Gun license

eTe

eTe

Active member
Just put my application for an A & B cat license today.
Basically means I will be able to possess and use non self-reloading rimfire and centre fire rifles for sport and hunting.
Went to a rifle club as well on Saturday. Only 40 mins from home. Was great.

I envy you Americans in this regard, it will probably be 2-3 months before I get my ticket (or so I am told haha).
Hoping to get a .223 centrefire for 200yd shoots, and .22 rimfire for 100yd.
Also, apparently there is heaps of deer roaming the country side these days. Will be interesting to kill, clean and eat my own produce like they did in olden times.
 
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I have seen people kill deer with .223 youth models before, but it's not really the easiest way if you want to hunt with a rifle.

Popular rounds for where I live around are 270 or 30.06, I would defienatly investigate as for plentiful ammuntion in your area, aslo investigate cost, I know people who use a 300 Mag, problem is those cartriges get expensive while sighting in during the off season.

If cost is your main focus, then .223 fits the bill. Unless you place a round directly in the "sweet spot" you better be ready to track the animal down, almost always after shooting a deer with a .223 or similar round you generally have a blood trial to go track down, and best of luck if the trail leads to someone elses property:?

Unless you shoot them in the head....and no one really does that for obvious reasons.
 
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Heh thanks for the tip.
Will look into it. Might not happen right away due to I get paid less than minimum wage I think haha.
 
Spending much of my time (also working hours) hunting, I might add some few words of advise here.
Unless the deer in NZ is abnormal in size, rounds like .270 and .30-06 would be overkill, and frustrating for your bank account (and shoulder) in the long run.
Same applies to all the magnum loads, while the .223 would be a bit underpowered.
Sure enough, the little .223 packs enough punch to bag a deer with a good hit, but a less than perfect shot will result in a long and frustrating search for a wounded animal.
And I assure you, the meat from a deer who has spendt half a day running around with a gunshot wound isn't quite as delicate in taste and appearance as the deer you topple over with an adequate round.

My suggestion, as I know less than nothing about prize and availability of ammo in the NZ, is that you check wich calibre is the cheapest available in your neighbourhood, and then go for either the .308 or the .303.
The .308 could also be available as susplus 7,62 NATO for target practice, and you can buy a box of .308 allmost wherever you are in the world.

If I were you, with limited funds and living on NZ, I'd go for the .308.
It's comfortable to shoot (important when you spend time on the shooting range) have a good accuracy, and doesn't cost the white of your eyes to shoot.
Plus, it will take a deer neatly enough to supply your dinners for all foreseeable future. :thumb:

After all, we take plenty moose with the .308 up here.
 
84RFK said:
After all, we take plenty moose with the .308 up here.
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The .308 is one of the most underrated calibres on the market, its more then enough for buck such as Springbok which seems to be one of the the most hunted in this part of the world with the bonus, recoil is not excessive. Its a very good round and inherently accurate.

Another good round but again underrated is the British 303. The calibre has hunted more game in Africa then any other calibre. It earned a bad reputation among South African farmers because standard 303 Mk7 ammunition was being used, resulting in a lot of wounded game dying in agony. Used with the correct 180 grain ammunition, it will take the same game as the .308

WDM Bell even brain shot elephant with the round. He shot 200 odd elephant with the .303 and the 215 grain army bullet. Although, it took more courage then I've got.

One of the wildcats made in South Africa was necking down a .303 British case to 6mm, low recoil and good for Springbok. A 100 grain bullet left the muzzle at somewhere around 2400-2500 FPS. The cartridge is known as the 6mm Musgrave.

Another recent wildcat made here is a 5.56/223 necked up to 6mm. I've never seen one, but I hear there are rave reviews. Cheap to reload for and does the job.

Some people do hunt with 222 (sometimes called the cripple 2) and the 223/5.56, personally I'd avoid both like the plague.

One round I detest is the factory .243, its far too fast and has the habit of destroying meat. I've seen springbok carcasses hung up after skinning and nothing but a blooded mess, good for dog meat only. The only way I have found to tame the calibre is to load monolithic bullets to a more moderate velocity.

A good but expensive "all rounder" (if there is such a thing) is the Holland and Holland 375, it can take most game from Springbok without damaging the meat to elephant. For elephant the 375 H&H is marginal, personally I'd rather a 416 Rigsby.

Someone came into my shop and said he wanted a 22 rimfire to hunt Springbok, I said, "If you hunt springbok with a 22 rimfire I'll hunt you down." He was requested to vacate my shop in a sexual manner.
 
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84RFK I live in South Australia. Close though.
And yeah I'm glad there's no elephant then.
As I'm quite new to this game, there's obviously a lot I don't know. For example, I never considered smaller rounds for hunting larger animals a bad thing. When I was much younger, we shot kangaroos off the back of a ute with a self loading .22. Never chased the next until the wounded roo was confirmed dead. But still, I was told that was unethical. I found it odd but there you go.

And that's interesting BA. On some Aussie hunting forums, I think someone mentioned about a .303 British, and having difficulty acquiring the ammo for reloading. I don't quite recall.
However the largest I think I'd go for would be goats and deer. I'll look into the .308 instead of a 30-06, but that rifle is still a long way down the track.
Still a lot of stuff I have to pay off until then on apprentice wages.
 
