bloody awesome place Victorian
I never hunt in VIC yet maybe one day.

As a kid I hunted a little thanks to a friends father, we hunted in Tuolumne, CA, basically set up on the side of a hill (mountain) with a creek at the bottom and waited for the muley's to come for a drink. Did a lot of glassing but the pines were so thick it was very difficult.

Years later did a good bit of all kinds of hunting, duck, goose, pheasant, partridge (my favorite) and deer. Deer hunting in south western Michigan is restricted to shotguns. Tried the Allegan State Forest a couple of years, but it was way too dangerous. So I restricted my deer hunting to mom and dad's farm, about a twenty acre woodlot in the middle of corn and alfalfa fields. Always did much better during bow season than gun season. Bow hunted from a tree stand. I would try to find a few scrapes and set up as close as I could, and I did a bit of rattling, worked for me. During gun season sat my but against a tree and did not move, spent as much time chasing out trespassers as hunting, not really a good idea to still hunt, that's the same way deer move and Michigan has no shortage of the same rednecks that would rather shoot first and ask questions later.

Now in South Carolina I first started hunting deer by buying a membership in what's called a hunting club that cost about $800 a season, lots of hunters set up tree stands, I just used camo netting. Didn't care for hunting clubs, but without private land I had no choice except for game management areas that attract thousands of hunters.

Today, I walk out my back door sit down at my shooting table on my patio.

Les, sounds like you've found the best spot!

Not a lot of open ground around me. Lots of State land around here but lots of idiots to go with it. I hunt the State land during the week or late season when all the cidiots are working. Mostly hunt private land, takes a few years to learn the critter habits. Some still hunting but lots of stand hunting. We have lots of heavily wooded hills and swamp. Most of my shots are under 150 yards, there are a few places I can reach out to 400. Four miles to the west of me is all flat and only shotguns are allowed.

NZ hunters seldom- if ever use tree stands. Hunting is mainly by stalking through thick bush (North Island), within forest edges onto river flats or open tussock country.
Time, patience & stealth are the priority requirements for a successful hunt. The quarry is normally deer or pigs.
High country hunting for Thar or Chamois is a totally different ball game requiring good fitness to climb into the animals region and stealth along with the ability to accurately shoot minimum of 300yds.
Again - we go to the quarry and try and beat him/her in their own environment.
There are large areas of public land (Department of Conservation) which can be hunted all year.
A current firearms licence, a suitable calibre firearm and a good personal code of hunting ethics is all that is required.
Dogs are used extensively to locate & bail pigs.
Deer hunters occasionally use dogs but only for scenting deer (similar to gamebird indicating dogs). The use of dogs to run down or bail a deer is considered unethical and severely frowned upon.

Greetings/ tenakoi eh Tama
welcome aboard Eyesplice, which part of Godzone do you hail from???
I see youve been here awhile but just got around to posting for first time..dont be shy MOST of the crowd on here arent too bad... even those sheep shagging Aussies tend to grow on you after awhile(bit like a rash really)

Welcome to The Nut Eyesplice, grab a beer and pull up a stump mate. Good to see another KIWI on here. Us Aussies aren't too bad, we just enjoy a beer and a good laugh. No doubt you are aware that our two KIWI mates on here are Radar (Nth Island) and Elvis (Sth Island)...both damn fine guys. I look forward to your input mate.

G'day/Tenakoi to all Southern Hemisphere NUT Members,
I'm based int the Bay of Plenty,but originally from Christchurch.
Spent my younger days chasing trout, rabbits, hares & Thar in the Canterbury High Country and Southern Alps. Spent 20+ years chasing other things in the military before coming ashore and working in Auckland.
Moved to Papamoa 12yrs ago and have been getting back into hunting after a long period of intensive fly fishing. Just spent two weeks down in Te Anau deer hunting & fishing. A very successful trip.
Currently using a suppressed Marlin 7mm08 for deer and one of the new Ruger American Compact .223's for wallaby control in the Rotorua area. (DoC hunting regulations prohibit calibres less than .222 other wise my trusty 42 year old TOZ 17 .22 would do the job.)
Kaimai Ranges are at my back door but are heavily hunted during the roar - It's like Queen St on a Friday night - so go there primarily to practice my bush stalking in the quieter periods. Yes - there are still good numbers of reds in there, but the tight bush is a bugger to work through quietly.
As for Aussies - They are OK - In fact a number of my mates have gone there in an attempt to raise the IQ of Australia. :) and I have a Kiwi Brother-in-Law in Perth.
That's Me....

Gday!
Just what we need.. anutter Kiwi.. Elvis n radar are being out numbered (and out weighted too by the look of it) by us Oz.
This gonna be awesome.. ANZAC take over of the H-Nut

gelandangan wrote:

Gday! Just what we need.. anutter Kiwi.. Elvis n radar are being out numbered (and out weighted too by the look of it) by us Oz. This gonna be awesome.. ANZAC take over of the H-Nut

fishing on ya back door too. great stuff. thread the .223 and share the can with 7mm/08 you will love shooting those overgrown rats even more. sure makes things even more pleasant when it doesnt hurt your ears.

Elvis wrote:

fishing on ya back door too. great stuff. thread the .223 and share the can with 7mm/08 you will love shooting those overgrown rats even more. sure makes things even more pleasant when it doesnt hurt your ears.

I was planning to fit suppressor to .223 when funds allow.
I don't think the 'Hardy' unit on the 7mm08 wouldn't suit the Ruger as most suppressors are designed for either "22 calibre" or "30 Calibre".
The Ruger Compact has only 197mm of exposed barrel so am thinking of getting a custom Duralium unit from Gunworks in ChCh - it also has a smaller diameter so will be a little bit more aesthetically pleasing.
I find that recoil, sound and barrel whip are all reduced using a suppressor so I'm a great fan of them. If fitted/balanced correctly, they also improve barrel swing when coming onto target by 'dampening' the movement of the muzzle.

my 7.62x39mm shares a GW Spartan with my .270 and the .223 has her own.
Ive used the .223 spartan on norinco .22lr just cause..it no quieter than the sanders moderator on that.
I havent tried the bigger hole can on .223 but would say it would do a good enough job maybe not as good as a .224 hole job but would hush it down a tad anyway.
the dpt cans are getting rave reviews..might be better option for you???

I've looked at most of the OB suppressors available including the DPT ones.
They have quite a large diameter (38mm) so plan to go with the GW which is 35mm.
You're right about the DPT getting good reviews, had a close look at them at the Sika Show in Taupo in September. The modular design means that balance & sound reduction can be adjusted by adding or removing the segments. Great ideas coming from Kiwi Engineers.
Have spoken to a couple of users and they are very happy with DPT units.

I wish we were allowed to have suppressors. BUGGER

You are pretty close to Radar's stomping grounds Eyesplice so who knows mate, you might bump into him one day.