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Since I've been involved in politics I've gotten involved in advocacy and as a result have made friends who have properties. One of my friends has feral pigs on her land, like many people here in Australia at present. Just like the south of the USA, feral pigs are in plague proportions across much of Australia.

My friend has had pigs dig up her land but they were doing so on the trail cam at 9:30pm so only dogs or thermal are suitable at those hours, neither of which I can afford. Instead I advised my friend to lay down feed - corn mixed with diluted molasses -  in an open space the hope we could at least put up low lighting. As it happened, they began turning up on the trail cam at 5:15pm!



So, we gave it several days and then I headed out with a mate this arvo to see if they'd come out. We waited from 4:15 and finally at about 5:30 two pigs gingerly emerged from the scrub 50yds away. It was an unwise move on their behalf but very satisfying for us. I rolled the first pig, a boar, with a Speer 165gn SPBT from my 308.



My mate smacked 2 more with his 243 but they both ran a few yards into the scrub which, being brown and black spotted and right on dusk, were impossible to find in the scrub. Nonetheless, it was a great result.

No. I didn't take the carcass home. We slit its gut so its buddies and the neighbouring foxes will come and feed on it. My friend is also going to keep spreading feed and we'll leave it alone for a few weeks to let everything settle.

Best of all, this afternoon's pig was the first I've ever shot. Yep, despite years of hunting it's the first I've had a chance to nail. Gotta love hunting!

In the time I've been away from THL my life has been changed a lot and has definitely not been dull. 

As many of you may know, I'm a high school music teacher in rural NSW. It's not a career I've really enjoyed for about a decade. Things came to a head at the end of 2019 after a couple of bad years. I was a candidate for the Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Party in the state election in March 2019 - something I really enjoyed - and then went to China with my eldest son as he represented Australia in a non-native Chinese speaking competition, only a week or so before COVID hit! I arrived back from China in early November, looked at the problems in the school I was teaching and decided I had to have a change. 

So I took a year's leave without pay in 2020 and did casual primary (elementary) school teaching instead. My stress level plummeted immediately and really enjoyed the much less complicated nature of younger students in the 2 primary schools I was working. Kindergarten was very fun and my morale and mental health I was able to recover. Interestingly, despite the fact lockdown put most staff at home I still was working a few days a week and I enjoyed the relaxed routine during this period, as well as creating music and science-related short vids to post on the school's Facebook page for students to watch. I halved my income and we cut through our savings but my wife launched an interior design in the second half of the year (in the middle of the pandemic, no less!) which has gone from strength to strength.

In 2021 I scored a full-time job doing a day of Music and 4 of RFF (Relief from face to face) at the better of the primary schools which was back to my normal wage, and then in 2022 I got a 1 year temporary contract as the only Music teacher at a small high school in a little country town right out in the countryside. It involved relinquishing my permanent job at my first high school but I definitely couldn't go back there. It was very rewarding working in the small high school, 1 hour round trip each day (100km there and back) and I enjoyed it. But when the full-time position came up it didn't even go to interview and instead was given to a transfer. 

It was a bit of a kick in the guts after my hard work at the school and I also missed out on another job a bit further from home later in the year. The high school principal was disappointed I failed to get either position as he was very happy with my work, but I figured God had a plan for me. And so at the beginning of 2023 I found myself teaching relief (substitute) work 4 days a week at the high school and 1 day a week at the primary school, not a great outcome.

Stepping back a year or so, in December 2021 I stood for local council as a Shooters, Fishers & Farmers candidate and was elected quite comfortably. So from the outset of 2022 I've been on the local council and have been part of some very effective changes. We first removed the previous mayor and elected a new, honest mayor (the elected councillors in our town elect the mayor, not the residents) and that caused the resignation of the previous council general manager - which was an excellent thing. I was a key part of employing a new general manager (now called the CEO) who is a licensed shooter and is very honest and hardworking. Things have improved dramatically although there are many things still to fix.

Then in March this year I stood for the state election again as an SFF candidate and raised the primary vote from the 9.5% in 2019 to 14.3% this year. The party were extremely pleased although I was hoping for a better result myself, closer to 20%. At the end of Term 1 a two term contract job came up in town to teach Music full time at a school only half a mile from home. Literally a couple of blocks walk. And I was completely weary of the drive, only to do substitute teaching, which is soul crushing job. 

So I found myself back in town in April walking to work, which was much nicer, and teaching Music full time again. But things still weren't that cruisy. Kids, unfortunately, have lost their manners. It didn't happen overnight, it's been happening for the 21 years I've been on the job. But public education has become a toothless tiger and COVID and social media have only made things more acute. And even those schools that are actively combatting behaviour are pushing it uphill. So I quickly found myself frustrated again. I said to my wife again, as I have said for several years, that if something came up suitable I'd leave education.

