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I have three .222's now and one .223.

A Mauser M03 barrel in .222, my first rifle, a Remington 788 in .222 and a .222 Rimmed on a Martini-Cadet. The .223 is on a combination barrel with 12 gauge for my Tikka/Valmet double rifle.

I like the .220 Swift as an thought better than the .22/250. Just being "old" again.

It is Swifter as well.

I use my .222 Mauser for all my farm deer culling now. Headshots work very well. And a non brain shot if near drops them as well as it may crack the skull and damage the brain anyway, for females and younger males. The old bucks which I rarely shoot, need a proper brain shot as their skulls are thicker. Having said that, I probably only miss the brain once in over fifty animals. Even though fenced, the deer know INSTANTLY when you are carrying a rifle, either through eye sight, body language, perhaps smell. And run around a lot, always moving, heads constantly turning. I use shooting sticks but still need to get within 50 metres or less. They really do move their heads constantly. And in a herd you need to pick the shot so nothing is behind, or moves suddenly in front.

Why am I writing all this?

Roos are actually very hard to hunt. Where shot at a lot, they are often at 500 metres or 600 metres. Most "shooters" shoot only by spotlight when many animals are dumb. If a hunter tries to bow hunt a roo (as a test of course only, not for real ... ), they almost always know you are there, and will let the person get say 60 metres away, then hop a couple hundred more metres. This is where they haven't been shot at much. Of course in these circumstances a rifle can quite easily be used, as they sit there a hundred or two hundred metres away. Bang one is down.

Great running practice is to shoot roos on the hop. Probably breaches all the NSW ethical volunteer roo harvesting standards though ... but great for roo culling on a crop control permit.

Of course there are all sorts of "roos". The Western and Eastern Greys. The big boomer Reds of the plains. We had five of them on my property late last year. The drought drove them to lands with more moisture from the Murray plains across the ranges.

Then there are the mid sized euros and wallaroos. A lot of the so called "grey roos" here are sometimes the more shaggy coated mid sized Euros.

Lastly there are many species of wallabies. Some in the far North are tiny little things. I have seen a white one more than once.

Roo meat depending on its diet can be good or ... I have gutted roos which stunk inside so badly, no damage to the gut itself ... probably its diet was to blame. No doubt the Aboriginals years ago would know the cause, and when to eat those euros or roos and when not to, perhaps by season. If the Abos had a choice, ie need to food.

Roos where hunted are reasonably challenging to hunt. Would be some fun and add to our sporting hunting choices.

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John aka NitroX

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

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