People often ask questions about how to prepare for their first safari. Here are some suggestions from a recent email update sent to clients from Hans "Scruffy" Vermaak, of Coenraad Vermaak Safaris.


SUGGESTIONS FOR THOSE COMING ON SAFARI

Practice your shooting before you come on safari.

Many people have the misconception that shooting in Africa is easy, that it will be from a truck very close to the quarry that the hunters are seeking. This is the case sometimes but seldom, it also depends on where you are hunting, the species, the terrain, the cover and so on. This is a topic that can be discussed and debated for eternity but these are our thoughts and suggestions.

Practice, practice, practice, shoot as much as you can and not just 20 rounds in one day at the last minute or only, from a bench at an indoor range that has no other facilities other than a bench. Practicing before a safari does not mean sighting your rifle once! Poor shooting wounds animals and as hunters the last thing we wish to do is have animals suffer! Wounds happen but the number of wounds can be cut down tremendously if hunters practice, practice, practice and learn to focus, breathe, concentrate and squeeze! A good shootist is someone who consistently makes good shots and who knows his / her weapon.

Before your safari

Pick the calibre suitable for the game you will be hunting and the terrain (ask us we will be glad to assist)! We find the 300 Win Mag to be the ideal plains game calibre from Springbok to Cape Eland. Dangerous game in South Africa may not be hunted with a calibre less than 375 H & H. The 375 has proved its worth for dangerous game but the choice of calibre should be determined firstly by the rifle / calibre you are most comfortable with and the rifle you shoot consistently well with. In the States we always ask hunters which rifle they enjoy shooting the most and if that rifle is in the right calibre range that is the one to bring. If you are heady on a Big 5 hunt, sake some deer & other game with your big caliber before you venture into the field. The more experience you are in the rifle the better! Most PH's will use their heavy calibers on plains game hunts because the more they use the rifle the better equipped they will be when the time comes to use it in a dangerous situation.
If your rifle is sighted in at 100 yards know the ballistics and trajectory with regard to the bullet drop at 200 yards up to 300 yards or more, it is always handy to know! Clients have taught us a few tricks over the years. Stick the trajectory / ballistics stats onto the butt or carry sling of the rifle, that way you will never be guessing, all you have to do is glance at the stats when your PH tells you that the Nyala is standing at 250 yards.
Practice months is advance, once a week if possible. Don't beat your shoulder to a pulp each time, shoot as many rounds as you are comfortable with if you exceed this comfort zone you will develop a flinch which is difficult to erase.
Practice shooting from as many positions as possible:
Prone.
Standing resting on three legged shooting sticks.
Crouching or off your knees on a rest or shooting sticks.
It never hurts to do a little free hand practicing - short range distances from 30 to 100 yards max.
Sitting on your butt and resting your elbows on your knees.

Not many people have access to ranches where one can practice in all these positions but I have head that some ranges have versatile facilities.

The options are endless. It takes about 3 seconds to see if someone has practiced at all especially if they do not shoot regularly. Shooting straight off a bench is one thing, shooting straight when it counts is a different story altogether. Practicing in the different shooting positions helps enormously as these positions are real, this is how it is going to be when you are out there!

Wounded game takes time out of your hunting time, it can put pressure on the shooter and the PH especially on a high pressure safari. Wounded and lost game also costs more because we have to add 14% VAT to the trophy fee according to Government regulations. There is nothing worse than wounding and losing a beautiful trophy, whether it's a Warthog or a majestic Kudu! In most instances permits are very limited so if your dream Kudu gets away you may not get a chance at a second one - the fact remains though, the wounded animal is out there and he is not happy!

In our concessions shooting distances vary greatly, from day to day from hunt to hunt. Be prepared to take shots up to 300 yards. We avoid shooting at this distance or more unless the hunter knows his stuff! It is good to have confidence as a shooter and confidence is only gained with practice. With practice your shooting improves and your confidence level rises. A 50 yard shot can easily be missed completely, no shot is an easy shot because each time you get ready to squeeze the trigger you have to concentrate, without concentration your shot will be disappointing!

The basic steps to straight shooting all revolve around concentration. It is also a good idea to know the anatomy of the game you are hunting. The shot placement book "The Perfect Shot" is ideal reading for anyone heading on a safari. The Perfect Shot pocket book is also handy because you can carry it on you all the time.

No hunter must ever take a shot that he or she is not comfortable with regardless of whether the trophy is a world record or not and despite what the PH says. Knowing what you are capable of is solely up to you!. A range finder is always handy, most but not all of our PH's own one, bring a range finder with you.