About that time a staff position came up in SFF. I thought I wasn't qualified for the job, even though it was the sort of thing that I'd been dreaming of doing since the election in 2019, and I said as much to one of our members of parliament who is a friend. He told me that he and our party leader had been talking about potential candidates and my name had already come up. As it turned out all the skills I'd picked up during campaigning and being a local councillor were the things they needed - advocacy, meeting and communicating with stakeholders and community and industry groups, some speech writing, political nouse, identifying issues, etc. So I trepidatiously wrote my application to our party leader and then went to a meeting with them - and got the job!!

So for the first time in 21 years I won't be a teacher and in mid July I'll be a staffer for our party leader in state parliament. I won't have to move to Sydney but I will stay with family there while parliament sits. I'm really looking forward to the work. And I'll get to see my eldest son more as he studies just down the road from Parliament House and lives with my in-laws.

So, praise God. Obviously He had plans for me and was waiting for the right time. 

Please add your own. Here's one I made up and another that a colleague said off the cuff.

"You can't please all of the people all of the time, but if you try really hard you can upset everyone at once." 
Kombi1976

"Casual teaching is an oxymoron. It is neither casual, nor is it teaching."
Andrew Holbery

Latest acquisition - The Pieper Rifle.
Chambering - 44 WCF.
Bbl - 24" octagonal.
Has quick removable breech block assembly and hole in the rear of the receiver for cleaning.
Obviously Henri Pieper's own revision of a miniature Martini action.
An original sporting rifle, not a re-engineered BSA, Francotte, Greener or Braendlin.
The receiver and extractor are entirely different, as is the pivot position of the lever.
It has the trigger guard as part of the lever and the trigger passes through a hole in the lever.
There are Liege nitro proof marks so estimated date of construction is circa 1890.
That's all I'll venture to speculate on as others here know lots more than me.




Chambering and proofs:


Top right bolt above side mount unscrews to remove breech block assembly:


With action open - decocking lever on right side of breech block.


Breech block assembly removed for cleaning:


Octagonal bbl with muzzle and crown:


Original butt plate.....unfortunately damaged:


Any helpful info appreciated.
BTW, the aperture sight is no help.
It's accurate but about a foot too low and to the right, hence the following 3 shot group:


I was aiming at the centre of the target right on the top of the "1" ring.
Any recommendations as to a sight I could put into the original dovetail would be appreciated.
I'm considering this bullseye rear sight for Winchester lever guns.
http://homesteadparts.com/shopcart/pid_1837.htm
Plus the requisite elevator:
http://homesteadparts.com/shopcart/commerce.cgi?cart_id=1424686448.1781&product=Sights_and_Elevators_Winchester_1873_Winchester_1886_Winchester_1892_Winchester_1894_Winchester_1895_Winchester_94_POST_64_Winchester_70&pid=1290
The full length rifles have the same bbl, same chambering after all.

Today our local SSAA branch held a "Try Shooting" Day at our range.
We ran a similar event last year and had about 15 or 20 people who really enjoyed themselves.
This year we did our homework, including information on local radio, an interview in the local paper and other PR.
I arrived right on 1pm as things were starting and our relatively small clubhouse (same size as a 1 1/2 car garage) was full of people filling in the necessary paperwork.
As a range officer I spent the day at the line instructing and supervising visitors as they shot.
It is an intensive event as you require a qualified person for every unlicenced person trying out shooting.
We ended up with over 40 visitors and the place was pumping.
We only used .22lr rifles, mainly to make it quieter and easier on the shoulder for people unaccustomed to shooting, but the response from all visitors was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
Plenty of people were former shooters and had decided no longer would they let our current laws stop them from enjoying shooting.
There was also a German ex-pat and an American ex-pat who'd not shot in ages and have decided to take up both rifle and handgun shooting again.
Today was a welcome refresher for them.
Many of the adults there were there with their kids and there was a solid number of women and girls who were as enthusiastic if not more than their male counterparts.
I think it represents a trend back toward gun ownership.
For a long while after the tough laws were passed people thought it was all too hard.
But in the past 5 years in particular there's been a move back to the shooting sports and people have decided that they aren't going to be discouraged.
I'm sure we'll begin to see more than a few of the visitors who came today at our regular shoots.
I'll post some pics when I get the chance.

Now, I'll start by saying I know that some members will recoil in horror at this creation while others will be nodding their heads and saying "cool!" I'm in the middle here. I'm not convinced it should've been done but the outcome is, well, read the article and post what you think.

http://www.alloutdoor.com/2014/02/05/ultimate-mosin-nagant-transforming-legend/

Whatever the case it's safe to say that "bubba's" are alive and still at it...........which I have to say is disturbing when you look at how complete the donor rifle was and the rising prices of early-20th Century military rifles.
Anyhow, flame on.

I've been the author of many highly speculative posts and threads on switch barrel rifles on this forum over the years but this one is quite fascinating, simply because it appears to work. That and all you need to change is the part, a bbl and the labour cost of having it headspaced.

