Nice shots, TJ! (Great show too, BTW.)
Question: was it much of a P.I.T.A. to get your rifles into and out of Australia? I'm seriously considering a water buffalo hunt there, but was considering hiring a rifle rather than buying a .375 here and hauling it over there.
Firstly, my apologies to the O.P for my digression.
Bill, firearms (bolt-action rifles) are entirely importable in to Aus for your hunt with a few provisions.
Don't book at the last minute and expect the Authorities to want to process the paperwork in a hurry.
They are paid by the hour and for most of them the less they do per hour the more they have in front of them to make themselves look busy.
Give your chosen outfitter at least (minimum) four to six months to get the paperwork processed.
DO NOT STOP OVER IN SYDNEY.
Choose a flight schedule that takes you to Brisbane on entry to Australia, or fly non-stop to Darwin in the N.T.
Here in Australia an outfitter needs what's called a Corporate license in order to operate as a licensed outfitter.
Corporate licenses are issued and recognized specifically for the State where the operator is active (in this case being the N.T, for buffalo outfitters) NOT the State where you may fly in to when you land in Aus.
If you are merely connecting a direct flight then no problems but if you have to overnight in a State such as N.S.W, where Sydney is located, then the local State Police can declare you have no license for that State (and you will not have because the outfitter will have a license for you to hunt in the N.T).
I know it sounds complicated, and to a certain extent it is, don't let this deter your hunting goals.
IT IS TOTALLY LEGAL, DOABLE AND ACCEPTABLE FOR A PERSON OF CHARCTER (you will have to provide evidence from your country of origin that you are a person authorized (not a criminal or deranged lunatic) to be in possession of a firearm such as your local hunting license or a Stat Dec from your local Police.
I may be making this sound complicated as I have just come home from a long day's work and have had a couple of Bourbons.
If you wish me to detail the process please feel free to contact me directly on
ssahuntinfo@optusnet.com.au
I used to be a buffalo outfitter and have processed firearms permits from N.Z, Europe, U.S.A, Canada and Russia.
DONT let the bastards red-tape stop you from hunting !
