as an aussie hunter i would be real interested in finding out what us aussies are using in the way of calibers.for most of my hunting here in southern nsw i use my venerable 220 swift but i do use a 6.5x55 for pigging and deer.i have always found it to be big enough to do all that was asked of it and the accuracy of these calibers is more than enough to provide good hunting success.one day if i hunt deer in victoria i may be legally required to go upto a 270 but until that day i will stick with my lil sweede.i also use a 22lr on rabbits and cats but only when i'm feeling cheap.i enjoying using my pre charged pnumatic air rifle in 22 for rats and feral birds such as indian minors and starlings.If i ever get the chance to go north to do some buffalo or camel shooting i think i'd be in the market for a 416 rigby but at this stage there is no need to hit anything with a 400 gr projectile so we will keep this to the wish list.......

I use 3 rifles for hunting.

My first rifle I purchased is a ZZK 602 .375 Mag. I was 19 when I got it and over the years has been to several hunting trips to NSW and Queensland. With it I have shot sambar, pigs/goats foxes and even a few rabbits. It is mounted with a Leuplod Vari-X III 2.5-8 and regularly shoots 1 3/4 inch groups at 200 yards.

For rabbits,hares and foxes I use my BRNO Model 1. I mainly use Power Points but have begun using CCI Velocitors for foxes.

Several months ago I purchased a ZZK 600 7x57 Mauser. I purchased from a 90 year old bloke who purchased it new in "78. He hardly shot it and is in almost new condition. It has the "pop up" peep sight and will be deadly on pigs and goats.

270 is good n cheap, get ammo anywhere for it so thats my first choice, also have used 7x57 for goats n roos, 222 remington for neck shots on goats and roos. cant go wrong with 270, although i do have a soft spot for my 280 remington. for pigs i want to get my 358 win over there, should teach em a lesson!

I routinely use my 6.5 Swede for pigs - I like the 120 grain Sierra, and love my Ruger 96/44, which I stoke with 240 grain Sierra JHC home loads. I've also used my 7.62X54R Polish Nagant carbine too. The little Ruger is tops for when I'm dogging pigs - short, light, fast handling with enough stomp for big boars up close. I've got a 1.5 to 4.5 Bushnell on it, which makes it more versatile than the standard "BB Gun" sights do. I only wish someone made a bigger mag - 6 shots would be nice for those mobs!

My favourite is the 30-30, a great all purpose gun, knocked down a tonne of goats, roo's, emus and pigs with my little '94.

.270 for the bigger stuff, sent many a camel on there merry way, a few horses, a few deer, lots more goats, roo's, emus and pigs.

22.250 for the the foxes and dingo's out on the plains/lake country, oh and lots more goats, roo's, emus.

I see that the Grannies down there prefer the 9mm and are willing to stalk for 6 days to make two dissabeling shots.
I received an E-Mail from my sister about the Rambo Granny of Melbourne, and thought someone down there could verify it. Seems like 2 scumbags carjacked her Grand daughter and raped the girl. Grandma tracked them down using the artists drawings and some photo's that she took and verified them with the Grand daughter. She then went to the Flop House where they were staying. went to their room and shot theit private parts off and went to the police and turned herself in along with her illegal 9MM that she didn't turn in. I heard that the police don't know what to do with an 81 year granny, especially since half the people there would like to nominate her for Sainthood. Verification would be appreciated!

Lee L.

That granny-rambo story was snoped some time ago. Take a look:

http://www.snopes.com/crime/justice/grambo.htm

Thanks Sabre, I sort of figured that it was wishfull thinking.

Lee L.

Umm, this may seem like the obvious but the humble .303 pretty much does the lot, unless of course you actually want to eat the rabbits...... :D

To be honest though, I've used my Anschutz 1400 .22LR on most of the rabbits I've shot & quite a few roos, a single barrel 12g shottie on hares and in my most recent outing a SMLE .303/25 on some goats.

I might add that my fellow hunter was using a Sako .300 Win Mag and those goats didn't any deader with the .300 than with the SMLE. ;)

The .303/25 has dispatched it's fair share of roos to hoppy heaven too.

As far as using a .416 Rigby for camels & buffalo, after having a go with the .300 I don't think I'd be scared of whacking a camel with it. I'd probably go a .338 Win Mag for a buffalo but unless you feel undergunned, and this isn't an insult, it's a bit overkill.

