What does everyone do for a hobby?

[BradZ]

I know we all like Fords but apart from that what does everyone do?
My Falcons aren't my only money pits!

I love riding trails on my Yz450f, which has cost me a bit of money but certainly not my most expensive hobby


I suppose my biggest money pit and the hobby that demands most of my time is being a hunter/shooter.
I hunt rabbits, foxes, pigs, and deer. Working on a roo license.

Here's my tool of the trade, a Tikka T3 .22-250 for those that understand.

It may not look it but it's worth more than my yzf and nearly as much as my Bf Xr6, I'll let you all work that out.


And like my cars I cant leave things stock. The rifle didn't look like that when I purchased it. Expensive but so satisfying. I'm all for the humane kill, not only is it cruel but to me it's a crap shot if the animal doesn't drop stone dead when hit.

Furthest I've shot is a fox at 400m which I'm pretty happy with but im forever trying to improve.

I load my own rounds aswell which isnt a cheap endeavor to get started in

My custom round on the left next to a premium factory round.
I wont bore the non-shooters too much but my round is a lot faster and cheaper than the factory load. Leaves the gun at 4000 feet per second.
.

So yeah, any other hunters/shooters on here?? Would love to meet a few!

Cheers guys

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[FPV GTHO]

The last couple of weeks ive gotten back into my RC cars that have been sitting around for over 5 years. Ive got a fair few laying around; Tamiya TT01 and 3Racing F1-09 both with brushless motors and a HPI Truggy with a Force .15 that ive gotten working again. Ive still got a Kyosho Mad Force that needs new servo's, an old Thunder Tiger touring car that has a worn out .12 engine and a GV BV1 chassis that needs an engine and electronics. Ontop of that my brother has a pair of his own TT01's with a whole lot of upgraded bits.

[BradZ]

Originally Posted by FPV GTHO

The last couple of weeks ive gotten back into my RC cars that have been sitting around for over 5 years. Ive got a fair few laying around; Tamiya TT01 and 3Racing F1-09 both with brushless motors and a HPI Truggy with a Force .15 that ive gotten working again. Ive still got a Kyosho Mad Force that needs new servo's, an old Thunder Tiger touring car that has a worn out .12 engine and a GV BV1 chassis that needs an engine and electronics. Ontop of that my brother has a pair of his own TT01's with a whole lot of upgraded bits.

I was right into nitro r/c buggies years ago aswell! I still have my GV Dominator buggy in the shed i think.
Such good fun!

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[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by BradZ

I was right into nitro r/c buggies years ago aswell! I still have my GV Dominator buggy in the shed i think.
Such good fun!

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GV was pretty popular when i was last playing with them. My group of friends all had V2's which were basically put together like a buggy anyway with the shaft drive, unlike the BV1 which is belt driven. Cant even find them on eBay anymore as all the cheap **** is HSP. My first one ever i got for my 10th birthday, a Tamiya TA02 Hummer kit that had a thick plastic body as well, not the polycarbonate stuff everything else has. I still have the body and redrilled the body post holes to suit about 2-3 other chassis since.

[BradZ]

Originally Posted by FPV GTHO

GV was pretty popular when i was last playing with them. My group of friends all had V2's which were basically put together like a buggy anyway with the shaft drive, unlike the BV1 which is belt driven. Cant even find them on eBay anymore as all the cheap **** is HSP. My first one ever i got for my 10th birthday, a Tamiya TA02 Hummer kit that had a thick plastic body as well, not the polycarbonate stuff everything else has. I still have the body and redrilled the body post holes to suit about 2-3 other chassis since.

We had one hobby shop which was Toyworld so as you can imagine my choices were limited.
From memory it was $500 to buy.

4wd, not belt driven and had a Force .25 motor I THINK.. dont quote me

Straight away i drove it in water accidentally and the servos were never the same again. I fitted a failsafe, thank god I did otherwise I doubt I'd still have it today!

EDIT: You still into them? I've got that Gv buggy and remote in the shed if you want it? Poor thing has been gathering dust for years.

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[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by BradZ

We had one hobby shop which was Toyworld so as you can imagine my choices were limited.
From memory it was $500 to buy.

4wd, not belt driven and had a Force .25 motor I THINK.. dont quote me

Straight away i drove it in water accidentally and the servos were never the same again. I fitted a failsafe, thank god I did otherwise I doubt I'd still have it today!

EDIT: You still into them? I've got that Gv buggy and remote in the shed if you want it? Poor thing has been gathering dust for years.

