Private or "unofficial" shooting ranges in Victoria?

[JLH]

G'day,

New to the community, and my first post (i've searched, but come up short).

I live in an area (kinglake) that does not have any ranges close by (closest one being an hr away minimum). I've spent hours and hours searching online for somewhere local to practice shooting targets (with a 22lr or centrefire) to get my skills up.

I'm in my mid 30s & i don't know any other shooters who i can personally ask for their advice - this had led me to ask on here if others have faced a similar situation. Ideally, i would love to meet others who can help me better myself & skills, however that is a moot point if i can't particularly practice anywhere anyway.

There's a range in Upper Yarra Valley, but both clubs there don't allow a sports/hunting class, so using my 243 wont cut it (I honestly don't care if i'm practicing with centrefire or rimfire at this point, i just want to bloody practice!)

I live right next to Toolangi State Forest and Mt Robertson State Forest, but I'm hesitant to head in there and setup a target to practice even if its with a 22lr, as i know it's not allowed unless i'm "sighting in" before a hunt - so popping 22's for hours at a time will probably be a dead giveaway.

Do private ranges or unofficially google listed ranges exist? Is that a thing? i feel like im clutching at straws.

Anyway, keen to hear any input anyone has.

Cheers,

[No1Mk3]

Private ranges are exactly what it says, a range set up on private property on which you can only shoot if invited to by the property owner whom you would need to personally know. Some (lucky!!) members here live on rural properties and have targets set in the back paddock they can shoot on, and are permitted by law to invite friends to come for a shoot under proscribed circumstances. Take a packet or 2 of ammo to the State Forest and "sight-in" your rifle thoroughly, you won't spend "hours at a time" plinking but you can have a bit of a go. The only legal alternative is to plan a day and travel to an approved rifle range that allows the rifles you want to use, such as Little River from Friday to Monday, etc

[mchughcb]

G'day,

New to the community, and my first post (i've searched, but come up short).

I live in an area (kinglake) that does not have any ranges close by (closest one being an hr away minimum). I've spent hours and hours searching online for somewhere local to practice shooting targets (with a 22lr or centrefire) to get my skills up.

I'm in my mid 30s & i don't know any other shooters who i can personally ask for their advice - this had led me to ask on here if others have faced a similar situation. Ideally, i would love to meet others who can help me better myself & skills, however that is a moot point if i can't particularly practice anywhere anyway.

There's a range in Upper Yarra Valley, but both clubs there don't allow a sports/hunting class, so using my 243 wont cut it (I honestly don't care if i'm practicing with centrefire or rimfire at this point, i just want to bloody practice!)

I live right next to Toolangi State Forest and Mt Robertson State Forest, but I'm hesitant to head in there and setup a target to practice even if its with a 22lr, as i know it's not allowed unless i'm "sighting in" before a hunt - so popping 22's for hours at a time will probably be a dead giveaway.

Do private ranges or unofficially google listed ranges exist? Is that a thing? i feel like im clutching at straws.

Anyway, keen to hear any input anyone has.

Cheers,

In my experience people don't spend hours popping away with a 22LR practicing and I'm talking about the highest level of 22LR benchrest.

When I watch hunters at a range with their centrefires they are lucky to fire a packet of ammo in one session as the barrel gets too hot, their shoulder gets too sore and gets too expensive.

To improve proficiency for hunting the best way is to practice dry firing at home in field positions. Ido this several times a day with my shotguns and deer rifles. It develops musccle memory

The biggest improvement I ever did was to get a safe with a digital lock so I could open quickly and practice rather than wasting time retrieving the keys.

[bladeracer]

G'day,

New to the community, and my first post (i've searched, but come up short).

I live in an area (kinglake) that does not have any ranges close by (closest one being an hr away minimum). I've spent hours and hours searching online for somewhere local to practice shooting targets (with a 22lr or centrefire) to get my skills up.

I'm in my mid 30s & i don't know any other shooters who i can personally ask for their advice - this had led me to ask on here if others have faced a similar situation. Ideally, i would love to meet others who can help me better myself & skills, however that is a moot point if i can't particularly practice anywhere anyway.

