One gun to rule them all?

Rimfire bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action and self loading rifles. Air rifles.

Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by bladeracer » 22 Nov 2022, 10:12 am

Latitude37 wrote:Well, having just done my firearms course, I can tell you the legal situation. Technically, I can shoot anywhere I live. For example, if I built a big berm on a suburban block, I could technically shoot there, as far as the firearms legislation says. However, part of the crime act says that if someone feels threatened or scared of your use of firearms, that's a crime. So it's a bit fuzzy. Fortunately for me, my nearest neighbours are the people who introduced me to the guy who's teaching me to shoot, and he comes around my place a few times a year to clear what he can off my place and theirs.
As for the safety, I live on the undulating side of a hill, so there's plenty of options for me to shoot on my small property, and have a safe backstop. But that's why I'm limited to shooting shortish ranges. I think I worked out the longest sight line down one fence, from a raised part of my block, I could maybe get ~120m to the back corner, in about a 30 degree arc, without endangering my water tanks! I was also thinking about whistling foxes out of the pines, because there's loads of them in there, and that's a concern when I start keeping more animals. So I can pretty much shoot safely and legally, so long as I'm sensible. I'm over 50 years old, now, so sensible is sometimes possible. :)
Thanks again for all your thoughts. I think the concensus makes sense. I'll get a .22lr lefty bolt action, and if my wife wants to shoot more, a 2nd hand .22 in a rh action won't be lots of money to add to the safe later. Then a .223 later on, maybe. Those ruger single shots look really lovely...


Nope, you definitely cannot discharge a firearm in suburbia, not even an air rifle, probably not even a blank-firing replica. Whoever told you you could shoot simply because you live on a property is wrong. There are places where shooting is prohibited, there are even places where simply having a firearm in your vehicle is prohibited. Do you have a copy of the legislation that says you can shoot where you live?

As long as you can legally shoot though, the foxes will certainly be coming from the plantations.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by bladeracer » 22 Nov 2022, 11:18 am

Oldbloke wrote:"I'm thinking that with only 1 Ha then the biggest problem you'll have is LEGALITY.
Are you legally allowed to shoot on such a small holding ?"

I have doubts too.

Bigpete, where are you?


There is no size restriction in any state, it's primarily down to safety and being able to keep your bullets within the property.
We used to have zones here in Victoria that made it simple, if it was zoned rural you could shoot, as long as it was safe. Zoning went away in 2018 and now it appears to be down to safety only. I don't know if they still have land zoning laws in SA.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by bladeracer » 22 Nov 2022, 11:37 am

Diamond Jim wrote:You could try some of the "hyper velocity" .22LR like Velocitor and Stinger that go some way to bridging the gap between .22LR High Velocity and .22WMR for foxes although they sometimes have issues in actions other than bolt actions.


I've heard of people having good results with the hypers but not for me, they tend to become unstable not much past 50m or so. They hit hard for sure, but their accuracy tends to reduce the effective range of the .22LR, rather than increase it, for me. I can put subsonic .22LR into a rabbit's head fairly reliably to 100m, perhaps a little further (not that I'd take such a shot). The stinger is perhaps accurate enough to head-shoot rabbits to around 60m. The lighter bullets of the hypers also dump velocity very quickly so become subsonic at extended ranges anyway, the 1640fps Stinger is subsonic by around 70m, the 1850fps Copper22 is supposed to be supersonic to 100m but for me it's tumbling all over the place by 70m. The 1435fps Velocitor is one of the better high-velocity loads for me, but still lacks accuracy so is range-limited. I stick with subsonic for hunting.

The heavier jacketed WMR bullets are more stable for longer ranges.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by Latitude37 » 22 Nov 2022, 12:14 pm

bladeracer wrote:
Nope, you definitely cannot discharge a firearm in suburbia, not even an air rifle, probably not even a blank-firing replica. Whoever told you you could shoot simply because you live on a property is wrong. There are places where shooting is prohibited, there are even places where simply having a firearm in your vehicle is prohibited. Do you have a copy of the legislation that says you can shoot where you live?

As long as you can legally shoot though, the foxes will certainly be coming from the plantations.



Well, it's clearly not a good idea, true, but in SA, it's technically not illegal to do so. However, the law is written that it's practically illegal to shoot in built up areas:

From https://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch12s06s0 ... 78Se299325

"Discharge of firearm to injure, annoy or frighten or damage property
Under section 32AA of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) it is an offence to:

discharge a firearm intending to injure, annoy or frighten any person, maximum penalty 8 years imprisonment [s 32AA(1)]
discharge a firearm with the intent of damaging property, maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment [s 32AA(2)]
discharge a firearm being reckless as to whether doing so does or may injure, annoy or frighten any person, maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment [s 32AA(3)]
discharge a firearm being reckless as to whether doing so does or may damage property, maximum penalty 3 years imprisonment [s 32AA(4)]"

Note that this is from the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, not the firearms act, which has nothing to say at all on the matter. Also, as far as I'm aware, there's no public lands in SA that you can shoot on, unlike in Victoria, where some Crown Land and other State parks (iirc) you can hunt on. But that's in the relevant parks Acts.