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I'll pass on the buggy, ive got more than enough to worry about but thanks

These are some pics of the current cars




So top picture left to right theres Kyosho Mad Force, HPI RS4 MT2, Tamiya TT01 and 3racing F109 (aftermarket kit based on Tamiya F103/F104)

Bottom pic has the GV GV1 on the left and Thunder Tiger TSN on the right.

The Kyosho is stock for now. The HPI has a 0.15 motor instead of the stock .18 as it blew up plus longer shocks. The TT01 has alloy shafts and my old TA02 offroad wheels. The F109 has a new rear wing and diffuser, the original aero is styled after the 2005-2008 cars but this wing is taller wider and stiffer. The diffuser was a generic part found online. The BV1 i believe was originally 2 speed but the first owner converted it to single speed and then i put the belt tensioner on it. The Thunder Tiger is a bit of a bitsa.

Long term i'll probably scrap the Thunder Tiger, get another .18 for the HPI and look for a nice .12 for the BV1. I'll probably look to convert them all to digital transmitters as well.

[drz250]

I haven't got into shooting/hunting just because it seems like a real headache to bother about it here in Aus. I have been lucky enough to handle some really nice firearms in my time though, including military firearms (F88 Austeyr, etc) when I was in army cadets as a lad.

That's a fine rifle you have there. I can totally understand how it's cost you so much, I spend a lot of time watching gun channels on YouTube and some of the prices are crazy. I'm trying to work out the caliber by looking at it and it's really hard to tell. The rounds look like 5.56x45mm to me but the rifle itself looks bigger than that so I have no idea...?

I am also into dirt bikes. I'm currently looking for another 250cc trail bike to replace my current Suzuki DR z250 with. I would go for a 450 but the trails I ride are fairly tight and a 250 usually feels more nimble. I have considered 2 stroke but will probably stick with 4 stroke.

[Top_Ghia]

Originally Posted by drz250

I haven't got into shooting/hunting just because it seems like a real headache to bother about it here in Aus. I have been lucky enough to handle some really nice firearms in my time though, including military firearms (F88 Austeyr, etc) when I was in army cadets as a lad.

That's a fine rifle you have there. I can totally understand how it's cost you so much, I spend a lot of time watching gun channels on YouTube and some of the prices are crazy. I'm trying to work out the caliber by looking at it and it's really hard to tell. The rounds look like 5.56x45mm to me but the rifle itself looks bigger than that so I have no idea...?

I am also into dirt bikes. I'm currently looking for another 250cc trail bike to replace my current Suzuki DR z250 with. I would go for a 450 but the trails I ride are fairly tight and a 250 usually feels more nimble. I have considered 2 stroke but will probably stick with 4 stroke.

Interest in a TM250?

[drz250]

Originally Posted by Top_Ghia

Interest in a TM250?

That's an awesome bike and must be a heap of fun but I'm not really looking for a racing bike, just for a trail-bike that I can cover a lot of kilometers on. That's the only reason I want a 4 stroke as well - to carry less fuel with me.

[Top_Ghia]

Originally Posted by drz250

That's an awesome bike and must be a heap of fun but I'm not really looking for a racing bike, just for a trail-bike that I can cover a lot of kilometers on. That's the only reason I want a 4 stroke as well - to carry less fuel with me.

The TM is an awesome bike. It's very fast and aggressive. It's faster than a KTM 300 but isn't ideal for long distance stuff. I swapped bikes one day with a guy on a new Husky (KTM) 300 and he got off the TM and said "wow that's fast". I got off the husky and thought "wow that feels slow".
I bought that bike new in 2011 for $9,000. It was cheap because it was last years model and the next years bikes were on the way.
It's been great but I've hardly ridden it and if I'm honest it's far too much bike for me.

On the topics of guns I think I'll get a .17 for use around the house lol and a .308 for hunting and that should be a good value solid combo.
Of course a one shot kill is ideal but I was watching vids of blokes shooting zebra with a .375 and they all ran off after perfect shots in the chest. They must be tough beasts. Not sure why you'd want to shoot zebras though.

[BradZ]

Originally Posted by Top_Ghia

The TM is an awesome bike. It's very fast and aggressive. It's faster than a KTM 300 but isn't ideal for long distance stuff. I swapped bikes one day with a guy on a new Husky (KTM) 300 and he got off the TM and said "wow that's fast". I got off the husky and thought "wow that feels slow".
I bought that bike new in 2011 for $9,000. It was cheap because it was last years model and the next years bikes were on the way.
It's been great but I've hardly ridden it and if I'm honest it's far too much bike for me.

