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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Rifles
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Plains99
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Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 225
Loc: Dodge City, Kansas, USA
Aussie and African varmint rifles?
      #32840 - 10/06/05 12:22 AM

When Australians go out to nail kangaroos, dingos and such or African hunters go after smaller game what calibers are popular? In Texas and Kansas I use a .223 Remington for 60 pound or less game and a 7.62X39 for combination varmit hunts that may include 200 or 300 pound feral hogs.

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500Nitro
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Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #32847 - 10/06/05 03:42 AM


In the past, foxes were shot with .17 Remington's as they didn't damage the pelt
but pelts aren't worth much nowadays.

Now they are shot with anything from .22, .222, .223 (Very popular), 22-250, 243
or whatever you have in your hands !!!

Roos - professionals seem to use .223's but they are shot with anything.

500 Nitro

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Plains99
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Reged: 10/11/04
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Loc: Dodge City, Kansas, USA
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: 500Nitro]
      #32849 - 10/06/05 04:33 AM

And I figured it might be something exotic but it is the same stuff as we use. Evidentally the European nomenclature for cartridges didn't catch on like it did with big game cartridges.

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500Nitro
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Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
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Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #32852 - 10/06/05 05:39 AM

Plains99
"
"And I figured it might be something exotic......"

I was reponding in terms of the general population.

In my case (pus others I know) I practise using the Big Bores before I go away
hunting DG - kind of hones the skills at running and standing game.

Have use 375H&H Double and Bolt Actions, 505 Gibbs (it lifts them off the ground),
500 Nitro double + a couple of others in the plus 375 category !!1.

I would say that alot of others in Australia would do the same as it is good practice
and beats shooting at paper.

500 Nitro

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rgp
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Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: 500Nitro]
      #32863 - 10/06/05 01:15 PM

.375 H&H...wabbitt gun!

In Australia the only rifles I used were a .222 and a .22/250 if I remember correctly. Had to borrow both of those.

In Texas I use a .375 H&H and a .45 Colt on everything.

Richard.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 39697
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Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #32874 - 10/06/05 07:19 PM

The best dedicated roo rifles are the .22/250 with 55 grs and the .243 with 70 or 75 gr HPs.


At one time Australia was a leading source of fox pelts for the fox fur coat market, which the idiot greenies killed off. Incidently foxes are one of two major wildlife menaces in Australia for wiping out native species. As 500Nitro says anyone serious had a .17 Remington and Remington sold more of them in Australia than the rest of the world. The .17 Hornet was better for not damaging fox skins though.

Otherwise all the common .22s are pretty much used as well

At one time the .222 was the most common centrefire in Australia but unfortunately was moved aside by the .223. Most Australian shooters and hunters hunt small game so the leanings to .22s. Of course the .22 rimfire is the most popular and common.

Another great calibre is the .220 Swift.

There were some exotic creations down-under but they never caught on and quickly died out.



--------------------
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"

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jro45
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Reged: 25/12/03
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Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #32879 - 10/06/05 10:17 PM

Of course the 22-250 can shoot those 70gr bullets also. Those would be excellent for larger varmints. I'd say up to 100lbs.

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Plains99
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Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 225
Loc: Dodge City, Kansas, USA
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: jro45]
      #32887 - 11/06/05 01:13 AM

Geeze I hate to sound so ignorant but never having hunted in Australia I noticed that most game opportunities for hunters were probably 100 pounds or lighter. I noticed a rifle in the movie, "The Man from Snowy River" that looked like a lever action centerfire .22 of some sort. (Ain't it wonderful when you get impressions from movies as if those guys know anything about guns?) Or a guy who is so gun crazy that he notices stuff like that in the first place? Actually I wasn't surprised by the response because where I hunt most of the time in Kansas is probably quite similar to the Eastern and Western sections of Australia and our game is probably similar in size to yours in those areas (coyotes, whitetail deer, mule deer, American pronghorn and a few feral hogs) Any of the rifles in the .22 range that you mentioned will do quite nicely here. And the .243 will easily do it all for this class of game.

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500Nitro
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Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #32893 - 11/06/05 02:21 AM


Plains99

Not sure what the lever is in The Man from Snowy River" but it could be any .22,
possibly a 30-30 but I'm not sure what they actually used.

After rabbits, foxes and roos, the next load of animals hunted is Goat and Pig.
243 in one state in Australia is very popular.

You then have all of the deer species. A lot of people go Sambar and Red deer
hunting where the minimum legal calibre is .270, however alot of people use 30 cal
and upwards. The other deer can be taken with 243 and up - Fallow deer, Hog Deer,
Chital Deer etc etc.

The following PESTS are also shot here. Horses, Donkeys, Camels, Dingoes,
Buffalo. Also some of the pigs here (in certain areas) get very big. The problem
is at the moment we have a drought and everything is getting shot out.

500 Nitro

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Mike_McGuire
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Reged: 11/06/05
Posts: 348
Loc: Sydney Australia
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #32899 - 11/06/05 04:04 AM

Plains99

If the forums are a guide I would say Australians with big bores, say 375 and up, are far more inclined to use then on roos, pigs, goats than do Americans for deer etc.