There's a range in Upper Yarra Valley, but both clubs there don't allow a sports/hunting class, so using my 243 wont cut it (I honestly don't care if i'm practicing with centrefire or rimfire at this point, i just want to bloody practice!)

I live right next to Toolangi State Forest and Mt Robertson State Forest, but I'm hesitant to head in there and setup a target to practice even if its with a 22lr, as i know it's not allowed unless i'm "sighting in" before a hunt - so popping 22's for hours at a time will probably be a dead giveaway.

Do private ranges or unofficially google listed ranges exist? Is that a thing? i feel like im clutching at straws.

Anyway, keen to hear any input anyone has.

Cheers,

I would consider "an hour away" to be quite close when you're in the country, I know people in Melbourne that drive more than that to get to the range. I know of a private range in NSW but none in Victoria. We can't legally set up any kind of "permanent" range on private property here. The ideal is to find a private property owner happy to allow you to practice on his property. Facebook Groups might be a useful start, there are lots of general hunting and shooting groups as well as groups specific to different competitions, disciplines or clubs. You could also try ads in local papers or shop windows, maybe even shooting mags and club newsletters. My neighbour's son lives in Kinglake, as far as I'm aware he doesn't have anywhere up there to shoot, he only hunts in the forests, he comes down here when he wants to practice. I greatly prefer practicing with .22LR, it's cheap so I can do a lot of it (at least a brick a week), it doesn't need thousands of meters of room, neighbours are unlikely to complain about noise (if they can even hear you), and it exaggerates the trajectory and wind issues so you can learn more from it, and it all translates directly over to centrefire shooting.

[womble]

Cobaw range is one hour and 16 minutes from kinglake.
also you will notice vast areas of state forest, should you venture outside into the big scary world and view your surroundings.
Put your empty ciggy packet on the ground. Turn 180 degrees and take 25 long steps . shoot the ciggy packet . Don’t move the rifle. Move the crosshairs to the hole in the packet.
Shoot it again. Done.
Now pick up your rubbish and go home.
Don’t do it on a trail. Don’t do it in a campsite. Don’t do it in the car park. Dont do it downhill. Don’t shoot the rosellas. I know you want to, but it’s illegal as s**t.
Anyway, just go to the range, it’s not that hard. Like 3 hours out of your busy schedule. Much more beneficial. Meet other people with the same interests. Is your wife interested in hearing you talk about guns all the time. Do you like to discuss fingernail polish with her all the time.
No and no.

[JLH]

Cobaw range is one hour and 16 minutes from kinglake.
also you will notice vast areas of state forest, should you venture outside into the big scary world and view your surroundings.
Put your empty ciggy packet on the ground. Turn 180 degrees and take 25 long steps . shoot the ciggy packet . Don’t move the rifle. Move the crosshairs to the hole in the packet.
Shoot it again. Done.
Now pick up your rubbish and go home.
Don’t do it on a trail. Don’t do it in a campsite. Don’t do it in the car park. Dont do it downhill. Don’t shoot the rosellas. I know you want to, but it’s illegal as s**t.
Anyway, just go to the range, it’s not that hard. Like 3 hours out of your busy schedule. Much more beneficial. Meet other people with the same interests. Is your wife interested in hearing you talk about guns all the time. Do you like to discuss fingernail polish with her all the time.
No and no.

My post says I live right next to two state forests mate, I have no issue venturing outside. I just asked for peoples input on what I can do legally. I'm relatively new to the sport and value input from others. I thought I may have missed something that could be beneficial to me when doing my research (outside of driving to a range).

[JLH]

Private ranges are exactly what it says, a range set up on private property on which you can only shoot if invited to by the property owner whom you would need to personally know. Some (lucky!!) members here live on rural properties and have targets set in the back paddock they can shoot on, and are permitted by law to invite friends to come for a shoot under proscribed circumstances. Take a packet or 2 of ammo to the State Forest and "sight-in" your rifle thoroughly, you won't spend "hours at a time" plinking but you can have a bit of a go. The only legal alternative is to plan a day and travel to an approved rifle range that allows the rifles you want to use, such as Little River from Friday to Monday, etc

Thanks mate, I appreciate your input!
"Sighting in" is quote a grey area in state forests from what I can find!