That said, it's always my philosophy that if a shooter feels he/she needs extra powder for particular game, feels undergunned, and is capable of pulling off an accurate shot with the increased recoil then all power to them. The last thing anyone needs when they're facing down the best part of a 1000kgs of buffalo is the sinking feeling that their bullet isn't big enough or fast enough to knock it down.

For piggies, which is the biggest game I've hunted here I've seen the 308, 303, 303/25, 270, 30/30, 6.5 Swede, 44 magnum, 7.62X54 Russian ,222 and 12 gauge SG used. All worked really well bar the 222 and the sg's that failed to impress. I've seen 87 grain 303/25's break apart and fail to fully penetrate smaller pigs though. I've tried the 85 grain Sierra HP, 120 Sierra SP, and 140 grain Sierra SPBT in my own 6.5 Swede. The 120 grainer is the most reliable in my book, tho the 85 grain blows smaller pigs to kingdom come, and I've shot a back leg clean off a half grown running pig with one. I'm thinking of trying the new Hornady 95 grain Vmax just for fun next. For my .44 magnum Ruger 96 I like a good 240 grain HP, and am using the Sierra JHC at the mo. Pigs don't take a huge amount to stop I have found, and a decent weight bullet that will punch trough with a bit of expansion will do the job. I'm hanging to try my original Snider .577 breechloader on a hog. 500 grains of pure lead over 80 grains of balck should get the job done.

Just came across your topic, and though I'm halfway around the world in the US, many of these questions come up for hunting here in Texas. If you can get the Barnes X bullets imported, you'll add greater killing power to the .22 caliber rifles, as the solid copper bullet will not break up and has controlled expansion and penetration at a wider range of velocities than most other bullets. Also, for larger game, the 45-70 has taken every African game animal quite nicely, can be loaded up or down depending on the size of your game, and ammo is available in great quantities (at least here in the states). Just my thoughts, hope they are worth something.

My battery consists of a ruger vt 22/250 which is used for spotlighting, has bagged a lot of foxes ect and the odd fallow. Next up is the 308win, used for everything to do with goats and pigs and deer. For sambar hunting my 338win is the tool of choice, would also use this on our larger game, have just recently used on pigs in NT. Have just aquired a 300wsm, will be taking it to NT next trip along with ruger No1 458 lott. Should be good on those big pigs.

cheers closs

Closs, just wondering about the sambar you mention in your post. Is that the Sambar stag of India? If so, how long have they been in Australia? Are you allowed to export the dropped antlers or is there a ban like India's? Assuming this is a deer you are talking about.

The sambar we have here is the same as the Indian Sambar. They were imported by the Aclimatisation Societies back in the late 1800s early 1900s. Fairly widespread throught the heavily forested hill country of SE Aus. Also a small population in the Northern Territory. renowned for being hard to hunt (which I will agree with). Not sure about exporting antlers. Our trophy quality isnt as good as India, a top quality trophy here is 30 inches (up to maybe 35 inches).


Back to the topic. I hunt with the humble 22lr and can choose from my own Krico or my old mans BRNO Mod 2 or Sportco (all bolt action). I use a Tikka 243 for spotlighting foxes, cats and roos. Also use it for stalking fallow and a few pigs/goats. I have a pair of Browning Lever Actions in 308 and 358win which I use for Sambar, fallow, pigs/goats (and foxes and cats when they pop up). Also have a 12ga Boito U/O coach gun for use on rabbits and other small to medium game.

.22 cal for roos/foxes- call them in with a whistle/ Bunnies Cats, feral Dogs.._ Browning T-boltt 4x32 scope, Krico Bolt action, open sights farm rifle,(currently wearing a 6x40 Tasco scope, (O'k I'm getting older)..
Pigs - 1974 Win 30-30 170g cast pills, unblooded so far used a 8mm mauser last time and considered it overkill..
Also own .222,.22-250,12g..
Ciao

**** here in Oz all ya need to take any animal is a .22Mag and a .303 those 2 cartridges will drop anything in Australia. Thats not to say it isn't fun to have more! Personally I want a 32-20, 45-70 and a .257 Roberts. But for the time being my No 1 MkIII and my Hoyt Magnatec compound bow will sort out anything I come across.

