Recommendation for back-to-basics info site?

[AbyssRider]

hello. recently joined the .22 shooter club and is eager to learn.

as a newbie i found many of the posts confusing. this is due to my lack of experience in the shooting community. just wondering if there is a site where i can study some of the basics of shooting (eg. selection of ammo/scopes, different calibres, shooting jargons etc.).

the SSAA website has many research materials which i really couldnt understand...

[in2anity]

Depends on what sort of match it is - is it benchrest?

[bladeracer]

hello. recently joined the .22 shooter club and is eager to learn.

as a newbie i found many of the posts confusing. this is due to my lack of experience in the shooting community. just wondering if there is a site where i can study some of the basics of shooting (eg. selection of ammo/scopes, different calibres, shooting jargons etc.).

the SSAA website has many research materials which i really couldnt understand...

What sort of shooting are you doing? If you're shooting at a club I would think they probably have people willing to help new shooters out. I took my grandson to a local rifle club this week for his first shoot and the guys there were pretty amazing. It was Benchrest so not my kind of thing but they walked him through the whole thing and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. We'll be going back again for a while I think.

[in2anity]

Ok this is how it is.

In terms of the actual shooting part of benchrest (BR), there's really not much depth to it. Most importantly you need a $5-10k package that weighs a tonne like a anschutz 54, in a BR stock. Really good clear, expensive optics with much zoom, really light trigger, really solid rest maybe with a joystick (if allowed), and most importantly VERY high quality, expensive ammo. Beyond that, you need to not interact with the gun much - just hold your breath, very lightly touch your finger on the trigger, and the rifle takes care of the rest. Oh and you'll learn to watch the flags - indeed that takes experience on the range. Only shoot when the wind condition is right. That's the actual skill part to that sort of fully supported shooting, and really only comes with experience.

Frankly, if you don't have all of that, you won't be in the running for club medals, and you'll be left frustrated and wanting. If you trully commit to it, that's where you'll end up, after a big hole in your pocket. Buy once cry once.

[S O K A R]

as a newbie i found many of the posts confusing. this is due to my lack of experience in the shooting community. just wondering if there is a site where i can study some of the basics of shooting (eg. selection of ammo/scopes, different calibres, shooting jargons etc.).

For this I'd recommend youtube, has a huge selection of informative videos by people who know their stuff.
For someone wanting to learn the theory side of it I wouldn't go anywhere else, with quite a lot of videos targeted at new shooters.
Also quite a few blogs/forums around (mostly American) that can be a good informational source, depends on what you're after really.

As far as practical learning goes I'd suggest speaking to someone at your club, usually there are always a fair few people happy to hand out tips/guidance to new shooters, all you have to do is be willing to learn and take on advice.

[AbyssRider]

yes i have taken up some study on youtube on terminology and stuff.

my local club is mainly a handgun club and i am only joining to get my H licence down the track. after that i will leave for a new club.

mostly i will be doing rifle/handgun range shooting in Perth. down the track if the condition allows i would like to do some steel target for the plinking. not sure how to go with that because i dont exactly own a rural property...

[bladeracer]

yes i have taken up some study on youtube on terminology and stuff.

my local club is mainly a handgun club and i am only joining to get my H licence down the track. after that i will leave for a new club.

mostly i will be doing rifle/handgun range shooting in Perth. down the track if the condition allows i would like to do some steel target for the plinking. not sure how to go with that because i dont exactly own a rural property...

For handguns you have to maintain a club membership, and you can only use them at pistol clubs, but they are a great option if you're interested in shooting in WA.

If you want to shoot steel look into Metallic Silhouette, particularly lever-action Silhouette. As for shooting on private property, the Police are trying to make that us unviable as they possibly can, you might have to buy your own _large_ block of land.

[AbyssRider]

yes i have taken up some study on youtube on terminology and stuff.

my local club is mainly a handgun club and i am only joining to get my H licence down the track. after that i will leave for a new club.

mostly i will be doing rifle/handgun range shooting in Perth. down the track if the condition allows i would like to do some steel target for the plinking. not sure how to go with that because i dont exactly own a rural property...

