For many of us, our introduction to shooting would’ve been at the range and, for our cover story this month, a few of our regular contributors have visited their local SSAA ranges and discovered there’s plenty going on. Paul Miller, Sam Garro and our own Matt Godson have been out and about in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, to give us a glimpse behind the scenes at some of our most popular venues. In review this month are two outstanding rifles, though as Daniel O’Dea reports on the all-Australian ASG-9 (Aussie Scrub Gun), in the wake of the Bondi tragedy this fine firearm is already facing an uncertain future. Over in Queensland meanwhile, Chris Redlich has been culling destructive feral pigs with the new Ruger American ‘Go Wild’ which, at around $1000, is well worth considering for similar deployment. With duck hunting season upon us, John McDougall has been assessing your options for both shotguns and ammunition, bearing in mind non-toxic shot is now mandatory for everyone. Kath Heiman has penned a thought-provoking piece on the Victoria machete ban which has many of us scratching our heads and, on a sadder note, we said farewell in January to Ian Thompson, one of our most revered columnists. Friend and colleague Geoff Smith has written his tribute to the man whose Basic Ballistics column ranks among the most popular in the history of this magazine.