On the topics of guns I think I'll get a .17 for use around the house lol and a .308 for hunting and that should be a good value solid combo.
Of course a one shot kill is ideal but I was watching vids of blokes shooting zebra with a .375 and they all ran off after perfect shots in the chest. They must be tough beasts. Not sure why you'd want to shoot zebras though.

.17hmr shoots fast and accurate but they're a very light bullet meaning a slight breeze will ruin a shot and being 17gr, you need to headshot everything otherwise it probably wont drop. There's no room for error hunting with this caliber and you need a specific set of parameters to even consider taking a shot at anything, distance, size, wind etc

Also be wary of .17hmr ammo as its very common for the ammo to be inconsistent, a lot of cases have splits in them from new, sometimes as much as half the box! I've heard that much about them that I'd probably never own one myself.

.308 is a good caliber though, cheap and easy to get and they pack a decent punch. Only thing being they have a lot of bullet drop as they're slow and heavy rounds, just something to think about.

Hope that helped!
Perhaps tell me what you want to use each gun for and I could offer some advice on a suitable caliber if you'd like.

I imagine they shot the Zebras in the chest so they could mount the head undamaged. A lot go for the chest over in the states for the same reason.

Definitely not my thing, I'm more into pest animals.

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[BradZ]

Originally Posted by drz250

I haven't got into shooting/hunting just because it seems like a real headache to bother about it here in Aus. I have been lucky enough to handle some really nice firearms in my time though, including military firearms (F88 Austeyr, etc) when I was in army cadets as a lad.

That's a fine rifle you have there. I can totally understand how it's cost you so much, I spend a lot of time watching gun channels on YouTube and some of the prices are crazy. I'm trying to work out the caliber by looking at it and it's really hard to tell. The rounds look like 5.56x45mm to me but the rifle itself looks bigger than that so I have no idea...?

I am also into dirt bikes. I'm currently looking for another 250cc trail bike to replace my current Suzuki DR z250 with. I would go for a 450 but the trails I ride are fairly tight and a 250 usually feels more nimble. I have considered 2 stroke but will probably stick with 4 stroke.

I hear you mate, the firearms scene in Aus is in a bad way. But if it ever happens, bolt guns will be the last type of rifles they take.

That being said, that'd be the day I 'dropped it in the river'

Appreciate the kind words mate, most of the dollars are invested in the scope, a German made Carl Zeiss with a price tag to make your eyes water. That, and the Grs stock from Sweden.

The caliber is .22-250. 5.56x45 is a .223 which is a fair bit smaller than this. I picked this out as my 21st birthday present. This was the first gun i ever owned and I needed something that wasn't too violent to learn and build confidence with.

The recoil is non existent but the crack it makes is louder than most due to projectiles leaving the barrel at 4000fps, certainly leaves your ears ringing and your brain wondering who you are haha

Its a great starting caliber, small enough for rabbits although overkill, large enough for bigger animals and it shoots extremely flat which means minimal bullet drop, which means no on-the-fly calculations, just point and shoot for the most part. And factory rounds are half reasonably priced, not that I buy them anymore.

Now we're well acquainted and I confidently take game out past 500m and have hit coke cans at 650m. Just as well we get along because the sentimental value of it is huge so it'll be passed down generations when the time comes.


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[drz250]

Originally Posted by BradZ

most of the dollars are invested in the scope, a German made Carl Zeiss with a price tag to make your eyes water.

I totally understand that, I have a camera with Zeiss lenses and suffice to say, the lenses didn't come cheap! Amazing quality though.

I feel that the media is to blame for portraying guns as evil instead of recognising them as the tool that they are but that's just the way it is. I have known many responsible gun owners and to be honest, most of the gun owners I know are the best blokes going.

Edit: I'm not surprised I got caliber wrong, I have no experience haha.

[BradZ]

Originally Posted by drz250

I totally understand that, I have a camera with Zeiss lenses and suffice to say, the lenses didn't come cheap! Amazing quality though.

I feel that the media is to blame for portraying guns as evil instead of recognising them as the tool that they are but that's just the way it is. I have known many responsible gun owners and to be honest, most of the gun owners I know are the best blokes going.

Edit: I'm not surprised I got caliber wrong, I have no experience haha.

That was part of my reasoning. Carl Zeiss are the best in the business in camera lenses so surely they can build scopes right?

Yep, dead right. It cost a lot more than the purchase price of the rifle itself but I regret nothing. Originally had a cheap scope on it and it was awful. Never held zero, **** to look through and not enough zoom. I had trouble non stop with it.