For handguns you have to maintain a club membership, and you can only use them at pistol clubs, but they are a great option if you're interested in shooting in WA.

If you want to shoot steel look into Metallic Silhouette, particularly lever-action Silhouette. As for shooting on private property, the Police are trying to make that us unviable as they possibly can, you might have to buy your own _large_ block of land.

not all of us can afford that rural property option can we?

looks like i have to keep my eyes and ears open for a friend who just might have access to one...

[bladeracer]

not all of us can afford that rural property option can we?

looks like i have to keep my eyes and ears open for a friend who just might have access to one...

Nope, that's how the Police are reducing firearm ownership and usage.

But there are ways to afford blocks of land, planting trees for harvesting twenty years hence for example. Also various carbon credit scams that might be worth venturing into. Leasing a block out to neighbouring farms for agistment, horse-riding and such things can help. Or just buy so far out in the bush that the land is dirt cheap. My brother and I looked at a property in SA in the nineties just for camping and shooting on. Very, very cheap, but no road access to get to the block, and it was all salt so no likelihood of growing anything useful without putting a lot of money into improving the soil. But it was cheap enough that we could've paid cash for it, though we would've had to buy at least one 4x4 to be able to visit it. He organised to go out for a look with some mates, got bogged numerous times, and went right off the idea

With the regs that WA Police are trying to push now, knowing somebody with a block may not help either very soon. They want to decide who gets to shoot on properties, not the landowner. They're offering to have a database of all properties in WA. You ask the farmer for permission, he submits your details to Police. If they want you to shoot there they add your name to his property. You can't bring a mate unless his name is also on that list. You can't talk to the neighbour and hunt his property without having your name added to his list as well. But they also want to limit how many people have access to each property, so if your friend already has five names on his list he might not be able to allow anybody else to shoot there unless he drops a name off his list first.

[AbyssRider]

thats what i heard from a friend of mine, saying the way to get property letters might disappear soon because it is not what the police wanted. what i worried about was whether that will result in an even stricter application process down the track.

a (relatively) small rural property might be a good idea? does anyone know how far a property needs to be away from metro area for it to be ok for shooting?

[bladeracer]

thats what i heard from a friend of mine, saying the way to get property letters might disappear soon because it is not what the police wanted. what i worried about was whether that will result in an even stricter application process down the track.

a (relatively) small rural property might be a good idea? does anyone know how far a property needs to be away from metro area for it to be ok for shooting?

Small is good, except in WA where they want large acreage before they'll licence a firearm on it. Currently people with small blocks have to buy letters from people with larger blocks just to allow them to hunt and shoot on their own properties.

[animalpest]

Learn all you can from the internet. Its all true. Just like the info you get from every shooting will be the same

[AbyssRider]

thats what i heard from a friend of mine, saying the way to get property letters might disappear soon because it is not what the police wanted. what i worried about was whether that will result in an even stricter application process down the track.

a (relatively) small rural property might be a good idea? does anyone know how far a property needs to be away from metro area for it to be ok for shooting?

Small is good, except in WA where they want large acreage before they'll licence a firearm on it. Currently people with small blocks have to buy letters from people with larger blocks just to allow them to hunt and shoot on their own properties.

any idea how big the property needs to be for a valid property letter to be issued? i have been looking but could not really find the answer. is it in the Act/Regulations?

if the money allows it will be awesome to get your licence first, then buy a small piece of land just for shooting and camping...but when i say this out loud, i realise how financially unviable that sounds.

[bladeracer]

any idea how big the property needs to be for a valid property letter to be issued? i have been looking but could not really find the answer. is it in the Act/Regulations?

if the money allows it will be awesome to get your licence first, then buy a small piece of land just for shooting and camping...but when i say this out loud, i realise how financially unviable that sounds.