I ran across this while discussing chambering 9.3x62 in a Remington 7600 pump gun on another forum. Lumley Arms here in Australia makes these barrel extensions for the 7600 which allow you to switch barrels with just a screw driver. Remington refuses to sell the part because you can do exactly this but Lumley has what must be a roaring trade in them. Basically, you have the barrel headspaced to the extension and it's a 5 min operation with a screwdriver to change them.....in the field.

http://www.lumleyarms.com/#!7600--7615/c1riq
 
On top of this, despite the references on the website to 308 and 30-06 length cartridges apparently there's no difference in the action. The only differences are in the magazines, the 308 mags having a stop at the back. As such if you have a 7600 in either 30-06 length cartridges or 308 length cartridges you can get a new bbl in either length. All you need is both length magazines. Does that make sense?

So you could have a 7600 in, say, 4 or 5 different calibres set up for different purposes. A 22-250 24" fluted heavy bbl for varmint/predator work, a 280 Ackley 24" heavy fluted bbl for long range hunting, a 308 Win 18" bull barrel for hunting in heavy cover or for self defence, perhaps a 30-06 standard 22" sporter bbl for normal hunting and a 9.3x62 24" sporter bbl for elk and bear and water buffalo. You'd just need a few different magazines for the different cartridges. Of course, I'm unsure how accurate the slide action 7600 is so it may not be up to varmint or long range shooting. And I don't know if there's a big restriction on bbl diameter because of the pump fore end. There's also the jamming risk with dangerous game. But in essence the concept is fine.

The only real catch I can see is that you'd either need to have a seperate scope per bbl or have a really excellent scope like a top of the range Kahles or Leupold and know how much to adjust the scope each time you switched to a different bbl. The whole concept is a very cool idea though. Almost makes me tempted to grab a 7600 if I see one come up cheap.

What do people think? I have no experience with the 7600 and so this is speculation. It's a firm favourite in 35 Whelen amongst sambar deer hunters and pig hunters love it in most cals. But I'm yet to see a sharpshooter rig around a 7600.

A few of you guys would be familiar with the Martini Cadet sporter in 25-20 that I've owned for about a decade now. It didn't cost too much and it's a pretty little gun as the picture shows (it's the top rifle):

It wears a Weaver K6 6x32 scope and somewhere back in the depths of time some one carved a butt stock and fore end for it from thick ply, creating a graceful laminate sort of look. The comb is actually carved for a south paw but no lefty is going to seperate it from me and I've never found it uncomfortable.

In the beginning the single shot nature emboldened me to try pointy bullets. But, sad to say, sticking with the maximums and even going over them a little the best groups I got were with FPs. Mostly they shot 1.5" @100m or a little bigger and I just couldn't get them under the inch. Here's one of the best 5 shots I ever managed:


The pointier Sierra and Hornady 75gn HPs were even worse. I just couldn't help but think that the rifling was meant for thin jackets and only the lightly constructed FP bullets would work. So I've persisted and murdered plenty of rabbits but hares and foxes have stayed safe because it didn't really stretch past 100yds in effectiveness. All of my loads were based on AR2207 (H4198) because it's a slower powder and filled the case better and didn't think much more of it.

Not long ago a friend and I was out after game and I hit an animal full in the chest with a FP and it slunk away into a little copse. When we got in there expecting to find it the copse was empty and it was nowhere to be seen. I was seriously unhappy and when I told my friend how big the groups generally were he gave me the "If a rifle of mine shot like that I'd sell it" look. Now, he's finicky and produces scary small groups from everything, but I was convinced the Cadet was capable of better.

I cast around asking different people for tips and most of the answers were along the lines of "heavier projectiles/slow powders", something which I'd tried before and had failed. And then I found this......

http://www.realguns.com/articles/434.htm

http://www.realguns.com/articles/436.htm

The title of the article itself was intriging and until I began to read it I truly thought Winchester had released yet another "hi-powered" mini cartridge. But it soon became evident that it actually was about 25-20 and, better still, it was addressing hotter loads for a non-tube rifle, the Savage 23B. I've heard older shooters on a number of US-based forums wax lyrical about the Savage Model 23 as a great platform for the old 22LR, 22 Hornet, 25-20 and 32-20 cartridges. The article rates the 23B as good for 39,000 psi and I've been told by a reputable gunsmith that a solid Martini Cadet is good for 60,000+ psi so I had no doubts it was up to the Savage loads.

But the really interesting thing about the loads recommended is that they use faster powders, not H4198. I didn't have access to H110, Lil' Gun or Win 296 so I used ADI2205 (H4227) instead. The differences between the loads were small and it's very similar in speed to both Win 296 and H110 so it seemed like a safe bet. There's a big leap in load power - 2 full grains hotter of a fast powder so I went up incrementally by 0.2gn from 11gn to 11.8gn. I decided 3 rounds would be enough. My choice of projectile was the Hornady 75gn HP and, wonder of wonders, the fairly ho-hum local gun shop actually had what I wanted IN STOCK!! I was delighted. Here's what they look like:

It's not great ballistically with a BC of .162 but it's still better than the dismal 75gn FPs which have a BC of .133. I hoped the product serial number was a good omen. All of the groups were shot @100m and if the groups seem in odd places it's because they shot really high. The original FP load moves at 1640fps so with the scope zeroed for it it was only to be expected.

The first group was a good indicator even though there was a flier in it. But the second group was pure gold.
 
