On page 37 of the Feb/March 2004 issue of Sport's Afield is a brief article about shot placement on African game. Tom Tabor says this, "For broadside shots, most North American hunters are used to placing their bullets just behind the break of the front leg and from about one-third to halfway up from the botton of the chest. When a bullet impacts in this area it is almost guaranteed to produce a clean and humane kill. But because of the differences in where the bones and vital organs lie, the best comparable shot on most African antelopes is not behind the shoulder, but farther forward. The shot should impact at approximately the same height, one third to halfway up from the bottom of the brisket, but directly over the top center of the front leg." Is that true? Thanks, Rufous.

Generalizations are just that.

Remove all doubt and buy The Perfect Shot - Africa by Kevin Robertson (?)

http://www.cabelas.com/information/Gifts--Furnishings/The-Perfect-Shot-Books0018805.html

rufous,

Just aim to put your bullet in the chest cavity of ANY animal - generally as close to being between the front legs as possible.

That is all you have to remember. This has worked for me on several hundred animals.

And from any angle, even the Texas heart shot.

Here is an example

Shot placements on African plainsgame (except for giraffe) isn't all that complicated.

I shoot African plainsgame animals the same way I do deer, elk, and moose over here: Through the shoulder/lung/heart region - whichever provides the best target of opportunity for the given situation. As a rule of thumb, I line up the verticle crosshair with the back rear edge of the front foreleg (on broadside shots), the horizontal crosshair about one-third of the way up (inside 200 yds. on the level) and press the trigger. I found that given such shot placement, the vast majority of African animals either go down on the spot, or else run up to fifty yards and fall over. It's simple.........

AD

odie,May be we can sample some opinions here on the subject?
I read it someplace hear that reading K Robertson's book is mandatory while on flight to SA - meaning you see alot of it.
Same commentator than offered the opninion that if one looks at all nice sketches of the kill zone,particularily side shots, they look remarkably similar: shoot 1/3 up the front leg.
Granted there are some minor anatomic differences between species as to how low or how much in front the heart lies,but the above nevertheless describes" the shot to take"

Meaning,reading/studying above book ,would seem superfluous.

I am not claiming to be correct,just trying to bring this topic down to what is practical and doable while in the field.

thanks for all opinions

sheephunter

In a word, YES. The vitals tend to be further forward on African game than NA game. The exception being the cats where you want to shoot behind the shoulder. I had to concentrate on lining up my vertical crosshair on the front leg (on a straight broadside shot). A typical "behind the shoulder shot" will result on a looong follow up. My observation is that African antelopes are much tougher than NA game so the first shot MUST be in the boiler room.

"The Perfect Shot" mentioned above is a bit expensive but a great reference for anyone planning a hunt in Africa. A "must read" really. There is much more information in there than just where to place your shot. I can't recommend it enough.

There is also a small pocket guide available from "African Hunting Magazine" that shows cut aways of African game showing the heart/lungs above (not behind) the front leg.

The truth of the matter is it depends on which species you are shooting...The cats have vital organs further back than some other animals but the difference is very little and a shot behind the shoulder on any animal is effective and a shot that breaks the shoulder is always effective...I would not make too much of this.....Sable and Wildebeest are about the same as elk and deer, Impala, Gemsbok, eland and Zebra are a little forward but not enough to change the end result by much...Giraffe are a bit tricky so shoot to break them down...

If one is concerned then just break the shoulder and let it go at that, that will always work....

Perfect Shot is a great book, but bear in mind that any illustration is only 2 dimensional. The most important thing to remember is that your target is 3 dimensional. A good rule of thumb guide is to aim at the opposite shoulder of whatever animal you're shooting at. That way, no matter what angle the animal is standing at, your bullet will penetrate the heart. This obviously excepts an animal standing directly away from you when you just take the texas heart shot as Saeed quite rightly says.



Giraffe have a different physiology and with them (to keep it simple) you need to bear in mind that everything behind the shoulder is gut.



With Zebra it's very easy to use that convenient little triangle behind the forleg, but this only works if the animal is standing at right angles to you, if the angle of shot is different to that then you need to revert to the opposite shoulder.

Thru my experience I have aimed at the shoulder approx 1/3 of the way up...holding vertical crosshair on the front leg and firing away and I took out all animals with one shot...When animals gave me the angle shot I aimed for the far shoulder in trying to break him down...I like to imagine a box with the heart in the middle of whichever angle I try to have the bullet pass thru its center...My zebra was quartering slightly away and I put the bullet thru it heart and broke the off shoulder..He still had enough juice to run a 150yd circle and fall dead...My answer like Ray said put the bullet in the boiler and all is academic...

Mike

I've always tried to shoot 1/3 up from the front leg, but also always try to take into consideration how the animal is built in 3D since things vary depending on the angle. Only a few animals have actually been "90 degrees" straight from the side. Which is basically the same as when I'm Moose hunting here in Norway. No game I've shot while on a hunting trip in Africa, from Eland to Damara Dik Dik has gone farther than about 20 paces.

I also have the book "The Perfect Shot" and have found it quite interesting and educational.



Erik D.



www.dunia.no

Can't add anything to the above except to say make sure you have a clear bullet path thru the bush. Those pesky little twigs can sure mess up all your good shot placement attempts.

Tom Tabor is full of shit. He has been reading too much Africana and shot placement guides.

African antelope are no different than American antlope.

):
Tell it like it is Will.
Dulcolax will clear the mind.

sheephunter

" Up the front leg, lower, front third of the body ", on most of the African plains game.

Be carefull with Blue Wildebeest and Gemsbuck, they need a well placed shot, even lower than the others.

Do not compare them with any other game in the world, because any shot , behind the shoulder, and they will give you a grand tour of the area you are hunting in.

I have seen many hunts, almost ruined, with shots behind the shoulder, on these two species.

Waidmannsheil !!

Some one said buy the book :The perfect shot" I can only second that. I am planning my own trip, and one of the best preparations I have made so far is buying that book.