Well the 7th annual Safari Rifle Challenge is in the books! We once again had a capacity crowd of 68 registered shooters, who enjoyed the beauty of Northwest Montana and a full day of Big Bore shooting. This year we had a motorized target system on each of the ranges so that competitors could practice shots on charging, fleeing and crossing targets.

John Harma of Phoenix AZ was the winner of the Diizche Safari Adventures trophy with a score of 186 out of a possible 220. John was shooting a .375 bolt gun.



Our annual trophy and our new perpetual trophy






Charging lion




Montana Rifle Company was on site to let competitors handle and test fire the big bore rifles.


Andy Larsson of Skinner Sights was also there to display his custom sights. Skinner also donated several custom double rifle cases for our lunch time raffle.


Champion Targets provided us a number of targets again this year including 8 of their new AR500 steel plates. We pounded the heck out of them and they will be usable again next year!


There was an amazing variety of rifles from vintage under lever hammer guns to modern VC 500's. Here are just a few of the gun racks that are spread around the range.





Here is Garry James with his vintage hammer gun taking a poke at the long range buffalo.



Motorized charging rhino target.


Rhino up close after taking a few hits!


Rhino coming through the cloud from a classic blackpowder rifle


The cool hat club?


Long range buffalo


George from Montreal Canada pointing out his shot on the "leaping leopard". Great shooting with a .500 double rifle!



Richard Winters shooting a couple of life size zebra.



Here are a few items that were donated for our raffle table. The money we receive from this event helps sponsor youth shooting sports throughout the year. Thank you to all of our sponsors for that support!



The 2017 course of fire.......

1. Checking Zero ---- Four shooters on the line. Starting position will be EMPTY rifle, safety off, shouldered and pointed at the target as if shooting. On the signal you will load and fire two rounds at the 45yd target then load and fire one round at the 100yd plate. Open action, show clear, muzzle up during scoring and return to the gun racks.

2. Two Zebras--- Rifle loaded with one round, safety on. Fire at zebra target. Move to the next spot, load one round and fire at second zebra target. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

3. Charging Rhino --- Rifle loaded with two rounds, safety on. Rhino starts on “standby” command. You shoot on the signal. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done. (Kill zones will be faintly marked for scoring purposes; you must evaluate the angle then shoot at the heart/lung zone just like in real life).

4. Moving Across--- Load 2 rounds, safety on, low ready position. Target will go across L-R then instantly start back R-L. Target will start on “standby”; you may only shoot when target is passing through the opening between the barriers. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

5. Champion Steel Fast Blast ---Low ready position. On the command, load and fire 1rd at the 45yd plate in front of you. Move to the second shooting spot, load and fire 1 round at the 75yd plate, move to the third position load and fire 1 round at the 100yd plate. Timer will start on “shoot” command and stop on third shot, 1 point deduction for every second over 30 that it takes you to complete scenario. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

6. Charging Lion --- Rifle loaded with two rounds, safety on, low ready position. On “shoot” command the lion will start towards you. You must then kneel down on one (or both) knees, disengage safety and fire both rounds. Open action and show clear before getting up.

7. Fleeing Buffalo --- Rifle loaded with one round, safety on. On the command “standby” the buffalo will start going away. On the “shoot” command fire at buffalo target. When you shoot the target will stop and charge back towards you. You must quickly reload and shoot again at the now charging buffalo. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

8. Leaping Leopard--- Starting position will be low ready with 2 rounds in the rifle, safety on. On the command, shoot the Springbok then the leopard. (The leopard will appear after the first shot and stay visible for approximately 5 seconds). Muzzle up, return to gun rack.

9. Charging Water Jugs --- Two shooters, two rounds in rifle, safety on. The cart will start towards you on “standby” and you will then be given the shoot command. You must shoot the jug on your side then race to shoot the middle jug. Open action, show clear, muzzle up when done.

10. Long Range Buffalo--- One shooter, 1rd in rifle with safety on. On command, take one standing offhand shot at the long range buffalo with a steel plate kill zone. If first shot is a miss, shooter has option of taking 2nd shot but will receive 5 points for a hit, -10 for another miss.