Anyway, it's pretty hard to imagine firing a gun in a built up area and not frightening someone. But then the law has that "intending" bit in it, which might give some wiggle room...

I wouldn't for a moment suggest that'd be a good idea. I'm pretty much arguing semantics. But the short version is, yes, I can shoot stuff on my 1 Hectare property.
Edit: Also, my place isn't part of a development with similar places around it. I'm surrounded by much larger farms and plantations. Just for context.
Last edited by Latitude37 on 22 Nov 2022, 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by bladeracer » 22 Nov 2022, 12:52 pm

Latitude37 wrote:
bladeracer wrote:
Nope, you definitely cannot discharge a firearm in suburbia, not even an air rifle, probably not even a blank-firing replica. Whoever told you you could shoot simply because you live on a property is wrong. There are places where shooting is prohibited, there are even places where simply having a firearm in your vehicle is prohibited. Do you have a copy of the legislation that says you can shoot where you live?

As long as you can legally shoot though, the foxes will certainly be coming from the plantations.



Well, it's clearly not a good idea, true, but in SA, it's technically not illegal to do so. However, the law is written that it's practically illegal to shoot in built up areas:

From https://lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch12s06s0 ... 78Se299325

"Discharge of firearm to injure, annoy or frighten or damage property
Under section 32AA of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) it is an offence to:

discharge a firearm intending to injure, annoy or frighten any person, maximum penalty 8 years imprisonment [s 32AA(1)]
discharge a firearm with the intent of damaging property, maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment [s 32AA(2)]
discharge a firearm being reckless as to whether doing so does or may injure, annoy or frighten any person, maximum penalty 5 years imprisonment [s 32AA(3)]
discharge a firearm being reckless as to whether doing so does or may damage property, maximum penalty 3 years imprisonment [s 32AA(4)]"

Note that this is from the Criminal Law Consolidation Act, not the firearms act, which has nothing to say at all on the matter. Also, as far as I'm aware, there's no public lands in SA that you can shoot on, unlike in Victoria, where some Crown Land and other State parks (iirc) you can hunt on. But that's in the relevant parks Acts.

Anyway, it's pretty hard to imagine firing a gun in a built up area and not frightening someone. But then the law has that "intending" bit in it, which might give some wiggle room...

I wouldn't for a moment suggest that'd be a good idea. I'm pretty much arguing semantics. But the short version is, yes, I can shoot stuff on my 1 Hectare property.


Yes, I did have a quick look and it does appear that they've gone the same way as us.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by Die Judicii » 22 Nov 2022, 2:17 pm

Heh,,,,,,,,,,, :lol:
Everyone that is concerned about safety and the size of the OP's property can relax.
Although I don't know him personally and never met,,,,,,,,,
I know exactly where he lives,,,,,,,,,, and believe me,,,,, you could not possibly ask or need for a better backstop so far as shooting is concerned.
He could use a 416 Barrett or 50 cal with no worries. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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I've come to realize that,,,,, the two most loving, loyal, and trustworthy females in my entire life were both canines.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by Lazarus » 22 Nov 2022, 4:44 pm

This one.
The most bad arse spotlighting rig ever.

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C8xruMt_d.jpg (63.3 KiB) Viewed 1459 times
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hurt, and doing it anyway.
Stupidity is the same
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by DaveZ » 24 Nov 2022, 6:34 am

Die Judicii wrote:
DaveZ wrote:I'm in a similar situation to you, although I already have a 22lr, but looking for something for foxes that are just a bit beyond the comfortable range of the 22lr, so I'll be interested to hear peoples thoughts.

Depending on what size block you're on, I reckon a 223 can be a bit more than is really necessary so the 2 I've been considering are the 17WSM and the 22 Hornet. Neither are all that common but if you aren't going to shoot a lot it's probably not super important. There seems to be so many calibres out there, all with their pros and cons, it's hard for us inexperienced shooters to choose what we need.


Why not meet in the middle, and go .17 HMR ?
The HMR at these distances is just as accurate as the WSM, plus the ammo is readily available and most likely cheaper.
Yet again, the HMR at these same distances you mention is also very capable for both foxes and the bunnies.


Thanks DJ, I had thought about the HMR but it seems like such a small incremental increase over the lr that I thought I might go for something with a bit more oomph, ie the 22 Hornet with its heavier projectiles or the WSM with its higher velocity, although that might not be super suitable for small block shooting. The HMR is certainly the more available of the three.
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Located Bundaberg area, looking for property to hunt on.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by snag » 15 Dec 2022, 10:34 am

Your situation has 22 Hornet written all over it. There's still quite a few Martini Cadets with Sportco barrels going on the gun sites.
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but personally I prefer the .30/30 Winchester.
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Re: One gun to rule them all?

Post by Latitude37 » 01 Feb 2023, 10:32 am

Hey folks.
Thanks for all the input, it's been really interesting to get different ideas. I've put a deposit on a Tikka .22 & scope, so now I just twiddle my thumbs while the PTA goes through. Cheers.
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