[JLH]

G'day,

New to the community, and my first post (i've searched, but come up short).

I live in an area (kinglake) that does not have any ranges close by (closest one being an hr away minimum). I've spent hours and hours searching online for somewhere local to practice shooting targets (with a 22lr or centrefire) to get my skills up.

I'm in my mid 30s & i don't know any other shooters who i can personally ask for their advice - this had led me to ask on here if others have faced a similar situation. Ideally, i would love to meet others who can help me better myself & skills, however that is a moot point if i can't particularly practice anywhere anyway.

There's a range in Upper Yarra Valley, but both clubs there don't allow a sports/hunting class, so using my 243 wont cut it (I honestly don't care if i'm practicing with centrefire or rimfire at this point, i just want to bloody practice!)

I live right next to Toolangi State Forest and Mt Robertson State Forest, but I'm hesitant to head in there and setup a target to practice even if its with a 22lr, as i know it's not allowed unless i'm "sighting in" before a hunt - so popping 22's for hours at a time will probably be a dead giveaway.

Do private ranges or unofficially google listed ranges exist? Is that a thing? i feel like im clutching at straws.

Anyway, keen to hear any input anyone has.

Cheers,

In my experience people don't spend hours popping away with a 22LR practicing and I'm talking about the highest level of 22LR benchrest.

When I watch hunters at a range with their centrefires they are lucky to fire a packet of ammo in one session as the barrel gets too hot, their shoulder gets too sore and gets too expensive.

To improve proficiency for hunting the best way is to practice dry firing at home in field positions. Ido this several times a day with my shotguns and deer rifles. It develops musccle memory

The biggest improvement I ever did was to get a safe with a digital lock so I could open quickly and practice rather than wasting time retrieving the keys.

Gotcha. Looks like investing more time in dry firing is that way to go for now!

[womble]

It's not a grey area in Victoria. You can shoot a target in a state Forest.
It's prohibited in NSW

[straightshooter]

In NSW the whole issue revolves around the definition of "target shooting".
Technically one is always shooting at a target unless it is a rowdy Saturday night in Dodge City.
If the "target shooting" involves any form of competition then legally it may only take place on an approved range.
If one is simply sighting in or testing a rifle then that is permitted wherever it is lawful to discharge that firearm provided the property owner, manager, lessee or custodian allows it and the property is of a size and location such that it could not be deemed to be unsafe.
So in the case of NSW State Forests, having obtained permission to hunt in a particular State Forest, that's all one may do.
I am pleasantly surprised that the Socialist Republic of Victoria is as permissive as Mr. Womble suggests.

[womble]

I too am pleasantly surprised that absolute ****** NSW is likewise

[bladeracer]

Anyway, just go to the range, it’s not that hard. Like 3 hours out of your busy schedule. Much more beneficial. Meet other people with the same interests. Is your wife interested in hearing you talk about guns all the time. Do you like to discuss fingernail polish with her all the time.
No and no.

Range shooting is great, if you enjoy range shooting. Range shooting sucks if you prefer to improve your real-world skills. Animals don't sit themselves at specific distances, they don't wear white shirts with a big black dot on them, they don't stand out in the open with a nice clean contrasting background behind them, and you don't shoot them from a seat at a concrete bench. I practice on small, hard to see targets, against bush backgrounds, at various random distances, from various shooting positions, in varying wind and light conditions, and varying degrees of movement/exercise to get the heartrate up. I'm not aware of any approved ranges that allow this, but let me know if they do exist. The closest I've seen is Simulated Field shooting, which is usually done with guns rather than rifles, at relatively close ranges, and some PRS shooting, but most PRS I've seen is done from a shooting mound.