If this looks like fun, please email me at safaririflechallenge@yahoo.com to be added to our secure email list. JCS

Well, just switched over from Photobucket to Imagur. Looks like I am going to have to figure out how to add the videos!

quote:

Originally posted by JCS271:
Well, just switched over from Photobucket to Imagur. Looks like I am going to have to figure out how to add the videos!

Jay,any good video footage?

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:

quote:

Originally posted by JCS271:
Well, just switched over from Photobucket to Imagur. Looks like I am going to have to figure out how to add the videos!

Jay,any good video footage?

Yes, but with Photobucket out of commission I am trying to figure out uploading videos on Imagur. Maybe this weekend!

Jay…nice to hear that the event was great this year, well enjoyed by those attending, and was a success for the high school trap/skeet team as well! I am hearing that the electric motorized targets running on both ranges this year that provided charging, fleeing and crossing target options were really a fun aspect. I won’t let the cat out of the bag but as a side bar I am hearing rumblings of some great coverage in a big way next year.

Congratulations to John Harma from Phoenix AZ as the first place shooter!!! Thanks again to all of the sponsors as well.

2017 Safari Rifle Challenge World Championships: Final Report

I have finally got the time to post after spending two weeks in Montana and Idaho on vacation. The shoot was better than ever!
I think it runs smoother every year and the charging and pop-up targets keep you on your toes! As usual, there was a bunch of really good shooters present and it was a pleasure to watch them in action. I spent some time talking to a gentleman about his 450 BP double, and it turned out to be Garry James, editor of Guns and Ammo magazine. He is a very gracious shooter and as down to earth as anyone you would want to have in hunting camp! I got to meet Boarkiller for the first time and he is a most interesting and cordial shooter and he shot very well on all stages of the event. I caught up with Shootaway, it has been over seven years since we had met at one of our Texas "Hoot and Shoots". He is a very low key, friendly guy who is very serious about his shooting. I can also tell you that he shot very well at the event with his .458 Lott, but when he switched over to his Searcy .500 Double, he really stepped up his game! On the charging Lion, he put two in the kill zone that were within 1/4" of each other and he centered the pop up Leopard quite nicely. As I was shooting my 400J double, we were pitted against each other in the charging water jug event where there are three one gallon water jugs on a charger and the winner is the one who shoots two the quickest. I will tell you that I barely edged him out on that one, and I had a big advantage shooting the much lower recoiling 400 with 400 gr. bullets over his 500 with 570 gr. bullets! One thing that was obvious to me in the charging target events, is how fast a double is on a follow-up shot compared to a bolt! You know that it is inherently better for that, but when you see 70 odd competitive shooters at work with bolts and doubles, it really shows how fast the difference can be. Kudo's to the winner of the event with his bolt gun, he is a Shooter! To all who are thinking about attending this shoot, you need to plan for next year. Thanks again to Jay and Diizche Safari's and all the other sponsors for a great time!!! Lee.

Wow,

Looks like an awesome shoot.

Thanks for the report and photos!

Looks like fun. Our local big bore/double rifle shoot only lasted three times over six or seven years. The guy that started it died and I can't do all the work and no one else is interested.

Maybe we'll have to start traveling to other shoots.

Good report Jay, had a great time. I have a few short videos from the shoot, but not enough knowledge to load them here.

Looks like the comp would definitely be slanted toward a .375 bolt gun with low power optics and light loads.

quote:

Originally posted by desert dog:
Looks like the comp would definitely be slanted toward a .375 bolt gun with low power optics and light loads.

No light loads allowed!

2016 Dan Larson won it with a .375 BRNO and Skinner sights on it.
I didn't get to show up this year but was seriously thinking of removing my scope and shooting my 400 Whelen open sights, I competed with it in 2016 and had a 2-7 Leupold on it, the scope was perfect for the job but good irons are right up there in my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by desert dog:
Looks like the comp would definitely be slanted toward a .375 bolt gun with low power optics and light loads.

