Hunting in Australia??

[HAMMER1DOWN]

HI!!! I am getting stationed in Korea fer a year and more than likely will not be back in the states fer the whole time, so that means I will be missing around 2 hunting seasons, htats a No-Go in my book. I got to talking to a couple of folks and they suggested that I try and make it to Australia, Flights are cheaper and there are critters there that I ain't ever gonna get a chance at again. So my question here is what animals are there to hunt and what are the seasons like in Australia?

[Telgriff]

Big variety of game to hunt here, depending on where you go. Up in the Northern Territory you get the bigger stuff, water buffalo, camel etc

Further south you have Deer (sambar and Fallow among others), endless rabbits, foxes, goats and pigs.

Climate wise, north is hot and humid (or pouring rain), south is temperate to cool depending on the time of the year. Where I am (southern NSW near VIC border) it gets sub zero during winter and low 30's C in summer.

[HAMMER1DOWN]

what kinda season are there, or is it really regulated? and what am I looking at fer tag prices, more or less want to shoot a Kangaroo, Deer (fallow), and tons of small game like the rabbits you mentioned.

[TX Hunter]

Didnt they take all the guns away in Australia?

[Rifleman1776]

I don't think they took all the guns.
I'm on an Australian woodworking forum and some guys talk about hunting and other gun related subjects. There may just be severe restrictions.

[mitchell koster]

Well I'm glad you've out thought about coming to Aus.

To Shoot kangaroos you need to have a permit. (the government are VERY strict with culling roos because its a native and a national icon. Although There are miliions of them!!!!!!!!!!!) Fallow deer have seasons but pigs and goat are feral and can be shot anytime of the year.

Currently the ferral pig population is more than 23 million so you can shoot as many as you want. (these pigs are very smart though).

Fallow deer, in Tasmania ( where i live) the is two seasons a year, the first is in march, your allowed to shoot a 1 stag and one doe, or two does a year. Then there is another season in May where yiu can shoot two doe if you have permits but no stags. (A maximum of two deer are allow to be shot a year per permit.)

Small game like foxes, rabbits ect are feral and can be shot all year round. Like a previous post there are more camels in Australia than there is some arab countries and they classed as pest so as far as i know you can shoot as many as you want. THere are water buffalo in the northern end of Aus and some great Sambar hunting in Victoria (as far as i know its a seasoned hunting time and you need permits. And a minimum of .270 calibre. )

Temperature wise most of Australia in summer is warmer. Tassie is slightly cooler because its a little further south than Victoria.

Gun laws are fairly strict. Tasmania is the strictest because it had a massacure about 16 years ago. Its very hard to find a site that states the laws in Australia.

If you go with a guide ask him about the laws and he/she should be able to help.

Safe hunting.

MK

[Telgriff]

They banned semi-auto, pistols (apart from competition only) and auto/pump action shotguns. Oh yeah and magazines over 10 rounds are banned, as are anything AR related (like the stocks - dont get me started)

Leaves bolt action, lever action and falling block rifles, side by side or O/U shotguns and thats pretty much it. You can also bow hunt in some places, but it varies from area to area.

As previously stated, deer are a game species and require permits/seasons to hunt, roos are very strictly regulated, the rest is as much as you want, all year around. No tag prices here, since most of the huntable stuff is pest and therefore free to shoot.

As far as firearm laws, best bet is to check with the firearm registry (usually found via a police website), for example, firearms laws for NSW are through the NSW police force website.

Not sure about bringing your own guns into the country, probably a major pain in the ass to do. Best idea is to be on a friends property (i.e. BIG property 1000 acres minimum). But as for the legality behind overseas people shooting here, I'm not sure on the specifics. Can only find the mountain of forms for citizens wanting to shoot/hunt here. Looks like you need a permit to do it, but thats all the info I can find. If you find a hunting guide they will probably help with all the paperwork.

[phil mcwilliam]

Most Aussies dont pay to go hunting as there is no tag system in place for deer hunting, & no bag limit either(in most states). Deer hunting season is also something new to us as its only been in a couple of years. Most feral pigs, goats . foxes, rabbits are seen as pests and also have no tag cost or bag limits.
Roo shooting is regulated & a tag system is in place with over 3 million tags issued each year, but mainly to professional shooters & property owners.
Most Aussie hunters will hunt on a mates or relatives place, although licences allow to hunt in state forests & some national parks.
I think unless you are lucky enough to know someone with a property with the game you want to hunt-which will cost you nothing, you will be better off booking a trip through a guide- which will cost you plenty, with guides charging trophy fees for deer, although most trips hunting pigs will be an all inclusive price. Guides will however guarantee success & because there are not many hunting guides in Australia they only will take you to areas with good numbers of game.
As I assume you will be on a limited time span when hunting in Australia, this is another reason I suggest a guide. As I live here, its no big deal to explore another hunting area without success, but if you travel all the way down under -then you want to be successful in your hunt.
Australia is a big country so its better to work out what area you want to visit.
South Australia contact Larry Gilbert for Fallow deer & rabbits- he may even let you shoot a roo- 618 8757 3081.
Queensland for red deer contact Vince Ashe - 617 4698 1701.
For top end pig shooting try Mark on 61405 144 114 or Karl on 61409 024989.
The first 2 guides for deer I can recommend, but the last 2 pig hunting guides are from advertisments in local hunting magazine.
Good hunting.

