quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
On my first buff hunt, I had a friend who owned 300 acres with a 200 yd range on it. I would walk about five miles carrying my rifle, binos ,and other gear I intended to hunt with hand then make a few standing shots from about a hundred yards at propane tanks with big black dots on them.

That was after I put about 600 rounds or so through the rifle at the county range at fifty yards offhand standing. Felt perfectly comfortable with the rifle.

Shot at the county range the second trip because the land was no longer available. About 600 rounds offhand standing. that time, also.

Kept me busy at the loading bench, but it paid off handsomely.

A concussion suffered in Africa two days before the second hunt hurt my initial shooting very badly, but by the time the hunt was over, I was back up to snuff.

Shoot enough so that handling and shooting your rifle requires no concious thought. Training is everything, and knowledge of your caliber's ballistics is also mandatory.

I hope to hell the propane tanks were empty...or did ya miss them......

"Beware of the man with one gun" remains a fairly good point at which to start. Settle on the caliber you will use (after proper consultation with people who have "been there" and have it as your main rifle. A duiker shot with a 375 won't feel it any different from the kudu hit with it and the impala you shoot for camp meat goes down very nicely from a 375) Forget 22s much as I love that cartridge.(They give no training in making a second shot after recovery from recoil -and regaining a sight picture when using a scope is vital to a good second shot -so learn what it's like when a "big gun" goes off so that it's routine and recovery is automatic and almost done unconsciously. Practice off hand always. (Sitting at a bench is for sighting in) Practice at 50 yards until you can put all shots in a 6" space on the target and then go to longer distances. Don't get too "technical" about what kinds of bullet or powder to use. (Talk, of course, to those people who have "been there" and follow their advice - but don't think that a plains game or a Cape buffalo (the one DG I'm familiar with)necessarily knows the difference in what you use. It's still that old mantra we all learned at age 8 or so (I started late) -"bullet placement,bullet placement,bullet placement". I do agree with my PH's observation that he found African animals to really be tough to put down -but the fundamentals of rifle shooting win out in Africa as they do in North America. Oh, yeah, one last word - My PH congratulated me on "setting up" so fast -because he told me that far too many clients were just too darn slow in shooting at plains game. (I told him that shooting at white tails in Northeast woods was excellent training in getting off a shot) Anyway, learn to love your rifle.Fact.