Upgrade to a .204?

[SCJ429]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

[bigfellascott]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

Do you mount your torch on your rifle to butcher your twilight deer too?

[Stix]

Shooting deer under the light, I wish we could do that, makes life a lot easier when they just stand there looking at ya waiting to be shot.

And let me tell ya...they taste just as good as after a long hunt too...!!...

(actually, truth be told, sadly i dont know that--they are the only deer ive ever shot & consumed--i just wish i had regular access to them because the freezer stock is getting low with me indulging in an almost a weekly fetish filling of bacon-wrapped venison with pan made mushroom/pepper sauce drowned feast ... )

[SCJ429]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

Do you mount your torch on your rifle to butcher your twilight deer too?

I am sure Constable, that the torch was mounted on the rifle post shooting and only for the purposes of finding his way back to his vehicle.

I like you BFS have never used an unfair advantage to outwit my quarry, no that is not a fox whistle hanging off my webbing.

[bladeracer]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

I thought that was the more likely answer myself, but spotlighting has its purpose, not all landowners are able to enjoy hunting them while they damage their livelihood, sometimes they just have to take down as many pests as they can in the hour or two they have to tackle the problem.

While deer have not been seen around this area in the last couple decades, there are some around just a few kilometers south of us. We had a small one wander through the property one morning a few weeks ago, but I think most likely a youngster that somebody brought home that escaped.

I wouldn't be getting offended at whatever other people assume.

[bladeracer]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

Do you mount your torch on your rifle to butcher your twilight deer too?

I am sure Constable, that the torch was mounted on the rifle post shooting and only for the purposes of finding his way back to his vehicle.

I like you BFS have never used an unfair advantage to outwit my quarry, no that is not a fox whistle hanging off my webbing.

I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, but as long as it's legal I don't have a problem with landowners using it to manage their responsibilities to control pests.

[bigfellascott]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

Do you mount your torch on your rifle to butcher your twilight deer too?

I am sure Constable, that the torch was mounted on the rifle post shooting and only for the purposes of finding his way back to his vehicle.

I like you BFS have never used an unfair advantage to outwit my quarry, no that is not a fox whistle hanging off my webbing.

I guess spotlighting deer is legal now? using a whistle is, that much I do know.

[Stix]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

Do you mount your torch on your rifle to butcher your twilight deer too?

I am sure Constable, that the torch was mounted on the rifle post shooting and only for the purposes of finding his way back to his vehicle.

I like you BFS have never used an unfair advantage to outwit my quarry, no that is not a fox whistle hanging off my webbing.

Lol...
yes i mounted that torch after scj--how the hell did you know...

I was out doing a permit on Skippy's, & they happened to stand up as i went through a gate...rules are, all vermin to be destroyed...
So they both got shot in the brain...& i took them home & butchered them up & tanned the skins...

No point getting offended anyway...if Scott was wrong, id have set him straight...& if he (well...anyone) didnt believe me...who cares...

Anyway...Nothing wrong with opportunistic 'hunting'...i dont waste anything...(well, i keep cats n fox pelts n feed grubs n crows with the rest... ) & keep trimmings, offal (heart lungs liver of bunny's) for another farmers wife's pet cat & bones of what i eat for peoples dogs)...

Ive gotten in the habit of that style of vermin busting, from both loving my chasing foxes under the light, & that the main property i do this on is sssoooo big & bunny spots so far & wide spread, that i can only do half of it in one night...its also 15k's from base camp, so walking is only feasible if im a millionare who doesnt have to work & who can take the time to spend a week roughing it for bunny's n foxes...

Anyway...has xDom boought this 204 yet...

[bigfellascott]

Shooting deer under the light, I wish we could do that, makes life a lot easier when they just stand there looking at ya waiting to be shot.

And let me tell ya...they taste just as good as after a long hunt too...!!...

(actually, truth be told, sadly i dont know that--they are the only deer ive ever shot & consumed--i just wish i had regular access to them because the freezer stock is getting low with me indulging in an almost a weekly fetish filling of bacon-wrapped venison with pan made mushroom/pepper sauce drowned feast ... )

They do indeed taste great, no matter how ya get em (last one I picked up off the road after someone hit it) I turned that one into schnitzels - eat it with a spoon it was that tender.