[HAMMER1DOWN]

Thanks fer the Replies! Its helped out a lot on my search. One more question though, in Korea we are not allowed to bring our own guns so all my rifles and handguns are staying with a friens, so will most guides have rifles that I can use or will I have to purchase one?

[hooligan1]

Hammer1down, after you are there awhile, you could change your screen name to throwafewback! I would also like to go to Australia,I would no doubt pick up the accent these true aussies can freakin hunt and know how to go about it!1 Be careful, and happy shootin!

[TX Hunter]

I guess it aint too bad there in Australia, You still get to use the main firearms, except the pump shotgun, and most places, you dont have to worry about deer tags, and lease feas.
Id like to go there.
I dont have much use for an AR type Rifle, but remember," I never said, I didnt know how to use one".

[mitchell koster]

It would be nice to be able to experiment with automatic weapons ect. I'm thankful we can still use guns in general.

You should come to Tassie, although you need permits it great hunting for deer in the mountains. and its smaller with heaps less hunters and alot of the guides shoot on private property which is even better.

Best of lck.

MK

[phil mcwilliam]

Your guide will provide a rifle for you & if he trys to charge more than $50 hes ripping you off- should be for free as youre already paying for a hunt.
Forget about purchasing a rifle when you arrive as our gun laws require licencing, cooling off periods, safe storage requirements, & a permenant address where the rifle is kept. Gunshops must adhere to the strict regulations & private sales are not allowed unless through a firearms dealer.
I doubt whether you would be allowed to apply for a permit to purchase a firearm if travelling on a tourist visa.
Your guide will usually provide you with a decent rifle as it will probably be his ,or a mates.

[crghss]

Well even if you find it to difficult to arrange a hunting trip go visit anyhow. Australia is one of the best places I've visited on earth. You're so close it would be a crime not to visit there and New Zealand.

[SKULLANDCROSSBONES65]

G'day. Your cheapest flights will probably be to Western Australia or the Northern Territory. Not much in the way of Deer on that side of the country.
I went out with some relatives who were visiting from Europe. They loved the freedom that space provided. Picnics, BBQ, fishing, spotlighting and camp fires.

[roy reali]

I guess anyone from California would feel at home with Australia's gun laws. They don't seem that different from each other.

[Chuck Dye]

Check with your new command: when I was in Korea in the '70s as a dependent, we did quite a bit of pheasant hunting and some duck hunting. While we had our own guns, Special Services had a fair selection of shotguns for those who needed them. The local deer are so small that pheasant loads were adequate when we kicked one up.

While I was in Australia, feral water buffalo were a popular item in the Northern Territories. They were reputed to be rather nasty beasts bordering on dangerous game.

Searching on "northern territories water buffalo hunting" provides lots of hits and for more than just buffs.

[Old Grump]

Didnt they take all the guns away in Australia?

The key elements of Australia’s regulatory controls on firearms are:

* prohibitions on fully and semi automatic long arms, with their use restricted primarily to military, police or government purposes;
* prohibitions on sporting shooters possessing, owning, using, purchasing or importing high powered, concealable handguns;
* mandatory registration of all firearms on State and Territory firearms registry systems;
* mandatory licensing of all firearm owners; and
* strict licensing requirements, including age limitations, undertaking firearms safety training, and compliance with firearm storage standards.

The Commonwealth government regulates the import and export of firearms. State and Territory governments regulate ownership, possession and sale of firearms.

http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf...rms_regulation

Don't believe everything you hear and only half of what you read on the net. I am assuming most of your reading is from reliable sources. I'm on several sites with Australians, many of them active in their gun rights organizations and one of them a professional hunter, most of them former military and they know guns.

It would be worth your time to get acquainted with them and learn how they are fighting to get back their lost gun rights. Liberals aren't just a pain in the tookus for us it's epidemic in the world, at least in the English speaking countries.

Even Switzerland is having problems with liberals and their gun rights and that is a kick in they uh huh for them. Showing if it happens to our best example of a sensible gun state it can happen to anybody.