Hunting Essentials: 4 Rifle Accessories You Should Have

Dawn creeps over the red gums, and a faint mist drifts above the billabong while galahs chatter in the trees. Sitting in that stillness with a rifle across the knees steadies the pulse more than any meditation app.

Days like this remind many hunters why they crawl from warm beds before sunrise. The slow rhythm—watch, breathe, squeeze—clears a week of desk noise in a single moment.

What Are Rifle Accessories?

These add-ons bolt, clip, or slide onto a rifle or ride in the pack to solve everyday problems such as steadiness, sight picture, and safe carriage. The right mix turns cold steel into an extension of the shoulder.

Rifle Primer

For reloaders, a responsive and safe rifle primer sits at the heart of every accurate round. Tucked into a tiny metal cup, the impact-sensitive compound flashes hotter than a spark plug, driving flame through the flash-hole and into the powder.

Choose the size first: small rifle primers fit .223 Rem-based cases, large rifle primers fit .308 Win and heavier, and magnum versions burn longer to light dense powders in over-bore cartridges. Bench-rest primers use cleaner mixes and tighter tolerances, catering to paper-punchers chasing ragged-hole groups.

Case prep matters as much as part number. Uniform each primer pocket so depth matches across the batch, brush out residue, and deburr flash-holes to let fire travel evenly. Seat primers just below flush—too high risks a slam-fire; too deep cushions the strike and mutes ignition. When reloading rifle primers, slow is smooth: one at a time, feel for that gentle “click” as the anvil locates the pocket floor.

Storage often gets overlooked, but it can wreck consistency faster than a loose muzzle crown. Keep tins in a sealed ammo can with a silica pack, away from oil, solvent, and direct sun.

A 3-D printed tray or a piece of foam keeps live primers from tipping over on the bench; spilled pellets act like confetti at best and an unwanted flash-bang at worst. Fresh safety glasses live on the shelf above the press; primers rarely fail, yet when they do, shards can ruin more than a weekend. Finally, record lot numbers in a notebook. If a load sings, you’ll know which batch lit the tune next season.

Optic Scope

Glass is the first upgrade most shooters pursue. A mid-range 3-12× variable with a duplex or simple BDC reticle stretches a .243 out to feral goat country and dials back for pigs in thick lantana. Turrets that track reliably beat flashy graphics every time, so test by running four clicks right, four clicks up, then reversing the pattern to see if impacts return to zero.

Multicoated lenses shrug off glare during late-afternoon stalks along dry creek beds, while a fast-focus eyepiece sharpens the reticle for ageing eyes in seconds. Match tube diameter to ring supply—30 mm offers more internal adjustment than one-inch, handy on steep shots where holdover grows.

Thread on a throw lever for quick power changes with gloved hands, and keep a microfibre cloth in a pocket; outback dust loves glass. After sight-in, torque ring screws to spec and dab witness lines with a paint pen to spot movement before it spoils the next trip.

Bipod

A bipod plants the fore-end so the only wobble left is the shooter’s heartbeat. Models with spring-loaded legs fold forward, reducing snag risk when stalking through spinifex, yet deploy in a blink when a billy goat steps clear. Choose leg lengths that fit terrain: 6–9 inches for prone on flats, 9–13 inches for undulating scrub.

Cant adjustment matters—level crosshairs trump long legs on uneven ground. Carbon-fibre wands shave grams without giving up strength, easing the miles back to camp. Swap the factory feet for rubber-tipped spikes that bite sandstone and cling to slick gum roots. After each outing, rinse red dirt from the pivot, then apply a toothpick of grease; gritty joints squeak at the worst moment. Pack a spare screw or QD stud—losing hardware eight kilometres from the ute turns a bipod into dead weight.

Rifle Sling

A good sling does more than haul a rifle; it stabilises shots the way a boxer braces a jab. A two-point quick-adjust design lets the strap cinch tight around the support arm, turning the shooter’s skeleton into a tripod when kneeling on a ridge. Wide neoprene spreads the load across the shoulder during long climbs above the treeline, yet won’t slip off a rain-slick oilskin.

Metal sliders endure dust better than plastic buckles, and silent keepers stop webbing tails from flapping like flags. Fit the rear swivel far back on the stock to lengthen the loop for hasty positions; short loops pinch and pulse. Practice transitions—carry, loop, mount—until muscle memory takes over, so the rifle rises naturally when a red stag slips from cover. Once home, soap-wash salt sweat from the webbing and rub a drop of lanolin into leather tabs to keep them supple for next season.