Not knowing any better. It's not like there are a lot of classes or instruction manuals floating around on the use of bolt action rifles. And if there were any classes, it is likely that in Europe/US the instructor would not know any better either.
I only heard about the palm technique being superior to the index finger technique, on this very forum. It took me a lot (like really a lot, and I still do regress from time to time) of dry fire to change this up. The biggest help actually was that the bolt handle's on two of my Mauser actions, are quite short and/or very stiff to operate. Meaning that when using an index finger and thumb technique, I often slip off the bolt handle.
This would actually be a great opportunity for a good writer. Perhaps together with one of the African big bore associations, to create a full training manual on the use of bolt action and double rifles for dangerous game. What to look for in the rifle, how to operate it proficiently (and why), setting up of training exercises (dry and live fire), accoutrements, etc.
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