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For 2012 for me it may well be a busy year. 2012 and even 2011 has been a bit of a drought except for local small game hunting. In 2011 I missed out on doing a trip I really wanted to do, but did get to visit Gryphon and accept his invitation of a couple of days sambar hunting.

2012

Will be visiting Scandinavia again in October and if everything goes right hunting in Norway and Sweden with a couple of NE friends and hopefully another couple of NE friends will be there as well. The communal team hunting there is something different to what I am used to.

While there hope to visit some friends living in that part of the world as well.

May visit France and may take up a boar hunting invitation. anyway hope to visit one of our NE friends at least. However it needs to be fitted in somehow.

In France hope to visit the Verney-Carron 'factory' and meet Jean Verney-Carron. Verney-Carron is France's oldest gunmaker so a lot of history based there.

Hope to get to the Heym 'factory' as well in Germany. Needs to be fitted in. While in Scandinavia hope to visit Norma too.

Too many things to do, not enough time, too much time away from home in one go, so I will see, what fits in.

Back to the hunting. I bought a tahr hunt in NZ at an SCI auction earlier this year. However I need to be far fitter so need a twelve month schedule of work outs. I am not interested in taking up "particular" sorts of "hunts", otherwise I will not do it. Aiming for December.

I hope to investigate a property in SE of SA for deer hunting. And another in the Mid-North. March to July.

Haven't been goat shooting in years. Hopefully can re-gain access to an old property or two. Maybe go for at least a long weekend (or mid-week seeing I am flexible) goat hunt. Would be good to re-visit old haunts. Winter sometime.

Would really LOVE to get onto some wild pork on Kangaroo Island again. And fill an esky and engel with wild pork. KI boar are pretty much clean of disease so can be readily eaten. Maybe Autumn.

I missed out on visiting the NT in 2011 as I half planned. I wanted to hunt water buffalo, boar and waterfowl. Had a good offer in Arnhemland, which has been deferred to 2012. Going to be hard to fit it in, unless I work like a demon in between especially if I drive up, not fly.

Plus the usual hunting. Duck season opening in February, and maybe an extra away duck hunt or two on the swamps. Should be a good year with all the rain and water so the ducks should have bred up. Plus the usual ducks on local creeks. As long as they are flowing earlier enough for duck season. Often in recent years we have been getting later rains, so the creeks are not flowing until the season has finished. So the ducks stay away until they flow.

At least one pheasant shoot is planned in July. Maybe try for a second one as well.

The usual rabbit, hare, fox and pigeon shooting at home and nearby. Been seeing good numbers of quail in some of the paddocks and also vineyards when driving around at night. Hopefully they will still be around in a few months time! Great if they are. Haven't shot quail in decades. February to June.

Want to hunt in Africa again and should do some planning for 2013 or 2014. Otherwise maybe Alaska.

On the firearms front, lots of guns to work on.

The Mauser M03, four barrels and cartridges to build loads for. But is was blooded (the .222 barrel) this week on five fallow deer put into the freezer - escapees from my deer farm.

The Westley Richards 10-bore to get shooting.

Another DR to get shooting, not mentioned yet.

The Steyr 6.5x53R and Mannlicher 6.5x54 to get shooting in some form.

On the repairs or custom work front. Some minor repairs to the .450 Jeffery. Some barrel fitting to the Tikka DR extra barrel sets. If they go on, gives me three new rifle barrels to develop loads for. (groan!) Maybe get some work started on the Mannlicher 6.5x54 if it measures up to be worth it.

Lots and lots of reloading to do. Have depleted almost all my ammo. Need to re-set up a reloading room, as the old setup have been scattered and become disorganised. Need to reload, test and build supplies of the old ones, as well as new ones.

Hope to do some BGRC shoots in 2012 as well.

Lots to do, won't do it all!

Somewhere in that all I am going to have to work the farm and vineyard and even worse find a part time paying job or do some contract or consultancy work.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

Edited by NitroX (31/12/11 06:40 PM)