[Stix]

You would’ve been pretty happy with that 300 yard bunny shot, hey Stix?
This is what I wanna get into on my next trip out to the farm. Set myself up looking over a burrow.

I was lucky enough to have a wonderful spot when I was a kid. I had to walk a few kilometers to get there, but there was a rock cliff with a creek running across the bottom. From the top it looked over several acres of Warren's. I spent many, many hours laying up there picking off rabbits out to about 300yds with my .222Rem. At that distance they ignored me shooting, only reacting to their family members being blown apart next to them. I could take a few before they'd duck into their burrows for a few minutes, then pop out again for some more. After an hour or so I'd walk down and collect them, then have to walk home again with a dozen or more hanging off my webbing.

I was clambering across that cliff face one morning when I noticed a fox following the other side of the creek behind my right shoulder, and probably twenty-feet below me. I hung onto the wall with my right hand while I unslung my M38 Swede, lay it across my right arm, and took the fox left-handed - my only left-handed kill ever.

Good story Blade...
Those one-off's in life often make a great tale...my first ever duck in flight is a fond memory that is similarly etched into my brain...the setting i was in could be used in a movie...(bloody short movie though... ) but one every hunter would relate to...

Remembering somewhat where you spent your childhood, those little Fallow were probably topped somewhere close-(ish) to your lefty kill...

And...thats interesting reading the ballistics of the 204 & 223 you posted...

Reinforces my confidence in the 204 & why im more comfortable picking shots for that, rather than the 222...

Thanks for posting that up...

[bladeracer]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

Do you mount your torch on your rifle to butcher your twilight deer too?

I am sure Constable, that the torch was mounted on the rifle post shooting and only for the purposes of finding his way back to his vehicle.

I like you BFS have never used an unfair advantage to outwit my quarry, no that is not a fox whistle hanging off my webbing.

I guess spotlighting deer is legal now? using a whistle is, that much I do know.

You don't have your location in your profile so I don't know if it's legal for you, here in Victoria it's legal for landowners protecting their properties from deer, I think even extending outside their boundaries into some public lands.

[bladeracer]

You may be right, however I find that I often shoot things in the twilight and end up butchering them in the dark. If I took a photograph it may appear that I was spotlighting. I would then be offended if someone made the inference. Perhaps I have read the comment incorrectly.

Do you mount your torch on your rifle to butcher your twilight deer too?

I am sure Constable, that the torch was mounted on the rifle post shooting and only for the purposes of finding his way back to his vehicle.

I like you BFS have never used an unfair advantage to outwit my quarry, no that is not a fox whistle hanging off my webbing.

Lol...
yes i mounted that torch after scj--how the hell did you know...

I was out doing a permit on Skippy's, & they happened to stand up as i went through a gate...rules are, all vermin to be destroyed...
So they both got shot in the brain...& i took them home & butchered them up & tanned the skins...

No point getting offended anyway...if Scott was wrong, id have set him straight...& if he (well...anyone) didnt believe me...who cares...

Anyway...Nothing wrong with opportunistic 'hunting'...i dont waste anything...(well, i keep cats n fox pelts n feed grubs n crows with the rest... ) & keep trimmings, offal (heart lungs liver of bunny's) for another farmers wife's pet cat & bones of what i eat for peoples dogs)...

Ive gotten in the habit of that style of vermin busting, from both loving my chasing foxes under the light, & that the main property i do this on is sssoooo big & bunny spots so far & wide spread, that i can only do half of it in one night...its also 15k's from base camp, so walking is only feasible if im a millionare who doesnt have to work & who can take the time to spend a week roughing it for bunny's n foxes...

Anyway...has xDom boought this 204 yet...

If it's farmland, 15kms is not a trek, if it's native Bush though it might take most of a day.

[bladeracer]

You would’ve been pretty happy with that 300 yard bunny shot, hey Stix?
This is what I wanna get into on my next trip out to the farm. Set myself up looking over a burrow.