Yesterday I was shooting 396m with the .22LR, laying in a very wet and muddy area of the paddock with an 8-10mph wind from 7-8-o'clock, and failing light, at a 220mm wide by 420mm high steel plate in some trees. Last week I was practicing shooting a pair of 120mm gongs offhand with the iron sights at about 35m, rapid fire to simulate a small target running across my front. I also have a 20kg kettlebell for practicing Kasarda Drills. This is where I have three 120mm gongs set up between 100m to 200m, hit all three from whatever position works best to ensure hits, then throw the kettlebell before hitting the targets again, repeat until you reach a set distance or time expires. The two common ways to do this are throwing the bell to the side and moving toward another point, the targets are static but you're getting exercise, or progressing toward the targets so the targets become larger/closer while you are becoming exhausted. The trick is knowing when you have to go prone to get hits due to distance/exhaustion, and when you can just stay standing or drop to a knee. With a really good throw I can manage about 4.5m with the kettlebell, it's an excellent workout, though the workout really starts with lugging the bloody thing hundreds of meters into the paddock while also carrying rifle, gongs and shooting gear. I don't know of any range in Australia that would allow you to do either of these training methods.

If range shooting is your thing then definitely go to a range.

[bladeracer]

In NSW the whole issue revolves around the definition of "target shooting".
Technically one is always shooting at a target unless it is a rowdy Saturday night in Dodge City.
If the "target shooting" involves any form of competition then legally it may only take place on an approved range.
If one is simply sighting in or testing a rifle then that is permitted wherever it is lawful to discharge that firearm provided the property owner, manager, lessee or custodian allows it and the property is of a size and location such that it could not be deemed to be unsafe.
So in the case of NSW State Forests, having obtained permission to hunt in a particular State Forest, that's all one may do.
I am pleasantly surprised that the Socialist Republic of Victoria is as permissive as Mr. Womble suggests.

Victoria also allows us to simply "practice" our shooting on private property, we're not restricted to load development or zeroing/patterning.

[Jackaroo]

You have a range that's one hour away and its too far?

My front gate is 45 minutes from my front door and the nearest town another hour away from my gate.

[JLH]

You have a range that's one hour away and its too far?

My front gate is 45 minutes from my front door and the nearest town another hour away from my gate.

That sounds like a perfect situation to me. Wouldn't have to leave the property to shoot.

[deye243]

You have a range that's one hour away and its too far?

My front gate is 45 minutes from my front door and the nearest town another hour away from my gate.

Is it a long way or are you a slow driver

[Tomotron]

In NSW the whole issue revolves around the definition of "target shooting".
Technically one is always shooting at a target unless it is a rowdy Saturday night in Dodge City.
If the "target shooting" involves any form of competition then legally it may only take place on an approved range.
If one is simply sighting in or testing a rifle then that is permitted wherever it is lawful to discharge that firearm provided the property owner, manager, lessee or custodian allows it and the property is of a size and location such that it could not be deemed to be unsafe.
So in the case of NSW State Forests, having obtained permission to hunt in a particular State Forest, that's all one may do.
I am pleasantly surprised that the Socialist Republic of Victoria is as permissive as Mr. Womble suggests.

One of the things that the old Kennett Government did well on.

[bladeracer]

In NSW the whole issue revolves around the definition of "target shooting".
Technically one is always shooting at a target unless it is a rowdy Saturday night in Dodge City.
If the "target shooting" involves any form of competition then legally it may only take place on an approved range.
If one is simply sighting in or testing a rifle then that is permitted wherever it is lawful to discharge that firearm provided the property owner, manager, lessee or custodian allows it and the property is of a size and location such that it could not be deemed to be unsafe.
So in the case of NSW State Forests, having obtained permission to hunt in a particular State Forest, that's all one may do.
I am pleasantly surprised that the Socialist Republic of Victoria is as permissive as Mr. Womble suggests.

I thought it was part of the NSW R-Licence permission slip that you can't zero or sight-in in state forest?

[womble]

You have a range that's one hour away and its too far?

My front gate is 45 minutes from my front door and the nearest town another hour away from my gate.

