Author Topic: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform  (Read 2153 times)

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Offline BrnoB78

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One common spot light hunting technique here in Australia is to have one person spotting and the other shooting from the back of a utility or pick-up truck. My 4wd station wagon is naturally not suitable for this arrangement – resulting in the driver also doing the spotting while the shooter stands on the rear bumper bar, rifle in one hand and grasping a roof rack with the other whilst being driven around in search of prey (eg. foxes, pigs, feral cats, rabbits and kangaroos). In short, a rather awkward and potentially dangerous practice.

Just curious, any body out there ever considered the notion of having a detachable revolving chair mounted on a platform attached to a set of sturdy roof racks ?  I’ve successfully rigged up such a contraption, the only major concern being the innate thought of the vehicle rolling over when traversing a slope - similar to the feeling experienced by a person up a yachts mast when it’s wallowing in a heavy sea. Trust the driver to avoid crossing excessively steep slopes and the fruits of such a shooting platform are by far superior to that of being flung around in or on the rear of vehicle.

 Features include : provision for left and right handed shooters via an extendable camera mono-pod (quickly secured / ‘holstered’ in plastic plumbing pipes mounted vertically at the front corners of a box like home made wooden chair) that has a modified swivelling head which not only has a padded rifle rest but also the low mounting of a large spot light - enabling the shooter to spot and shoot simultaneously in any direction;
side mounted secure rack for a second rifle, and an ammo storage container;
two boxed power supply sockets, wired directly to the vehicle’s battery by a detachable cable;
hinged folding padded table for support, with simple sliding bar locked to internal side of chair –  securely prevents shooter’s forward motion;
top of side arms are also padded for comfort and support;
swivel based stand (sourced from a marine shop) is bolted to a 1.3m x 1.2m x 17 mm sheet of ply wood, which in turn is bolted to four strong roof racks.

 For solo spot lighting I have also made up a protruding wooden attachment which is simply secured off the centre of a bull bar – enables a wide shooting arc from door mirror to mirror – includes the same plumbing pipe and mono-pod rifle rest /spotlight as mentioned with the swivel chair. Initial spotting whilst driving is by a lever operated light mounted to a roof rack above the driver’s window.

I’ve also knocked up an extremely sturdy/heavy/stable wooden ‘T shaped’ rifle bench rest, complete with a modified scissor car jack for adjustable support / elevation. Similarly, a rather compact fully portable lockable box like reloading bench.
 
A picture tells a thousand words – I can arrange photos if any one is really interested in any of the above – feel free to copy or modify them as I firmly believe that such forums are a fantastic way of sharing not only knowledge and ideas  but also different ways of how we can use simple, relatively inexpensive, improvised ‘contraptions’ to make shooting related activities more practical and enjoyable.

Offline Dusty Miller

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2007, 11:44:31 AM »
Your are kidding, of course? ???
When seconds mean life or death, the police are only minutes away!

Offline Graybeard

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2007, 04:26:17 PM »
No probably not he is from Austrailian where such is a common practice. Not legal much of anywhere else I'm aware of except Texas.


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Offline Dusty Miller

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2007, 06:55:29 PM »
 And certainly not at all sporting ANYWHERE!!  (imho):D
When seconds mean life or death, the police are only minutes away!

Offline BrnoB78

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2007, 02:11:09 AM »
Dusty Miller @ Graybeard, no I'm definitely not kidding - many of the animals mentioned are somewhat nocturnal so spotlight shooting is the way to go.                  Rabbits, foxes, hares, pigs and feral cats are all introduced pests - they noticeably harm the local ecosytems and are very competitive for the food consumed by the native animals.  It's pretty simple, dazzle them in the eyes with a powerful spotlight and bang, lights out !   

