Pumpkinslinger wrote:

Can you order things like that from the US?

US Export Regulations make it a felony to export scopes without State Department export permits!

Dimitri

Hmmm! I know we shipped a batch of scopes to Iraq, but that was to a friend in the military. I'd think the larger distributors would have any necessary permits. He could always email Natchez SS and ask!

Hey Beast and Paden.....welcome to HuntingNut guys. I see Bushy has been kind enough to offer the obligatory beer on me...I look forward to hearing more from you guys. Great to see more Westralians getting on here. Have spent a bit of time in Perth and down south in Manjimup (where my wife is from). WA is a great place.

Beast...I have a Weatherby Vanguard in .243 and I love it. I'm only a little fella...168cm (5'6") and it feels damn near perfect when I mount it...put it to the shoulder. Have a look at the Weatherby website for info on their range of varmintters.

For a scope...check out the Horsley Park Gun Shop website...they do mail order, also Queensland Gun Exchange.

Horsley Park Gun Shop

Queensland Gun Exchange

Paden...you are totally correct mate. The .243 is probably the best all-round calibre for Aussie game...although not much chop on buffalo. As an aside...Maitland....lovely spot, nice and close to Pokolbin and what I consider to be the best red wine in the world. Have a brother living at Lemon Tree Passage...another lovely spot.

Cheers, Vince

have to agree with the others about try before you buy. I have a zastava .223 that i bought cause it fits so well. shoots like a charm just ask the two pigs from saturday.the cheaper options often are quite good. the bottom line though is buy what suits you best for what you intend to do.

Bushmaster wrote:

gelandangan...License? Allowed to shoot??

Ah, bushy, ya know since that madman went loose in Tassie, us Aussies get severely restricted on the hobby shooting fronts.
Here gun sports is a privilege not a right

so yeah.. License and being allowed meant something here.

G'day guy's
Thanks for the beer Vince, was bloody refreshing
Been speaking to just about every gun shop in Perth today and I'm slowly narrowing the field. At the moment I'm thinking either a Remington 700 VLS or a Weatherby Mk V SVM. I've found a shop with one SVM left for a bloody good price, not much more then the Remington, but I do prefer the look of a wooden stock. Like most of you say though I need to get out and find what feels right, on that front I gotta say the Tikka felt a bit like a toy, just because of the synthetic stock. If I head away from a Varmint barrel I realy like the look of the Weatherby Sporter SS. But then I han't realy been looking at guns with a sporter barrel so my research will have to start again, I can see myself with a few mor grey hairs at the end of this. The only problem is now I have to wait, my missus said not till after our wedding next month, gee thesse women have their priorities mixed up.

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

Hmmm! I know we shipped a batch of scopes to Iraq, but that was to a friend in the military.

They do not consider that "exporting" because its going to a APO address to a service member.

Dimitri

Beast, now I spent our original wedding date at a gun show, with her. We finally got married about 5 months later. Of course she never lets me forget it...

Hey Beast, this is a Gun and Firearm Discussion, don't go whinging and whineing about getting married.
Grow a pair and make sure you keep them.
Get out there and buy the Weatherby for a wedding present
or at least put it on the gift list so a few of the invitees can purchase it for the happy couple!

Beast mate,
if you like Tikka but you dont like the stock, get one made to suit you.
It will suit you a lot better then, if it is made by a good gun(stock)smith.

What I said above about getting the gun which suits you, I mostly meant that the way a gun fit one's shoulder and cheek, the way the pistol grip fits your palm, the heft of the gun when you are shooting offhand and most important, the way you experience the TRIGGER BREAK and RECOIL.
Some of these can be tested in a gun shop, but the last two most important ones can only be tried in a range.

Shopping around in shops and reviews in magazine will only ends up confusing you because most of these are definitely flavored with personal feelings.
Remember whats look good may not be good in a long run.

But then again, even if you buy the wrong gun, your investment is in a lot less risk than if you marry the wrong sheila.

With a gun, you simply buy another one and put the original in the back of the safe.. you try that with a wife..

Dimitri wrote:

Pumpkinslinger wrote: Can you order things like that from the US? US Export Regulations make it a felony to export scopes without State Department export permits! Dimitri

Oops!

Yep I'm definately confused,
I've held some nice rifles now, found some I like the feel of, but I'm still not sure. I'll probably go with a .223 instead of the .243, but who knows I'll more than likely change my ming 50 times before I get one.
I like the idea of having a stock made, will be quite a while before I can afford to but that way I'll end up with pretty much exactly what I want and I can get a synthetic stock now knowing that one day she'll be a nice timber, probably marri.

Well, if you've changed your mind on the .243... Look at the .260 Rem...

Beast wrote:

Yep I'm definately confused, I've held some nice rifles now, found some I like the feel of, but I'm still not sure. I'll probably go with a .223 instead of the .243, but who knows I'll more than likely change my ming 50 times before I get one. I like the idea of having a stock made, will be quite a while before I can afford to but that way I'll end up with pretty much exactly what I want and I can get a synthetic stock now knowing that one day she'll be a nice timber, probably marri.

What is the quarry you'll be hunting?

A .223 is pretty limiting as to the size of animal I'd be willing to take, whereas a ,243 will be effective on much larger beasties.

hey beast,you change your mind more than my wife ever has.
what you wanna shoot?
i suggest a 105 mm howitzer.then you can shoot from grasshoppers
to the sky's the limit.