Is it a long way or are you a slow driver

Somebody keeps moving his gate

[Oldbloke]

The OP is in Vic

[Heath84]

Hi JHL,
Here is a link for your information http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic ... 2/s22.html on shooting on private land (copy and paste if link does not work) As for shooting on crown land best to speak to Game management Authority as for best practices. I was in the same boat as you and I watched Ozzie reviews on YouTube and he gives you the right information on how to approach land owners and we’re to go from there. Once you have a place to practice and have a good reputation with the land owner it would be worth asking if the land owner knows and would be happy to recommend you to other land owners.

[alexjones]

Seeing as a club does not have to allow one to join there is in essence private clubs around.

If you read the youtube comments on ozzie reviews videos when he shoots pistols the fools always say "you can't shoot pistol on private land, that's illegal". Well you can, it is called a private range that is not open to the public. A bunch of people with money went through all the red tape to set up their own range for exclusive use. He even says its a private range and he has a sign in book. Like honestly, his videos are always watched by police and commies so why would he do something illegal?

There are more private ranges around than you realise because they are not advertised. I would bet most of them would be small pistol ranges on private land. So people can shoot pistols on their own property.

[bladeracer]

Seeing as a club does not have to allow one to join there is in essence private clubs around.

If you read the youtube comments on ozzie reviews videos when he shoots pistols the fools always say "you can't shoot pistol on private land, that's illegal". Well you can, it is called a private range that is not open to the public. A bunch of people with money went through all the red tape to set up their own range for exclusive use. He even says its a private range and he has a sign in book. Like honestly, his videos are always watched by police and commies so why would he do something illegal?

There are more private ranges around than you realise because they are not advertised. I would bet most of them would be small pistol ranges on private land. So people can shoot pistols on their own property.

You can't use handguns outside of approved ranges. It's certainly possible to get involved with setting up an approved range on private property, but you're still restricted to using them only within the template of your "approved range". Handy if you just want to practice for competitions without travelling to your club range, but you still can't take it with you when you're out checking fence lines, plinking in a paddock, or hunting pests on the property.

I only know of one private range in NSW, I'm not aware of any where I am in Vic but it's certainly possible they exist.

[alexjones]

Seeing as a club does not have to allow one to join there is in essence private clubs around.

If you read the youtube comments on ozzie reviews videos when he shoots pistols the fools always say "you can't shoot pistol on private land, that's illegal". Well you can, it is called a private range that is not open to the public. A bunch of people with money went through all the red tape to set up their own range for exclusive use. He even says its a private range and he has a sign in book. Like honestly, his videos are always watched by police and commies so why would he do something illegal?

There are more private ranges around than you realise because they are not advertised. I would bet most of them would be small pistol ranges on private land. So people can shoot pistols on their own property.

You can't use handguns outside of approved ranges. It's certainly possible to get involved with setting up an approved range on private property, but you're still restricted to using them only within the template of your "approved range". Handy if you just want to practice for competitions without travelling to your club range, but you still can't take it with you when you're out checking fence lines, plinking in a paddock, or hunting pests on the property.

I only know of one private range in NSW, I'm not aware of any where I am in Vic but it's certainly possible they exist.

Correct. You can only use it inside the boundary of the approved range. It is a long tedious process to get a range approved but if you have a property and the money it is worth the investment. If you have a few hundred acres sectioning off a 50mx100m section for a pistol range is nothing. Would be fun to head into a range on your own property, sign the sign in register and shoot some pistol.

QLD is the only state that allows farmers to have pistols for actual property use. Very rare condition code with about 100 or so people I believe that have it. Whilst nothing is in law the police want you to have 5000 acres to be able to justify the need. Although I know a farmer with 1000 acres who has it. He has very hilly rocky terrain full of bush. The barrel of a self loading rifle/carbine would get caught amongst the trees to be able to fire safely so a pistol is justified. So cool he just walks around the property with a pistol on his hip.

[bladeracer]

Correct. You can only use it inside the boundary of the approved range. It is a long tedious process to get a range approved but if you have a property and the money it is worth the investment. If you have a few hundred acres sectioning off a 50mx100m section for a pistol range is nothing. Would be fun to head into a range on your own property, sign the sign in register and shoot some pistol.

