Preparing for your upcoming African hunting trip is one exciting part of the overall safari experience. In the months leading up to your adventure, careful planning and preparation can help make the difference between a good trip and a great adventure. Decisions about what type of clothing and gear can be aided by research and good advice and suggestions given by your PH and their capable staff. My trips to Southern Africa have helped me put together the following list of shooting tips.
1: Bring your favorite deer rifle
Said another way, bring a rifle that you are familiar with, shoot well and love. Unless you are hunting the largest “dangerous” African game, like Cape buffalo, elephant, hippo, etc., any “deer rifle” at least as large and fast as a .270 Winchester is plenty of rifle. Most PHs will recommend that you bring a rifle of .30 caliber or larger, and that means that your .308 Winchester or .30-06 Springfield will be more than adequate for even the largest of Africa’s plains-game species. Every hunter worth his salt will tell you that it is far better to shoot an animal perfectly with a well-constructed bullet from a smaller caliber rifle than it is to shoot one poorly with a larger bore. Simply said, there is no substitute for good marksmanship. On my first safari in the Limpopo province of South Africa, I brought along a Browning A Bolt .308 that I had hunted deer with for decades. I took a kudu, impala, warthog, wildebeest and gemsbok with that rifle, all with one clean shot. Talk to your PH about what rifle you would like to bring, follow his advice, and then practice with that rifle, a lot.
2: Use the right bullet
Think about it. Your bullet is the only part of the rifle, scope, cartridge combination that actually comes into contact with the target animal. Bullet performance is critical and is almost always directly related to bullet construction. Lightly jacketed projectiles designed for thin-skinned North American game have no place when hunting in Africa. One might argue that such a bullet is more than adequate for the smaller antelopes like bushbuck, springbok or even blesbok. That may be true, but it is also true that it is not unusual to encounter many species while on safari. I, for one, would hate to have a thinly jacketed, ballistic tip bullet in my .308, targeting bushbuck, and have a 700-pound Burchell’s Zebra or a 600-pound greater kudu present a shot that my bullet of choice might prove inadequate. Such a predicament is, in my view, unethical and easily avoidable. Pick a bullet that will provide optimum performance on the largest game expected to be encountered and know that it will do the job on the smaller animals too. My wife used a .30-06 to shoot a trophy steenbok on our last safari. One well-placed shot with a monolithic solid bullet produced by South Africa’s own Peregrine bullets took him from his waterhole to the salt room in the blink of an eye. Solid bullets out of fast calibers produce impressive results on small targets like steenbok, duiker and other members of the Tiny Ten. Plus, their lack of expansion tends to produce small exit holes and even smaller entrance holes, something that your taxidermist is sure to appreciate. These types of solid bullets will also perform well on the larger, thicker-skinned plains game. On a recent safari, I shot a Cape eland with a similar solid bullet fired from a .338 Win Mag. One frontal shot, taken off shooting sticks at 150 yards, took out the top of the eland’s heart. Four staggering steps later and he was down and done. The skinners later recovered a barely expanded bullet in the 1800-pound giant’s paunch, the bullet having travelled almost three feet along its track inside the eland. Good bullets are a must. Once again, consult your PH, follow his advice, buy the right bullets and practice with them.
3: Practice from shooting sticks
A lot of African hunting is “spot and stalk”. Hours of riding in the back of a Land Cruiser or walking along game trails or two-track roads will eventually lead to fresh sign or sightings of target animals. Once on a fresh track, careful stalking and a bit of luck just might bring you within shooting range of your trophy. When Lady Luck smiles, you will most likely be taking a shot from a standing position with your rifle resting on shooting sticks, placed in just the right spot by your PH. These sticks can be as simple as the traditional three sticks lashed together to form a tri-legged rest, or space-age lightweight carbon fiber quad pods, or anything in between. On my last safari, my PH used the Primos Trigger Stick tripod. Whatever the design and construction, the bottom line is that most shots taken by North American hunters are not taken from sticks. Most of us whitetail deer hunters shoot from blinds or stands, usually from a sitting position and, hopefully, from off a rest. Shooting from sticks is not difficult, it is just different and not something that many of us US hunters do a lot. It isn’t difficult, if it is practiced.
Practice shooting off some type of sticks and you will be ready to make that kind of shot in Africa. Once in the country, find out what type of shooting sticks your PH will be carrying in the field. Shoot from them a few times at their range and get used to the setup. Also, remember to check the height adjustment every time you start a new stalk. It is not the time to find out that the height is wrong with a trophy gemsbok or warthog staring back at you.