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eTe said:
84RFK I live in South Australia. Close though.
And yeah I'm glad there's no elephant then.
As I'm quite new to this game, there's obviously a lot I don't know. For example, I never considered smaller rounds for hunting larger animals a bad thing. When I was much younger, we shot kangaroos off the back of a ute with a self loading .22. Never chased the next until the wounded roo was confirmed dead. But still, I was told that was unethical. I found it odd but there you go.

And that's interesting BA. On some Aussie hunting forums, I think someone mentioned about a .303 British, and having difficulty acquiring the ammo for reloading. I don't quite recall.
However the largest I think I'd go for would be goats and deer. I'll look into the .308 instead of a 30-06, but that rifle is still a long way down the track.
Still a lot of stuff I have to pay off until then on apprentice wages.
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Whoops!
Sorry, counted the number of stars and still got it wrong here...
Normally I wouldn't dream about taking an Aussie for a Kiwi, nor the other way around, as both tend to take it less favourable..

Anyway, if required (life depending on it etc.) you can take on surprisingly big animals with a .223 and secure the meat, but it's still a less than ideal calibre for hunting game the size larger than fox and roedeer.
And besides, most of the bullets you find in commercial loads for the .223 is not suited for hunting anything you intend to eat, they have a tendency to break up into fragments...

The reason I recommended the .308 is that it's versatile, have a comfortable recoil, can be found for a reasonable price (both the rifle and the ammo) plus a wide range of factory loads to choose from.
 
I tend to agree, I use an refurbished ex-army L1A1 SLR for deer locally, ammunition is plentiful and fairly cheap but it will be replaced by an L115A3 once it arrives in the country which will be good for a bit of night pig shooting as well.

Oh and our stars are red not white.
:)
 
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MontyB said:
I tend to agree, I use an refurbished ex-army L1A1 SLR for deer locally, ammunition is plentiful and fairly cheap but it will be replaced by an L115A3 once it arrives in the country which will be good for a bit of night pig shooting as well.
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I'm jealous.

Although not illegal in South Africa, for the last few years, the police won't issue a licence as they regard it and others like it as an assassins rifle.

Government are paranoid they will get taken out by irate white South Africans one by one.
 
Yeah we have very strict rules on MSSA's and MS weapons in general but the police are pretty reasonable when it comes to enforcing the laws, they don't turn a blind eye but they don't go overboard either.

We are also relatively lucky in that locally we have a lot of wild pig and deer populations are starting to flourish so larger calibre rifles are not uncommon.

For the most part it is harder to convince the wife than the police.
:)
 
MontyB said:
Yeah we have very strict rules on MSSA's and MS weapons in general but the police are pretty reasonable when it comes to enforcing the laws, they don't turn a blind eye but they don't go overboard either.

We are also relatively lucky in that locally we have a lot of wild pig and deer populations are starting to flourish so larger calibre rifles are not uncommon.

For the most part it is harder to convince the wife than the police.
:)
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An ex 32 Battalion Special Forces officer was refused a licence for a handgun on the grounds, "With your military experience, you could be a danger to the state." That's how insane its got
 
Yeah that is borderline stupidity, I am pleased we don't have that problem here "yet"
 
If the UN and idiots like Hillary Clinton have their way, you will have the same problem as us.

Over the years I and a few others have been fighting tooth and nail for gun owners rights in South Africa. The problem is that the average South African gun owner is either:-
A Stupid
B Deaf
C Thick as two short planks
D Selfish they have got their guns and stuff everyone else who needs a firearm
E Wear rose coloured glasses.
F Too bone idle and too tight fisted to help in the fight.

Its got to the stage where I gave up and said stuff it, I'm not fighting your battles anymore.

Ted Nugent had it right, "I am a free man, do not step on me."
 
Just killed another Buck with 30. 06 this season, you can hold your opinions about the round but it does the job very well, I cannot lie about it.

Especially with ballistic tipped cartriges. Strangely it does not feel overpowered at all, or are the sub species of deer in your area smaller than most?
 
Yossarian said:
Just killed another Buck with 30. 06 this season, you can hold your opinions about the round but it does the job very well, I cannot lie about it.

Especially with ballistic tipped cartriges. Strangely it does not feel overpowered at all, or are the sub species of deer in your area smaller than most?
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The 30-06 is among the most popular calbre's in South Africa loading 165-168 grainers. I agree its a very good calibre, although a few have said they don't like the recoil.

In my shop a few years ago we built up a 30-06 on a standard K98 Mauser action, the barrel that we ordered was short chambered so that the chamber could be finally reamed out by hand, the barrel was shorter but heavier to keep the balance correct and rifled with a 1 in 10 twist, the muzzle measured something like 19mm with a more or less straight taper. The action was worked on, including lapping the locking lugs and smoothing out the bolt travel. Scope rings were fitted and lapped. For tests I had and old stock hanging around and without bedding the stock mounted the barreled action, but we did free float it. It was intended to bed the stock using Brownalls bedding compound at a later date. We headed for the range with a variety of different makes of ammunition but all in the 165-168 range. Off the bench I managed to get a tad over 1 MOA, while my son with his younger eyes managed sub MOA. Due to the heavy barrel the felt recoil was more like a .308 then a 30-06

Due to new gun laws making sales difficult we never finished the rifle. It showed a lot of promise.
 
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Very tempting haha. Customs might **** themselves trying to import it but when my paperwork goes through it might happen..

Have any photos?
 
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