QLD is the only state that allows farmers to have pistols for actual property use. Very rare condition code with about 100 or so people I believe that have it. Whilst nothing is in law the police want you to have 5000 acres to be able to justify the need. Although I know a farmer with 1000 acres who has it. He has very hilly rocky terrain full of bush. The barrel of a self loading rifle/carbine would get caught amongst the trees to be able to fire safely so a pistol is justified. So cool he just walks around the property with a pistol on his hip.

I would consider it similar to CatC, which I also can't be bothered doing the paperwork for just to have restrictions similar to pistol use. Yes, it would indeed be far more enjoyable than attending clubs every time you want to do some IPSC practice. I spent far more time at the pistol club on my own practicing scenarios far removed from the competitions we were shooting. I had zero interest in competitions, I just wanted to become a proficient _practical_ pistol shooter, the competitions were merely the legal requirement for being allowed to do so.

I'm surprised that was considered acceptable reasoning. Down here we have a minimum length of 750mm for longarms. For me, a raised pistol at arms length reaches about 50mm further than a 750mm carbine shouldered from the same position. A longer-barrelled revolver, more useful for bush work, would be even longer. But carrying a handgun should be an option for anybody that is on the land.

[No1Mk3]

Seeing as a club does not have to allow one to join there is in essence private clubs around.

If you read the youtube comments on ozzie reviews videos when he shoots pistols the fools always say "you can't shoot pistol on private land, that's illegal". Well you can, it is called a private range that is not open to the public. A bunch of people with money went through all the red tape to set up their own range for exclusive use. He even says its a private range and he has a sign in book. Like honestly, his videos are always watched by police and commies so why would he do something illegal?

There are more private ranges around than you realise because they are not advertised. I would bet most of them would be small pistol ranges on private land. So people can shoot pistols on their own property.

You can't use handguns outside of approved ranges. It's certainly possible to get involved with setting up an approved range on private property, but you're still restricted to using them only within the template of your "approved range". Handy if you just want to practice for competitions without travelling to your club range, but you still can't take it with you when you're out checking fence lines, plinking in a paddock, or hunting pests on the property.

I only know of one private range in NSW, I'm not aware of any where I am in Vic but it's certainly possible they exist.

G'day bladeracer,
I know of one, but it is 10m Air pistol only and was set up quite a while ago. Haven't heard of any others apart from commercial ranges that are not open to the public, (Security firms, some gunshops, major firearm mporters etc) but I do know some who have been refused permission.

[alexjones]

Correct. You can only use it inside the boundary of the approved range. It is a long tedious process to get a range approved but if you have a property and the money it is worth the investment. If you have a few hundred acres sectioning off a 50mx100m section for a pistol range is nothing. Would be fun to head into a range on your own property, sign the sign in register and shoot some pistol.

QLD is the only state that allows farmers to have pistols for actual property use. Very rare condition code with about 100 or so people I believe that have it. Whilst nothing is in law the police want you to have 5000 acres to be able to justify the need. Although I know a farmer with 1000 acres who has it. He has very hilly rocky terrain full of bush. The barrel of a self loading rifle/carbine would get caught amongst the trees to be able to fire safely so a pistol is justified. So cool he just walks around the property with a pistol on his hip.

I would consider it similar to CatC, which I also can't be bothered doing the paperwork for just to have restrictions similar to pistol use. Yes, it would indeed be far more enjoyable than attending clubs every time you want to do some IPSC practice. I spent far more time at the pistol club on my own practicing scenarios far removed from the competitions we were shooting. I had zero interest in competitions, I just wanted to become a proficient _practical_ pistol shooter, the competitions were merely the legal requirement for being allowed to do so.

I'm surprised that was considered acceptable reasoning. Down here we have a minimum length of 750mm for longarms. For me, a raised pistol at arms length reaches about 50mm further than a 750mm carbine shouldered from the same position. A longer-barrelled revolver, more useful for bush work, would be even longer. But carrying a handgun should be an option for anybody that is on the land.