I was lucky enough to have a wonderful spot when I was a kid. I had to walk a few kilometers to get there, but there was a rock cliff with a creek running across the bottom. From the top it looked over several acres of Warren's. I spent many, many hours laying up there picking off rabbits out to about 300yds with my .222Rem. At that distance they ignored me shooting, only reacting to their family members being blown apart next to them. I could take a few before they'd duck into their burrows for a few minutes, then pop out again for some more. After an hour or so I'd walk down and collect them, then have to walk home again with a dozen or more hanging off my webbing.

I was clambering across that cliff face one morning when I noticed a fox following the other side of the creek behind my right shoulder, and probably twenty-feet below me. I hung onto the wall with my right hand while I unslung my M38 Swede, lay it across my right arm, and took the fox left-handed - my only left-handed kill ever.

Good story Blade...
Those one-off's in life often make a great tale...my first ever duck in flight is a fond memory that is similarly etched into my brain...the setting i was in could be used in a movie...(bloody short movie though... ) but one every hunter would relate to...

Remembering somewhat where you spent your childhood, those little Fallow were probably topped somewhere close-(ish) to your lefty kill...

And...thats interesting reading the ballistics of the 204 & 223 you posted...

Reinforces my confidence in the 204 & why im more comfortable picking shots for that, rather than the 222...

Thanks for posting that up...

That spot is only maybe twenty clicks or so westsouwest of Murray Bridge, south of but in sight of the highway. The landowner was a nutjob.

[xDom]

“..I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, ”

Interesting comment, never thought of that. What’s your definition of hunting?

[in2anity]

“..I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, ”

Interesting comment, never thought of that. What’s your definition of hunting?

Bow and arrow handmade from Aussie sapling, bare foot only, gum leaf loin cloth covering genitals. Anything more is unfair advantage.

[bladeracer]

“..I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, ”

Interesting comment, never thought of that. What’s your definition of hunting?

Hunting requires "fair chase", dazzling an animal so it simply stands there to be shot is not hunting, just shooting. As I said earlier, I've never taken an animal over a light, I also don't use fox whistles, I hunt foxes in daylight. When I feel a need to thin their numbers more rapidly, I have used roadkill to attract them to a specific place, and I watch them at night using light or IR. I have certainly tried spotlighting, but I've never been able to pull the trigger on a barely-discernable shape. I took a huge white cat under moonlight when I was a kid, I had seen him a few times, worked out his habits, waited for him, and followed him along a creek. He jumped a young rabbit and I took him with the rabbit still in his mouth.

We have spotlighters locally that keep the fox numbers down pretty effectively around here, so there's no need for me to resort to it myself. We're calving just now and expected the foxes to be more of a problem, but although they have certainly been coming through, they haven't been a problem. They drag off the placentas and like to eat the fresh newborn poo due to the milk content - our dog enjoyed that as well, the disgusting little devil

Foxing for me is getting out before dawn, find a spot, and sit and watch for them. When I see them I go after them. I regularly miss out by trying to get much closer than I need to, but that is hunting. I've been hankering to get out with some of the milsurps recently, which will require me to get very close, shotgun ranges reàlly, due to the sights and some of the rifles' accuracy of about 3MoA.

[bladeracer]

“..I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, ”

Interesting comment, never thought of that. What’s your definition of hunting?

Bow and arrow handmade from Aussie sapling, bare foot only, gum leaf loin cloth covering genitals. Anything more is unfair advantage.

Not quite, but that's a standard response from spotlighters.
Fair chase is not about the technology, it's about taking the animal in it's own habitat without pain or fear. Using technology to minimize the harm to your target is not an unfair advantage.

[bigfellascott]

“..I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, ”

Interesting comment, never thought of that. What’s your definition of hunting?

Bow and arrow handmade from Aussie sapling, bare foot only, gum leaf loin cloth covering genitals. Anything more is unfair advantage.

Not quite, but that's a standard response from spotlighters.
Fair chase is not about the technology, it's about taking the animal in it's own habitat without pain or fear. Using technology to minimize the harm to your target is not an unfair advantage.