As it is not law there are no listed requirements. I have seen a chart but can't find it just now.
I did find something on Beaton's page saying that .22LR needs a minimum 25ac, and WMR requires 100ac.
https://beatonfirearms.com.au/post_blog/further-licensing-issues-police-policy/

Screenshot 2023-08-25 124900.jpg (33.23 KiB) Viewed 1933 times

This was posted here in a thread but I can't find an official site for it.

firearmrangeswapol.jpg (77.77 KiB) Viewed 1933 times

So to own a .22LR you need a minimum 20ac, for a WMR 100ac, for a .223 1000ac, for a shotgun 40ac. For reference, 50acres is only 450m by 450m - one of our blocks is 50ac and is 1200m by 180m, a beautiful rifle range, if it wasn't covered with trees

So, yes, buying 1000 acres of land to own a .223 is an expensive option, buying twenty acres to own a .22 is ridiculous. And I believe these are minimum requirements, if Police determine your 1000ac (2000m by 2000m) block is only 1000m wide by 4000m long they still might not allow it.
I would suggest it might be better to simply fly interstate a few times a year to have some hunting weekends/weeks. But to hunt in other states you must have "Hunting" as your genuine reason on your licence, for which, in WA, you must have access to private property.

Something else that might be possible would be to contact one of the huge stations in WA (million+ acres) and ask about leasing a thousand acres just for shooting and camping on. They can still graze their cattle on it so it's no loss to them.

[AbyssRider]

the interlocking mechanism makes it almost impossible to buy property just for shooting! that is ridiculous.

and i just looked it up a 55 ha property costs about 1m...

[bladeracer]

the interlocking mechanism makes it almost impossible to buy property just for shooting! that is ridiculous.

and i just looked it up a 55 ha property costs about 1m...

I think you either have to move interstate if you enjoy hunting (to Victoria if you simply enjoy shooting without having to attend approved ranges), or start travelling around looking for landowners willing to let you hunt and shoot on their property, which will be very, very time consuming - WA is a big place. If you ride a bike though you can combine getting out on the bike with meeting new people in the bush. There are also Landcare groups and Friends groups that go out planting and monitoring various bush areas as well as private property, and many of the members are landowners themselves, a great way to meet people while spending time in the bush. If you have kids it's also a great way to get them off their tablets and phones and out into the bush.

[AbyssRider]

im going to look up the Landcare group and see if it is any good. never heard of them before.

i was browsing SSAA's booklet and found their Conservative and Wilelife Management and Farmers Assist quite interesting. did anyone ever use any of them?

[bladeracer]

im going to look up the Landcare group and see if it is any good. never heard of them before.

i was browsing SSAA's booklet and found their Conservative and Wildlife Management and Farmers Assist quite interesting. did anyone ever use any of them?

https://landcareaustralia.org.au/about/

Groups of local volunteers that get government, and private, grants to buy and grow tree seedlings and go out into the bush to replant native species in damaged areas of bush to rehabilitate it as habitat for native wildlife. Then they go out to maintain and monitor their progress. We've been planting along creeks the last few weeks trying to reduce the bank erosion from lots of rain coming down from the hills.

Friends Groups do similar in your local parks and wetland areas. These are the Perth groups.
https://www.bushlandperth.org.au/groups/

I signed up to Farmer Assist in 2014 but have never heard anything good about it.

[in2anity]

Skip to the section about "Building Good Technique" http://www.mrca.com.au/images/2014/snip ... primer.pdf

[AbyssRider]

@bladeracer thank you for the valuable information. they are certainly foreign to me...and as they say you learn something new every day!

and @in2anity thanks for sending me more reading to do...

[Diamond Jim]

Rimfire Forum has a lot of information and numerous dedicated sub-forums - Anschutz, CZ, Browning etc.

[Oldbloke]

"I signed up to Farmer Assist in 2014 but have never heard anything good about it."

Just a heads up mate. It's a closed shop.
You need to marry the organisers daughter and produce at least 6 grand children.