My brother and kids were staying with us for a few days so I asked him if he'd like to go out spotlighting with me. He was interested, never having been before, so I decided we'd head out to the vineyard and I lined it up with the owner. It's a safe bet for at least a rabbit or 3 and often has hares too. We had a good night out although I wasn't at my best. I also struggled with my Sportco Martini Hornet. This rifle had extraction problems so I've been running Winchester 45gr HP factory ammo in it to make sure it's not the rifle. The factory ammo extracts fine but it hasn't got the accuracy of my old handloads. 1.5" to 2" @100m from the factory versus sub-MOA of the handloads. I apologise for the picture quality. They were taken with my mobile phone and no amount of photo editing could really improve them.
 
Our first kill was a bunny in the vines. He thought he was safe from the light as his head was down but his bottom was still sticking out. An easy wallop at 15yds with the Hornet.

 
The next was embarassing. We spied a hare in the front paddock in the direction of the house. I muffed the shot - dumb stuff, not properly looking, rushed. So the hare ran....right up the hill between the house and winery and out behind. We drove up behind and it was sitting on the rise 25m behind the house. I'm allowed to shoot there. The owner knows that shots come where game sits still and he wants pests shot. So I lined up and fired. The hare seemed unaffected at first and then limped a little. My brother told me to shoot again but I told him no. The proximity to the house was inappropriate for multiple Hornet shots in a short time and it had been loud. I got out of the car hoping to despatch it with a rock or knife if possible. If I had to make a killing shot it would be really close pointing away from the house. As it happened when I stalked toward the hare it bolted away and I knew my shot had been true. Part of a lung and all its entrails fell away and it kicked over within 4m, hence all the blood in the photo.

 
Sweeping back into the front paddock we spied this bunny moving about in the long grass along the fenceline. He sat quietly but a clever shot dropped him just as he began to move again. Here's my brother with him looking pleased. And so he should. He turned out to be an excellent spotter.

 
We moved out into the paddocks to the west of the property and next knocked over a bunny in the stockyards on the top of the hill. He ran hard then stopped in the open. Big mistake.

 
It was shortly afterward that I became increasingly frustrated with the Hornet. Two hares were circling about on the other side of a fence so I sighted on once and fired. I could've sworn I hit it but the customary THNNK!! of a solid hit was missing and after 10 minutes wasted looking in grass my fears were realised.
 
So I put the Hornet away and pulled out my Martini Cadet Sporter in 25-20. It has an old steel tube Weaver K-6 6x32 scope and the 75gr Turton FPs begin to drop hard at about 130yds but it has a gentler, deeper report than the Hornet and the heavier bullet with larger frontal area is satisfying in the way it makes stuff tumble. It soon despatched another bunny in the long grass when we moved through a gate into the next paddock. A very healthy bunny actually.

 
We soon spied the hares again, both looking very healthy and skittish, but the distance was just too far, even for the Hornet if it had been playing nice, so we turned and began a final sweep through the paddocks. Another bunny was taken near the gate. He ran hard and then, unwisely, stopped for a little too long.

 
We made a final sweep through the vineyard and were rewarded with a couple of bunnies. The first was scooting around in the paddock right next to the vineyard as we drove up the end row to the top. We pulled up and the rabbit began to pause and sit low in the grass, an effective trick as much of the grass was just long enough to hide him and the same colour as him in the spotlight. My brother said "Quick, he's just there!" I replied "I've got a bead on him....now" WHOMP!! The 25-20 always makes me smile.

 
I was a little careful going through this fence this time. I didn't want to get zapped in the balls again like last years episode.......
 
And finally we rounded the end of the row and saw a rabbit on the grass near the top of the hill. They're usually out here and I expected to see some. But they also usually run hard to the fenceline on the right. This one didn't. He seemed undecided and while he ran about a little he paused and then decided to run up the slope away from us at a moderate speed. I don't normally shoot animals which crest - safety of course - so I sighted his behind and gave him 75 grains of "Texas heart shot" just before he hit the crest. I heard that satisfying THNNK!! and smiled. I really love this little rifle. Best $220 I ever spent.

 
It was the shot of the night but the coolest thing was what I found when I went to inspect him......

That shiny object at the base of his ear is the jacket! The bullet smashed through his behind, disembowelled him, the jacket exited in it's own direction and then embedded in the back of his ear. Perfect as a varmint round.
 
So the final tally was 7 bunnies and 1 hare. My brother really enjoyed the night and said he had no idea that half of the challenge was locating and spotting game. I rang the owner the next morning, told him the tally and also apologised for the loud shot on the hare close to the house. He'd heard it but was unperturbed, describing it as "necessary for the goal". He was very pleased as the rabbits dig under the vines and chew the roots and we'd taken most of the rabbits close to or inside the vineyard.
 
I do need to take the Hornet to the range though. Maybe the scope needs adjusting or perhaps it's just the ammo. Whatever the case it's frustrating.

QuoteMy brother really enjoyed the night and said he had no idea that half of the challenge was locating and spotting game.

