoyment and use out of a .22LR and a 1000 round brick of ammo than you will out of a .243 with 100 rounds.

As for budget - is that all up for the entire process? It'll cost you $150-200 to apply (can't remember, was a while back) and then $50 for a rack, $50 for a cleaning kit so you're already making in-roads into that.

For the best bang for your buck, keep an eye on trademe for second hand Norincos. They're nothing fancy, but they shoot well and seem to be pretty rugged/reliable. There are always bargains to be had, as there is with any type of sporting gear.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Sports/Hunt...-387290870.htm

$275 with decent scope and ready to go for a suppressor. Add a hushpower suppressor for $60 new or find one second hand and you're away.

Edit: Getting 1 inch groups at 100 yards is pretty much impossible with a .22LR, and is actually pretty good going for most centerfire hunting rifles. Getting within a 1-inch bullseye first shot is harder again. Realistically, 2" at 25m for an average hunting .22LR is probably going to be closer to the mark if fired from standing.

**The Pastor** · 30th June 2011, 13:38

You have land to shoot off in Auckland? Will you marry (civil union?) me??

Mate what you wanna get is a .22 for the bunnies / possums or a shotgun, that can do bunnies, possum and brids. Shotgun would be the cheaper option, and will only have slightly less range than the 22.

If you get a 22, you can practice (since you have the land!) way cheaper, and get much better at shooting. Because 22's are quite and cheap, you can shoot 1000 more rounds than a big centre-fire.

As said, get yourself a 243, great rifle. But don't think ".303 or .308 is too big" all centre fire rifles will do the job great. I have shot a fallow with a 30-30 and a 308 and seen them shot with a 243, guess what, they were all dead. (ok maybe more meat wastage, but its a moot point).

Now, if you have a firearms licence, I have a .22 norinco, a 12ga shotgun and a 30-30 that your more than welcome to have a play around with. Even got some ammo to go with them too.

I also have a game camera that is a motion activated camera that you tie to a tree that takes pictures of any thing that walks past. Its an IR flash so it doesnt startle animals when taking the photos. It records time and date on the photos so you can set it up for a month and then see what the deers patterns are.

Now i'd fully recommend planting a crop of turnips and hanging a salt lick from a tree branch (so that the rain water drips off it onto a tree root/rock/grass) deer love that stuff. Also don't shoot them, until you know how many are in the area........ (may be a really small number) but with good feed available deer population will increase a lot. and what ever you do DONT TELL DOC!

Also, the reserve you have access to, you will need a doc permit to shoot on it, and it can be hard to get for north Auckland.

**Swoop** · 30th June 2011, 14:08

Ruger 10/22.
Good and reliable. If you want to get a bit more accurate you can get a drop in trigger or a spring kit that will help the accuracy a little more.

Originally Posted by jono035

Suppressors: It's $50-100 to get a rifle threaded for a suppressor.

The slip-on type work really well and do not require threading of the barrel.

**jono035** · 30th June 2011, 14:10

Originally Posted by Swoop

Ruger 10/22.
Good and reliable. If you want to get a bit more accurate you can get a drop in trigger or a spring kit that will help the accuracy a little more.

The slip-on type work really well and do not require threading of the barrel.

The 2 I've played with were nowhere near as quiet as my hushpower and one of them didn't last long before splitting down the sides.

Better than nothing, though.

**Smokin** · 30th June 2011, 14:23

i Have a Norinco .22 and a Ruger 10-22 and when i go on the Easter Bunny Hunt down in Alexandra I leave them both at home and take my Savage 93 .17HMR.
cost is on par with a 10-22 and they are worlds apart in performance.
Match it up with a good suppressor and the bunnies wont know what hit them, No problems picking them off from 200 meters if you have a high powered scope.
All my .22s do now is collect dust.

**stifmyster1** · 30th June 2011, 14:24

hey guys. anyone have land that has bunnies. got .22, .270 and a shotgun. im keen to hunt something. never been before and figure that would be good to start off with bunnies,

**jono035** · 30th June 2011, 14:29

Originally Posted by Smokin

i Have a Norinco .22 and a Ruger 10-22 and when i go on the Easter Bunny Hunt down in Alexandra I leave them both at home and take my Savage 93 .17HMR.
cost is on par with a 10-22 and they are worlds apart in performance.
Match it up with a good suppressor and the bunnies wont know what hit them, No problems picking them off from 200 meters if you have a high powered scope.
All my .22s do now is collect dust.

How does the ammo cost compare?

I'm going to stick with .22LR as a recommendation for the money, I don't think getting a decent setup in .17HMR is likely for $500.

