How many shots?

[wesheltonj]

Seven animals, all but two were one shot.

 

[Odinsraven]

I have been on 10 or 11 cull trips ....mostly 1 shot drops .. however black wildebeest 7 rounds we cut him up back at the lodge ...... 5 were textbook ..........as the skinner said sometimes they dont die !

 

[cmk]

I'm on the final pages of Roualeyn Gordon-Cummings book on his hunting/trading trips in southern Africa during the latter half of the 1840's.

Some very questionable hunting ethics by todays standards. Large bores, black powder and heavy lead slugs were the tools of the trade. IIRC he mentioned it at one time took 56(!) shots to kill a large elephant bull.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roualeyn_George_Gordon-Cumming

 

[Bruce]

Poor Ellie probably died of lead poisoning!!! 56 shots??? Seems ludicrous, but we weren't there to see why...we can only ponder!!!

 

[cmk]

Poor Ellie probably died of lead poisoning!!! 56 shots??? Seems ludicrous, but we weren't there to see why...we can only ponder!!!

Had to look up the facts, and it turns out I was sligthly wrong. Here is a quote of the passage:

On the 11th we marched at dawn of day, holding north-east, and halted on the bank of the Limpopo. There the waggons remained, whilst I hunted the banks of the river, bagging two first-rate bull elephants and one hippopotamus. One of these I shot across the Limpopo, under the mountains of Guapa; I fought him in dense wait-a-bit jungle from half-past eleven till the sun was under, when his tough old spirit fled, and the venerable monarch of the forest fell, pierced by fifty-seven balls.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

to be fair, let's say you have just sighted in your rifle(s) and the safari is about to begin.
from this point, until you leave for home, how many shots per animal do you fire?
shots fired divided by no of animals.
don't tell me one, because i will not believe it.
not saying it can't be done, but it would be rare indeed.
i think 2 would be excellent and 3 not too bad.
bruce.

Bruce
My Talley was 6 shots for 5 animals. One shot I suffer hit an Oryx in an area my PH called no man's land. Between the lungs and spine. Tracked him for over 20 km but couldn't keep up with him. The owner said it was a nonfatal shot but that didn't make me feel any better.
The other 5 were all one shot kills
Cheers mate Bob
My son's average was 1.4 shots per animal, a couple of 2 shots, one 3 shot but most 1 shot.

 

[bruce moulds]

so the whelen is a better cartridge than the 308 for that job?
bruce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

My last trip, 6 animals with 8 shots. 5 were 1 shot, and a black wildebeest due to my error in judging wind lead me to have to put one more in it on the run and then one more to make sure his suffering was over.

Agree with @Hogpatrol , if you average 2 or 3 shots per PG, more senario range time is needed

TTundra
I told my son if it is still standing keep shooting, bullets are cheaper than a lost trophy.
He is a superb shot but some animals needed 2 or 3 shots. Not because of bad shooting but because the animal didn't realize it was dead and still standing. Just following dads and the PHs directions. Better to many holes in the right spot than waiting for the the animal to die and then doubting your shot. Doubt leads to nervousness and that leads to lost opportunity.
My son called his shots and was able to tell me where each hit. If you can call your shots and confirm them on the dead animal it instills confidence.
How many can pull the trigger and say where the bullet will hit with confidence. All it takes is practice even at the range try calling your shots and see how close you are. Your called bullseye could easily be a 7 ring until you get to know yourself and your rifle.
Cheers mate Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

so the whelen is a better cartridge than the 308 for that job?
bruce.