Looks more like is slanted towards doubles as one can only load two or one round.

I don't see any shooting sticks!

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

Originally posted by desert dog:
Looks like the comp would definitely be slanted toward a .375 bolt gun with low power optics and light loads.

Looks more like is slanted towards doubles as one can only load two or one round.

Well if you guys are arguing about which type of action type it is slanted towards, then I think I may have struck the perfect balance!

quote:

Well if you guys are arguing about which type of action type it is slanted towards, then I think I may have struck the perfect balance

Don't take this wrong putting on a running a competition is hard work and very time consuming.

Kudo's to you and your crew the shoot looks like fun and I would like to come and shoot it some time.

Below are just random thoughts I learn as a professional instructor or as a competitor.

Over the decades as a firearms instructor I have developed a lot of courses of fire.

It is very hard to please every one revolver shooters complain about having to fire more then five or six shot strings against higher capacity firearms.

1911 shooters complain about having to shoot more then 8.

Both complain about guns that hold 15 or more.

Hi cap shooters complain about having to only load less then full capacity.

The same with rifle shooters. Single shot doubles bolt guns and semi autos.

No matter what the rules are if there is money or fame on the line someone is always trying to bend the rules to win.

One needs to decide what the course of fire is trying to accomplish. Then one designs the course of fire to meet that end.

Limiting ammo capacity is done to train/force reloading or try to make lower capacity firearms equal to higher capacity firearms.

If you design a string that would require 20 shots some one would show up with a custom big bore with a 20 round mag.

That is why IDPA has about 8 or so classes of firearms.

In competitions the truth is different types of firearms can not compete with other types on and equal basis unless one handicaps one type or the other.

One shot strings are equal to all two shot strings are favored to firearms that are not single shots.

Three or more shot strings are favored to higher capacity firearms.

The same can be said about power ratings or caliber ratings.

Unless one is measuring every ones ammo what is a light load. A full power load in a 405 win or 400 Whelen or how about the weight of the rifle.

A 10lb 400 Whelen with max load is a whole lot different then a 10lb 458wm with a full load.

What about a heavy 400W with a muzzle break sure a lot more controllable then a 460WBY.

Again it is about what your goal is if the goal is winning then one takes every advantage the rules allow.

If the goal is learning to use your hunting rifle better and have fun you might not win.

That is why when I shot competition I used my working guns. It is also why I hardly ever shoot competitions any more.

All above can be said about any of the shooting sports.

If and when I come I well be shooting my 416 Taylor with 350gr bullets at 2400 because that is what I use for hunting in a 10lb rifle.

Because I shoot to be a better shot with what I use in the field.

If I win so be but it seems like a fun time had by one and all.

The beauty of this contest is that everyone is there to have a good time ! I have yet to hear any petty bitching, or for that matter, any complaints at all. The rules are simple, nobody is Chronographing the loads, JSC is assuming that you are a person of honor and takes you at your word. We had one competitor using a trapdoor in 45/70 and he was at a disadvantage, but he was sure having fun and showing us how it was done with a trapdoor! You shoot what you choose to bring and if you don't like it, noone is forcing you to compete. I would think that a Spoiler would be politely shown the door, but if it were up to me, they would be pressed into service as a moving target. I, and several others are willing to travel several thousand miles to "compete" in this event and all had a good time. While these Montana boys are wonderfull hosts, I don't think they would take too kindly to troublemakers! See Y'all next year!

quote:

Well if you guys are arguing about which type of action type it is slanted towards, then I think I may have struck the perfect balance!

When I got to shoot it in 2016 I thought the very same thing, the course of fire was laid out in such a way that no action type or sighting platform had an advantage in any way.
I was also very impressed with the "friendly" competition.
Everyone was there to have a good time and shoot their best, work the kinks out of their rifle and style.
Everyone I associated with was helpful and supportive about their shooting.
It was truly the ultimate in friendly competition!
Well done Jay!