What are average sizes for the kill zone (heart/lung area) on plains game such as Zebra, Kudu, Eland, Wildebeest, Gemsbok, & Impala? I am practicing for a hunt in September. Thanks

Bwoodie,

Congrats on your safari. Be forewarned, africa hunts are like potato chips - can't just eat one!

Kevin Robertson wrote a book called the Perfect Shot. Probably the best source of information for shot placement out there.

Wishing you a great safari - do not forget to post a report and pics.

Good Luck!

Bwoodie, this was posted on here the other day and I found it very informative and handy to use as a quick reference guide http://www.africahunting.com/h...orum/shot-placement/ it reminds me very much of pictures from The Perfect Shot.

bwoodie,
I suspect that if you could put your shots in the center half of a paper plate at 100 yds off sticks (not off bench) or the center two thirds of a paper plate off hand at 100 yds. you would be better prepared than most of the hunters that set foot on the killing fields.

bwoodie - Since you asked about kill zone "size" and not position or placement, maybe this will help some. On average the kill zone size of Gemsbok, Wildebeest, Kudu and Zebra would be close to the size of our Elk. As far as Eland, we don't really have anything that big with exception of a Brahma Bull. Impala would be somewhere around the size of a Pronghorn antelope. I don't recall the Perfect Shot series talking about size of kill zone and since the poster/targets they have are not life size, it's hard to determine actual size from these. A shot to the center of the kill zone no matter what it's size should produce satisfactory results.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by bwoodie:
What are average sizes for the kill zone (heart/lung area) on plains game such as Zebra, Kudu, Eland, Wildebeest, Gemsbok, & Impala? I am practicing for a hunt in September. Thanks

Howdy,

Get yourself a copy of "The Perfect Shot, Africa" to know where to shoot, then practice for that paper plate shot at 100 yards. To quote our PH, practice, practice, practice!

LLS

1". learn the anatomy. Develope your load. And be prepared to deliver a bullet within 1". Then, if the animal moves, you screw up, etc. You're good. Plan on an inch. Certainly out to 100 yards. Beyond that, I'd say MOA. Before you trash me, I can do it with my .416 any day of the week. ( haven't proven it at 300 yet)

as important is the different areas of the animal and what you are shooting through. If all that is visable for a shot is the neck, what are going to do if you can't hit anything bigger than a lung shot?? also what happens when you have to "thread the needle"? that is to say you will have to shoot through holes in the brush. I know i'm an overstickler on accurate shooting, but if you can't keep your shots within a 2" circle at 100 - get practicing. The animal whose life you are going to take deserves you to be a good enough shot to kill quickly. OK I'm off my soapbox

Angles and placement aside if you can hit a 4" circle consistently off a pair of shooting sticks at 200 yards you are ready for 99% of the shots you will be offered in Africa. Forget moa, they are not a reality in field conditions in Africa

More important than target size is precise definition of the right location.

Ideally, you want to break at least one shoulder and take out the top of the heart and the arteries that cluster there.

So, you should aim at a grapefruit-sized target located midway between the shoulders, one third of the way up from the brisket, and you should line up your shot so that your bullet will pass through that target and exit the off shoulder.

In the meantime, you might find this http://www.shakariconnection.c...-shot-placement.html useful until your copy of the perfect shot arrives and if you haven't ordered it yet, you might find this http://www.shakariconnection.c...ooks3.html#robertson useful.

Hope that helps

Not sure where all this paper plate stuff comes from, other than they are cheap targets. And also do not know the theory or the latest mumbo jumbo on accurate shooting. But whoever came up with "aim small and miss small" pretty much has described what I have always tried to do: aiming at a single point not a general area. And if you happen to hit a paper plate, I guess that's better than missing it.

Robertson has done himself well but it is all the same shot, from mice to impala to buffalo to elephant. Constantly worrying about where to shoot a kudu and that it is somehow different than shooting a lion is just nonsense.

Right behind the shoulder about 40% to 50% up and they all die. Same area on a frontal shot. Just like whitetail deer!!

But the shot placement myths and mysteries go on, but then 53% of the voters made a racist and socialist the president. Go figure.