If hunters are hunting dangerous game with open sight doubles or bolt actions it is critical to practice way in advance and regularly. Most people are not used to shooting open sights and on dangerous game this can have disastrous consequences. Having said all of this, hunting is hunting, wounded animals come with the turf but there is a great deal that we as hunters can do before a safari to reduce the chances of wounding game!

Till next time

Hans (Scruff) Vermaak

Mark & friends,

The best way I have found to do this is to go to Gunsite Academy and take their rifle course.

http://www.gunsite.com

Great training under great instructors will make you a hunter who can deliver a killing shot quickly.

jim

What I learned from my recent trip was :

See where your round hits at 25-yards too.

Practice with stix the way your PH will want. Mine told me to "hold stix and gun together" up front, push the butt in with my shoulder, hold lower (heart shot area) than higher, keep my head down, squeeze and "make the animal fall down with your scope (follow-through, like golf and skeet-shooting)".
The 25-yard 'zero' (scope check) threw me, especially because he had me hold the barrel down on the sawdust-filled "sandbag" off their bench, above the fore-end. And, we had to move scopes on two rifles to be 'bang on' at 25-yds. This is quite different from load-development / bench shooting phases.

I practiced alot, but when trip time came I had more to learn. I practiced only with long stix -- short stix from sitting down made me shoot high and wound a bushbuck (never recovered). Who knew?

BNagel

Together with getting in good physical shape, this is really good advise, frequently given to others on this forum. In addition, after you have fired your 10-20 rounds with the big bore, get out your rim fire and practice off hand out to 100 yds. You'll be surprised how fast your overall shooting improves! Kudude

I take my DGR's with me on varmint hunting trips. I do most of my shooting with the little guys, but always try to blast a few with big guns from sticks. Works well for me.

So, Bnagel, what is the reason for the 25 yard zero? Are you saying that the PH made you change the zero of your scope to 25 yards? In my case, when I zero my scope at 200 yards, I always test it at 50 and 100 yards, and calculate where it would be at 300.
Peter.

Jim,

Can you tell us about the Gunsite class?

Does it focus on offhand shooting, snap shooting, long range prone shooting, rapid fire, etc.?

Gunsite rifle courses: http://www.gunsite.com/rifle.htm

Mark,

Thanks for sharing, that's an excellent bit of advice indeed. Practice, practice and more practice is the key to making quick kills. Know your rifle intimately and it'll be a wand of death on game.

Hello Mark. Looks like your post generated a question I can answer:
Gunsite's Rifle 270 is a fantastic class for any hunter. IMHO, the Hunter Prep should only follow the Rifle 270. Why?
You'll shoot at ranges from 7 to 400 yards, moving and stationary targets. You'll walk a Vlei simulated hunting scenario with 3-D animal targets from 25 to 200+ yards, and you'll never be told the yardage. You'll run a speed course where you'll have to reload numerous times while running or crawling, and you shoot from prone, kneeling (or rice paddy prone), standing and rested. You'll be encouraged to shoot your scope and ironsights. You will practice unslinging and firing on command both muzzle down weakside carry (African) and muzzle up strongside carry (American), and practice and practice, and practice. You will learn close quarters rifle handling. You'll be shooting among a dozen or more shooters, lots of noise, shooting on command, significantly more "stress" than you'll ever get at the local range by yourself.
You should fire around 600 rounds in the five days.

By firing this many rounds under some form of pressure, you'll experience "overstuffed magazine" jams, stove pipe jams, a short stroke or two, nearly anything that can go wrong with your rifle, and you'll learn to clear it WITHOUT THINKING! You'll learn to load and "top off" your magazine by feel, while your eyes focus on the target. You'll start to "check feel" the rounds in your magazine to make sure it's topped off, and again without looking. You'll find out what the practical accuracy of your rifle and YOU really is. All the while you'll be surrounded by gun nuts and if anything goes wrong with your rifle, there is a smithy on site.

Who cares about close quarters drills? Let me ask this. When you're following a wounded animal in tight cover, wouldn't you rather be accompanied by someone who knows how NOT to point their rifle at you every other step??? During the drills, at least a dozen of you will be in a line, moving forward, backward, left and right, turning around, and shooting on command. All without "covering" each other. Damn good practice that simply isn't possible outside such a facility.

By the way, my wife went too. Prior to arriving she had fired under 20 rounds from a rifle. She nearly won the "fun shoot-off", and at the 400 yard line she never missed... only three of 21 accomplished this feat, and this included wind doping.

I can't say enough about Gunsight Academy. All the instructors were excellent, but one you need to watch out for is "Il Ling New". She runs the hunting scenarios, is a PH and Guide in her own right, and fast... just don't challenge her to ANYTHING if she's carrying her Scout Rifle.

Safe Hunting

Clint

500 Grains, if you have any other questions, email me clemon@logoman.com, and I'll answer them.