Bruce
Not really mate in retrospect the 08 would have been ample for what we shot. The Whelen was definitely more emphatic on game, some animals just seen to cling to life longer. One of our group shot a blesbuck 3 times with a 300 win mag. All heart lung area shots but the buggers just didn't want to lay down. My s9ns zebra was shot on the last chevron on the leg. The first shot took out the heart and lungs, the second shot was security as it was still standing.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Bruce moulds
I took the weight limit of ammo. 50 rounds of Whelen and 50 308. Sons rifle took 3 shots to confirm zero.
The Whelen took 2 shots to zero plus 1 3 shot group to confirm. 1 shot at 200 yards at a rock for fun.
15 or so shots were for enjoyment as the owner of the property/PH and the other PH,as well as 2 hunters in our group had never heard of the Whelen let alone shot one. Of course all had to have a few shots to see what it was like. Ended up with one very impressive 10 shot group of a bit over an inch from 4 different shooters and a few shattered rocks at ranges out to 300 yards. They were all impressed at the accuracy and power of the good ol Whelen

 

[Newboomer]

If I'm hunting dg I take a 20 round box of 375HH 350 gr Barnes TSX. The most I've used is 3 or 4 to check zero and on my last hunt it took 4 for my eland. I head on lung shot, 2 as he was running away and 1 finishing when we caught up to him. For pg I take all I can and stay under max weight. Use what's needed for trophies and however many for culls. Most are one shot kills unless the wind throws me off. I have had a tendency to miss my first shot of the day sometimes. Don't know why but after that, no problem, kill 'em left and right one shot. Maybe it's just getting in the groove for the day.

 

[Goose Cracker]

First safari
1 shot of 300WM to sight in, 1 shot of 375 H&H to sight in

• Blesbuck – one shot
• Blue Wildebeest – one shot
• Impala – one shot
• Second impala – one shot
• Kudu – three shots. First hit in spine and PH said was fatal, but I couldn’t watch him struggle. So two more to end it as quickly as possible.
• Steenbuck – one shot
• Zebra – three shots. First a little low and I didn’t realize he was quartering a bit. Only took out one lung and the chase was on. Second shot he was running away from me over 250 yards, broke his hip. Third shot to put him out of his misery. Wish I’d used the 375, but to be fair, was just a poor first shot.
• Springbuck – two shots. First shot the grass was thicker than I thought, and hit him too far back. Second shot quickly ended it.
• Gemsbuck – one shot
• Missed a jackal offhand at about 200 yards.

All with 300WM. Carried the 375 one day but didn’t take a shot.

So, two shots to zero. 15 shots on game, 9 animals.


Second safari
2 shots to zero 6.5x55, 1 shot to zero 35 Whelen

• Nyala – one shot (35W)
• Klippy – one shot (6.5x55)
• Bushbuck – one shot (6.5x55)
• Missed a duiker at 167 yards with 6.5x55 (just over his back, but felt like good shot)
• Impala – one shot (6.5x55) but only 60 yards and not placed exactly where I was aiming, so off to range to check zero
• Five shots getting 6.5x55 back to zero, scope got knocked off somehow
• Missed a red hartebeest, shot low (35W) – completely my fault, didn’t ask how far he was
• Red hartebeest – one shot (35W)
• Eland – four shots (!) with 35W. Poor first shot (quartering away significantly, only got one lung). Second shot in thick bush, perfect shot in crease of what I thought was front shoulder that turned out to be crease of his hindquarter. Third shot to spine since I couldn’t see front shoulder in bush, put him down for good and was fatal according to PH. Fourth shot because I couldn’t watch him suffer a second more.

So, total of 8 shots on range. 10 shots on game for 6 animals.

Total for two safaris – 25 shots on game for 15 animals. 1.67 per animal. Includes 11 one shot kills and 3 clean misses. Really only two shots I’d like back, the first one on my zebra and on my eland.

And I practiced a lot!

Took 40 rounds of ammo with me for each gun – so 80 rounds total per trip. BTW, 40 rounds of 300WM and 40 rounds of 375 H&H is barely under 11 lbs but only if you excluded my ammo case. Airfrance included my case in the weight, so I had to leave a box of 375H&H with my PH. Not that my PH was upset, mind you!

 

[One Day...]

2019

19 shots for 17 animals in the salt: average 1.1

I double shot the Roan (dead standing after the first shot but not down), and I double shot the Vaal Rhebok (I purposefully broke his hind quarters with the first shot because his chest was bedded behind a rock).

