Safari Rifle Match AAR, Part 2: Stages I and II

Well, folks with far more audio/visual technical savvy than I have graciously volunteered to take, edit, and upload images and video for the blog so that you, dear reader, can enjoy the sights and sounds.  Let's see how many pictures and videos I can add before I break this.

The first stage consisted of a timed run at various plains game.  Each kill (defined as a hit in the brain, heart or lungs) gave positive points, each miss was zero points, and each wound was negative points.  Total up your points and subtract your time to find your score.  Thus, it was imperative to shoot quickly and accurately.  There were five targets, each engaged from a different location.  Shooting sticks were allowed, and even encouraged, because you had to shoot standing due to the 'high grass'.  The last two targets were close enough (approximately 10-15 yards) that I didn't feel I needed the shooting sticks and could gain some time shooting them offhand.  That nearly came back to bite me, as I had a bit of El Snatcho on the second-to-last target.  On the upside, it was enough of a snatch that I shot clean under the animal, resulting in a miss rather than a wound.

Shooting stick technique

The field

Close-up of the kudu

Close-up of the wildebeest

Photos by Kehau Chrisman

The second stage was shot from four of the same positions, using the second set of targets, and also on the clock with the same type of scoring.  These were big game, though: elephant, rhino, buffalo, and hippo.  Here you can see one of the competitors engaging the big boys with a .450 Black Powder Express double.  

Getting settled in on the sticks

 And here the results:

A solid brain shot on the mostly submerged hippo with a .450 BPE.

A .450 BPE through the vitals!

  Photos by Kehau Chrisman

This stage resulted in a scope-whack on the brim of my pith helmet, knocking it clean off my head.  I pressed on and finished the stage, came back and retrieved it, and stowed it for the rest of the match, instead going back to my tried-and-true soft boonie hat and earmuffs.  Hey, half of why I do this is to fine-tune my gear selections, and if it doesn't work, it gets modified or replaced.

Next time, we'll go to the next two stages, where things really start to get interesting:  Leopard Blind and Charging Buffalo!

Safari Match AAR, part 1

Well, this spring's Safari Rifle match is in the bag, and a great time was had by all.  This is my third time shooting the match, and while some of the novelty has worn off, I've been able to use it to fine-tune some of my gear choices and techniques, while having a very enjoyable time at every turn.  The gentleman who runs the match, Bill Poole, is a friendly and cheerful guy who puts a ton of time and effort into running the event.  The folks who participate are also a great bunch of guys, always willing to share knowledge and tips with new arrivals like myself.  I've been in competitions both friendly and unfriendly over the years, and it's a breath of fresh air to shoot with a group like this.  This year we fought the wind to keep our targets upright, but we managed to persevere with a little adaptation and ingenuity.

Let's start with my equipment setup, since testing that is my primary reason for competing.  I ran my Ruger Hawkeye African in 9.3x62mm, topped with an SWFA SS 1-6x in Warne QD rings, shooting my reloads. Because the 9.3 was considered undersized for the final elephant stage, I brought along my old large-frame Ruger Vaquero revolver in .44 Magnum.  It seemed silly that a .44 Magnum handgun would be acceptable where a 9.3x62mm rifle was not, but the rules only considered bullet diameter and I wanted to compete in every stage.  So the 5.5" stainless Vaquero rode on my right hip, with the Wilderness TwinLoader in front and the Westley Richards 5-round ammo pouch behind.

From my experience in the match, I have determined two things:  First, I need a better holster for the Vaquero.  This Hunter holster is rudimentary at best, and though it did suffice for the day, I would want something of far better design, fit and quality if I ever take this piece on a hunting trip.  Second, while my shirt is one of the most comfortable that I own, being a lightweight, long-sleeve soft cotton chamois, the shirt tails are too short and it frequently came untucked under exertion, fouling up on my cartridges.  The WR pouch was a little less affected, as the leather flap helped keep most of the shirt out of the way, but the TwinLoader would frequently be covered by the shirt.  I need to see if Cabela's has the same shirt in a Long/Tall size, as I am otherwise very fond of the material and pocket placement/design.  I avoid shirts with unflapped pockets when shooting rifles, as I find the toe of the stock will often get hung up there during the dismount.  If the pockets have a button flap, the stock will just slide off and all is well.

