Work-up to May 2023, SA plains game

[HookMeUpII]

Figured I would run this by the forum to see where I am at in preparation.

Rifle - 300WM Browning X-Bolt
Optic - Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44

I completed break-in last month on the gun. Pretty much mind-numbing 20 rds, clean/shoot/clean/shoot etc. This morning I went out and actually got down to the real zero of the rifle. Took about 6-7 shots initially, but it seems like by the end I managed the 7 shot group @ 100 yds in about 1-1.5". Number 7 shot, 6 o clock low, was me compensating for the 1-1.5" high group @ 100 yds. My plan next week is to zero at 200 yds. Might need a click or two left on windage but the 1-1.5" high elevation should be close on 200.

- 200 yds next week
- Order BDS custom dial
- Test with Barnes 180gr TTSX
- Final workup will be 50-100-200 yds off sticks for real preparation

I know for a lot of you guys this is probably baby steps but I just want to make sure I am on the right track here. Thanks so much.

 

[dchum]

Looking good! What part of SA? What are you planning on going after? Who are you hunting with?

Im headed over to Africa for the first time in May also.

 

[Firebird]

You are doing fine-maybe overthinking it a bit but that’s not a bad thing. It would be good to get the zero finished so you can practice shooting from sticks. Temperature might change things a bit but you are definitely on the right path

 

[HookMeUpII]

Looking good! What part of SA? What are you planning on going after? Who are you hunting with?

Im headed over to Africa for the first time in May also.

We will be in Limpopop with Kuche Safaris. Impala, blesbok, and hopefully warthog. We are beginners so we will be sticking to the more beginner-appropriate game.

 

[HookMeUpII]

You are doing fine-maybe overthinking it a bit but that’s not a bad thing. It would be good to get the zero finished so you can practice shooting from sticks. Temperature might change things a bit but you are definitely on the right path

That's really my goal which I really hope to get to sooner than later. If it's dialed at 200 next week I'll probably bring the sticks with me and break them out. The BDS dial doesn't seem like it's essential but being that it's free with the scope, I'll probably put it on. My goal is to get 20-30 rds downrange with the Barnes, off sticks, with accuracy prior to the trip.

 

[Justbryan]

Limpopo is a great beginner hunt location. Shots are usually less than 100 yards unless in the mountains or down dirty trails or roads. It will be fairly easy to get inside of 100 yards hunting Impala, blesbok, and warthog. More than likely Limpopo will offer close shots with very little time to get off the shot. You may track an animal, get on the sticks, and have 2 or 3 seconds to shoot. I love this kind of hunting. Quick and furious!

Long accurate shots where you take your time and squeeze off a shot at 300 yards plus from a tripod may not be in the cards in most hunting in Limpopo. You will probably be hunting the bush. Practice shooting on sticks, moving, and getting off a shot in 3 seconds. Practice getting off a quick shot into the vitals out to 100 yards.

Under pressure it is harder than most people think especially when walking fast, stopping quickly, getting adjusted on the sticks, spotting the animal in a narrow shooting lane, and getting off a quick shot before he vanishes. Limpopo is different!

 

[HookMeUpII]

Limpopo is a great beginner hunt location. Shots are usually less than 100 yards unless in the mountains or down dirty trails or roads. It will be fairly easy to get inside of 100 yards hunting Impala, blesbok, and warthog. More than likely Limpopo will offer close shots with very little time to get off the shot. You may track an animal, get on the sticks, and have 2 or 3 seconds to shoot. I love this kind of hunting. Quick and furious!

Long accurate shots where you take your time and squeeze off a shot at 300 yards plus from a tripod may not be in the cards in most hunting in Limpopo. You will probably be hunting the bush. Practice shooting on sticks, moving, and getting off a shot in 3 seconds. Practice getting off a quick shot into the vitals out to 100 yards.

Under pressure it is harder than most people think especially when walking fast, stopping quickly, getting adjusted on the sticks, spotting the animal in a narrow shooting lane, and getting off a quick shot before he vanishes. Limpopo is different!

This is invaluable info and I'm glad I now understand. It seems like it's best to only touch on 200 yds for now and worry more about getting good, quickly, at 50-100 yds off the sticks.

 

[cknwax]

Buy you a pair of 4 Stable Sticks or Viperflex sticks. Shoot off them as much as you can. You cannot practice too much. It’s different shooting off sticks at the range than in the bush. Bush shooting will be on uneven ground sometimes and you may not have long to line up a shot.

 

[MTA89]

Hey man,

My first safari is this May too but in the Eastern Cape. I went ahead and bought sticks from @African Sporting Creations. They are worth every cent imo. High quality, lightweight and very stable. My neighbor allows me to shoot on his property so every day during lunch I walk up the road to his land with sticks & rifle. I typically shoot about 5-10 rounds each time. I have yet to drag the steel target out there but I was able to hit a 2"x 2" section of scrap wood at 100 yards consistently. I quickly corrected my mindset from bench shooting tiny groups to getting a shot into a reasonably small area. This did wonders for my consistency

This post by @One Day... is worth a read: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/practicing-on-shooting-sticks.48755/#post-527005

I plan on shooting at 50 100 & 150 on the sticks and at a local range I will shoot steel from the prone w/ bipod at 300 & 400 yards for the heck of it. I am bringing my .308 for this trip. My understanding is that in the EC shots can be longer whereas in Limpopo they tend to be shorter.

