trophyhunter

How far are you looking to shoot? If you only wish to shoot up to 400m, which lets face it, the average hunter won't go much farther than that. So if this is the case, why shell out for a swarovski or similar range finder when it will be of no use to you at all? You can buy bushnel range finders for under $300 that will measure up to 450 ish metres. Save the rest of the cash to spend on decent rifle scopes or binoculars. A spotting scope really only comes in handy when you are trophy hunting and want to assess trophies from distance. A decent spotting scope will be starting around the $1000 mark. I use a cheapo bushnell range finder called a yardage pro or something, it is not optically very good, but weighs bugger all and is accurate to 1m which is good enough for large game hunting. All my bino's and scopes are swarovski, the extra money does make a difference in those.

if they were cheaper kits, costing about $20, a few guys would dust off their old maglights. I would put one in my 3D cell one and put it in the ute for emergencies.

Eberlestock! Expensive...yes Quality...yes Comfort....yes Accessories...yes I have a 'gunslinger' and a 'just one'. The gunslinger has rifle scabbard and is ok as a large daypack or for overnighters (did a 2 nighter once) It has no pack frame, but the straps are faitly adjustable and generously padded. It has provisions for water bladder. The 'just one' is a big bugger, can compress it down to a large day pack, expands out to carry a load of meat in a mesh section. It has a zip on duffel bag to expand it for long trips. It has an internal frame, rifle scabbard, seperate outside accessable water bladder pouch, with adjustable yoke, and removable waist belt. You would have to be fit to carry it fully loaded, put it that way. Full range of accessories are available, rain covers, zip on blaze section to cover in the mesh to use it in mid size mode, zip on duffel bag, and small molle pouches. Eberlestock is the original pack with the scabbard for a rifle that everyone copied. Edit to add, the olny bitch i have about packs with scabbards, is if hangs below your but, be careful climbing down steep hillsides!

I have been running a pair of solomon GTX boots for a few years now. soles work well, in Aus and NZ. were waterproof at the start, but after 2.5 years of use, i think the goretex is starting to fail a bit, only get really wet in creek crossing really, wet grass does not seem to bother them at the moment. Laces a good, still have the originals in them, uppers are holding up well too. Break in not needed, just put them on and go hunting. prob cost about $300 in a retail store, prob cheaper online.

it is all about layering my friend. The top shell or jacket helps keep the rain and or wind away. the next layer down is to insulate (you may want 2 layers if it is really cold) You can get wind proof fleece for this layer if it is really chilly wind. Then you have a base layer or thermals. Then you can just chop and change the combos to find the right amount of warmth for where you are at. If you buy a bulky jacket that is insulated you will never wear it unless it is freezing. A shell jacket can be worn like a rain coat in warmer weather without cooking you. And the insulating layers can be worn like normal jumpers. If you buy thermals from stoney creek or similar, they are green or grey and can be worn like a normal shirt around camp without looking ridiculous like some of them stripey thermals. Some of the new thermals are pretty comfy to wear as a shirt even when it is not freezing. And the best upgrade to new thermals and socks is the addition of silver into the thread which helps to stop them stinking after a day or two in the bush.

That is what I was going to recommend to You. I have one. It has a reasonable beam, about 30m usable at night, light, no bulky battery pack and has a red led if you want need to be stealthy or protect night vision. I have one and it's great. Tikka XP2 headlamps are pretty good. The led lenser would be good for the extra light on some occasions but the extra weight and battery packs are a bit bulky for walking along a track at night, opening gates, or 'reading' in bed.

If You ever do a backpack hunt, you will soon realise what is important to carry and what is not! You will end up like me, wanting to carry the least amount of crap possible. I am a hungry gutted bugger, so I always have plenty of food and water, but you will begin to look at what is nessecary and what is not when your load for a few days gets heavy quick. You will start to look at your gear and trim the fat pretty easily when you want to.

I have a eberlestock just one pack with the zip on duffel bag, tonnes of room, rifle scabbard, and you hardly ever need the zip on duffel. I also have a eberlestock gunslinger as a overnight/big day pack. It has a gun scabbard, but no internal pack frame like the just one, so it is a bit lighter, but you can still fit a fair bit in. I have a 2l camelback with a small pack attached, i used this sometimes when its really hot. I also have a small bumbag for quick hunts and I only need to carry under a litre of water. Sticking mountains of crap in different pockets would get annoying, Your electrical gear would be at risk of getting steamed up in pants poockets. and you would need the belt done up too tight. Get a proper bino harness!!! buy quality small/light gear. If you have a good folding knife, you can do away with a sheath, and the folder folds up small to save space. Try the smaller pocket sharperers instead of using a heavy steel. Use a small head torch, mine is a petzl XP2 it shines about 30-40m and weighs less than 90g with batteries. Another good item i use sometimes is a plastic bladder type drink bottle. You can get them in 2l capacity, but when you put a litre in them, they allow you to have a slim flat drink bottle that fits in a bumbag easier. For quick afternoon ventures i can fit 1 litre of water, gps, spare ammo, space blanket, headlanp, muesli bars, a bandage, some large band aids, a flint and alcohol swabs for firelighting, all into my bumbag. I wear my binos on a harness and off I go. The bumbag is good, because it is small, light and wont make your back all sweaty like a pack.

Cheers for the help guys. I thought the new ones had to be registered. Going for another trip to NZ, but didnt want to rely on the radio if the sh!t hit the fan. I'm guessing a broken leg or ankle in the mountains would be an ok case to Set it off?

Any one have any experience with these or recomendations? Once I get one, will it need to be registered?

Fangster, I think You just saved me near on $500.00. Cheers mate!

Get a basic pin and peep sight for hunting, if You were target shooting it would be different (target shooting with a bow is something I don't know much about) For hunting though, Get a pins and peep sight with about 4 pins on it. for a bow with around 55-65lbs draw you can easily set them up to 10-20-30 and 40metres even when using heavy broad heads. The pins with little fibre optic lights in them are better than ones without in my experience, but try and get nice fine pins so it is more accurate.

Here is my first attempt at fitting some scales to a blank, timber is a type of birch. I got it from AKC in WA.

How far are You planning to shoot? If a long shot is 400m, why bother getting one to go out to 1500m. I have a cheap bushnell one that will read game to about 400m. If the light is bright enough to shoot, the range finder has worked. I have compared it to a leupold with the TBR function and a swarovski. Both would read a little further out, but accuracy was no different on closer yardages. Im my opinion, if You are not going to be shooting super long distances, get a basic rangefinder to do the job and put your saved money towards a set of swarovski EL binos. If You are going to be using it at longer ranges, or plan to in the future, buy the better one, and you wont have to upgrade later down the track. You can also use trigonometry to find the tbr by yourself haha

+1 on the salomon boots I have had a few different types of boots so far from ppl such as columbia and north face. The salomons broke in quickly, virtually as soon as i put my foot in them i was comfy and suffered no blisters or irritation. I have just come back from 2 wks on the South Island of NZ, and the boots were awesome, flexible yet stable, dry, fairly breathable and lightweight. Would definately get another pair. the model I have is 'mtrek 6 LTR GTX mens' well thats what the receipt says. They are a high cut boot with a half rubber covered toe and pretty aggressive looking rubber sole.