What did you do today?

[bigpete]

Well,I'm out today poking around. Caught the buck on camera so that's good. Starting to feel the strain having not gotten over this head cold properly yet but s**t happens. Seen a few young deer tracks so I'm hoping I bump something

[bigpete]

Day 5 of being crook as a dog, so going through game camera footage. Caught this handsome specimen a couple of weeks ago....

Screenshot_20240716-092702_Gallery.jpg (450.33 KiB) Viewed 15138 times

[Lazarus]

You're not secretly carrying the pox are you Pete?
It knocked the snot out of me

[bigpete]

Nah,no covid here,not according to the tests

[ClaytonT88]

Went out and put a few hundred rounds through the Tikka T1X, found out it loves the old Winchester Superspeed 37GR hollow points.....had 3 boxes left over from my Uncles passing. All out of them now.....Ahwell it was a great day in the sun!

[bigpete]

Stalked some deer at work

[Oldbloke]

Took "rocket" for a walk down the beach and a game of fetch.

[Flyonline]

Re-built my air rifle with new breach and piston seals, added a mini RC bearing to reduce the pseudo 1st stage on the trigger, re-greased then bump and fire tested - all good and trigger is muuuch tighter, so off after rabbits again soon.

Loaded up some 190gr sub-x with TB behind them, hope to get out run some through paper and then find some goats and tip one over to see how they go this weekend rain permitting.

Also ordered a full size bipod for hillside shooting, a pair of stiff arrows work ok for levelish shots but I need to stack them up to get a decent height and things start to get fairly wobbly. Looked at some 4x shooting sticks, but decided that since I'm almost always on some kind of decent slope in one way or another, a bipod would be a better option.

[bigpete]

I'm not sure what to think of subx loads tbh

[Lazarus]

Bugger all

[Oldbloke]

Yesterday, went for a drive in a SF looking for some reasonable clear areas to whistle a fox. But it's all dense forest where I am ATM.

River is in flood too. Muddy as. So, back to the drawing board.

[Oldbloke]

Subsonic for hunting,,, they are popular in NZ.
But zero room for error.
But do work under the right conditions.

Personally, not for me.

Not enough gun..

[bigpete]

I've used them....a fair bit....still undecided on them.
Mate in Queensland uses them a lot for his job and reckons they're great on chital so who knows

[Oldbloke]

I'm sure,
Under say... upto 80 yards
Head, neck shots.
Stationary target.
Up to say,, fallow, goat.

Would be fine.

Just need the ideal situation.

My issue is, your loaded with a subsonic, perhaps waiting, and something a lot bigger at 160yards walks past.

[Flyonline]

I often load 4 in the mag (5 rnd mag), then have a different round in my bino harness to top load on spec. I figure that if I have standard 150gr full noise in the mag then I can shoot pretty much anything that walks in front of me, it might not be the best round, but it's going to tip over.

But, I often come across goats or foxes at short range or with enough time to move into position that a 150g @ 2700fps is a bit of overkill and I often have plenty of time to top load a different round. If I go through more than 4 rnds, then I've had an exciting time, or somethings gone down hill fast If I was sitting over a wallow etc. expecting a stag to walk in front of me, then I'd have a 150/165gr up the spout and take the chance that I'd lose a shot on a fox.

There's also a couple of small patches of legally huntable land that I'd be reluctant to let off a full noise 30-06 round, but a subsonic wouldn't be a problem. Sure, I'm not aiming to tip over sambar stags, but if I can't let something walk because I'm undergunned, then I probably shouldn't be hunting anyway.

On paper the sub-x were a little low and a little right, nothing massive as I'd still be holding on fur at 50m, but I'll wait til I get a reload I'm happy with before getting too excited.

Also gives another option for a finishing head shot walking up on a still kicking animal.

This was the vid that made me get some to try.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4qTP-NIiGA

[Oldbloke]

Horses for courses. And they have a place.
I have "light" loads for both 30.06 and 223. But only use when normal loads are not suitable. e.g. near farms etc. Other wise i don't bother anymore. Too easy to cock up with wrong one on chamber or sighted for light load and using normal ammo.

[bigpete]

I often load 4 in the mag (5 rnd mag), then have a different round in my bino harness to top load on spec. I figure that if I have standard 150gr full noise in the mag then I can shoot pretty much anything that walks in front of me, it might not be the best round, but it's going to tip over.

But, I often come across goats or foxes at short range or with enough time to move into position that a 150g @ 2700fps is a bit of overkill and I often have plenty of time to top load a different round. If I go through more than 4 rnds, then I've had an exciting time, or somethings gone down hill fast If I was sitting over a wallow etc. expecting a stag to walk in front of me, then I'd have a 150/165gr up the spout and take the chance that I'd lose a shot on a fox.

