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Dedicated to Keeping New Zealand Cleaner and Greener!
Essential Varmint Hunting Gear
Savage .22 Sniper Rifle. Custom Marlin Papoose .22 takedown rifle. Baikal .410 shotgun.
Norica Titan .177 rifle. 15 shot semi auto BB pistol.Airsoft 35 shot 6mm pistol. Custom Air Industry QB78 Single Shot .177 CO2 Rifle. Crosman 38T Co2 Revolver. .223 center-fire rifle.
Savage .17 MachII. My torch collection. Magpie distress call attached to mega-phone!
Plus - tips on buying a good torch.
I didn't realise I even had a torch collection until I saw them all together. I bought a couple while in the States recently, and have been testing a new-generation digital torch from Olight in China. Amazing digital LED torch - with strobe and SOS modes.
I have the new 3watt led from Maglite, and while very good - are still around 15% duller than the new Olight.
Olight have asked me to be their agent in NZ - but to be honest, I don't think I have the time or energy to do the job.
I have around 24 quality torches. Three that are mounted on my rifles are not in the photos.
Below: 12 Maglite silver torches 4Dcell - I let mates use these ones when out spotlighting.
Maglite 6D quartz halogen. Ever-ready 1million candle power rechargeable. Ever-ready 3watt 1 million C/P rechargeable.
5 Headlight torches - LED and Halogen. Maglite 2 & 3 Watt LED - 2 and 4 AAA
cell.
My favourite is my new Olight Digital LED - with Strobe mode - it is SO grunty! Although only a 2 AAA cell, it is as powerful as the 6D cell Maglite!
Why do I have a 6Dcell Maglite? Simple answer - if I can't shoot the possum out of the tree, I blind it with 1,000,000 candle power - then club it to death with my torch after it falls out of the tree!
Total cost of all my torches - well over 1K!
Here's a few lessons I have learnt with choosing and buying torches.
First, go for quality - as you get what you pay for. Don't buy the cheap 1,000,000 candle power rechargeable units - as they won't last! My Eveready rechargeable units cost over $100 each, but are very good quality and my older green one has lasted over two years already!
Also, don't waste your time on anything over 1,000,000 candle power - as it will drain the battery too fast - possibly only giving 15minutes of light!
If you can - go for the new generation digital LED - and don't go any lower than 3watts.
Buy a decent recharger unit - and throw out your old NiCad for the new NIMH rechargeable batteries - which don't have charging memory, meaning they last a lot longer.
If you live in NZ - I'd suggest buying a Maglite from SAI or Serious Shooters. Even Young's Airgun Shop has them at a good price. Don't buy them from a hardware or superstore, as you will pay double what they are worth.
While in America, I found some good deals at BigK or other mega-stores.
Magpie Distress Call - connect to mega-phone!
So - you've downloaded my Magpie Distress call - but it just isn't loud enough to attract the magpies!
The solution - buy yourself a Mega-phone from your local hardware or
electronics store. My one cost $75, and takes 4 D cells.
Next,
download the distress call to your cell phone or MP3 player.
Purchase or make a simple RCA to RCA plug cable (or whatever your phone and mega-phone takes), and then play the distress call directly from your cell phone through the mega-phone.
Awesome results!
P.s. Although I had the latest version Imate JasJam - I found it to be very unreliable and continually crashing - despite flashing it with the latest Windows Mobile. Also, it kept giving me the White Screen of Death! In the end, I have reverted back to an older model Imate with Mobile 4. The only time it crashed was when I was trying to install 6 Bible modules into my E-Sword at the same time, and I overloaded the RAM. Only took 5 minutes to resolve, and since then - I've had no problems with it at all!
Norica Titan .177 air-rifle
Work done so far - 3-9x32 optics. Two piece mounts. Polished trigger mechanism. Remington folding bipod.
Threaded to standard 1/2"UNF for 25mm - allowing secure fitting of a suppressor from which you can cock the rifle.