I have a Ruger in 270win with a 3-9x50 vx-11 leupold on top. It is a great spotlighting gun and I use 90 grain hollows on kangaroos, goats and foxes, I use 130 grainers for any wild horses, bigger goats and Pigs
I have a 12 gauge I use on the rabbits and foxes also

Beefa

Hmm... a kiwi here not an aussie... but barring camels, water buffs and Roo's we have all the other big game, and a .303 takes them down nicely. .308 is also a good calibre, as is .280, .270 unless placed carefully is a bit on the iffy side of things for Samber in the Manawutu or wapiti in Fieordland, but knocks everything we have over if you get the animals right.

As far as a trip to Aussie to deal with a water buff, I'd jump at the chance if I got an invite on a hunt :D and I'd take my venerable '40 Ishy SMLE with handloads of 215 grain woodleighs. 215 cupronickel with a charge of black powder have taken down buff and elephants in africa before the days of smokless. given modern powder and projectiles it's a case of "no worries mate"

no foxes dingos or other small predators other than wild cats and mustelids. but on hares, possums and rabbits you can't do better than the grand of=ld .22LR rimfire. I have a ruger 10/22 carbine.

WHile at uni that carbine kept me in meat for a box of ammo a month, knockinn over four or five rabbits and hares at least once a week. For far cheaper than the butcher was wanting for beef :P

I'm with ya there Kiwi303 you could probally tell by my name I'm a Kiw too. AND I love my SMLE too mines a Lithgow the action is a 1929 but it was reassembled in '42 and FTR'd last in 54. **** I love my Lithgow. I usually load a 170g hollow point in mine to keep it 'true' with the Mk VII ammo. Good hearing from a another KIWI that loves a SMLE

What species of elk (wapiti) do you have there? How large do they get?

They're a gift from president roosevelt. arrived as a gift in 1905, so it's been a hundred years since they were introduced. they're around 600 to 900 pounds bodyweight for a well grown stag. Smaller than a comparable American or Canadian one, but thats mostly i think due to environment.

http://www.fishnhunt.co.nz/hunting/biggame.htm

That's just about the same weight range as for the American elk, Kiwi. What we call a raghorn (2 to 4 points a side) will go the 600 weight. The mature royal (6 or better a side) will sometimes top out around 900.

samw weight? I was told ours came in at about 10% under the american average. Thats for the pure elk tho. theres plenty of hybrids too. something like 8% pure red deer, 52% hybrid red/elk and 40% pure Waipiti.
it appears that since the wapiti start ruttign a week or so before the red deer stags they have an unfair advantage :D these hybrids seem to tend closer to the elk genes and size than the red size and colour. never been down to hunt them myself tho, still starting out on Red in the north after finishing off most of the feral goats on the farm :P

Hey, this is a great read. It always fun to hear what others are hunting and where. We don't see many 303s in the U.S. Americans seen to suffer from "magnumitis." And now the makers have convinced us that short ones are better than long ones. . . go figure.

Hmm... a kiwi here not an aussie...
Good as.....you're just living in the Eastern States. :D


As far as a trip to Aussie to deal with a water buff, I'd jump at the chance if I got an invite on a hunt :D and I'd take my venerable '40 Ishy SMLE with handloads of 215 grain woodleighs. 215 cupronickel with a charge of black powder have taken down buff and elephants in africa before the days of smokless. given modern powder and projectiles it's a case of "no worries mate"

A .303 will certainly take down camels, especially with the Woodleigh bullets and I'd probably go with their 174gn Protected Point.
As far as buffs go, I'd be wanting to make each shot really count. :confused:
If you could find someone who made a 215 grain solid in .303 cal then you may have something.
Otherwise it may be best to cut you losses and borrow a bigger bore like a .375 H&H or a 416 Rigby.
A 45-70 in a Ruger #1 would be better than a .303 only packing soft points.
The other thing you could do would be turn up some solids yourself on a lathe using brass or copper rods.
I believe the outside diameter needs to be smaller so it doesn't get stuck in the bore but is still scored by the rifling.
I know that locals used to(and perhaps still do) take down down buffs using SMLEs with FMJ surplus ammo they cut the tips off with pliers. :eek:
Keep in mind though that those guys are very experienced.

I have some REALLY old 303 ammo (ex mil) with the silver coloured 215 grain round nosed FMJ. I guess they could easily be pulled and loaded into new cases.

I have some REALLY old 303 ammo (ex mil) with the silver coloured 215 grain round nosed FMJ. I guess they could easily be pulled and loaded into new cases.
I hear footsteps.....they're running...... :confused:
Oh, no it's the (pause for suspenseful music)"dum-da-dum-dum" - Cartridge Collecting Police and they're coming to bust your door down and take you away!!!! :eek: :D
Seriously though, those FMJs would've been designed for people, not dangerous game, so unless you feel like cutting one down the middle(perish the thought!) to find out exactly how thick the jacket is you may be best looking at the Canadian website www.303british.com to see if any custom bullet makers there make a suitable FMJ.
As most of the guys on this list would know the Canucks love to use .303 on moose and the like and so their .311/.312 cal bullets are real good.