Offline Graybeard

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2007, 03:13:55 AM »
And certainly not at all sporting ANYWHERE!!  (imho):D

Not what those of us in the US are used to and not what is considered sporting by most of us because it's not what we are used to. But it is perfectly legal and accepted practice to kill varmints/pests that way in Australia and we have no right to decide what is or is not proper for them. It's less hunting and more pest control really. Do you worry about how sporting it is when you swat a mosquito or fly? When killing mice in your home? In many ways what he speaks of is similar, the fact a gun is used to do the swatting really doesn't alter the end purpose of it.


Bill aka the Graybeard
President, Graybeard Outdoor Enterprises
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I am not a lawyer and do not give legal advice.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life anyone who believes in Him will have everlasting life!

Offline beemanbeme

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2007, 03:53:15 AM »
You folks down in Oz will have a go at just about anything won't you.  I think I'd rather be the driver than the drivee.  :D
Many states the US permit spot lighting and shooting of varmints, ie coyotes and such.

Offline elmer

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2007, 06:57:28 AM »
Spotlighting for hogs in Texas is not only legal, it's encouraged. Our agriculture department wants us to kill them all, and the wildlife department has termed them the "fire ants of the game world". Land owners can bring in helicopters and shoot them from the air on their property if they want (and can afford it).
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Offline skb2706

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2007, 09:09:24 AM »
Probably have to have some 'lock down can holders" for that bad boy. What else would you do with your Fosters ?

Offline Dusty Miller

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2007, 05:25:55 PM »
I'll concede that pest control sometimes needs "extraordinary measures"!
When seconds mean life or death, the police are only minutes away!

Offline BrnoB78

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2007, 11:11:41 PM »

Elmer, talking about helicopters being used to help wipe out ‘pests’ –  like pigs in Texas. Australia apparently has more wild horses (brumbies) than any other continent in the world. Why ? Crocodiles, wild dogs and dingoes are our largest predators. Considering the size of a horse, such animals account for only a minimal reduction in their population. Drought is their biggest ‘killer’. The large open sparsely human populated areas of central Australia, particularly in the Northern Territory, provide the ideal habitat or home for brumbies to ‘breed like rabbits’. In turn, they compete for and consume more of the valuable water supplies and vegetation needed by the native animals, not to mention that needed to sustain stock on the vast cattle properties.

The rugged terrain largely restricts motor vehicle access to these highly mobile 'pests'.  As in Texas the more practical solution is to bring in the ‘gunships’. Professional shooters are actually employed to cull the horses – our “fire ants of the game world”. Alternatively, the choppers are used to ‘round them up’ into makeshift pens, then they are trucked off to the abattoirs from where they may end up being pet food or served on a plate in restaurants overseas etc. It’s a fact of life. 

Offline Dusty Miller

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #11 on: May 23, 2007, 12:07:51 PM »
We have a bit of the same problem here in the states but the animal rights whackos fight tooth and nail against any effort to keep their populations under control.  The "Adopt a Wild Horse" program seems to be the best answer for us. 
When seconds mean life or death, the police are only minutes away!

Offline corbanzo

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #12 on: June 10, 2007, 04:55:43 AM »
That is why when some legislation gets past the activists we have to take every advantage possible.  New predator control program starts July 1st, get your tags fellas!!
"At least with a gun that big, if you miss and hit the rocks in front of him it'll stone him to death..."

Offline skifastchad

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #13 on: August 23, 2007, 04:33:23 PM »
Sorry to bump an old thread, but I saw this today, and remembered reading this thread. 

Maybe a more sporting gun would be best suited to the hunting applications, but this looks like fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnU7WFyZS3M


Offline rex6666

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Re: Vehicle roof mounted swivel chair spot lighting/ shooting platform
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2007, 05:52:35 AM »
I grew up in southwest OK. spot lighting jack rabbits and coyotes out of the back of a pickup
only place it wasn't legal was in deer areas. the sporting part came into play when the driver got too wild. we finally mounted a pipe on the frt bumper that chair with a pipe on it fit in.
in that area their where miles of open alfalfa hay meadows and jack rabbits by the 1000's.
don't know what is like now but it was sure fun then. i thought every one did it, except maybe the city slickers.
Rex
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