**Beren** · 30th June 2011, 15:23

Originally Posted by renegade master

You have land to shoot off in Auckland? Will you marry (civil union?) me??

If you get a 22, you can practice (since you have the land!) way cheaper, and get much better at shooting. Because 22's are quite and cheap, you can shoot 1000 more rounds than a big centre-fire.

Now, if you have a firearms licence, I have a .22 norinco, a 12ga shotgun and a 30-30 that your more than welcome to have a play around with. Even got some ammo to go with them too.

Also, the reserve you have access to, you will need a doc permit to shoot on it, and it can be hard to get for north Auckland.

We live on an 8 acre plot... 4 acres of which is a native bush gully that stretches for 800m ish - Do I need a doc permit to fire a gun on my own land?

I havn't seen any game to speak of in it, hardly even any possum damage, just the odd pheasant etc. I was thinking that I could very easilly rig shooting platforms etc down there for range style shooting. Both next door neighbours have more land - one runs sheep and would imagine there are plenty of wabbits and the other runs a ways down toward the harbour and has shot deer from his porch

- Strong possibilty that we could get some shooting on their land also.

As for budget - is that all up for the entire process? It'll cost you $150-200 to apply (can't remember, was a while back) and then $50 for a rack, $50 for a cleaning kit so you're already making in-roads into that.

The budget wouldn't include the license as we will get that before the gun... and I was planning on welding up my own gun rack - the ones I have seen in my budget dont seem anything like as secure as I could weld up myself.

**jono035** · 30th June 2011, 16:02

Originally Posted by Beren

We live on an 8 acre plot... 4 acres of which is a native bush gully that stretches for 800m ish - Do I need a doc permit to fire a gun on my own land?

I havn't seen any game to speak of in it, hardly even any possum damage, just the odd pheasant etc. I was thinking that I could very easilly rig shooting platforms etc down there for range style shooting. Both next door neighbours have more land - one runs sheep and would imagine there are plenty of wabbits and the other runs a ways down toward the harbour and has shot deer from his porch

- Strong possibilty that we could get some shooting on their land also.

The budget wouldn't include the license as we will get that before the gun... and I was planning on welding up my own gun rack - the ones I have seen in my budget dont seem anything like as secure as I could weld up myself.

Sounds good. Go for it with welding one up yourself, just make it way more sturdy than a commercial one to make sure the AO doesn't complain when he inspects it.

You won't need a DOC permit to shoot on your own land. Generally the limiting factor as to where you can shoot on your own land is what the safety envelope is for where bullets can safely head. If you're in a gully then as long as you're shooting downwards into soil and avoiding the trees then you're all good.

**The Pastor** · 30th June 2011, 16:28

Originally Posted by Beren

We live on an 8 acre plot... 4 acres of which is a native bush gully that stretches for 800m ish - Do I need a doc permit to fire a gun on my own land?

I havn't seen any game to speak of in it, hardly even any possum damage, just the odd pheasant etc. I was thinking that I could very easilly rig shooting platforms etc down there for range style shooting. Both next door neighbours have more land - one runs sheep and would imagine there are plenty of wabbits and the other runs a ways down toward the harbour and has shot deer from his porch

- Strong possibilty that we could get some shooting on their land also.

The budget wouldn't include the license as we will get that before the gun... and I was planning on welding up my own gun rack - the ones I have seen in my budget dont seem anything like as secure as I could weld up myself.

Sorry mate, thought you said you lived next to a crown reserve. You sound like you have an awesome little patch of land

Go for a wonder around your bush and look for any foot prints

great spot to do a bit of deer tucker planting

**Beren** · 30th June 2011, 17:14

Originally Posted by jono035

Sounds good. Go for it with welding one up yourself, just make it way more sturdy than a commercial one to make sure the AO doesn't complain when he inspects it.

Cool - I intend for it to be way past the minimum commercial standard it will probably incorporate the RSJ structure in the shed to be absolutely immobile

You won't need a DOC permit to shoot on your own land. Generally the limiting factor as to where you can shoot on your own land is what the safety envelope is for where bullets can safely head. If you're in a gully then as long as you're shooting downwards into soil and avoiding the trees then you're all good.

Knowing where your bullets are going to land has always been the single most important thing I was taught. The incline on the gulley edges is nearly 45 degrees so almost and shot taken down there is gauranteed safe.

I will have a closer look at my ground at the weekend to see if there are any game signs - not having anything that I could hunt with I havn't looked all that hard - there is 5 strand wire all round the property but that wouldn't stop deer at all...