Now it's only 3 shots but it's .857" and I actually think I pulled the top shot. Not so surprisingly the groups spread out from there and there's little point in showing those. But now all I have to go is adjust the scope for this load. Even if I can only screw 2200fps from this load shooting +2" @100yds will give me a 180yd range for varmints and small game, plenty of power for foxes and hares and almost on a par with my Hornet's performance.

There was a bit of interest shown when I reported on my experiences with the SMLE so I figured I'd post this too. I've been considering 6.5mm military short rifles so I can chose the right one for my eldest son when he's old enough to start to get his juniors permit. So I jumped at the opportunity to borrow my mate's 1940 Brescia-built M91/38 and shoot it at our clubs service rifle comp on yesterday, especially since my SMLE is currently out of commission.

I tried the Carcano out at the range on Wednesday afternoon in preparation for the comp and used Prvi Partizan factory ammo. I found the rifle shot REALLY high. The fixed rear sight is designed to hit dead on @300yds but at 50yds it was at least 12" high and at 100yd it was more than 2 foot high - I can't be sure how high because it didn't even print on the target when I aimed below it. It fed quite well off the clips and I only had one round which was not picked up by the extractor when it slid out of the clip. As a result I had to tap it out with a rod. It was, however, quite sticky when extracting spent cases, something I found more than a bit disconcerting.

I had no more factory rounds but have Lee dies for the Carcano so I handloaded ammo. Having no other appropriate projectiles, and having been told by my mate it shot well with them, I used some Sierra 85gn HP .264" bullets. There wasn't any data for a bullet that light so after some guestimates and calculations I settled on a load of ADI AR2206 - identical to Hodgdon BL-C(2).

There were some issues with loading for it. To begin with, while Lee dies are ok they spec the #2 shell holder for both the press and auto prime. I have a RCBS #9 shell holder for my press and it's quite tight and works well. But the Lee shell holder has a lot of verticle slop, so much so that in the auto prime it actually pushes the shell up about 1mm before it begins to seat the primer. As a result a few of the primers were sitting a little proud. But barely. Certainly not by sight, only by feel. When I tried cycling a few it was really hard to close the bolt on them, and the scoring on the primer showed why. I'd say the headspacing on this rifle must be right on. I was dismayed but figured that the the loads themselves must be considerably under maximum so they'd probably be fine on the range. I'll avoid this next time by using my Lee Ram Prime and the RCBS #9 shell holder instead of the Lee Auto Prime

The other issues was that the seating die would only screw down far enough to allow me to seat the 85gn bullets in about 4mm, something that dismayed me. I actually crushed a case shoulder trying to seat one a little deeper. I'm not against seating out but I usually seat by at least a calibre - 6.5mm in this case - and these had to take the rough handling rapid fire would give them as they fed. But they slid in fine when I tried cycling so I was satisfied with them.

I think I've explained our order of fire before but this is the basic order:

• 300yds - prone - 2 rounds for sighting standard target then 10 rounds intentional fire - 4 mins
  
• 200yds - seated - 10 rounds standard target rapid fire - 1 min
• 100yds - offhand - 10 rounds Figure 11 target snap shooting - target rises for 3 seconds and drops for 7
  

An SMLE (as I reported in the previous Service Rifle Trial thread) is perfect for this order of fire as it has a 10 round mag. The various Mausers are ok with 5 round stripper clips. The Carcano, however, is kinda fiddly as it's enbloc style clips are 6-round. With a full 6 rounds they're quite firm but with less than 6 the rounds slop around in the clip. That makes them hard to load in a hurry. As a result I loaded a clip with 4 rounds in at the commencement of each detail when I had more time and had a full 6-round clip to slam in when I shot the initial 4 rounds. It was so successful that even including reloading it after the first 4 shots I managed to punch out all 10 rounds in 50 seconds during the minute long200yd rapid fire.

I wasn't all that special in the target shooting. The very short sight length on the 91/38 carbine must be a factor. I only scored 43 from a possible 110 overall. Most of my hits at 300yds and 200yds were 3s and 2s and I think I only got 5 shots on the target at each distance. A bull on the standard target is worth 5, the concentric circles outwards are 4, 3 & 2 and the corners are worth 1. The Figure 11 only scores 1 point per hit. But I was delighted to find that even compensating for the really high sights I still managed to put 9 holes out of 10 into the Figure 11 snap target. That suggests that whatever else maybe wrong with the Carcano that horizontally it's shooting no wider than a foot across, and that's offhand under pressure aiming at the base of the target to allow for the open sight's 300yd zero.

Most interestingly only the 3 tight rounds I'd tried to cycle at home proved difficult to close the bolt on at the range and the rest chambered fine. Unlike the factory ammo it was also very easy to lift the bolt and extract them. The rifle overall was a lot of fun to shoot. It was really mild on the shoulder, especially with the 85gn pills, came up to the shoulder quickly and was arguably quicker to point and aim than my SMLE. And, a tad surprisingly it cycled like crazy, not as slick and loose as my SMLE, the Carcano being a split bridge Mauser type design that locks up tight, but faster than the K98 I used to have. Having used the Mannlicher enbloc stripper clips I'm far from a naysayer. I wouldn't advocate putting the system on a new rifle because it becomes a fancy looking club without them but I can see why they seemed like a good solution and they function flawlessly under rapid fire circumstances.