There's also a couple of small patches of legally huntable land that I'd be reluctant to let off a full noise 30-06 round, but a subsonic wouldn't be a problem. Sure, I'm not aiming to tip over sambar stags, but if I can't let something walk because I'm undergunned, then I probably shouldn't be hunting anyway.

On paper the sub-x were a little low and a little right, nothing massive as I'd still be holding on fur at 50m, but I'll wait til I get a reload I'm happy with before getting too excited.

Also gives another option for a finishing head shot walking up on a still kicking animal.

This was the vid that made me get some to try.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4qTP-NIiGA

I just haven't found them entirely reliable in killing. They are great for my son to use though,and pretty damned accurate. Atm though I need the full power loads

[bladeracer]

I'm similar except I move around with reduced loads, and usually use them, but have full power loads for when I might want to reach out to the rifles maximum capabilities (which would be very rare) and for when I get to where I want to watch for larger beasts. As Oldbloke hinted at, it does require a degree of memory to use the first holdover dot rather than the crosshair, especially if shooting at something small, like a fox or rabbit. I generally zero the full-power load out around 220-250m, which puts it a few inches high at 100m (depending on the chambering). This means the reduced load is not very much lower at all within the short ranges I use it at, out to perhaps 100m. For anything larger than a fox, holding on the crosshair is usually close enough to not matter at close ranges.

It is annoying when your rifle insists on moving the reduced load to the side instead of just dropping it below the full-power loads.

I often load 4 in the mag (5 rnd mag), then have a different round in my bino harness to top load on spec. I figure that if I have standard 150gr full noise in the mag then I can shoot pretty much anything that walks in front of me, it might not be the best round, but it's going to tip over.

But, I often come across goats or foxes at short range or with enough time to move into position that a 150g @ 2700fps is a bit of overkill and I often have plenty of time to top load a different round. If I go through more than 4 rnds, then I've had an exciting time, or somethings gone down hill fast If I was sitting over a wallow etc. expecting a stag to walk in front of me, then I'd have a 150/165gr up the spout and take the chance that I'd lose a shot on a fox.

There's also a couple of small patches of legally huntable land that I'd be reluctant to let off a full noise 30-06 round, but a subsonic wouldn't be a problem. Sure, I'm not aiming to tip over sambar stags, but if I can't let something walk because I'm undergunned, then I probably shouldn't be hunting anyway.

On paper the sub-x were a little low and a little right, nothing massive as I'd still be holding on fur at 50m, but I'll wait til I get a reload I'm happy with before getting too excited.

Also gives another option for a finishing head shot walking up on a still kicking animal.

This was the vid that made me get some to try.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4qTP-NIiGA

[bladeracer]

I started yesterday by getting the van "bogged" on the wet grass when I went to get hay for the cows. So I had to use the Landcruiser for that, then came home and dragged the van out. Then went off to help a friend repairing fences. Then Rose got it bogged this morning on wet grass again, so we'll have to go back with the ute to pull it out again

[Bugman]

Went grocery shopping. Very, very depressing.

[Oldbloke]

Triton let me down for the first time. Looks like a burst hydraulic hose for steering.

[animalpest]

Triton let me down for the first time. Looks like a burst hydraulic hose for steering.

Fairly common on D-max's. Need to replace the hose every 80,000km just to be sure

[Oldbloke]

Weeelll, loose bolt caused leak. Fixed.
$129
Apparently common Triton issue.
Having said that, it's a 2014 and until now, been perfect/great.

[bigpete]

Installed a lockable box in the back of my Triton and started packing for our family holiday

[wanneroo]

Summer is at critical mass right now, probably the warmest time of the year. But it will not last for long, another 3 or 4 weeks and I'll notice just a slight change in the evening, getting darker just a bit earlier and just a bit cooler. So many outdoor things to do and projects to get done and it's still months from winter but it will go fast.

Haven't done any reloading or anything, just too busy.

[Lazarus]

Went grocery shopping. Very, very depressing.

It is isn't it.

Every time I go I seem to get less and pay more.

Last week it was $311.70, for one old fart and a dog.
Mind you, she's a big girl who costs more to run than me, but +300 for a trolly of very basic shopping is ludicrous

[bigpete]

Bloody hell,and I balk at spending 180 a fortnight for 3 people !

[Lazarus]

Bloody hell,and I balk at spending 180 a fortnight for 3 people !

That's a fortnight's worth, about half of it meat, pig for me chook tits for her Ladyship.

Maybe I need to start eating what I'm shooting

[bigpete]

Bloody hell,and I balk at spending 180 a fortnight for 3 people !

That's a fortnight's worth, about half of it meat, pig for me chook tits for her Ladyship.

Maybe I need to start eating what I'm shooting

I do

[Lazarus]

Yeah, but foxes taste like sh!t