4: Study the anatomy of African game
It is a surprise to many North American hunters how different the “kill zone” of many African animals is when compared to the game they are used to hunting here in the US. The heart and lung area of most of the commonly hunted African game species lies more forward than their North American counterparts, tucked in low and well behind the front shoulder. Shots “on the shoulder” and aimed at the lower third of the target animal will almost always do the trick. Frontal shots can be effective, but care must be taken to dead-center the animal in the lower third of the chest. Shots pulled to the left or right of center and/or high can lead to hits in one lung and can make for long tracking jobs that leave little blood spoor. There are many resources on the internet that show X-ray type overlays of popular African game animals, showing skeletal structure and internal vital organs. Take the time to study these types of visual aids so that when the time comes to take the shot you will be able to do so quickly and accurately.
Bonus Tip #1: Bring a good camera!
Or video camera. Or both. On our most recent trip to Southern Africa, my wife and I took over 1,000 pictures! There is a lot to see in Africa, without a doubt. We made a before-the-hunt side trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. I now completely understand why the “Smoke that Thunders” is one of the seven natural wonders of the world! Pictures don’t do it justice, but that didn’t keep us from trying! A day spent on both the Zimbabwe and Zambian sides of these majestic falls left us awestruck, soaking wet and with a camera roll full of amazing pictures to help us remember our magical day in this incredible place. During the hunt, we took photo after photo of flora and fauna that you just can’t see anywhere other than in the bushveld. After our successful hunts, the professionals at Eland Safaris took the time to position our animals and took the time to get the pictures right. I, for one, think that we owe it to the memory of the creature to take that time to immortalize them respectfully. Our many beautiful photographs of trophies taken will help us remember that exact moment when we pulled the trigger. Make good memories and then make them immortal by capturing them on film with quality camera equipment.
5: Bring your bow, or crossbow
Africa is a veritable bowhunter’s paradise. A target-rich environment coupled with outfitters who understand bowhunting and who hunt with archery gear themselves can make for an epic adventure for those who bring their “stick and string” to Africa. Hunters who make the choice to bowhunt later in the African winter, during the months of July and August, will generally find animals that are much more prone to visiting water holes during daylight hours. Careful placement of bow-specific blinds, or hides, near water holes or other key locations, along with the slow burning of dried dung (usually zebra) to create scent covering smoke, should have bowhunters within shooting distance of desired species. Patience is the key. That, and fully knowing one’s archery equipment. Again, I say, practice. Take the advice of your bowhunting PH, gear up with the correct arrow weight, spine and broadhead that they recommend, and practice, practice, practice. Once in safari camp, range-shoot your bow to make sure that you are still “on” and then go hunting! Shoot a little every day in camp to stay loose and let the arrows fly! An additional benefit of bringing archery gear to Africa is the ease of travel. Most airlines don’t have restrictions on archery equipment (just be sure to declare it and cover all broadheads – better yet, keep them in a specifically designed broadhead box). Most African countries don’t have restrictions either. Heck, bring your bow and your gun and have mixed-bag hunt!
6: Don’t bring your rifle at all
No, I am not arguing with Tip #1! I am just offering an alternative solution. Any big-game outfitter that I have ever hunted with has offered the option to rent or hire a rifle from them. While it may seem like heresy to some folks to shoot another man’s rifle while hunting, in my experience it is often much easier to travel without a firearm, especially if your travels include side trips for sightseeing, etc. On our most recent trip to Africa, my wife and I visited Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia before heading to South Africa for our safari. It would have been virtually impossible to drag my rifle along through all those border crossings. So, instead, I set it up in advance with Alex Thomson with Eland Safaris to hire rifles for the both of us. Upon arrival in camp, my wife and I shot several rifles of various calibers until we found the ones that we liked. Serious outfitters pride themselves on having top-notch equipment, including firearms and optics. Talk to your PH, decide if renting a rifle is right for you and then practice with that rifle until you are confident and ready to go. If your air travel takes you through either London or Amsterdam, you may want to seriously consider NOT traveling with a firearm. There are lots of horror stories out of those two airports. I’m just saying…
Bonus Tip #2: If you elect to bring your own firearm, utilize a service like the one provided by Afton Safari Lodge
Their Gun Permit and Meet and Greet service provide expertise and understanding of how the system works, both on the US and South African side, and will provide peace of mind and assurance when navigating the seemingly unfamiliar waters of international bureaucracy. Their fees are reasonable and their service is top notch, a small price to pay to make sure that ‘I’s are dotted, ‘T’s are crossed, and your gun and you arrive at safari camp ready to make your hunting dreams come true.