Next on the list - I will make a full over-barrel suppressor with inbuilt muzzle-brake.
650 FPS - ideal for backyard pest birds!
Check back for more photos.
I think this is one grunty looking rifle!
Savage .17 Mach II
You know the story - I just went window shopping at the local gun-shop!
Cut a long story short, I walked out of the shop with one under my arm (paid for of course!)
The beauty of the .17 Mach II is that it is a small .17 calibre, but the bullet is pressed into a .22 hyper velocity cartridge!
Rifle is black synthetic, blued barrel, Acu-trigger set to light, bolt action. 15 stack mag, 3-9x32 optics - and very soon to have bid-pods and custom suppressor fitted.
Check back for photos and updates.
I can't wait to suppress this baby and try it out on rabbits and possums!!!
Below: Finished rifle. This baby groups 12mm at 100 meters!
.223 Center-fire Rifle
Just bought my first center-fire rifle, a .223. Thing is, that I don't really want one - as I won't get to shoot it much, but I need one to test my new range of over-barrel suppressors. So, basic rifle cost me $500. It came with 3-9x32 optics, which is good for deer or goat, but no good for smaller varmints. So, first thing I added was a 6-24x50. Trouble with this magnification - is rifle shake. So, I had to buy some bipods. Remington put out a good set for $100. Next, some bullets! OUCH - they cost $1 each!
Well - here's the beast so far! My over-barrel suppressor works really well.
What comes next??? I think maybe a really good lazer.
So far - .223 bolt action. 5 shot mag. 6-24x50 optics. Remington bipod. Over-barrel suppressor. Strap. Stock sleeve holding 10 rounds. Polished and balanced bolt.
Crosman 38T CO2 6 shot revolver
GETTING PIMPED!!!!!
I had one of these as a teenager - but in .22. It wasn't powerful enough so I sold it. I have been looking for a .177 version for quite a while.
This revolver was bought new by Dave Martin (yes - his real name) around 23 years ago, mainly to dispatch the occasional possum on his farm. Dave had the wooden hand-grips custom made by a professional wood-worker around 15 years ago. Since moving to the city several years ago, this baby has sat in the cupboard - waiting for me to buy it. I bought it for $160 - April 2008.
What's even better than the beautiful condition and the wooden hand-grips - is the awesome holster.
Click photos below to see the restoration and modification process!
Most of my smaller equipment and gear - USA army knives, ammo, torches, pistols and police scanner.
Always nice to know if I'm in trouble! :-) My mobile phone is an absolute must for hunting, mainly for the 2megapixel inbuilt camera. In fact pretty much all the photos on this website are taken with this camera-phone
Savage Mk II Sniper Rifle Project - .22 Bolt Action - Heavy Barrel, Thumb Hole, Laminated and Vented Fore-Stock, Acu-Trigger - Bipods - Bushnell 6-24x50 Illuminated Mill Dot Scope.
This beauty is my Target and day rifle. It drives tacks at 75 meters! Barrel is threaded and a Hushpower II silencer fitted. Laser mounted on top of the scope. This beast is so silent with subs, that all you hear is the hammer click! Also fires and cycles CB-Longs beautifully (around 750fps). I am on the look out for a decent hard case now. Those optics need protecting in transit, and soft bags just don't do the job.
Would you believe I won the Bushnell Scope in an auction, for just $160!!!
Custom Marlin Papoose .22 take down semi automatic. 2 to 7 x32 scope, lazer sight, silencer, bipod. Rifle comes apart and fits into a back-pack.
You should fit bipods to every rifle with decent optics. It's just common sense, as it protects expensive optics, and aids in accuracy.
Lasers are essential for night-time shooting. Update - currently have the illuminated 3-9x50 scope on the Papoose.
This is one beautiful possum rifle. It shoots more accurately than I can handle! 2" groups at 85 meters (90yards) See my stories.
Close up of scope, lazer, bipod and open chamber. Beautiful!