The next move with this rifle is to find a decent and inexpensive 120gn SP and establish a load for it. Probably the Speer or Sierra bullet is best. Ballistically they're better than both the overly short 85gn HP (BC=.237) and the horrendously inefficient and pricey Hornady .267" 160gn RN (BC=.275) which was designed specifically for Carcanos. With a BC of around .400 a 120gn SP should be good and the .264" cal bullets seem to shoot ok in this rifle. I'll post a pic of the rifle this afternoon when I get home from work along with a full clip.

Today I took my Martini Cadet rifle down to Bowral Pistol Range to shoot a cadet trainer match. It's based on service rifle discipline with the same order of fire, except at reduced distances. Original Martini Cadet rifles or .22LR trainer rifles like the SMLE No2 MkIV*, BSA .22lr Trainer Rifle and the Mauser 98 .22LR trainers.The order of fire is this:

• 50yds - 15 rounds - 5 offhand, 5 seated or kneeling, 5 prone - 4 mins
• 75yds - 10 rounds - 5 seated or kneeling, 5 prone - 2 mins
• 100yds - 5 rounds - all prone - 2 mins

At the risk of looking REALLY undignified here I am shooting at 50yds in all positions:
Offhand


Seated


Prone


Mmmm, actually there isn't a dignified manner of shooting in the seated or prone positions no matter what people say. But, nonetheless I did manage to get a little better. Strangely, my best shots were at 75yds as the following pic sorta shows.


There are actually 10 shots into that target and more than one were touching shots. I think my prone shots at this distance, and at 50yds for that matter, are pretty good. But I've very little experience shooting with open sights so it really showed up today. Also, I'm still working out an ideal load. But it suggests that the rifle has plenty in it. I also managed to pick up some Simplex Master Dies with a proper expander die.

I've decided I'm going to try and setup some regular Cadet/Trainer shoots at my own club. The guys today were using 310 Cadets, original BSA trainers and as well as the new Norinco JW25 Mauser .22LR trainer rifles. One fellow was even using a Remington .22lr pump rifle. Many people won't have Cadets but any .22lr using open sights is pretty much suitable for trainer rifle as you have to adjust your sights per the different distances. Anyhow, much like service rifle, Cadet rifle competition is a lot of fun and much kinda to the shoulder.

I don't know if you guys in the States are suffering under the same stupidity Australians seem to be but I suspect you are.

As if vegetarians and vegans were not annoying enough I cannot begin to list the number of people I know who have gone "gluten free" because they, and I quote, "feel so less gluggy" or "aren't weighed down by that unnecessary gluten". Now, please, don't mistake me for someone who thinks intollerances are fictional. I have a number of friends with Coeliac Disease who are quite ill when they eat gluten. But there are many more people who have never suffered from this inconvenient condition that are now excluding gluten from their diets. And the problem is this. When you have a party or a big family get together or a dinner party said voluntary non-glutenists (as I'll call them) expect you to cater for their fad. Because that's what it is. A fad. My brother and his wife for instance. And my aunt, who says she's never been the same since she had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. What she actually had was medication induced hepatitis, caused by the fact she went to the naturopath and combined the wrong potions they gave her with her presecription meds. Of course, being a gluten free now helps her. And catering a party without providing their fad food makes you as popular with them as a pork butcher at a bar mitzvah. Interestingly, my friends who actually do suffer from Coeliacs never complain at the lack of gluten free food if you should forget and enjoy the things on the table they can eat. Probably the worst is when one of the fad non-glutenists has a dinner or party and decides EVERYTHING should be gluten free. Cakes taste stale, pastries suck, bread sticks in your mouth, anything needing flour is appalling. And they pretend that it's just as great as normal food.

And talking of parties, this leads immediately to children and exclusion diets. Before I go into it I'd like to state that 2 of my sons have Autism. Their behaviour, by and large, is pretty good considering the problems they encounter in different situations but we have also been very proactive in making sure their manners and conduct are good and no where have they been barred. Rather, they do well at school and their amusing quirkiness has gained them quite a few friends, something we were surprised and delighted to discover. We've also made sure they have a rich and varied diet. We exclude nothing. They each chocolate and fast food and all sorts of things they shouldn't. But then they also eat vegetables and avocado and tomato and sour cream and Mexican food and many things that "poor little Autistic children" shouldn't ever eat. Many children with Autism have diets in that feature less than ten foods, all of them exceptionally nutritionally poor. One of my sons who has a classmate who eats Mint Slice chocolate biscuits, potato crisps and drinks chocolate milk......and nothing else. In light of this we think we're doing ok.