$175 scope mounts and a > $1000 scope and my shooting has improved tenfold. The other scope now lives on my .22wmr.

Yeah the media is nearly 100% to blame for this ****. My only argument is this.
Why tighten the laws? That only effects law abiding shooters like myself. The actual criminals dont obey the law anyway otherwise they wouldnt be criminals!

I half understand the concept behind it but its a massive knee-jerk reaction.
Ill informed journalists bring up the Port Arthur massacre in response to the Adler lever action shotgun coming to Aus.
Okay...but it was a semi-auto AR 223 with a magazine capacity of probably 30+ used in the massacre, not a 7 shot lever action shotgun...

It needs to be harder for criminals to get guns, no harder for licensed shooters.
I'll stand by the saying, if guns kill people then spoons make people fat.


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[drz250]

Originally Posted by BradZ

Why tighten the laws? That only effects law abiding shooters like myself. The actual criminals dont obey the law anyway otherwise they wouldnt be criminals!

I agree completely. It isn't all about keeping guns from the criminals, it is also about control.

Originally Posted by BradZ

Ill informed journalists bring up the Port Arthur massacre in response to the Adler lever action shotgun coming to Aus.
Okay...but it was a semi-auto AR 223 with a magazine capacity of probably 30+ used in the massacre, not a 7 shot lever action shotgun...

Yes, they do bring it up - because they are ill-informed. They are puppets moving to the will of those in control, or maybe they're just cockatoos repeating what their masters told them. Who knows?

[Giant Cranium]

Originally Posted by BradZ

Yeah the media is nearly 100% to blame for this ****. My only argument is this.
Why tighten the laws? That only effects law abiding shooters like myself. The actual criminals dont obey the law anyway otherwise they wouldnt be criminals!

I half understand the concept behind it but its a massive knee-jerk reaction.
Ill informed journalists bring up the Port Arthur massacre in response to the Adler lever action shotgun coming to Aus.
Okay...but it was a semi-auto AR 223 with a magazine capacity of probably 30+ used in the massacre, not a 7 shot lever action shotgun...

It needs to be harder for criminals to get guns, no harder for licensed shooters.
I'll stand by the saying, if guns kill people then spoons make people fat.


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what gun laws are they looking at tightening?
I'm happy with our gun laws, criminals will always be able to get guns no matter how hard they make it, the good thing is is that criminal gangs don't generally kill innocent people or let kids get ahold of the guns,

what our gun laws do do is to stop people who are crazy or have little understanding that they are not a toy (children) getting ahold of them. just look at the latest shooting in the states, 50 killed and 50 injured, thank god we don't have semi autos or autos, can't really have a massacre with a bolt action or two shot 12g.

these views are not coming from some anti gun activist. i am fully licensed and own guns. i just like that i can walk down a street in australia and know no one is carrying a gun.

[Giant Cranium]

Originally Posted by BradZ

image

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that is a fantastic looking rifle. i want to add something with flair like that to my safe

[Top_Ghia]

I'm about to get into hunting/shooting as I have family who are mad for it. So it should be a good way to spend some quality time. Deer will probably be the main target but there's plenty of rabbits here to practice on.
I fires a .375 H&H today. Wow has that got some kick. I did have a shot on a .22-250 a few years back and it's quite impressive with the speed and accuracy of it.
I also have a TM250 EN dirt bike but don't get out much of late as we have a lot going on atm.
I
I'm also into cycling but mostly mtb. It kind of crept up on me. I started doing a little riding to keep fit for dirt bikes and ended up doing a fair bit and spending up big. Now I have 3 carbon fibre bikes with the cheapest one being $2500 before any upgrades. This ones my favourite.
Carbon frame, wheels, cranks, bars, stem and seat post. At one stage it even had carbon brake discs but turned out to be rubbish.

I've recently got into fishing and have spent a bomb lately. All of sudden I have about 16 rods and gear everywhere. But I'm hopeless at catching anything. Doing a cape york trip later in the year so hope to change my luck.