For photo instructions on adding a bipod - see sitemap - Custom & Mods
Bipod folds backwards to enable the barrel to unscrew and fit into small backpack.
Laser is sighted to the barrel, so when reassembled, I can know instantly if the scope is not sighted properly.
Baikal 410 take down shot gun - shoots shot/bb's (around 100 at 1200 fps) or a solid bullet at 1710fps
Great for possums, although there's not much left of them! Rifle comes apart and fits into back-pack.
Although really cheap to buy (Around $200) - the workmanship and fit is excellent.
All in all, a beautiful rifle.
Lazer for easy night time shooting of possums
This is a versatile and beautiful rifle.
Only drawback with this beauty, is the cost of ammo- at around $1 per shotgun case, and around $3 per solid slug!
Norica Titan .177 spring powered air rifle - around 650 fps - ideal for shooting around the section or where it is unsafe to fire a firearm.
I started out with air rifles, and I love them. I'd like to invest in a good one again, with 3-9 scope, lazer, bipod and silencer.
I think I would like a pump action .177 rifle. (Photo on right is an old air rifle I owned. Hatsan 1000fps - great rifle, but spoilt by a terrible trigger mechanism.)
Nice air rifle. I plan on keeping the fibre optic open sights.
This is my 'lender' for mates with possum or pest bird problems,
as you can legally own and shoot an air rifle without a license providing you are over 18 years of age.
.177 gas powered 15 shot semi auto pistol. Fires 15 bb's as fast as you can pull the trigger.
I've actually shot and killed a lot of possums and wild roosters with this little beauty! Photo on right is with silencer attached.
It is so much fun, plinking and target shooting at around 10 meters. Once you know the flight projectory/curve of the bb's, it's actually very accurate.
Airsoft pistol - 35 shot mag. Shoots hard ceramic 6mm bb's - that really hurt, and draw blood!
I use this for shooting matches with my sons and friends - always with full safety goggles!
My kids like to shoot flies and bees with this pistol. Always under supervision.
Beside is a police scanner - always nice to know if I'm in trouble and need to hide :-)
I have a selection of torches, either strapped to my belt, or as head lamps.
Below - Mag-Light 4D, 12 LED 3D, and Lazer sighter.
Below: Backyard Bird Basher! Pre-charged CO2 powered giving around 500 full powered shots per canister.
.177 rifle, single shot at around 600fps. Completely recoil free, with 3 to 9 x 50 illuminated milldot crosshair scopes, bipod, laser and suppressor. Air Industry QB79.
I started out with airguns around 30 years ago, but progressed to firearms for possums, bunnies and larger game. However, there's just something about the challenge of airguns that drawn me back to them. This beast is beautiful to shoot, completely recoil-free, very quiet and safe enough to shoot pest birds in my back yard! Love the bolt action. Keeps me in tune for shooting larger rifles and beasts. Heaps of fun! The thing with airguns, is not just power, but accuracy. Any airgun over 1000fps and you're wasting your time as the ballistics of the pellet are ruined as soon as they hit supersonic (Starting at around 1100 fps/335mps). Basically they start tumbling as they enter or fall from supersonic speed. I could easily increase the fps of this rifle up to1000fps by increasing the strength of the sear-spring. But there really is no need to do this, as the extra fps would not give me any advantage, in fact sometimes a faster fps makes for a more difficult kill - as the pellet is going so fast that it passes straight through the prey without doing optimal damage unless you hit a vital organ. A lower fps can have more impact and kill-power.
Using an airgun to kill anything with fur is cruel, unless it's a high powered and accurate .22 airgun. Basically, the rule is - .177 for feather, and .22 for fur. But having shot both airguns and firearms for many years, I'd say that unless it's a rat - don't shoot anything with fur unless it's a firearm. Having said that, airguns are heaps of fun - for target shooting, plinking and shooting pest birds!
My Gun Safe
230 volt alarm system installed and activated.