So when I hear that someone is having behaviour problems with their child and the first thing they do is begin removing things from the child's diet I inwardly fume. We have friends who son is not a happy child and his behaviour is irrational and out of control at times. They had one appointment with a child psychologist and then decided to consult a nutritionalist. Because nutritionalists spend 6 years at college and more time later on learning the inner workings of children's minds and how to overcome their issues.........right?
Did the resultant diet help? No, because first you need to elimnate each vitamin/enzyme/etc and see if it works. But if the child sneaks a food which contains this at school or a party or at night when you're asleep then it bombs. But, nonetheless they applied this and the diet of course had no effect.
Then there's the "I know this food is bad for my son because he went to a party and ate a cupcake on Sunday and he was really badly behaved all Wednesday afterward." What sort of cockeyed logic is this? Do we take an aspirin on Monday so we won't have a headache on Thursday??!! Of course not. If we drink coffee it takes effect within 10 minutes. The great thing about our digestive system is that we rapidly ingest stuff. It means we quickly feel better after a meal. Otherwise we'd never be able to sustain intensive activity. And yet my wife hears this sort of rubbish all of the time.

Where is this leading? Well, we have well meaning souls who on a regular basis give my wife magazine articles or internet links or books on whatever fad kiddie diet will fix Autism this week. I kid you not, there are people out there who seriously think that Austism could be cured by not eating artificial colours, sugar and gluten or whatever other food is being excluded this week. Now, if there was evidenciary proof that this sort of thing worked I'd have them on gluten free bread and water over night.

Before I finish, I'd like to add that there are people who are having success with specific diets. My godson has Autism and his parents have him on a super strict diet. Personally I think he looks a little pasty and thin but they assure me his behaviour is spectacularly better and he really has improved a lot. But they had a proper diagnosis and other psychological strateges for his issues as well as his diet and these work together. And we also make sure our kids don't drink things like Coke and RedBull other really high sugar and caffeine products. That's just common sense.

So, is anyone else suffering under the stupid voluntary diets of others?

[A view across the highlands. Note the dead branches sticking out above the green, the burnt trees amongst the new growth.]

I've been banging on about this trip for a little while now and everything did not run smooth before hand. Saturday 10th May my covers band played a debutante ball which was supposed to end before midnight......AND THE REST. I was still packing gear into my VW Bus after 1am. So when Bruce, one of my companions reached my house at 5:30am to pick me up ready for the trip south I'd had no sleep and so slept for a few hours while he drove south. But I should start at the beginning......

I've known Ben & Bruce since my first sambar hunt trip to Victoria in 2012 and both were great fellows. They invited me then to come along on a trip with them but with the birth of my youngest, Tessa, last year I had to hunt by myself a few weeks earlier than they did. Besides, they got snowed out!

Anyhow, I was at Ben's house having him check out my Cadet when Bruce called over and they mentioned the trip. After a short chat I was summarily invited and so I organised the requisite leave and, to be honest, didn't think a great deal more about it. It swept down upon me fast and soon the aforementioned gig and the hunt were upon me. So we headed down to Vic on the Sunday to meet up with Ben and Ian, the other hunter, who'd left the day before. Bruce and I arrived at Jamieson pub and had lunch at midday and then headed into the state forest in search of the others. We'd meant to camp at a site down by the river but the fires 2 or 3 years back killed a lot of trees and the folliage has grown up again, all about 12' high and so thick you can't walk through it. So it was really unsuitable for hunting.


A view across the highlands. Note the dead branches sticking out above the green, the burnt trees amongst the new growth.

Some parts of the forest were ok and we meant to stay at Crows Hut closer to Woods Point but hound hunters had set their gear up permanently. This is against the law, or the rules, or whatever. But hound hunters have a bad reputation. A few blokes with rifles is nothing compared to 8 or 10 blokes with a mobs of beagles and a rifle each. We could either have pulled out their beds and sleeping bags and stuff and thrown it outside.....hoping they didn't arrive before we left.....or we could camp elsewhere. We chose the latter. So it took us a long while to get back down to Grannies Flat campground only 5 mins from Jamieson and get our tent up. It's a lovely location, right on the river and a fave for fly fishermen and families.


Our campsite with both vehicles.


The river looking across at the ford.

Having got set up we were joined by a younger guy called Ben S. who hunts throughout the Jamieson area regularly and he camped with us for the night before dropping us off the following morning at some good hunting spots. Now, I could go on at length about what happened at each location but the entire trip boiled down to this. We saw lots of prints, lots of droppings and plenty of other evidence but deer sightings were almost non existent. Ben S. spotted a hind and fawn on the first day moving away too quick for a shot and Ian spotted a hind on the run on Wednesday afternoon. Aside of that, nada, zero, zilch, zip. It was intensely frustrating and I was more than a little despondent by the end. But the scenery was lovely. Here are a couple of pics.


Looking down across Lake Eildon from a hill just north of Jamieson on Monday 12th.


Looking across the valley from the state forest the following morning.


Sunset on Wednesday.

So, you may well ask, what did we do wrong? Our own post mortem came up with the following factors.....