There's the best outcome of all, right there!

I only got to hunt with my brother a couple of times when we were kids.

Paul

That's about it.
The real pity is he doesn't have a gun licence.
Otherwise he could come shooting with me every time he came to visit.
But it's $180 per 5 years and he just can't justify the dollars.
But at least he had a good time.

So let me get this straight... If your brother wants to actually "pull the trigger" on YOUR gun, that YOU own, and is one YOUR LICENSE,  while he is VISITING YOU, he has to have a license? Do I understand that said license is a "gun" license and not a "hunting" license?

Is it OK to HOLD someone else's gun while you're visiting their house?

Paul

I gotta say, you guys aught to be like kids in a candy store if you visit here. (And don't even talk about "American gun violence". THAT garbage that the press spews is 99 and 44/100 ("pure") restricted to "inner city" violence, from gangs and thugs against other gangs and thugs.)

Seriously, "you guys" should visit the US JUST for the experience of the "breath of fresh air" with respect to gun ownership and handling. There were 12 murders in Alaska last year, and not all of them (I don't remember how many) were committed with guns. AND LAST YEAR WAS A RECORD YEAR! Have look here http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/ajsac/ajsac.12-01.firearm_crime.pdf for stats produced BY THE STATE on murder. Notice the DECLINE in murders over all AND with firearms over the last 30 years. Notice that the GUN murder rate is about 3 per 100,000 IN THE WHOLE US.

One of the interesting aspects of the graphs is the peak in the mid-90s. Guess who was in the White House: BILL CLINTON. Guess who had implemented THE MOST STRINGENT GUN LAWS AND BANS IN AMERICAN HISTORY - BILL CLINTON! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED WHEN BILL CLINTON'S BANS WERE REMOVED WHEN BUSH II WAS IN OFFICE.

One of the "things" that is driving the law-abiding gun owners in the US CRAZY is the GROSS misprepresentation of the FACTS about "gun violence" in the US. If you considered the US Press to be "honest" you'd think there was a murder once a week in every neighborhood in the country. They're a bunch of #$%^%&^* liars, and there is NOTHING "we" can do about them.

Sorry about the rant in your thread, Kombi. "Things" are tense over here. Not because of "gun control", but because the press is OUT OF CONTROL with their lying ABOUT EVERYTHING, and there is NOTHING, honest, law-abiding citizens can do about it. It's making ALL of us VERY uptight.

Paul

Glad your brother had a good time! and the pictures are just fine!!! waiting to see that new 7mm-08 with the new glass!!! God Bless.

Quote from: gitano;125490So let me get this straight... If your brother wants to actually "pull the trigger" on YOUR gun, that YOU own, and is one YOUR LICENSE,  while he is VISITING YOU, he has to have a license? Do I understand that said license is a "gun" license and not a "hunting" license?
:frown
Is it OK to HOLD someone else's gun while you're visiting their house?

Paul

Legally yes, and yes, and most frustratingly ridiculous, no. :frown
NSW has THE worst laws on it.
Go to Victoria where Marcus & Jorge live & you're allowed to hunt or shoot under the licence holder's close supervision.
But not here.
But if you go to a rifle range you can try shooting under a licensed shooter's supervision so long as you don't have a criminal record that precludes you from owning a gun.
The difference IMO is negligible.

Ed. I most definitely intend to make it to the US, both because of my gun habit & my VW addiction.

Thanks, Kombi.

I'm glad you mentioned Victoria. I was afraid I had inadvertently "outed" Marcus by posting that he had allow me to shoot on his land. I was of course, as the pictures attest, under "close supervision".

To repeat; it's nice to see brothers sharing hunting experiences. Especially successful ones.

Paul

Great stuff Kombi!  Wish we had a few wabbits in Colorado.  Spotlighting looks like a hoot !!  
 
 
  X2 to what Paul said.   The liberal press is out of control..........   what next ?

Spotlighting is a lot of fun but you have elk and rabbits don't have antlers.

Well,   there IS that...................  
 
 

 
 
     BUT..............   You get to hunt bunnies  more often!

I'd give up bunnies and shoot paper instead to tag one of those once a year.
That said, I can hunt sambar all year round and fallow from March 1st to October 31st (so long as I have the time and the access) and there's other game too so it's not so bad.

What can you tell us about sambar...........    don`t know much about them.   I`d think they were a great alternative.

Quote from: gitano;125504Thanks, Kombi.

I'm glad you mentioned Victoria. I was afraid I had inadvertently "outed" Marcus by posting that he had allow me to shoot on his land. I was of course, as the pictures attest, under "close supervision".


Paul

I hadn't lost any sleep over it Paul. Glad that you were able to come down and experience my little spot that I have posted about here a few times.

Marcus

Quote from: JaDub;125527What can you tell us about sambar........... don`t know much about them. I`d think they were a great alternative.

Your wish is my command......here's a seperate thread on it:
 
http://www.thehunterslife.com/forums/showthread.php?p=125535#post125535