On my left side, I had my SureFire G2 flashlight and my Leatherman tool, along with an interesting little knife called a Clinch Pick.  The Clinch Pick looks like a small caping knife, but the edge is on the back of the blade rather than the belly.  It's designed as a defensive weapon for use in a grapple (hence the name), and I've been experimenting with where and how to carry it.  Suffice to say, it's not really germane to this forum, so we'll leave it at that.

The only real issue I had with my left-side setup was that the upgraded metal bezel on my SureFire kept banging on my rifle when I had it slung.  I have an old nylon flap sheath for it that I will use in the future to protect my rifle from such abuse.  My Wilderness Frequent Flyer belt, Smartwool Trekking Heavy Crew socks and Cabelas Trail Hiker II pants performed well as always.  I've got no reason to change them at this point.

One interesting bit of equipment issue to note:  headgear.  Being a pale-skinned redhead, the sun is my natural enemy.  I go from zero to lobster in about 15 minutes in the AZ summer, so I take care to dress accordingly.  Thus the long pants and long sleeve shirt even in the desert heat; I can keep myself reasonably cool via hydration and sweating through the loose cotton.  But this being the safari match, previous winners are encouraged to wear their prize pith helmets.  In the spirit of the match, I started out with my helmet, but it meant I had to wear earplugs instead of my electronic muffs.  That makes it harder to hear, and started to irritate my ears in fairly short order.  During the first stage, my scope recoiled into the brim of my helmet, knocking it clean off my head.  I let it lie in the dust and drove on to finish the string, and after that I switched back to my muffs and my soft boonie hat.  The final bit of clothing I used was a thin cotton neckscarf that my good friend bought as a souvenir from his trip to Vietnam and gave to me.  It's similar to a shemagh, but thinner and rectangular as opposed to square.  Wrapped around my neck, it kept me from getting sunburned and still maintained excellent breathability.  I've long found a large bandana to be a great utility item in the field, and this is just an extension of the concept.  This one's definitely going to Africa with me.

Now, I mentioned my shooting sticks in the last post.  I got to really put them through their paces for the first time yesterday, and I'm very pleased.  I also developed an ad-hoc support technique that controls the sticks, insulates the gun from the hard body of the sticks themselves, and allows me to use the push-pull recoil mitigation technique to better control the gun.  It just kind of naturally developed as I was testing the sticks out while I was developing my handloads, and I gave it the acid test at the match.  I'm happy to say that it works great, and I'll be using the technique from here on out (unless, of course, I find something that works better!).  The proof is in the pudding:  I shot dramatically better off the sticks this time around compared to my last two matches.  My only miss was when I got up close to the targets and dumped the sticks thinking I didn't need them.  Sure enough, El Snatcho snuck up and I launched my shot six inches low, missing entirely.  Every single other shot was directly in the heart.  Here I'm demonstrating the technique to another competitor (behind the firing line, so I had to do it without my rifle)

I found my choice of caliber had a lot of advantages in this match, save for the limitation on the elephants at the end.  I was able to load up 5 rounds at a time, and never had to reload on the clock, unlike the folks with single shots, doubles or larger-caliber bolt guns.  I was also able to quickly work the bolt on the charging buffalo.  Nobody managed to get both shots into the brain box on that particular target, but my error was simply rushing the shot.  If I'd had better trigger control, I had the time to make the second hit.  On a non-scored practice run afterwards, I was able to put both rounds into the buff, draw the Vaquero, and still make a headshot with the handgun.  All that time practicing transitions with my carbine and Beretta paid off!

