The most recent Tracks show has a 512 yard plains game shot with a Heym scoped double barrel rifle.

Didnt believe it even for one second.

Saw that last night - impressive. I think I heard him say it was with 300 WM barrels?

There are a couple of ways to sight in a double with a scope.

The traditional method would be to center the POA between the center of the right barrel's group and the center of the left barrel's group. This method uses the rifle's regulation in the same manner as the iron sights.

Another method, and easier to achieve, is to sight the scope's POA to the right barrel only and treat the rifle as a single shot for purposes of shooting with the scope. Then detach the scope and us the irons in the traditional manner.

If using the single shot method, I don't see why a long range shot as described here would be any more difficult with a double rifle.

500 plus yard shot, hummmm. Now how is that hunting, once again? Anyone?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by williford:
The most recent Tracks show has a 512 yard plains game shot with a Heym scoped double barrel rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
500 plus yard shot, hummmm. Now how is that hunting, once again? Anyone?

Larry: I think they needed bait.

Yep,
Collecting leopard bait, times a-wastin', gotta hang some topi quarters ASAP.
Well done!

That was a Heym SXS double with "Three-Hundred and Four-Fifty" barrel sets owned by Mr. Don Harter of MI, USA, IIRC, from listening to Ivan Carter.

So would they both have to be belted cartridges?
Cartridge specific ejectors/extractors go with the barrel sets.
Could have one belted set and a second flanged set of barrels?

PH's and narrators on these shows should be more helpful for gunnuts wanting cartridge specifics.
Otherwise a great show!

Leopard dropped dead from one shot with the scoped 300 Heym double also ... close range.

I guess calling an animal "bait" means all bets are off as to the distinct possiblities that shooting animals at that distance has a very good chance of being wounded and lost. Oh well it was just a "bait" animal so that's OK. Must have been very desperate indeed.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by tygersman:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
500 plus yard shot, hummmm. Now how is that hunting, once again? Anyone?

Larry: I think they needed bait.

Joking aside, serious now.
Maybe Larry Seller just knows his own limits but should not speak ill of the well prepared.

Ivan Carter explained that the rifle of Mr. Harter was well zeroed by adjustments on the zero check before heading out that morning of the 512-yard topi kill.

Ivan had a laser range finder and a notebook with a sketch showing the 300, 400, and 500-yard hold points below center on the reticle.
Flat shooting rifle.
This notebook page was displayed on camera, close-up, with Ivan's pointing finger.
Ivan placed an excellent rest on the termite mound for the prone shot by Mr. Harter.
Ivan took off his hat and placed it under the elbow of Mr. Harter, prone on the hard surface of a low level termite mound.
Quite the team.
No wind.
The topi dropped dead at the shot and did not move.
Mr. Harter seems to have been within his limits.

Still no knowledge of which cartridges that Heym SXS-SXS-double-double was chambered for?
Three-Hundred-What?
Four-Fifty-What?

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
Joking aside, serious now.
Maybe Larry Seller just knows his own limits but should not speak ill of the well prepared.

Ivan Carter explained that the rifle of Mr. Harter was well zeroed by adjustments on the zero check before heading out that morning of the 512-yard topi kill.

Ivan had a laser range finder and a notebook with a sketch showing the 300, 400, and 500-yard hold points below center on the reticle.
Flat shooting rifle.
This notebook page was displayed on camera, close-up, with Ivan's pointing finger.
Ivan placed an excellent rest on the termite mound for the prone shot by Mr. Harter.
Ivan took off his hat and placed it under the elbow of Mr. Harter, prone on the hard surface of a low level termite mound.
Quite the team.
No wind.
The topi dropped dead at the shot and did not move.
Mr. Harter seems to have been within his limits.

Still no knowledge of which cartridges that Heym SXS-SXS-double-double was chambered for?
Three-Hundred-What?
Four-Fifty-What?

I think the issue here is most doubles are not very accurate. I saw Wendell heart shoot a buffalo with my bolt gun at 350 plus yards (I even had him hold into the wind some). The next buff he shot at 100 yards with his double brained him - but he wasn't aiming at the head. Wendell is as fine a shot as there is, but I guess his double isn't a varmint gun.