I suspect one reason is that a lot more animals are shot and so "efficiency" tends to be replaced by the fun factor.

Mike

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Plains99
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Reged: 10/11/04
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Loc: Dodge City, Kansas, USA
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Mike_McGuire]
      #32900 - 11/06/05 04:52 AM

I hunt a lot with restored 8mm and .30-06 Mausers for the same reason... just for the fun. I now think upon reflection that it was "Return to Snowy River" where I noticed the rifle... much too small a bore to be a .30... that's what drew my attention to it. It was a slick little half-magazine tube length Winchester. Looked like a great open sight varminter. I take it that Australians don't have much of a domestic rifle manufacturing industry but tend to purchase imports? I've pretty much settled on CZ's, Weatherby Vanguards (Japanese), and old Mausers... none of which are of American manufacture.

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RLI
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Reged: 01/10/03
Posts: 534
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #32905 - 11/06/05 08:26 AM

The "Snowy River" rifle was a Martini-Henry from memory but there was a couple of movies it may have been a Winchester half tube mag. in .44/40 or .32/20 most Winchesters sold in Australia in those days had half tube magazines. Varmint calibres today in centrefire is mostly .223Rem and .22/250 then next popular for bigger game would be .243Win, .270Win,.30/30,.308Win,.30/06,.300WinMag, but you will find a large range of calibres available . The old .303British is still around but not as popular as it used to be. Australia does not make many firearms but we make Barrels,Powders (ADI-Hogdon),Brass (Bertram),Bullets (Woodleigh),also our custom gunsmiths make some of the best rifles in the world .The last all australia gun was a lever action shotgun based on a Winchester M1887 design but for 2 3/4" not many made.

Steve

--------------------
"Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid." — John Wayne

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rgp
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Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: RLI]
      #32913 - 11/06/05 12:30 PM

A larger rifle is preferred. Australian varmints are tougher than most other varmints. This one probably weighed 2,000 pounds and was found in NT right next to the road. Try flipping a varmint like this with one shot from any of the little Winchester calibres.

Richard.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Reged: 25/12/02
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Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: rgp]
      #32916 - 11/06/05 01:53 PM

Very funny. Used to see lots of ruined cars near the Stuart Highway especially when the SA section was dirt and rough, and the NT section was a 1 1/2 lane highway with no fences and lots of big "road trains" (3 trailer - trucks).


***


RLI is right, if the movie was historically correct the lever action would have been a .44/40 or a .32/20. Maybe some .25/20s too. Maybe the movie makers used a .22 rimfire .



***

Australia today doesn't really have a firearms manufacturer unless it is some small custom shops.

Steyr-Aug Austrian assault rifles, were made or assembled in Australia for the Aust defence forces, NZ, Pacific etc.

Lithgow used to make .303 Lee Enfields for the same plus some single shot and magazine .22s and shotuns.

The original Warne Brothers "Kimber of Oregon" started in South Australia. There is a SA town called Kimber.

Probably others I can't think of immediately. But with a population of only 20 million and no government support except for military requirements it is cheaper to import.



--------------------
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"

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rgp
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Reged: 17/06/04
Posts: 373
Loc: TX & VIC
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: NitroX]
      #32921 - 11/06/05 02:47 PM

Was the northern SA and southern NT section of the dirt road about 100 to 400 metres from the modern Stuart Hwy?

I saw a few upside down old rusty cars about that far from the road, I think all were on the eastern side, all were oriented parallel to the Stuart Hwy, and if I remember correctly there were none on the other side except for a few right next to the highway.

Richard.

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Marty
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Reged: 05/01/03
Posts: 123
Loc: Darwin. NT, Australia
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: rgp]
      #32930 - 11/06/05 04:39 PM

Suprised no one was living in them.....

Back on topic I use a .220 Swift for my "varmints".

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cr500
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Reged: 11/10/03
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Loc: Singleton ,Australia
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: Plains99]
      #33004 - 13/06/05 05:39 PM

I think that I would be fairly close in saying that 70% or so of roo shooters would use 223s with the rest being 222s or maybe the odd 243. Longer range rabbit shooters would usualy use 22/250s or 220 swifts while 223s and 222s again would bag a fair few. I think that the few different than in U.S is that the 308 is very popular in Australia and the 30/06 not quiet so popular. Then you get the occaisional wackos like myself who prefer the oddball wildcats and such.

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mickey
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Loc: Pend Oreille Valley, Idaho
Re: Aussie and African varmint rifles? [Re: cr500]
      #33041 - 14/06/05 11:00 AM

Is the .22 Hornet or the K Hornet used much? I have seen a couple of pretty neat BRNO in .22 Hornet.

--------------------
Lovu Zdar
Mick

A Man of Pleasure, Enterprise, Wit and Spirit Rare Books, Big Game Hunting, English Rifles, Fishing, Explosives, Chauvinism, Insensitivity, Public Drunkenness and Sloth, Champion of Lost and Unpopular Causes.

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