Sounds like a standard response from someone who's full of s**t! Honestly though you can't really believe that s**t surely if you want fair chase use a spear not a rifle.

[bladeracer]

“..I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, ”

Interesting comment, never thought of that. What’s your definition of hunting?

Bow and arrow handmade from Aussie sapling, bare foot only, gum leaf loin cloth covering genitals. Anything more is unfair advantage.

Not quite, but that's a standard response from spotlighters.
Fair chase is not about the technology, it's about taking the animal in it's own habitat without pain or fear. Using technology to minimize the harm to your target is not an unfair advantage.

Sounds like a standard response from someone who's full of s**t! Honestly though you can't really believe that s**t surely if you want fair chase use a spear not a rifle.

Thanks for the response, are you a spotlighter?
I was asked specifically for my definition, which I gave, feel free to offer your own.
The problem with spears and clubs is that they don't kill cleanly, if you need to kill something to save your life then use whatever you have, otherwise use means and methods that ensure a clean kill, without affecting the animals' enjoyment of its day.

Spotlighting is no different to "hunting" caged animals, but it is a neccessary option sometimes to reduce numbers. I don't have any problem with spotlighting for legitimate purpose.

The fact that so many spotlighters do get defensive probably indicates that they don't consider it hunting either? I don't recall any that did consider it to be hunting, most I've known spotlight for profit. Either by selling the results or protecting their property investment. One of the local guys here keeps precise records of just what each fox costs him, he uses factory .204 Hornady and sells the brass.

[in2anity]

Sounds like a standard response from someone who's full of s**t! Honestly though you can't really believe that s**t surely if you want fair chase use a spear not a rifle.

I'm with yu BFS - the only thing that would make things truly "fair" would be if they carried guns and could shoot back!

I fail to understand why people can't realize that the meaning of "fair vs unfair" and "right vs wrong" and "good vs evil" is but a figment of one's imagination, defined on an entirely individual basis, and ultimately sculpted by the information we are fed (which is usually always bias).

In reality, in this world, averaging all that is, there is no "right" and "wrong", there just is. Spend any time in a war-torn country and you'll quickly learn this...

Sorry OP we digress massively

[bladeracer]

Sounds like a standard response from someone who's full of s**t! Honestly though you can't really believe that s**t surely if you want fair chase use a spear not a rifle.

I'm with yu BFS - the only thing that would make things truly "fair" would be if they carried guns and could shoot back!

I fail to understand why people can't realize that the meaning of "fair vs unfair" and "right vs wrong" and "good vs evil" is but a figment of one's imagination, defined on an entirely individual basis, and ultimately sculpted by the information we are fed (which is always bias).

In reality, in this world, averaging all that is, there is no "right" and "wrong", there just is. Spend any time in a war-torn country and you'll quickly learn this...

Sorry OP we digress massively

That's exactly right, we each have our own definition, it's okay to have different ones
As I said, feel free to offer your own definitions of hunting.

[bigfellascott]

“..I don't consider spotlighting to be hunting, ”

Interesting comment, never thought of that. What’s your definition of hunting?

Bow and arrow handmade from Aussie sapling, bare foot only, gum leaf loin cloth covering genitals. Anything more is unfair advantage.

Not quite, but that's a standard response from spotlighters.
Fair chase is not about the technology, it's about taking the animal in it's own habitat without pain or fear. Using technology to minimize the harm to your target is not an unfair advantage.

Sounds like a standard response from someone who's full of s**t! Honestly though you can't really believe that s**t surely if you want fair chase use a spear not a rifle.

Thanks for the response, are you a spotlighter?
I was asked specifically for my definition, which I gave, feel free to offer your own.
The problem with spears and clubs is that they don't kill cleanly, if you need to kill something to save your life then use whatever you have, otherwise use means and methods that ensure a clean kill, without affecting the animals' enjoyment of its day.

Spotlighting is no different to "hunting" caged animals, but it is a neccessary option sometimes to reduce numbers. I don't have any problem with spotlighting for legitimate purpose.

