Nice shooting.
Here is visible why I stopped doing the BASA shoots.....as I believe the wrong muscle memory is being worked into the use of the rifle.
I quess if someone has a 500 Jeff for fun it is different but if it is used in the field for hunting and backup it is different....
1. If your rifle takes 2, 3 or 4 that is how you should start everytime.
2. Nowhere in the hunt will you be taking a rifle off a table.
3. Reloading on the run is how it happens in the field not once you get to where you decide to take a follow up shot(maybe this was your choice or maybe you where told to only reload when you got there).
4. In this cenario(if your rifle was empty) I would have loaded 1 only so I could get another backup shot into the departing elephant asap not load 2 as the oportunity would have been lost.
I can carry on but I think it can be seen where I am coming from.....
So if I was allowed to start as I would in the field.
1. I would have started with 4 up.
2. 2 shots on first target.
3. 1 shot on departing elephant leaving 1 in mag.
4. Reload on the run so I would have 2 shots availible when I get to the tyre instead of having to reload 2 when I get there......
These shoots are great and are definately good excercise but need to accommodate more realisticly in field use of the rifle instead of what is decided by someone.
Shooting and reloading etc should be the same for all irrespective of double or bolt.
No double could beat a bolt in the first one on the elephant if I started with 4 as the double guy would have to reload twice and the bolt guy only once on the run.......
Thanks IVW, great feedback from an outside perspective. Will definitely consider it. Would love for you to come and shoot sometime and have a beer afterwards!
Yes if you view one range and one range only, one could argue all of the above and you are correct 100%. But since you have asked and stated, let us answer your questions.
Style of shooting - BASA teaches on its training days', what someone like Richard Harland spoke about (he was one of founding people as you may be well aware), a different technique that what Deon is using, one which you also advocate for...but let each person kiss his wife the way he wants to.
Shoot itself/Ranges
Each and every shoot is different with 3-5 ranges per shoot - as is each and every hunting scenario.
The lawyer in me -
first Caveat - One should remember, you have participants that have never shot a big bore (this is not a rimfire shoot and we can all agree a 375 and bigger is a bit different than a normal 308 recoil wise and how people react to it), you have PH's (like yourself), game rangers, you have people shooting doubles, people with falling blocks, normal magazine rifles etc., people who shoot for competition and people for fun. For each one you need to cater and make it realistic, fun,
safe. Then we have liability issues, we cannot, even if that is what happens in the hunting field, have a person come for his first shoot and run with a loaded rifle - we do not know him/her, is he/she proficient or not, a beginner or not? There are other people behind the shooting line that could be in danger.
Also our ranges try and duplicate a hunting scenario (not necessarily the full range from shot 1 to 6, but aspects of it), yes, there are no tables in the field, but I have seen numerous videos where a client takes a rifle from a gun bearer or taking a midday nap and be woken up, or taking a rifle in a hide from the rifle rest, or you get charged and the rifle falls or if that is your hunting style, from the back of the bakkie from the rifle bag/gun storage thing etc.
Also, in an "ideal" hunting world, you only need 1 shot, then we should all do training of shooting 1 shot only. Maybe that was the idea behind a falling block Ruger?
Our rules, and this has been stated numerous time, you can come and shoot the day as you wish, as long as
it is safe for all. You do not need to follow the sequence. The the main purpose of the day for all, come and practice and know your rifle, how you and your rifle will work under stress situations.
Just to note for interest, on the range Deon posted. The first 3 shots favoured a magazine hunting rifle. Load 3 (if someone had a double he could also complain for competition purposes "why let them load 3" we can only do 2!"), but that is the point, a hunter with a magazine has the advantage and right to do that. Then the latter part of the shoot was more a "double" type of practice, load 2, shoot 2 and oops, the elephant is still running shoot again. Yes, a magazine guy probably could have loaded 3 but this is where we try and level the playing field and duplicate a hunting scenario for double carry people.
For interest, the other ranges was to start with a rifle full (2/3/4/5/6) and then to start the shoot.
We will never win off course, a magazine hunter will always feel we favour double hunting scenarios and vice versa. A PH would always have something to say that it is to "easy" and elephants never run away directly like the target, or stand still for that fact, or there will always be a twig in the way, what about the grass and mopani leaves that you are not duplicating or the warm sun and tsetsi flies, I guess you get the point.
The end result that matters for us, is come and enjoy yourself.
Let's have that beer!