I once shot a prairie dog at 573 yards with one shot from the sitting position holding 20 inches (one mil) into the wind. Some guys would say, "See, he did it!" Doesn't mean I wasn't lucky.

But in this case, if the gun is accurate enough to hit that size target at that range, it is certainly doable. I am guessing if Ivan didn't think he could make the shot, he wouldn't have let him take it.

Personally, I shoot at gong targets at 500 yards every Friday morning at the local range near my house. With an accurate gun, I don't miss the 12 inch gong.

It was on Hornadys Africa, not TAA.

I was in a dove lodge with Ivan and Don in January. On more than one occasion I heard them reminiscing about the long shots by Mr. Harter with the Heym DR. Ivan told me on more than one occasion that Harter was an extraordinary long range shooter.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
I guess calling an animal "bait" means all bets are off as to the distinct possiblities that shooting animals at that distance has a very good chance of being wounded and lost. Oh well it was just a "bait" animal so that's OK. Must have been very desperate indeed.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by tygersman:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
500 plus yard shot, hummmm. Now how is that hunting, once again? Anyone?

Larry: I think they needed bait.

Ok, so first it was too far away to be "hunting".

Now it is too far away to be humane?

Dude, watch the show again. Bang, Flop, Bait. Beautiful. Congrats to Ivan and his client - obviously both were well prepared.

Believe the shot?

With a Heym , yes I do. I cannot speak for other doubles but a Heym, I can.

Don Harter's ablity? Were he not fully capable of that moment Ivan would not have set up the shot.

Ivan is an accomplished precision shooter to greater distance than the DG shots we see in TAA. Ivan is fully accomplished in calling distance,elevation ,wind and calculating temperature ,angle and elevation corrections.

TAA will not cobble up footage or fabricate any part of a hunt whether it be distance or a poor shot to make it appear to be anything other than what really happend. There are many examples of poorly placed shots in past episodes of TAA and the Safari Classics DVDs that are included. To insinuate this shot was anything other than what really happened is a direct insult to the integrity to the hunter, team and producers. To judge TAA production in the catagory as many of the other shows is a mistake.

As to the shot .
For some, the distance may be too far, being limited by caliber,projectile,ablity and choice not to shoot. For others it may be within the capabilities and justified confidence of hunter and the PH.

Elton Rambin
SAAM Precision
SAAM Pistol
SAAM Safari
www.FTWOutfitters.com

Don is a fantastic shot, practices all year, and Ivan knows his abilities from several hunts together. There was zero fancy editing, just our regular"tell it as it happened" video.If the gun was a bolt, would some have been more OK with the shots in question ? I WISH I could shoot my double as well as Larry !

quote:

Originally posted by bwana cecil:
It was on Hornadys Africa, not TAA.

THANK YOU!! i thought i was going crazy, not seeing this shot!

Maybe I've missed it. What was the caliber of the double rifle?

Heym double with a set of barrels in "Three-Hundred" and another set of barrels in "Four-Fifty" chamberings.
This suggests .308 caliber and .458 caliber.
Could have been a 300 Win.Mag or 300 H&H or what was the cartridge?

Maybe Ivan Carter will get wind of this and post if he recalls.

As to a double rifle being capable of doing it reliably from one barrel or the other when properly zeroed to scope:
Not an issue.
The only rare thing would be to have a double rifle that shot both barrels parallel to infinity.
Most will converge at some intermediate range then diverge at longer range.

A double that shoots both barrels parallel to infinity also requires infinitesimally uniform ammunition.

I would not even dream of attempting to shoot at long distance with a double.

I have seen a number of doubles being "regulated" at 100 yards. And it is such a bloody pain in the posterior.

That is why I stick with a bolt action rifle. I can take any shot I feel like taking, knowing full well that the only limitation is my own ability at hitting the target.

Why was it again they could not stalk closer?

Open terrain & the game was aware of them.

That part of Tanzania is bloody miles and miles of miles and miles, punctuated by swamps called "Hades,"
then bloody miles and miles of topi that will run if they see you inside of 400 yards.

Come on Saeed, if you had a scoped double rifle and stuck to one barrel zeroed to the scope, even you could do it.
And it would not have to be a Heym DR to make a a good single shot rifle out of it.

I too would trust no double rifle to put both barrels into a vital area at 500 yards.