The fact that so many spotlighters do get defensive probably indicates that they don't consider it hunting either? I don't recall any that did consider it to be hunting, most I've known spotlight for profit. Either by selling the results or protecting their property investment. One of the local guys here keeps precise records of just what each fox costs him, he uses factory .204 Hornady and sells the brass.

What a load of s**t, Oh I only use methods that won't upset an animals enjoyment of it's day - f*** me dead I've never heard of such crap from someone who hunts - I g'tee any animal would be upset if it got killed no matter the method

You are Delusional if you don't think what you are doing doesn't cause some sort of negative effect on either the animal you shot or those around it!

[xDom]

"..Sorry OP we digress massively "

Nah Mate! I'm enjoying this, might even crack a beer to go with it.

[bladeracer]

]What a load of s**t, Oh I only use methods that won't upset an animals enjoyment of it's day - f*** me dead I've never heard of such crap from someone who hunts - I g'tee any animal would be upset if it got killed no matter the method

You are Delusional if you don't think what you are doing doesn't cause some sort of negative effect on either the animal you shot or those around it!

You are Delusional if you don't think what you are doing doesn't cause some sort of negative effect on either the animal you shot or those around it!

You are delusional if you believe any animal cares about anything when it's dead Yes, animals can be traumatized by others being killed around them, if they notice.

You seem perfectly happy, and well equipped, to attack and abuse somebody that has a differing opinion, but not so ready to offer your own view. My view of hunting does not require a dead animal to be fulfilling, the hunting is the enjoyment for me. I have been out with people whose only goal is to kill everything that moves, that doesn't do it for me.

Wasn't this entire diversion started by you disparaging somebody for spotlighting deer?

[duncan61]

I am in.I paid for a safari to Ahrnem land to "HUNT"Trophy Buffalo and the best thing that happened apart from catching a Barramundi was I learned I am not a Hunter.I was raised on spotlighting foxes rabbits and roos as a teenager then progressed to pro culling Roos shot a heap of goats out the Midwest and all out of a car the only walking involved was to collect the game.The other chap on the Buffalo trip was from Victoria and his idea of a good time was wandering around alpine country for days looking for Samba.Big fat pass from me.Could ones preference be what you have done before and what is available.I tried walking for goats on a station out of Cue and 5 km in went back and got the ute.In the west you may have to drive a long way between game.If you see the windmill then walk in on foot is that hunting.We all do different disciplines I like target shooting many roo cullers I met think it is a waste of ammo and cant you shoot straight already.A lot of people have jazzed up .22LR and just go to the local club and shoot paper at 50 metres

[Stix]

Gees...the flogging you boys are giving Blade is what id expect to see you give an anti gun vegan...

And i dont see how projecting wide ranging generalised & non-specific definitions of fair & unfair on to Blade have anything to do with his opinion of what he personally deems unfair advantage to what he personally defines as hunting...
As he says--he's only answering a question...

Is the guy that drags cars down the qurter mile delusional if he thinks a super car has an unfair advantage over a formula vee...?
Or is he delusional because a rally car driver doesnt consider the drags a form of car racing...

I know im opening myself up to a barrage of abuse from ya's, but i respectfully think you're putting a slant on Blade's opinion that isnt there...

Its pretty clear he holds a heavy respect for any animals lives & them not being put through unnecessary pain...nothing wrong with that at all...!!...
And as a different point, he's said what he finds enjoyable about the more traditional "hunt" for him...

He's also said he hasnt shot much (or any... ) by spotlight & doesnt consider that to fulfil his definition of "hunting"...so be it...

I dont see the problem...

To a point i agree with him--i love my foxing by spotlight, & to have a dumb pup stand staring at the light only 25 yds from the car & shoot it in the face is nothing more than pest destruction...

Id rekon if Blade came with me, & experienced me having to try out smart an educated mature cunning fox in a calculated chase through 4 or 5 paddocks spanning the best part of an hour, having to navigate gates, terrain, hidden rabbit or wombat burrows, sheep (and stray sheep & lambs during lambing) & the wind, to either finish up lost & fox-less or finally getting a 3 second window for a shot, only to dry fire on an empty chamber, he'd see there is a form of spotlighting you can call a hunt.

