Thread: What Should I Be Looking For

Early days yet - head Rushy's advise. Ditto kiwijames

thanks all all very helpful i have someone at work that has a .22, 30-30, 270, so one weekend soon we are going to go out and have a shot with the .22 and work my way up slowly and see what feels comfortable

H101, here's my 5 cents

It is very easy too fall into the "you need the latest & greatest" trap.

Work out your budget, and shop around. Include a DECENT scope in the rifle budget too.

Also consider all the extra bits and pieces that go into hunting. Outdoor gear, PLB, binos, range finder, good boots etc, etc, etc.

You do not need to spend mega $ on something that will drop deer for years.

Sub $1000 package for NI bush: baikal single shot, Leupold vx1 scope, dpt suppressor, plus a bit left for a gunsmith to shorten it and do a trigger job.

Originally Posted by kiwijames

Forget caliber and brand. If it don't fit it wont shoot. Go into one of your local shops and shoulder a few rifles first. Find one that fits.
Kawekas means Sika and they'll die from a bad fright so you don't need a big boomer. Also, if you can't shoot em from a mile away you might just learn to hunt as well .

This ^. Listen to this.

Originally Posted by Proudkiwi

This ^. Listen to this.

Yep, +1, find something you like that fits well, any calibre from .243 will do the job just fine, top it with a decent scope and you are all good.

My best advice would be do a lot of reading on the matter, work out what you want the rifle to do and go from there, in the mid range calibres all will do most of the jobs you want them for, (obviously there are some very specialised cartridges eg a .338 lapua is impractical for heavy bush and a .30-30 is not ideal for long range!) a lot comes down to personal preference!

Something in the .243, 7mm08, .308, .270, 7mm magnums, .300 magnums, 6.5mm class (sure I have left out some!) will do for most situations!

When people say decent scope this means leupold vx1 or bushnell elite 3200 or burris fullfeild II minimum. Dont let someone sell you a tasco or simmons ect people will tell you they work and they do untill they dont and i will be when you need it the most they will shit themselves

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

End of story in my book shoot em close first then have a crack on distance,not knocking long range at all i love the long range gear but smelling them in the bush and finding the culprit is fucking .

Originally Posted by hunter101

Hi to all
I am a brand new hunter i am in the procces of getting my firearms licence now
what would be a good calibre rifle to be starting with i dont have mega $$
i will be hunting in the kawekas for the time being

Personally, I would be looking for someone who gets out a bit and who is happy to spend the time and to show you the ropes before I would worry about buying a rifle or too much gear. Get close to some animals, learn some tricks.
The gear and rifle you need will then be an easy choice because you will have a fair idea of what will suit your needs.
Most hunters have a spare that they will let you use in the mean time.

Originally Posted by Rushy

Hunter101 my recommendation that you start with a .22 is not about any inability on your part to not cope with recoil, it is about easing you into shooting with an experience that is not going to give you any bad vices that will haunt your subconscious (e.g a flinch or closing your eyes type reactions).

Not to mention being cheap as chips to own and operate

It'll also be good practice on how to place well aimed shots consistently in a controlled environment, rather than run the risk of at best missing your quarry altogether or worse, wounding it so that it suffers a slow and painful death.

thanks to all of you
i am taking in every thing that you all have to offer i have some books i am going to read through like, hunting the seasons, nz rifles
ever since i have said i want to learn how to hunt the support from people has been great on this fourm and even from some people from work who i didnt even no hunted, the hunting community is amazing all a great bunch of guys. and girls of corse
thanks agian

Kawekas means Sika and they'll die from a bad fright so you don't need a big boomer

i wonder if i went in there with a few grenades hiff a few about willy nilly i mite just get me a few feeds
on that note or off it completely rumour has it TOBY has a BIG BOOMER

Me Toby?