Gsxrdan wrote:The wife 'convinced' me we need to get a couple of roos a year for ppl and dog meat, I don't need to be told twice! What should I get? And where do I go to buy firearm and ammo? I'm in Adelaide's south. Pretty sure I want a 223, but my experience is only with an old Stirling .22 years ago (I did shoot prob 10k rounds thru it tho, fun times). And do most ppl reload your own ammo?
Thanks, and pls be gentle to a newbie!
First issue is that it is illegal to shoot kangaroos, and most other native wildlife without special permissions - rabbits, hares and goats might be simpler as they are pest species and make very good eating. Likewise for deer which are not a pest species, you'll probably need a deer licence for those. I assume you do have access to somebody's private property to hunt and shoot on as there is no public land hunting in SA anymore. But you could travel to Victoria to hunt on public land.
.223Rem is not a bad choice at all, especially if you can qualify to shoot kangaroos - but you have to become skilled enough to head-shoot them, that's the only legal shot you can take.
As for reloading, I wouldn't do it any other way. I started reloading when I bought my first centrefire and haven't changed since.
To buy ammo we can no longer order it online so your best bet is to discuss with your nearest dealer, it'll likely be cheaper to buy from him than to travel somewhere else and spend more on fuel and vehicle costs than you'll save on cheaper ammo. I haven't looked at factory ammo prices recently but you're probably looking at $1.50 to $2.00 per round these days. The rifle you can order online from lots of dealers, but again it may just be cheaper to buy one from your dealer rather than pay shipping and interstate transfer fees.