• The weather was simply too warm. It didn't drop below 3ºC and although there were some very heavy dews most nights these didn't turn into frosts and day time temps were quite mild. Sambar are from India and Sri Lanka and feed at night. However, when the cold snap hits they have to feed in the daytime as well to stay warm enough. The consensus was they were lying up during the day, safely camoflaged, or fled as soon as they got a whif of our authentic woodsmoke-&-sweat odour.
• There was a full moon and it was so bright at midnight you could easily see without a flashlight. I suspect it made them much more skittish along with the warm temps.
• Finally, it's a popular area and gets hunted regularly. Oh, there are TONS of deer about but none put themselves in our harms way.

Lord knows if the wind wasn't behind me I was pretty disguised. Here's a pic:



Anyhow, Ben and Bruce in particular were great company and I certainly enjoyed being away with them. But that's my 3rd "swing & miss" at sambar deer and I felt more than a little ripped off. I intend to go after them again this year as I'm not satisfied to leave it again for another year.

Oh, my other lesson for the trip was 4x4s. Ben owns a SsangYong Musso which runs the turbo diesel Mercedes plant and has a centre diff and rear LSD. No word of a lie, using AT tyres with tread more designed for the freeway it climbed some incredible gradients. With the MT tyres Ben is going to buy it should be able to climb fricken' trees! Bruce's GM Holden Rodeo was no slouch and Ben S.'s V8 turbo diesel 2012 Toyota Troop Carrier was impressive too.

Click on the link lads and find out why they want them back....

http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/safety-center/safety-warning-recall-notice-Remington-model700-modelseven.aspx

Unintentional, eh?

Check this out......

http://www.ozgunsales.com/listing/19635/Martini_Rook_in_45_Long_Colt.html

How cool is that?!
Of course, it's a nightmare in the making.
It may have been chamberd to 45 LC but the short research I've done suggests the bore of .442 rook rifle is usually between .430" and .436" cal, more like 44 cal in other words.
On top of that even if the bore IS between .452" and .454" it may well be badly worn by people using jacketed ammo through a bore designed for cast bullets.
Oh, and it has possibly been used with black powder ammo and mercuric primers.
Then there's those beautiful open sights and the crack in the buttstock....... :undecided:
Of course, it's the perfect time for me to buy another old rifle.
I'm yet to solve the issues with my 22 Hornet Martini, 310 Martini Cadet and 303/25 and I need to finalise a load for my SMLE No1 MkIII* for service rifle.
I'm not crazy. :o

As many of you know, I recently bought a 1942 Lithgow No1 MkIII* to shoot service rifle. Since that means using the original open sights the desire is to duplicate as closely as possible the military load in charge and especially in bullet weight and shape. As it happens Sierra makes the 174gn MatchKing HPBT which is scary accurate with a BC of almost .500, particularly good because it's precisely the same weight as the 303 British MkVII ammunition and the right shape too. That's fine for punching holes in a man sized target at up to 300yds.

However, what really stumps me is why there aren't .303 cal 174gn hunting bullets that are even close to the ballistic efficiency of the MatchKing. Admittedly Sierra makes the 180gn SPT Pro-Hunter which has a BC of around .400 but you have to ask why they aren't making a 174gn SPBT GameKing which would have to be close behind the MatchKing in BC.

And don't get me wrong there are some 174gn hunting bullets out there. Woodleigh, the Aussie bonded core maker, produce a 174gn Protected Point (like a Mag Tip) which has a BC of .362, but that's not even as high as the 180gn Sierra. And the .303 cal 174gn RN Norma loads into their 7.7 Japanese and 7.65 Argentine has a really low BC of .262. And that's not even mentioning the 180gn RNs from Remington and Speer. I also don't think it bears mentioning the Hornady offerings since they've suspended manufacture of them (while at the same time having production space to make zombie ammo!!:angry:).

Any theories on why 174gn SPs are mostly RNs when they're up to so much more?

Having had issues with this rifle and round recently after having a few years break I took a similar but slightly different approach this time. My new Frankford Arsenal digital scale arrived so I decided to test it against my Lee Safety Scale which is a balance scale. After zeroing it I carefully measured 10gn of AR2209 (H4350) into the Lee scale and then put it on the digital scale (which has also been calibrated by the included weight.) The digital scale said 9.9gn. :huh:

So, it seems, there's nothing wrong with the Lee scale. Nonetheless, I used the digital one to be sure. This time I neck sized 12 of the once fired 303/25 brass and then, starting at 38.5gn, loaded 3 rounds per weight to load up to 40gn of ADI AR2209 powder behind the usual Sierra 90gn HPBT I prefer. I figured it was all safe with AR2209 having a guide max of 41gn.

It was a hot day at the range, already over 30ºC (86ºF) when I reached there but under the cool shelter at the firing line it was ok. Today the rifle, or ammo, had a new trick for me. The first 3 rounds, 38.5gn, shot ok, 1.304", and although the pattern was vertical the shots weren't consecutive - 1, 3, 2.


It was encouraging. The next 3 with a charge load of 39gn were less encouraging....the shots spreading wide in no particular order to 2.455".


The following 3 with the 39.5gn load were equally poor at 2.17":


But the final 3 with a 40gn load seemed to be getting better with shots 1 & 2 almost touching and a group 1.742".