Here's a shot of the match director, Bill Poole, engaging the buff as it charges.  This is probably my favorite part of the match.  That buff moves deceptively fast, and the rocky terrain makes the small brain shot zone bounce all over the place.  Of course, it's nowhere near having a real live buffalo charge you with murder in his eyes, but it's a lot more challenging than simply busting a stationary target.  I have some video that my good friend Michael Novack shot, but I have to take care of some logistical issues to get it hosted and available.  Rest assured, it's coming :)

In the end, my preparations paid off, and I either validated my choices or learned where I needed to improve.  I've got a good handle on where I need to go from here.  And the proof, as I said, is in the pudding.  I was able to keep things together and win the match.  I received the winner's pith helmet!  And of course, I had to wear my previous helmet for the award photo :)  It's just how it's done, old chap, what?

Testing my gear under pressure

Now that I've got at least a semi-acceptable load dialed in, I can use it for practice far cheaper than even the Prvi factory ammo.  That's a good thing.  I still need to get a chronograph and see how the velocity compares to factory ammo, but based on the shot placement, it should be about right.  I reckon I'll load up about 40 or so rounds of this current load in preparation for the PR&GC Safari Rifle match at the end of the month.

The first time I shot this match was a year ago, and my rifle was brand new and just barely sighted in.  I hadn't gotten any real accessories for it, just the rifle, scope, sling and some ammo.  My goal then was to get used to the rifle and optic, and I was pleased as punch with both.  Now, my goal is to practice with my shooting sticks and fine-tune my walking-around loadout for the safari itself.  So let's make a short list of things I know I'll be lugging around on my own person:

1.  Rifle
2.  Ammo
3.  Water
4.  Snacks
5.  First aid kit
6.  Multi-tool
7.  Knife
8.  Flashlight
9.  Compass
10.  Rangefinder
11. Survival/possibles kit

I won't have all of these on my belt, of course, but I do want to fine-tune my belt setup further than I have in earlier posts/thoughts.  That generally means ammo, water, snacks, multi-tool, knife and flashlight.  My daily carry rig, as I mentioned before, is a Frequent Flyer belt from the Wilderness.  I've worn this for years, and it's comfortable, yet rigid enough to carry a pistol and all my daily accessories, and bomb-proof durable.  I see no reason to try anything else on this trip.  On the belt will be my Leatherman Wave (11 years old and still going strong) in the factory leather belt sheath, my Sure-Fire G2 (nearly as old, albeit with a replacement KX4 LED conversion head that makes it significantly brighter and longer-lasting) in an even more ancient Blade-Tech scabbard, a Twin Loader (also from the Wilderness) for two fast rounds, and my Westley Richards belt carrier for five more rounds.  For the purposes of the match, I also plan to carry a sidearm as I do when deer hunting.  In this case, it'll be a Beretta 92G in a Wilderness Safepacker holster.

So, how well does all this kit work on a single belt?  I'm used to having the Beretta on my strong side hip, plus the G2, Wave and a spare magazine on my left hip.  All I have to do is find room for the rifle ammo.  Now, ordinarily I like spare ammo on my left hip, but the manual of arms for a bolt-action hunting rifle generally means I reload with my dominant hand.  As such, I'll put the TwinLoader just in front of the pistol, and the belt carrier just behind it.  I'll give it a whirl at the match and see how I like it.  Since none of the stages are more than 5 rounds, I will download my rifle a bit so that I have to reload on the clock and put my setup to the test.  I have a set of suspenders designed for military 'war belts' if I need any support with all that gear as well.

Where does that leave the rest of my gear?  Well, my folding knife will live where it always does, in my right front slash pocket.  As for the rest, right now I'm looking at either a small daypack or using my existing Maxpedition Jumbo EDC Versipack.  The Versipack can hold quite a lot of gear, and is actually quite comfortable to wear over long periods (I use it a lot when hiking or even just going to the zoo with my family).  My concern is that it is not tied down (though I could conceivably lash it to my belt if I so chose), and I worry that it will get in the way of my right-side gear if I position it so the strap isn't on my shooting shoulder.  I may end up looking at a fanny pack of some sort.

