* NIGHT MOVES: Some Tips for Safe and Productive Spotlighting

Although spotlighting is not exactly sport, it can be damn good fun and an enjoyable way of helping your favourite farmers rid their land of feral pests, especially rabbits, foxes and pigs. Text and photography by Martin Auldist.

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* Quality Small Game Dressing

Most hunters commence their hunting activities by pursuing small game and during this exciting learning process discover, or are shown, how to dress the spoils of the hunt. If not done properly they can indeed become spoils. Some of these field dressing methods however could perhaps leave a lot to be desired in the way of meat hygiene. Now if you think your methods are pretty good, keep reading anyway, because there is always room for improvement and we are never too old to learn something new. For those still at the learning stage, here is information to help you produce top quality small game meat. Text and photography by Dr. Matt Draisma.

* Charters Towers Triumph.

The scene was Charters Towers, Queensland. Home to one of the most beautiful and exotic deer in Australia. Here the Chital are big and plentiful. We were being guided by the ever reliable and experienced, Clark McGhie of Wild Country Adventures. My journey to a trophy stag and boar had just begun. Text and photography by Matt Fox.

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* Culgoa Capers

A gathering of the Narran Hunting Club members in northwest New South Wales along the Culgoa River had its rewards, with plenty of drama along the way. Text and photography by Darren Shelly.

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* Gundog in the City... Part 4: The Puppy Months

By now, we’ve looked at many aspects of dog keeping and training through the first three Guns&Game articles. With any luck you’ve found yourself a dog and are ready to start it’s training. As we go on, you will see which commands your young pup needs to know, and how you can help her to learn them. Text and photography by Charles Hayden.

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* Grub in the Scrub: Quick Curry

Winter is a great time of year to hunt, as you don’t have to worry about snakes, sunburn and heat exhaustion. However, the days are shorter, and the chill of the evening starts to bite as soon as the sun is low in the sky. A curry will warm you through, and this one doesn’t take long to prepare or cook - ideal if you are late back into camp, and are exhausted from the day’s activities. You can use whatever game meat you have on hand (preferably from a young animal) - venison, goat meat, wild pork or even rabbit. Text and photography by Bernadette Jackson.

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* The Guns of Johhny Gilbert

“2012 marks the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Hall/Gilbert Gang. On 16th June the town of Eugowra near Forbes, NSW will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Gold Escort robbery with a re-enactment in the showground. Over the next few years many mid-western NSW towns will be commemorating their association with the Hall/Gilbert Gang 150 years ago.” He has been called the worlds worst criminal. It has been determined that he committed over 300 crimes in a ten year career, yet he never saw the inside of a gaol. He openly challenged the law enforcers and shot dead one mounted policeman who bravely challenged him. He was never arrested for any crime but was officially declared an outlaw. He died fully armed, in a desperate encounter with four troopers. Text and photography by Greg Powell.

* Beretta Australia DT11 “Discovery Tour”

When one of the most famous names in shotgun production releases a new gun it goes without saying there will be substantial interest in what the new product has to offer. Text and photography by Matt?Dwyer.

* From Russia With Love

Having hunted plenty of wild pigs in Australia, a new pig hunting challenge was discovered on the other side of the world - hunting wild boar in Russia. Text and photography by Lee Warner.

* 50 Years of the Remington Model 700

The Remington 700 is regarded as one of the most accurate factory rifles, with one of the strongest actions. Its design revolutionised the firearms industry and it went on to become the most popular bolt action sporting rifle in history. The story is told to us by a man who has been there all the way, (and who is sometimes part of the story.) Text and photography by Layne Simpson.

* Mannlicher Schoenauer M1903

Funny how there are the odd things in life that take a long time to come to light in one’s quest for perfection or to fill that gap in a seemingly endless array of things shooting. One such monster is the little 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer Cartridge which has always held a certain fascination for me. I can’t tell you why, it just has. Text and photography by Andy Montgomery.

* Kiwi Adventure

Throughout the years, I had often flicked through hunting magazines reading of other hunters exploits across the ditch in New Zealand. I never thought I would get there actually, thinking it was way too expensive. I was mainly looking at guides back then and just couldn’t justify it. Things changed for me back in 2009 when I met Brett, a Kiwi fella who I worked with in the Northern Territory. He is a keen hunter who primarily hunts on DoC land, (which costs nothing) and so this is the type of hunt that we organised, only we added four chopper flights into the bargain which put the costs up a bit, but not overly so. It was however, another two years before the hunt actually took place. Text and photography by Reid Hjorth.

* Hessian Hides for Hunters

Duck hunters have long used permanent hides constructed of tee tree and other natural vegetations to avoid detection by incoming ducks. From the middle of the duck season onwards ducks can become wary of such constructions and actually flare around them despite tempting decoy spreads. In other swamps king tides from nearby lakes disperse salty lake water well out from the permanent hides tempting feeding ducks away from gun range. For these reasons and more, a portable hide is a handy asset during duck season. Apart from duck hunting, portable blinds come in handy for hunters whistling foxes and even airgun enthusiasts hunting rabbits or pest birds. Anything that assists in making it more difficult for game to spot your movement is an asset. Some commercially available blinds are rather costly but there are cheap alternatives that you can make yourself to suit your particular hunting habitat. Text and photography by Adrian Kenney.