But the really screwy thing about all of the cases was that all of them had a good deposit of soot on the case neck and shoulder:


This screams "cases not sealing due to too little pressure." The bolt was easy to lift but required a little additional tug to pop the cases, clearly because the soot was causing friction between the case neck and the chamber. So, where to go. I discussed this with some really experienced mates who've reloaded for many years and they came to 3 possible conclusions.

• The case neck and shoulder were work hardened while being necked down from .311" to .257" and accordingly the charge was not pushing out to seal the chamber.
  
• The powder charge was very mild. The maximum charge for 303 Brit of AR2209 is 48gn compressed and it's about 43,500 CUP. While 25 cal is necked down a fair way even the 41gn max is quite possibly too low to seal the case at the neck.
  
• AR2209 works best when loaded almost full and needs sufficient resistance from the bullet to ensure all the powder ignites in the case before the bullet leaves. If the bullet is seated too far out this does not happen and boat tails provide even less resistance because they have less surface bearing on the inside of the case neck per length of bullet.
  

That leaves me with the following solutions:

• Anneal the neck and shoulders before reloading to soften them and ensure they seal.
  
• Try hotter charges up to and over the recommended maximum.
  
• Seat the bullet further in to make sure the powder ignites properly and burns efficiently rather than having blow-by down the neck and shoulders.
  

Any thoughts, lads? I'm sure I can count on Paul, Don, RJ and others for wisdom in this quandary. Remember, before suggesting issues with the rifle itself, this rifle shot sub-MOA for many years with previous brass and never suffered the issues I'm currently experiencing. I have not touched any of the mechanics or bedding between then and now.[/SIZE]

We had a bumper crop of apricots, nectarines & peaches this year and unfortunately even with plenty of kids & enthusiastic friends too much went on the bin. Has anyone got experience in making fruit liqueur or knows of any good internet sites?

I was originally recommended FrogLube by a mate in Texas and he very kindly sent me 2 spray bottles; the lube & the solvent.
He'd seen it on Sootch's vids on YouTube and was impressed by the nature of the product and the inventor's military credentials (former Navy Seal, etc).
I'm currently trialling this on my Tikka T3 Lite Stainless 7mm-08 as it's a a brand spanking new gun and has not had any other lubricants or cleaners used on it.
It's designed to be as close to "green" as you can make a lube & solvent.
In fact it smells like Denco-Rub (Bengay to US members).
It seems ok but I'm wondering how well it will remove copper & carbon fouling in the long run i.e. Is it only a lube?
Anyone else using or trying FrogLube?

Well, I finally picked up this rifle yesterday. I didn't realise before but it's a matching numbers rifle. only the butt stock isn't OG. It's made in 1943.












I don't know when I'll get to shoot it but there is a military shoot on the first Sunday in January so I look forward to it. Hopefully I'll have an accurate enough load. I have literally a stack of Taipan 210gr RNSNs and the best part of 100 Remington 180gr RNs, neither ideal for military competition, but I may sort out a solid load then the 180 grainers, at least for the time being.

I'd been chatting with Mick, a friend from church, and he said he had rabbits about his place. I said that it would be fun to try at some he encouraged me to come out and try my luck. So I headed out at about 8:30pm last night anticipating a short walk about his property and a few bunnies to take home for the pan.
I anticipated rabbits with maybe a hare and maybe a fox, everything around the 100yd mark, so I took my 25-20 Martini with its 6x40 scope and my Lenser P7 light which mounts on the scope. As it turned out I was wrong about range. My mate Mick took me up a hill as the sun was setting and we shimmied over a fence and kept going.....out of his property onto the next place which he assured me was fine.
Oh, not much turned up for most of the walk out. But on the way back we came across one hare, which I missed offhand and then whack kneeling on 2 knees (not much better than offhand). It didn't seem that far and we had to wander up and finish him off.

But Mick said "That was a great shot!"
"Didn't seem very far to me," I replied.
"It was at least a football field," he replied," and it looked a bit longer than that."
I wasn't completely convinced but distances are deceptive in the dark. Things look much closer.  
As the night went on we found another pair of hares but they were a LONG way away and the neither light or rifle were really powerful enough....something I found out as I wasted a couple of shots at them.
There was other game about and I wasted rounds on them too without success. Nonethelss, Mick had a lovely walk, as did I. His optimistic and cheerful manner is infectious and there are few better things to do on a mild summer evening than wander around vaguely familiar fields in the dark in search of game even if your aim isn't great. He remained impressed no end on my hit on the hare. My ratio for spotlighting is usually 7 rounds for 5 hits, but maybe I should be less hard on myself, since that's from a vehicle with a better rest and better light.
In the end I came to the conclusion that while I had the right rifle for small game, and I had the right light for walk about hunting and even that no rest is fine in many occasions, the combination was wrong. Once I get my 303/25 sorted I'll head back out there....with a game caller and my Crooked Horn carbon shooting sticks and try whack a couple of the foxes we saw and the hares a missed. The foxes are another story altogether......