But maybe he hasnt experienced ithis...

Anyway...just saying...i dont see him to be the delusional crazy you're making him out to be--i think thats stretching what he's said...



Hey xDom...i might need one of those beers soon with whats coming my way...

[bladeracer]

Gees...the flogging you boys are giving Blade is what id expect to see you give an anti gun vegan...

And i dont see how projecting wide ranging generalised & non-specific definitions of fair & unfair on to Blade have anything to do with his opinion of what he personally deems unfair advantage to what he personally defines as hunting...
As he says--he's only answering a question...

Is the guy that drags cars down the qurter mile delusional if he thinks a super car has an unfair advantage over a formula vee...?
Or is he delusional because a rally car driver doesnt consider the drags a form of car racing...

I know im opening myself up to a barrage of abuse from ya's, but i respectfully think you're putting a slant on Blade's opinion that isnt there...

Its pretty clear he holds a heavy respect for any animals lives & them not being put through unnecessary pain...nothing wrong with that at all...!!...
And as a different point, he's said what he finds enjoyable about the more traditional "hunt" for him...

He's also said he hasnt shot much (or any... ) by spotlight & doesnt consider that to fulfil his definition of "hunting"...so be it...

I dont see the problem...

To a point i agree with him--i love my foxing by spotlight, & to have a dumb pup stand staring at the light only 25 yds from the car & shoot it in the face is nothing more than pest destruction...

Id rekon if Blade came with me, & experienced me having to try out smart an educated mature cunning fox in a calculated chase through 4 or 5 paddocks spanning the best part of an hour, having to navigate gates, terrain, hidden rabbit or wombat burrows, sheep (and stray sheep & lambs during lambing) & the wind, to either finish up lost & fox-less or finally getting a 3 second window for a shot, only to dry fire on an empty chamber, he'd see there is a form of spotlighting you can call a hunt.

But maybe he hasnt experienced ithis...

Anyway...just saying...i dont see him to be the delusional crazy you're making him out to be--i think thats stretching what he's said...



Hey xDom...i might need one of those beers soon with whats coming my way...

I appreciate what you're saying Stix, and I do accept that some shooters wouldn't consider anything other than spotlighting, that's their thing and if it helps keep pest numbers in check I'm all for it.

I have been out with spotlighters, and I do understand that it can be challenging taking down a smart old fox. The pair I saw most often were cowboys hiding from the law and living on fox money. They lived in a caravan hidden away on the same property we were living on, working for cash for the landowner, butchering sheep for him. I never knew their names. These guys went out every night, all night. They accidentally shot stock and pets, even bringing home a boot load of beef after accidentally shooting somebody's bull. They told me they shot out somebody's window once thinking the light was a fox. They would shoot in built-up areas, then come back hours later to collect the foxes, which sometimes turned out to not be foxes at all, from parks, streets and people's yards in town. Granted, this pair in particular probably soured my taste for spotlighting in general, but I had ridden along with them (when they stayed around the farms, though I'm now quite certain they did not have permission to enter many of the properties they shot, if any at all). Looking back I can't see them going around getting permissions, as they didn't want anybody knowing they existed. I lived and worked alongside them for months and knew nothing about them. I've often wondered why on earth they ever thought to invite a strange kid along. But the younger one that did the shooting was an extraordinarily good shooter, and I'd always be talking shooting with him.

I don't have any problem with spotlighters, but it doesn't work for me. If we had a more serious fox problem I would certainly have to take it up myself, until then I'll stick with chasing them down on foot in daylight

Although it has only just occurred to me, those properties I hunted every single day when I was a kid never had to have spotlighters on them while I lived there, I took care of their pest problems entirely on my own, and made very good money from the foxes.