I hate the laws but have to navigate them as we all do. So I jump through all the hoops and spend the money so I can get the things I want. I am of the opinion that we have to get everything we can legally justify whilst it is still an option.

Are you able to get your cat C as you mention? Yes it is a tedious process but you should if you can because you can use it anywhere on the property. Not to mention you can normally have 1 rimfire and 1 shotgun. As I am sure you know a ruger 10/22 and a nice pump or semi shotgun is a lot of fun.


Where you good at IPSC? I have never done practical shooting with all the running and such. Just standing still at the bench shooting at steel is all I do.

[bladeracer]

I hate the laws but have to navigate them as we all do. So I jump through all the hoops and spend the money so I can get the things I want. I am of the opinion that we have to get everything we can legally justify whilst it is still an option.

Are you able to get your cat C as you mention? Yes it is a tedious process but you should if you can because you can use it anywhere on the property. Not to mention you can normally have 1 rimfire and 1 shotgun. As I am sure you know a ruger 10/22 and a nice pump or semi shotgun is a lot of fun.


Where you good at IPSC? I have never done practical shooting with all the running and such. Just standing still at the bench shooting at steel is all I do.

Agreed about the laws, they suck but it's what we have. And I agree we should grab what we can while we can, not because we'll be allowed to keep it but because we'll never get a chance to play with it again in the future. My first firearms were semi-auto and pump shotgun, which kids nowadays are unlikely to ever see, let alone enjoy using.

Yes, I qualify for CatC. We have three properties and graze our stock on several other properties belonging to neighbours. Frankly having CatC would be a pain in the bum for me, but in theory I could probably licence it for use on all the properties involved without any issue. Yes, one rimfire rifle, plus one shotgun, as well as a tranquiliser gun, which has been the biggest impetus in almost pushing me to getting CatC. Two weeks ago we had to run a pair of calves into town to the vet in the back of the van. She tranked them and they were out for about ninety minutes, so easy to work with them when they're not fighting you.

Yes, the 10/22 was my first rifle and my first gun was the Bentley Model 20, 8-shot, 20" pump gun with rifle sights, both were heaps of fun.

My very first exposure to handguns was some sort of blackpowder revolver that a guy gave me a shot of when I was about twelve when my mum took me to visit a pistol club in South Australia. All I remember is that the thing was enormous (I had a large collection of non-firing replica pistols and this thing was a behometh) and the huge cloud of smoke and filth. And once, when I wasn't able to get a flight down to Perth and didn't have time to drive to Darwin for a one-in-eight shoot (we had to attend a club every eight weeks to maintain a pistol licence back then) I went to Kununurra pistol club. That was stand and shoot "rapid fire" at rotating silhouettes, very, very boring and I never bothered again, even though it was only an hour up the highway, I preferred to drive to Darwin, or drive to Kununurra and fly to Perth and do a proper shoot. Pretty sure all of my pistol shooting otherwise has been from the holster on the clock. I think every competition I ever shot included one "standard" course of fire that was similar to target shooting. Standing, hands at your shoulders, either facing or back to the targets. On the buzzer you turn, draw and put two rounds on each silhouette as quickly as you can. It might be anything from three or four to a dozen silhouettes. Some common variations were a required reload then another two on each, or two on each, then reload while running to a second box and putting another two on each. I have very, very few photos from that time but I took my dad a few times and asked permission to photograph, this is probably a shoot I flew down to Perth to do. I'm in the green shirt and jeans. If you haven't tried IPSC I strongly recommend at least going along to a club and seeing what it's all about, it's a ton of fun. We would shoot from sitting on the toilet, in the bath, inside, under or on top of vehicles, inside 44gal drums, off the top of scaffolding, carrying or moving things, etc, anything that would get the heart rate up and detract from your focus. We also shot with the SAS at Karrakatta including in their 360-degree killhouse. It's a shame I don't have photos of the big courses of fire we always did. Using shadecloth screens to build "houses" with windows, doors and passages and having to engage dozens of targets while moving through the "building", these were the best. When they restricted us to 10rd mags it involved a lot of reloads. The 1911 shooters had mags right around their backs.

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