I'll also test out some clothing choices at the match.  I've got a pretty solid choice of hats, either boonie-style or baseball-style.  I tend towards the former because I've got fair skin and get sunburned rather easily, so I appreciate the extra coverage.  I'll likely bring both in case the boonie proves too cumbersome in the brush.  I also tend towards long pants and sleeves when outdoors, for the same reasons.  I live in a desert, so it's not as punishing to have my lower limbs covered as it would be in, say, Houston.  Since I'll be hunting in the dry season, I hope South Africa will be similar.  For the past few years, I've been wearing Cabela's Trail Hiker pants.  They're a bit heavy and hot in the summertime, but they wear like iron and are very comfortable for me.  Everyone's a bit different when it comes to fit and cut, so your mileage may vary, but for me the Trail Hikers have the best wear, best pocket placement, and least chafing in long use of any pant I've worn in the past decade (which admittedly, isn't a lot of them).  Of course, footwear is also crucial, and until my Russell Joe's PH boots get here, I'll stick with my comfortable New Balance sneakers with Smartwool medium hiker socks for the match.

The moment of truth.

Well, it's time for the moment of truth.  I shot an IDPA match this morning, and did reasonably well.  I shot some follow-up drills and did better.  Then I scampered off to the rifle side of the facility to test out my first-ever batch of rifle handloads.

I set up a makeshift rest with the range's carpet-covered wooden blocks and my folded soft case, loaded up the first three rounds (56.5gr of Big Game) and got to work, checking each individual case for pressure signs.  Then three rounds with 57.5, three more with 58.5 and so on until I got to 61.5gr.  By that time, I had started to develop a bit of a flinch from shooting off the bench, and I decided it would be impractical to continue shooting groups.  I fired one round with 62.0gr from the shooting sticks (mostly to verify there were no pressure signs, and there weren't), and banged steel @ 200 yards.  I fired five more factory Prvi rounds, but the flinch was starting to show.  I buckled down and fired one last round and banged steel.  I like to finish on a high note.

Then it was off to the butts to see how I did.  And boy, was I surprised.  I had a few stringers that I will readily ascribe to the emergent flinch (especially on the last two sets of three), but the 59.5gr load (rounds 10, 11 and 12) shot sub-MOA @ 100 yards!

Now I need to get a chronograph and see how much velocity that load's pushing, and load up some more from about 59gr to 62.5gr and see if that's the sweetest spot or if there are greener pastures.

Now, on to the shooting sticks.  Work bit into my free time, so I only had time to craft one set of sticks.  I used the green Home Depot garden stakes with a section of bicycle inner tube to make a very simple apparatus.  And yet, with a proper hold, I was able to shoot reasonably well @ 200 yards with it.  I found that by laying my hand in the crotch of the sticks, and using that to brace the gun and prevent it from bouncing, I could shoot pretty well.  I really like these sticks.  They're extremely lightweight, stiff, tough, and practical.  Best of all, they cost me all of $7 and change.  I'm thinking of getting a third stake to try the tripod route, but right now I'm finding it hard to argue with the simple effectiveness of the current setup.  Still, experimentation is what this is all about, so I'll give it and the wooden swivel bipod sticks a run for the money.

Crafting Shooting Sticks, Part 1

I stopped by Home Depot today, thinking I could get some dowel rods to use for shooting sticks.  Unfortunately, HD's dowel rods cap at 4', not nearly long enough for use while standing.  So, off to the garden section I went.  My initial thought was to get some 3/4" bamboo poles, but again, no such thing was available.  I picked up a six pack of roughly 3/8" bamboo, but they are far too flimsy for my purposes.  Right next to them, however, were some 6'-long, 3/4"-thick polymer-sheathed, steel-core garden stakes.  Surprisingly lightweight, and reasonably priced, I think they might make a good two-legged set of sticks when linked with a piece of old inner-tube.  I also picked up a pair of 1"x1/2"x6' slats, a 5/8"x2" hex bolt, washers and a wing nut to make a hinged set of sticks.  By Sunday, I should have two functional pairs of shooting sticks to test after I fire my first set of handloads.  If either pair works, I'll use them in the safari match at the end of the month.

Pictures will go up once I get them created!