On Shooting
accuracy and bullet penetration
problems were mostly a thing of the
past. Further developments followed,
but for almost a hundred years
hunting equipment stayed more or
less the same. Telescopic sights were
deemed unsporting when they first
became commercially available, and
many an old-timer frowned upon
their use. Their effectiveness however,
soon proved them to be extremely
useful tools in the hunting field, and
now it is almost unthinkable of not
fitting one to a non-dangerous game
rifle.
The premium bullet revolution
did exactly the same as scopes – it
took some of the risk away, offering
us a better performing product, all
else being equal. Other products
followed – range finders, GPSs,
range-finding scopes – the list is
almost endless. Advances in weapon
manufacturing over the last two
decades brought us rifles capable of
accuracy previously unheard of, as did
advances in reloading equipment and
methods. Throw ballistic smartphone
applications into the equation
and you have the ingredients for
super long-range accuracy. I get it.
Everyone likes an accurate rifle and it
is certainly enjoyable to ring steel at
500, 800 or a thousand yards. What
bothers me, though, is that extreme
long-range shooting has found its
way onto the hunting field. I will
nail my colours to the mast and say
it is not hunting anymore. The fact
that one’s equipment enables you
to execute (sic!) accurate shots over
extreme distances at a game animal
does not make it hunting.
Traditionally, hunting required the
pursuit of a quarry on its own turf and
a variety of skills. First and foremost
is the skill to actually find your quarry
- and here I will concede that there
are many different ways of doing
this. Hunting methods vary greatly,
depending on terrain, topography,
fauna and flora, traditions and even
game management policies. All of
them have an accepted following
and some may even be totally
unacceptable to hunters from a
different country.
The European tradition of a
“Hochsitz” hunt – waiting for game
on a raised platform – is as part
of German and Austrian hunting
traditions as the hunting horn, but
few “walk-and-stalk” hunters from
the South African bushveld will
understand it or will ever experience
it. Baying bushpig or bushbuck with
hounds is an age-old tradition in the
mountainous and thickly wooded
areas of the Natal and Eastern Cape
provinces in South Africa, and is
sometimes questioned by hunters
from that country itself!
The point is that most, if not
all previously, generally accepted
hunting methods required the skill
of finding your quarry, and more
often than not entailed some or other
physical exertion in the process.
Those who have followed a pack of
Bluetick hounds giving voice while
gaining on a bushpig will know
what I am talking about – the pace is
hectic! One has to be fit as you need
to get to the dogs as soon as possible
after a pig has been bayed to avoid
the very real probability of injury
to one or more of the pack. Shot
placement is crucial in the melee of
barking dogs and rushing pigs. The
risk of injury to hunter and dog is
very high. Many skills are required
to successfully bag a bushpig this way,
starting off with a master dog breeder,
handler/s, knowing where to search
and understanding bushpig habits
and behavior. Sometimes it literally
takes years to build up a good pack
and acquire the necessary experience- all hard work, and success is never
guaranteed.
Those who have hunted a mature
kudu bull on foot will attest to the
extreme cunning that is Tragelaphus
Strepticeros. This is one creature
that will test your skills to the limit - their extraordinary sense of smell
and hearing makes them almost
impossible to sneak up upon, and it
is only the very skilled that gets to
put one in the salt. In stark contrast
to baying pigs with dogs, the kudu
hunter needs stealth, concealment,
sharp eyes, quick reflexes and a whole
lot of luck.
A fundamental requirement of fair
chase is that every animal must have
a chance to escape. Without this, it
becomes an execution and cannot
be called hunting anymore, which
brings me back to the long-range
“hunting” conundrum. A shooter
sets up his equipment in a suitable
vantage point, and with the aid of
a ballistic bullet trajectory app on