[BradZ]

Originally Posted by Top_Ghia

I'm about to get into hunting/shooting as I have family who are mad for it. So it should be a good way to spend some quality time. Deer will probably be the main target but there's plenty of rabbits here to practice on.
I fires a .375 H&H today. Wow has that got some kick. I did have a shot on a .22-250 a few years back and it's quite impressive with the speed and accuracy of it.
I also have a TM250 EN dirt bike but don't get out much of late as we have a lot going on atm.
I image
I'm also into cycling but mostly mtb. It kind of crept up on me. I started doing a little riding to keep fit for dirt bikes and ended up doing a fair bit and spending up big. Now I have 3 carbon fibre bikes with the cheapest one being $2500 before any upgrades. This ones my favourite. image
Carbon frame, wheels, cranks, bars, stem and seat post. At one stage it even had carbon brake discs but turned out to be rubbish.

I've recently got into fishing and have spent a bomb lately. All of sudden I have about 16 rods and gear everywhere. But I'm hopeless at catching anything. Doing a cape york trip later in the year so hope to change my luck.

Phew! .375 h&h would definitely let you know you're alive!
Biggest ive shot is a 9.3x62mm, 280gr bullet. No muzzle brake, no recoil pad.

One word, unpleasant! I'd never own one without at least a muzzle brake, jesus christ it hurts. The owner himself buries his head in the ground and sulks for 5 mins after every shot haha

Yep I love my 250, the noise is intimidating but the kick isn't. It helps with long shots are you aren't flinching in anticipation of massive recoil. That being said it has 'scoped' someone after I offered them a turn of it haha whoops.

Next rifle will be a 7mm Rem mag which from all my research I've gathered:
Will shoot past 1000m
Will hurt, a lot

I'm a keen fisherman too, even though I rarely catch anything other than a carp lol. I've only got 2 rods but they're Pflueger baitcasters and they hurt the wallet a little.

How much did the TM set you back? They're great bikes I've heard
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[Top_Ghia]

I've also had nitro buggies and still have a nitro helicopter in the shed. The chopper is the hardest thing I've ever tried to do.
Too many toys.

[BradZ]

On a lighter note, heres an old photo before I put a new stock on my 250.
Red rifle is my $400 special, .22wmr and the far right is an old Remington. 22 I paid $100 for.

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[BradZ]

Big, heavy, loud long range rig and my small,cheap,light bunny rifle

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[drz250]

Mate must be a lot of fun hunting with those rifles. I'm a tad jealous.

atm I'm camping out somewhere near a river and weather has just turned foul :/

[BradZ]

Originally Posted by drz250

Mate must be a lot of fun hunting with those rifles. I'm a tad jealous.

atm I'm camping out somewhere near a river and weather has just turned foul :/

It certainly is! The .22wmr is the fun gun, and never gets shot over 80-100m.I shoot targets, cans, bottles, rabbits etc with it. The big rifle is what I use when I need things dead from 200m+, I spend a lot of time making bullets for it to assure 100% accuracy.

4 shots at 250m


Its fun shooting my Tikka, not so much carrying it :/

Thats no good about the weather mate, nothing worse than when it happens out camping! Sounds like weather in the high country, unpredictable and has a go at all seasons in a day lol.

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[Giant Cranium]

ah fair enough, i want a lever action after watching 'hell on wheels'

i always figure if you need a semi auto or auto to hit a target you can't shoot

[BradZ]

Originally Posted by Giant Cranium

ah fair enough, i want a lever action after watching 'hell on wheels'

i always figure if you need a semi auto or auto to hit a target you can't shoot

I've used a lever action 30-30 and a semi auto .22 short. A big bore lever action with open sights makes an awesome scrub gun. The semi-auto 22 was for sh*ts and giggles only.

Yep me too, if its not instant death from a single shot, it doesn't count. If it runs away or writhes around and needs another round, thats sloppy and careless as far as im concerned. Kill it with one shot or let someone else do it.

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[Sabantien]

My major money sink hobby has been photography.

Took my Dad's old SLR away with me to uni and had a flatmate who was into it. We joined the local camera club, and I slowly got better.

Few years back I went back to uni and was working and studying full time, had no time to take photos and I haven't gotten back into it at the same level. Won a few awards at club and state level, and used to do weddings and events a lot.

Now I want to go take photos of the stars, but my gear isn't really up to it, so I don't do much at all.

Spending more money on music these days. Have a decent acoustic guitar, now also have a cheap electric, two ukuleles, a mandolin, harmonica and melodica. I really need to pick one and stick to it!

[sprintman1]

Shovel horse manure

[Top_Ghia]

I want to shoot deer rabbits and foxes. And target shooting on a range.

[Top_Ghia]

Originally Posted by Top_Ghia

I want to shoot deer rabbits and foxes. And target shooting on a range.

To clarify I want to stalk deer. No dogs will be used. So weight would be a concern as I will be carrying it long distances over rugged terrain.