Just got back from a 3 day hunt. Main quarry were kangaroo and rabbits. Hoped for deer but they were nowhere to be found....too much feed up in the hills and the deer are a bit thin on the ground at the moment.

Anyway, the klutz bit. Left home early and headed off to the mate's place to load up his 4WD. Got there about 40 minutes later. Loaded up his vehicle and departed.

Now, its about a 4 hour drive to our hunt property.

About 1.5 hours into the trip I got a cold shudder and sickening thought........WHICH BAG DID I PUT MY RIFLE BOLTS IN????? Grabbed the bag they SHOULD have been in........not there !!!!!! Rang my daughter on my mobile (cell). "Brooke, have a look in the garage for me please and tell me if there are 2 rifle bolts and a magazine sitting on my reloading bench." She rang me back about 10 minutes later with the news that the bolts were looking very comfortable resting on my bench in the garage. The look on my face said it all....my mate just said, "bad luck buddy. it would add an extra 150 km (94 miles) to the trip, and at $AUD1.28 a litre for diesel I'm not turning back !" I was about as impressed as a cat in a dog pound. You will have to use my .223 Howa. I don't have anything against his rifle, I mean the Howa is a good firearm... BUT its a .223!!!

We got to our hunt site, I'm mumbling and grumbling like a bear with a sore head. Thought I had better check and see where his rifle shoots for me.....can't see through the scope properly, everything is out of focus. He has had laser surgery on his eyes recently.....they ain't nothing like mine....damn.....I can't win, and he won't allow me to re-focus it in case he wants to use it in a hurry. Fair enough, I mean, it is his rifle. I'm beginning to think I couldn't win a king hit in a bar brawl!!!

To cut a long story short, I only got 1 roo, and that was a lucky shot, over the three days while he got 3 and about 5 rabbits, which is pretty good considering the grass is about 3' high at the moment.

Oh well, we plan on going out again in about 8 or 9 weeks.......guess who is going to pack and prepare everything TOMORROW and recheck it every 3 days !

Now be gentle with me guys....we all make a mistake every now and again and its the first time this has ever happene d.

Vince

Dont feel to bad,I am sure we all have forgotten something important before a hunt.Is it a requirement down under to transport rifles with the bolts removed?If so what do you do with your Winchester 94? Not so easy. Did you fall in love with the 223? If so this story would have a happy ending anyhow.

Vince,

Its ok we all forget stuff.

Best way not to forget something is minimizing what your going to bring out with you.

My pack is ready with anything I'd need on a hunt, my belt has the water/knife/first ait kit/rope and no disambly of the firearm/bow/crossbow for me

Now tell me I got to ask how do you shoot Roo's I've never seen one in real life so sorry if I got the impression from movies that they move pretty fast and they jump alot

Dimitri

Vince... Sorry ...I didn't mean to laugh...Been there. Done that. Except it was my sleeping bag I forgot. Though I keep a lot of blankets in my pickup...It was still a bit brisk... Sorry

By The Way...Welcome back...

I feel right at home here i've had CRS (thanks Bushy for the medical term ) for quite some time and now have a check list

Vince, my boy

That's nothing. Tonight, I started dismanteling a desk of sorts in one of the rooms of my house. I bought the house a while back, moved in with the wife and kids and what we are going to do is build a new house, move across the plot and then knock this one down. So I'm not that keen on doing anything on this house at all. Why bother? I'm only going to knock it down.

So back to this bench. Looks like someone who owned the house before used to be an architect as it's at an angle with open shelving to put your drawings on. Pretty well made too - loads of glue. Made out of wood - you know the type of thing. I've got a flat bench in the garage to go in as I am running short of ammo and need to make some more. Hence the demolition.

So there I am, taking the screws out with a 16oz claw hammer when this big bit comes off. I place it on the ground, check it all for nails and then start swinging the ol' hammer.

What's that through the window? A Wabbit! Swing hammer straight into ankle.

F*%k, s"£t, OOOOOWWWWWWW! That hurts! Why of why do I start these jobs when I'm wearing running shoes? Why does the wife leave me alone with tools. she's already banned me from using power tools and super glue ( I am deadly serious about the tools and the super glue. Glued my fingers together once and she had to drive me to the hospital... ) so I suppose that when she gets home I won't be able to use hammers either.

Just my luck!

Er....... Dave, about my going out shooting with you.........................??
Vince - well mate, how did it feel to go up to a centrefire after all these years? Great, aren't they? :) As the old saying goes...... S**t happens!
Oh yeah, by the way.......... the header on your post, WE KNEW THAT!!!
Del.

Good one Vince, I once took an empty gun case hunting, about 300 mi. trip. Try to explain that one to the wife.. anyway whats Roo taste like? Deer, Rabbit?

Jerry

Tastes like giant rat...What else....

