Hi, my name is Geoff. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and this blog is all about my shooting experience. Over the past few years I’ve done a lot of research into where to shoot, how to shoot and what to shoot with, so I thought I’d put all of that research/personal experience in one place.
About me
I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and moved to NZ before my 16th birthday. Growing up in SA I was familiar with firearms, especially as my father was/is a reloading/shooting enthusiast. While shooting may be very different in NZ, I caught the bug in my early years.
Upon arrival in our new home country our family’s firearms were seized and several handguns and magazines disappeared, never to be seen again. This was largely due to our lack of knowledge of the NZ licensing system. Information wasn’t as easy to come by back then.
Later that year my dad and I went and got our firearms licences, and aside from the casual shoot with the .22s, I didn’t do much shooting for quite a few years.
My wife bought me my first rifle – an SKS. Which at the time, I tricked out to look like a mini-Dragunov sniper. Within a few years I began to appreciate it for what it was, not what I wanted it to be and it lost a lot of the bells and whistles. I still have that rifle and I enjoy the cheap shooting, mild recoil and easy function of the weapon. It’s also my wife’s favourite for those reasons, and it’s a great rifle for beginners to learn on.
After the SKS came a couple .22s, which I worked on extensively, teaching myself a lot about amateur gunsmithing in the process. Everything from recrowning to carving a stock by hand, I did it all. Produced a couple real shooters too.
Since then I’ve tinkered with everything I can get my hands on, whether military surplus or brand new, out of the box. There’s a certain joy to be had in making something the best it can be, and something you’re proud of.
Naturally, reloading is an extension of that. Another way that I can learn about the technical aspects of my rifle, and use them to produce the best shooting experience possible.
While milsurp ammo may be cheap and cheerful for a day at the range - is it really worth the extra effort?
Today
These days I regularly shoot at my local smallbore club, and occasionally shoot centrefire at competitions or just for fun at the range. I love spending time learning about firearms and hand-loading, and sharing my research and personal experience here.
If I’m not behind my computer writing, chances are I’m in the garage working up a new load, recoating a rifle or honing a trigger.
I hope you find something on this blog that is of interest to you. Nothing is to be taken as absolute truth – it’s just my opinion or experience, so do your own due diligence before trying any of this at home. Head on over to the blog section, and leave comments if you have questions.
Thanks for stopping by,
Geoff