They aren't real thick at the nose, as I have done the old "grind the tip off trick" to make them open up.

They aren't real thick at the nose, as I have done the old "grind the tip off trick" to make them open up.
No offence, mate, but surely you could've found other cheap ammo to do that to. :rolleyes:
I'd say the primers in those are probably corrosive and as I mentioned before you could've probably got some money for them from a collector.
What exactly are you shooting with them? :confused:
I wouldn't be game to use them on deer, pigs maybe.
You can't be sure how well they'll open.

No offence, mate, but surely you could've found other cheap ammo to do that to. :rolleyes:
I'd say the primers in those are probably corrosive and as I mentioned before you could've probably got some money for them from a collector.
What exactly are you shooting with them? :confused:
I wouldn't be game to use them on deer, pigs maybe.
You can't be sure how well they'll open.


They were free - a whole bucket full! :D

They were free - a whole bucket full! :D
Wow! :eek:
I wish people would give me ammo for nicks. :rolleyes:
So are there any you haven't done the grinder trick to?
I may even be interested in buying a few off you if there are still a few that haven't been monkeyed with.

Yeah I think so. Also some spitzer types in the silver coloured jacket and the common Mk5 stuff too, in strippers. Will have to have a rummage.

Yeah I think so. Also some spitzer types in the silver coloured jacket and the common Mk5 stuff too, in strippers. Will have to have a rummage.
Sounds good.
Wouldn't risk firing it though.
It's probably charged with cordite and corrosive primers which both may've degraded so you'd really need to clean you barrel afterwards even if you were willing to risk your rifle on it. :(
On the otherhand pulling the bullets and loading them with mild smokeless powder charges could make for a fun time. ;)
Sheesh, now I'll have the Cartridge Collecting Police down on my head. :p

lookup ACCURATE RELOADING .COM
FORUM -

GOOD RESOURCE FOR LOCALS AUSSIE/NZ

TAH

Yeah that's a good forum that. Kombi they are definiteley corrosive but work ok. It's "chim chimeny cheroo" after a session tho...

Another Aussi here, from Queensland.

I have preference for larger calibres.

As my username suggests I have .308 Norma Mag in a classic custom rifle on a FN M98. Use it for anything, 180gr bullets at 3,100 fps it's a real flat shooting, long range, hard hitting rifle. We shoot better than MOA too.

For general hunting I have used for more than 20 years a Winchester pre 64 M70 featherweight in .308 Win. With 150gr bullets at 2,900 fps or better it's a great light mountain rifle for pigs or deer. We shoot better than MAO (and sometimes ½ MOA on a good day).

You can't beat the great and classic .270 Win and although I haven't had one for more than 20 years, that's all changing with a Winchester pre 64 M70 fwt due to arrive any day from the US. This will probably relegate the .308 to a pig (boar) rifle and become my favourite mountain rifle.

For something larger, water buffalo in the Northern Territory (someday I'll get up there) I have a .375 Chatfield-Taylor (.375/338 WM) buillt by my brother-in-law, my gunsmith, on a Ruger M77. This is my fun rifle and I am only really recently working up loads for it. It is a genuine .375 H&H equivalent.

On the smaller side I have a Brno (now marketed as CZ) Model 2 (.22 LR).

Cheers & God bless,
Magnum308

Belive me ground down 303's are dynamite on pigs. :D

Belive me ground down 303's are dynamite on pigs. :D
Not arguing that, 350.
I'm just saying they're a pretty silly thing to use on a buff.

As a pro .Roo shooter (soon to retire) I favor my .223,but for camels &a lifetime ago when I started On Buff the .303 did a passable job with the old 215gn rndnose slugs.Still have conferdnses. in the 303 for camels .Only for its mag capacity.Remember I'm not a sporting shooter ! My fav Buff rifle would be the 45-70 ,with the 375 H&H comming a close second.Remember the Old cry Bullet placement is paramount But always use enough Gun! There's Plenty of hunters been killed or maimed by buff & Camel who thought they were WMD BELL. Then found out to late they were'nt!!!!!!!! (myself included) ;)