Vince- I have not forgotten anything YET, but I did think of you this afternoon on my way home from work. I have a 30 mile drive thru the rolling hills of East Texas with lots of cattle and horses out grazing except for one guys place that has a 10 foot fence and is raising deer, there were 2 "roo" bouncing around his property, I damn neer ran off the road. Those things can't tast good.
Daveyboy- I know what you mean about super glue, I won't go into detail :).

roklok wrote:

Dont feel to bad,I am sure we all have forgotten something important before a hunt.Is it a requirement down under to transport rifles with the bolts removed?If so what do you do with your Winchester 94? Not so easy. Did you fall in love with the 223? If so this story would have a happy ending anyhow.

Gidday Rocky. Requirements for transport of firearms vary from state to state. I always carry them with bolt removed and in a locked container. Same for ammo. If the Police decide for any reason to go through your vehicle and they find your firearms, the more safety conscious you are the better it is. Gives them a better impression of you and helps keep them off your back. Now, Did you fall in love with the 223...NO NO NO. I carried an M16 for years in the Army and never considered the 5.56mm to be an effective round for its intended target, Long Pig. This is borne out by guys who carried it in Vietnam. They, and I, much prefer the 7.62mm (.308). A much more effective round. The latest aussie military rifle is the F88 AUSTEYR in bull pup, an aussie version of the Steyr. It also is in 5.56mm. Great to shoot, very accurate, but not a big enough calibre for its intended purpose in my opinion. My hunting round of choice though is the .243. Its very versatile...rabbits to deer.

dimitri wrote:

Now tell me I got to ask how do you shoot Roo's I've never seen one in real life so sorry if I got the impression from movies that they move pretty fast and they jump alot.

Hi Dimitri, you are right about them being fast and jump a lot. That is how roos get around...jumping, they can't walk or run. When they are in full flight they are VERY fast and can clear a high fence fairly easily. The easiest way to hunt roos is at dawn, dusk and night. During the day they usually lay up under a tree somewhere and they are very difficult to see. At night we spot-light them using a strong light, 750,000CP - 1,000,000CP (100W - 130W). The light dazzles them and they stand still.... just long enough. Same with rabbits.

bushmaster wrote:

Vince... Sorry ...I didn't mean to laugh.

Cause ya did mate, I know I would I'll be in touch mate.

515034s10ring wrote:

now have a check list.

Gidday Ringo mate......DITTO

Hiya Daveyboy. Mate, you need to get Delboy around there with some HE BIG bang, or get the "trouble and strife" and kids to do it for ya.

delboy wrote:

how did it feel to go up to a centrefire after all these years? Great, aren't they? Oh yeah, by the way.......... the header on your post, WE KNEW THAT!!!

Gidday mate, have a couple of centrefires already....a Mod 94 in 30.30 and a Weatherby in .243, love em both. Gee, thanks mate, I didn't think it showed so much.

glockman55 wrote:

anyway whats Roo taste like? Deer, Rabbit?

Empty gun case....OUCH. Roo is a very gamey meat, unlike any other I have tried. It is stronger than beef but not as strong as horse or buffalo. It is not a meat that is eaten much over here except as a game meat in restaurants. I like a nice tender piece on the barbie. It also goes well mixed with venison in sausages, oh, and a bottle of nice red wine, Merlot of Shiraz.

bushmaster wrote:

Tastes like giant rat

Bushy old mate, you never cease to amaze me. Can't say I've tried giant rat....what's it like?

kbis wrote:

there were 2 "roo" bouncing around his property, I damn neer ran off the road. Those things can't tast good.

Hi kbis. That is interesting. I wonder if he is trying to breed them for "exotic" hunting? Be interesting to see if they breed ok. Where breeding is concerned, roos are very aligned with the climate and environment. The female just won't come into season and will breed only when the environment will support them. What colour are they mate? There are two main colours...red and grey. The big red is too tough to eat, although the female red, she is sort of blueish in colour, is ok if she is small. A medium size grey is good meat. All roo meat gets tougher the bigger the animal. The rump meat is thick, but because of the way they get around it is usually tough. The base of the tail make a decent soup or casserole and the back straps are great.

Well guys, thanks for being so gentle with me. I've learnt my lesson. Next time I'll check and double check....then check again!

Cheers, Vince

Vince,

Night hunting is completly illegal here so I cant blind animals with a flashlight. I do however own a 10,000,000 candle power spot light Maybe I'll come down WAYYY South to try it sometime

Might be worth the trip if I get a few Roo to stuff myself with

Dimitri

I agree,the 223 is light for military purposes,hence the new 6.8 SPC. I own a 223 and a 243 and if I could only keep one I would definitely keep the 243.I still like the 223 though for smaller varmints and it is cheap to shoot.

Vince: I thought I was the only one to do that sort of thing. Rifle bolts--yes, they hide in the most creative places!

One day, I was on my way cross country skiing. My wife tells me that about 20 minutes after I left, my son came running into the kitchen, with a wild look in his eyes, saying; "WHERE"S DAD?", toting the ski poles. I had a nice drive, anyway.

Iwas due out stalking today too! Last two days of the deer season and I have to break my foot in two places - won't be going their again!

Ah well, back to the crutches. Time to read some posts on the reloading section.

Chow for now

Daveyboy