Offroad-Express

hey all i am looking at getting firearm licence (over air rifle) my question is what rifle would suit best? i mainly do rabbits possums etc but gonna start hunting for goats pigs any advise would be much appreciated

high powered air rifle for the small game...
dogs and knife for the pigs... thats what im doing...
was gona get firearms license but i have mates who have theirs so....

for goats and rabbits, .22magnum or .17magnum, pigs good sharpe knife

Yep .22Magnum be the go, If your after a bit more power .222 or .223 are also good and drop the odd deer too. Svord Pig sticker for the pigs.

Hey mate,
Im just looking at buying a rifle too. Just broke my old .22

Im gonna get a Ruger 10/22 for possum's and bunnies.

But if your looking at goats and maybe pigs I'd have to suggest .17HMR
.17 has alot more power for goats and long distance bunny hunting. abit much for possums tho.

.17 ammo is alot cheaper then say .223 or bigger.
.17 = 269 a brick (500 rounds)
.223 is the same price for 100 rounds

the 10/22 is a good we semi for someone who wants to have fun popping rabbits and possums, i work in Hamill's in Rangiora Part time give me a PM

i built mine up ordered it in bits and got the trigger lightened

she a nice we unit

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.168062873211497.36644.100000233560913

22mag would be my choice .brno 611 or rem 597

how much is ammo for .22Magnum?

gun city says $275 for 500 round
$35 for 50 round

I think Im gonna agree with the post bellow. Tis how i learnt to shoot. Now I challenge myself to one shot kills all night.
Usually pull it off too.

i'm going against the grain and saying standard .22lr bolt action. Ammo is cheap (way cheaper than anything else) and with a bolt you'll take your time and become a better shot, it's good practice for the next gun you buy for goats, pigs and deer etc

7mmWSM

dont fcuk around, kill them properly

wopass wrote:7mmWSM

dont fcuk around, kill them properly

338lapua?
or why not just 50cal

Nope. Dragonuv is where its at.

http://www.guncity.co.nz/7.62x54r-dragunov-scoped-suppressed-package-xidp164701.html

.338 is nice tho
http://www.guncity.co.nz/338-lapua-magnum-blaser-tactical-2-scoped-xidp238300.html

Haven't been hunting in NZ before, and can understand the need for a knife to finish off a pig, but do the majority of hunters not kill the pig first with a headshot ?

MarkDonovan wrote:Haven't been hunting in NZ before, and can understand the need for a knife to finish off a pig, but do the majority of hunters not kill the pig first with a headshot ?

Not where I come from. The dogs bail it and you stick it problem with shoting them with dogs in there too is the chance of hitting the dogs is too high

Bunnies are pretty bloody easy to kill if you can shoot straight, a .22LR is fine. If you've been shooting with an air rifle you should be pretty good at stalking them anyway. Good practice.

I had a 10/22, didn't like it, my mates JW15A Norinco shot better for less money. Prefer having a bolt action too, it will get you used to quickly reloading for when you move on to the bigger stuff. And safer.

A 22LR will take out possums too, although I used to take a shotgun out possuming just for the hell of it.

As for pigs dunno, I was interested in goats and deer, got a 7mm08 for that (but don't go any more)

if you want to hunt goats and deer on doc land then you have to have a centre fire rifle and if you only want to buy one gun hen i would say something like a 204, 222, 223, or 22-250, get it suppressed and its a great alrounder and good for longer shots on the bunnies, down side, not a great idea to be shooting up in to trees at possums with something that powerful. best idea i think is cheap bolt action 22lr or 22mag and a 243 for everything else, if you dont have pig dogs you dont want to be chasing it with a knife

For calibre, I recommend a simple 22LR. Hate to admit it, but Haynzy is right.

For a rifle, buy a good bolt action, look after it and you will give it to your kids in 50 years.

BRNO first model 22lr if you can find one, a second model if you cant. Best value for money, you will not wear a 22 out by shooting it, only by cleaning it the wrong way.

Great training for when you graduate to larger game.

Enjoy our outdoors, you lucky bugger!! Leave only footprints

PS. A 22 or similar is not enough gun for pigs. You owe the game you hunt a quick clean death.

Choosing a pea shooter is like choosing a truck, not really one gun for all. You will need to concider what type of hunting, game and range etc you are planing to shoot. .22magnum is a great calibra for small game as you get a lot more range and killing power than the .22. I personally used a .22 bolt action anshults for regular spotlighting possums and rabbits from a 4x4 bike, as range was not overly important plus If you want to shot all night then I would recommend .22 for bunnies as amo is cheap you can easily get through half a brick of amo in a fun night if your not worrying about the cost. But if you are hunting during the day and need the range then you may want the .22magnum. But each to there own.

I used my .22 for a couple of goats too under powered never again so if goats are you target game then u may want to concider somthing bigger.

If you must have one gun for rabits and pigs then Best allrounder Remington 870 pump folding stock etc. Blast the bunnies from the hip. Then chuck US police rounds in for the goats, some solid riffled rounds for the pigs (you probably won't shot many if you are using dogs). Fold you stock when going though the gorse can't really go wrong if your game is no further than 50m away.

You really can't go wrong staring with a .22 evin if you get a high powered riffle in the future you will probably still use your .22 for bunnies and possums.

007 wrote:
You really can't go wrong staring with a .22 evin if you get a high powered riffle in the future you will probably still use your .22 for bunnies and possums.

yeah bunnies and magpies tend to vaporise when I hit them with my .270 for some reason

For goats I recommend the economic and easy to get 7.62x39mm, something like a second hand SKS or JW 103 will set you back around $200 and $14 for a packet of 20 hunting rounds (even less for Mil spec ammo) , it makes for cheap hunting. Ive shot 100's of goats with my SKS, and i find it's the perfect caliber for Goats. the 7.62 is suitable for deer at sub 100 yrd range as well.

one rifle wont really do the job with my experience a 22lr is a good little varmant gun with reasonable priced ammo even if you just want to shoot a few cans off the fence, as for pigs and goats the bigger the caliber the further away you can shoot them, and less likely you are to lose them the .243 is a good little caliber for this or something around that caliber, i have run dogs on pigs and if you are hunting forestry most restrict you to no high powered centerfires so most are using 410 or 12g shotguns with slugs or the old 30/30 or 44mag, and as also pointed out you are not allowed on doc land with rim fire rifles,so with this in mind you ahve to weigh up what you are targeting and dont forget there is nothing wrong with some second hand rifles

this is a old thread didn't realise i haven't updated

well brought a jw15 a year ago to learn the ropes have latly ungraded to a 10/22 ruger

also own a savage 308

butcherboy wrote:as also pointed out you are not allowed on doc land with rim fire rifles

can get permits from some doc areas but have to visit doc office have read of this
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recrea ... ng-permit/

i wouldnt call a 10/22 an upgrade lol i have a jw15 and a 10/22 and the jw pisses on the 10/22 thumbs up on the 308 !

used to use a silenced jw15 (brno copy) with polished trigger sears and a re-shapped grip, they are/were quite thick. was a very accurate bit of kit with the subsonics, just wldnt win any beauty pagents

i admit the jw15 was a awesome rifle even with it only costing 299 with scope and suppressor never had any issues with it. i just got offered a 10/22 with upgraded trigger stainless etc at a good price so couldn't turn it down. my partner has now taken ownership of the jw15 now