[bladeracer]

I am in.I paid for a safari to Ahrnem land to "HUNT"Trophy Buffalo and the best thing that happened apart from catching a Barramundi was I learned I am not a Hunter.I was raised on spotlighting foxes rabbits and roos as a teenager then progressed to pro culling Roos shot a heap of goats out the Midwest and all out of a car the only walking involved was to collect the game.The other chap on the Buffalo trip was from Victoria and his idea of a good time was wandering around alpine country for days looking for Samba.Big fat pass from me.Could ones preference be what you have done before and what is available.I tried walking for goats on a station out of Cue and 5 km in went back and got the ute.In the west you may have to drive a long way between game.If you see the windmill then walk in on foot is that hunting.We all do different disciplines I like target shooting many roo cullers I met think it is a waste of ammo and cant you shoot straight already.A lot of people have jazzed up .22LR and just go to the local club and shoot paper at 50 metres

Agreed, spotlighting is a skillset of it's own, not better or worse, just different skills aimed at different goals.

This is not directed at you Duncan, but I have heard a similar story a few times, people that have spent years hunting, think they really should experience a paid hunt one day, only to find they're essentially shooting a tame beast in a paddock that has been placed there specifically for them to "hunt" it, very disappointing. If that's your (again, not you Duncan) thing, enjoy it, but don't assume your view of hunting to coincide with mine

The Kimberly is an absolutely astonishing place to be walking around the bush, completely on your own, knowing there is nobody within miles of you. I have spent amazing evenings sitting around a fire, the only whitefella, the men and women cleaning 'roos, snakes and goanna, while the youngsters trot up from the creek, toss a frog on the fire to kill it, them eat it

[bigfellascott]

]What a load of s**t, Oh I only use methods that won't upset an animals enjoyment of it's day - f*** me dead I've never heard of such crap from someone who hunts - I g'tee any animal would be upset if it got killed no matter the method

You are Delusional if you don't think what you are doing doesn't cause some sort of negative effect on either the animal you shot or those around it!

You are Delusional if you don't think what you are doing doesn't cause some sort of negative effect on either the animal you shot or those around it!

You are delusional if you believe any animal cares about anything when it's dead Yes, animals can be traumatized by others being killed around them, if they notice.

You seem perfectly happy, and well equipped, to attack and abuse somebody that has a differing opinion, but not so ready to offer your own view. My view of hunting does not require a dead animal to be fulfilling, the hunting is the enjoyment for me. I have been out with people whose only goal is to kill everything that moves, that doesn't do it for me.

Wasn't this entire diversion started by you disparaging somebody for spotlighting deer?

No I was questioning whether it was legal in SA as it's not here (that may be changing or has changed here recently - haven't bothered to check where its at) I honestly don't care if people shoot deer under a light and half pissed, that's entirely up to them, as for you thinking that because you don't bother shooting under an artificial light source and thinking that somehow what you do is morally superior and more ethical is somewhat delusional in my opinion

P.S. I don't bother shooting everything that moves either and honestly couldn't care less if I do/don't shoot something, I just enjoy being out in the bush like you do by the sounds of it, if I shoot something that's the cherry on top so to speak

[bladeracer]

No I was questioning whether it was legal in SA as it's not here (that may be changing or has changed here recently - haven't bothered to check where its at) I honestly don't care if people shoot deer under a light and half pissed, that's entirely up to them, as for you thinking that because you don't bother shooting under an artificial light source and thinking that somehow what you do is morally superior and more ethical is somewhat delusional in my opinion

P.S. I don't bother shooting everything that moves either and honestly couldn't care less if I do/don't shoot something, I just enjoy being out in the bush like you do by the sounds of it, if I shoot something that's the cherry on top so to speak

I looked at the legal side of all shooting when I moved here, which is why I remember it being legal for landowners, while illegal for hunters to spotlight deer. And I think there is/was a clause that allowed landowners to spotlight something like 250m into adjoining public lands as well, or something like that.

Moral superiority doesn't enter into it, we're merely discussing how we define hunting. Our morals very likely shape our definition of course, but that's an aside. I don't drink, smoke, use drugs, eat butter or salt, drink tea or coffee, watch television and such because I don't like what such things do to me, not because those things are morally repugnant to me, it doesn't make me feel morally superior to people that do, but I do avoid those people that do such things to their own detriment. I don't like what they do to me and I don't like watching other people do it to themselves either.