I lost one shot in a big tree branch then two shots on the run at a Gemsbok; I gave two Hail Mary shots at a Vaal Rhebok at long range in a gale force wind (what was I thinking!?!); and I lost one shot cutting a barbwire (really, I did, what are the chance of that!?!?!) when hunting Bushbuck.

So, grand total of 24 shot fired in 2019: overall average 1.4.

2018 (see page 2)

2019 was much better than 2018 - Plains Game: 35 shots for 22 animals in the salt: average 1.6.

I attribute this to the fact that I did not practice shooting off the sticks in 2018, but I shot 5,000 rounds of .22 LR off the sticks at 150 yards at a 6" plate before going in 2019...

Overall in 2018 - Plains Game, I shot 53 rounds (rifles sighting, culls, double shots on dead standing, finishers on wounded game on the ground, baboons, etc.)

2018 - Buffalo: 1 shot for one buff in the salt. Double lung at 30 yds with .470 NE. Lights out.

Also shot 2 rounds in a 10" paper plate off hand at 50 yd upon arrival in camp at the PH's request.

In our Welcome to Huntershill booklet, we recommend that clients bring a minimum of 40 rounds of ammo for a 10 animals hunt; 60 or 80 rounds being preferable if they intend to help us control the baboon, jackal and other pests populations...

 

[Tim Blackwell]

My first trip to Kowas in Namibia I shot 8 trophies with 9 bullets (a springbok required a finisher). All off sticks ranging from 80 yards to 230.

On subsequent safaris I haven't done quite as well. My last trip was 4 trophies with 6 shots, 2 requiring finishing.

I generally just take a box of 50 on a trip.

 

[Tra3]

Deer hunting: 1.2 or so because my range is close.
Western NA elk: 2.2 (if it doesn’t drop I shoot again immediately, they are such a tough animal I’ve put 3 bullets in a standing elk before it tipped) note: I shoot lung shots on NA game to save meat, not as effective as going through the front leg)
NA antelope: 2.5 (wind and longer range shots)
African game: 2.0 (13 animals 26 shots)

the Africa hunting is skewed by two animals that required 6 shots (giraffe and blue wildebeest). I did a body shot on the giraffe and we had to follow and continue. The wildebeest was a poor shot to start, which resulted in a moving animal and a few (2) misses on my part.
I also shot over the back of a steenbok.
7 of those animals were 1 shot. 3 were 2 shots (insurance)

my son was 6 African PG for 7 shots.
My father was 2 PG for 2 shots (one was a running warthog)
I am grinning as I write about this as a proud father.
We brought the max amount of ammo and left it all as a tip.

 

[chashardy]

In 2018 --two rounds each from 300 Winmag and 375H&H on the range to check the rifles
Sable- 1 shot of 300 wingmag 200 gr. Nosler Partition
Impala--wounded with a poor head on shot from 300 wm--finished him with the 375
bushbuck-1 shot from the 300 wm
Cape buffalo--6 rounds from 375 including one miss on a running shot and a couple of insurance shots after he was down
blue wildebeest--2 shots of 300 wm
2 blesboks--1 shot each ram with the 300 wm
black impala--1 shot of 300 wm
gemsbok--1 shot of 300 wm
Zebra--1 shot of 300 wm knocked him down and 1 insurance shot to end it

In 2019--checked the rifles again with two rounds each--shooting same 375 H&H double with 300gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claw and 300 winmag with 200gr TBBC
Eland-1 shot with 300 wm
Kudu-1 shot with 300 wm
Nyala-3 shots with 375 H&H (turned into a running gun fight when he got up running after the first shot knocked him down.)
gemsbok-1 shot with 300 wm
warthog-1 shot with 375 H&H
waterbuck-1 shot with 300wm
Steenbok-1 shot with 300wm

Not sure how many boxes of 20 rounds of each rifle I packed for each trip--about 40 each the first year, I think ,and less in 2019. I left 375 ammo with my PH.