Buying sticks for practice is the only real suggestion I can make. Love that rifle btw. Stainless and the high gloss stock is a great combo

 

[Deepfork]

We will be in Limpopop with Kuche Safaris. Impala, blesbok, and hopefully warthog. We are beginners so we will be sticking to the more beginner-appropriate game.

We hunted with Kuche last summer, that was my first trip to Africa. We are going again in August. They will take great care of you! We also went on the Impala, Blesbok, Warthog package but added days and ended up with 26 animals! You will see lots of animals and have plenty of opportunities to take animals other than the ones you listed.

If you hunt their reserve in Free State you will likey have some shots up to 300 yards, maybe even a little longer. My shots when we moved up to Limpopo were all between 60 and 150 yards.

 

[MrCreedmoor]

The best advice I can give is practice with the same type of shooting sticks your PH uses or bring your own. Also study the shot placement vitals of your animals you are hunting (If you hit your warthog bad, you are in for a long day). The vitals are lower and more forward than North American game typically is.

 

[Andrew62]

Limpopo is a great beginner hunt location. Shots are usually less than 100 yards unless in the mountains or down dirty trails or roads. It will be fairly easy to get inside of 100 yards hunting Impala, blesbok, and warthog. More than likely Limpopo will offer close shots with very little time to get off the shot. You may track an animal, get on the sticks, and have 2 or 3 seconds to shoot. I love this kind of hunting. Quick and furious!

Long accurate shots where you take your time and squeeze off a shot at 300 yards plus from a tripod may not be in the cards in most hunting in Limpopo. You will probably be hunting the bush. Practice shooting on sticks, moving, and getting off a shot in 3 seconds. Practice getting off a quick shot into the vitals out to 100 yards.

Under pressure it is harder than most people think especially when walking fast, stopping quickly, getting adjusted on the sticks, spotting the animal in a narrow shooting lane, and getting off a quick shot before he vanishes. Limpopo is different!

This is great advice. Sometimes, people worry so much about their gun shooting 1/2" moa when they really should be working on getting shots off quickly for real life hunting situations.

 

[sureshot375]

You are over thinking this. Get your turret or whatever if you want, but unless you are up on some rocks or something your shots will probably be under 150. As long as your gun will hold a zero it will be fine. All the leaves will still be on the trees in may. Sight distance may be limited


If you want to practice, practice shooting like you will when you hunt. Off sticks, kneeling, sitting, using a tree as a brace, off a backpack. Run or do jumping jacks or whatever to get your heart rate up, then shoot. Do drills where you have to get multiple shots off quickly and accurately.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

sight your rifle in 1" hi at 100, then u dont have to think about anything when on the animals
wether its 50, 100 or 150 or even 200m you are golden, aim on the shoulder, listen to your ph relax and have a good time
remember to take time, soak in atmosphere, listen, smell, enjoy the sun set, drink a gin and tonic while out in the bush

 

[HookMeUpII]

I really appreciate all the input here. It seems like the general consensus is zero at 100 yds or maybe a touch high AND practice a lot off the sticks once the rifle is dialed.

After reading this, I am going to get the custom ballistic dial at some point, but not for SA. Seems like good old fashioned 100 yd zero with maybe a small holdover adjustment is all I'll need.

 

[HookMeUpII]

Love that rifle btw. Stainless and the high gloss stock is a great combo

Thank you! This rifle actually is the reason we are going. It was part of the safari package through a seller on Gunbroker who works with Kuche. I love the rifle, think it's perfect for Africa, but my only regret: It's simply too pretty to drag through the woods/bush here in NA. The group we are going with has:

3 Browning X-Bolt White Gold Medallion special editions in 300WM
1 Winchester Model 70 in special edition camo in 300WM

I will confess that my brother, with the Model 70, scored a nice rifle. I almost dare to say a Model 70 in something like 30-06 or 308 might be in the future for me for NA.

 

[kdenn]

Rifle 300 WM will be perfect. Barnes 180gr great bullet. Practice off sticks to 200 yds. Have a buddy set up the sticks you walk quickly 20-30 yards to the stick setup and shoot within 2-3sec. Relax and enjoy the experience.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I really appreciate all the input here. It seems like the general consensus is zero at 100 yds or maybe a touch high AND practice a lot off the sticks once the rifle is dialed.

After reading this, I am going to get the custom ballistic dial at some point, but not for SA. Seems like good old fashioned 100 yd zero with maybe a small holdover adjustment is all I'll need.

You need to be aware on your custom turret is gonna be cut for a specific altitude, and temperature. There are a ton of variables the turret doesn’t account for and the variables it tries to account for are marginal at best. Learning how to dial is a much truer and accurate plan. Just wanted you to be aware so you don’t hamstring yourself to a specific place and condition set thinking you’ll be golden everywhere. They’re great for the local area and conditions you see, but if you’re traveling to other areas or hiking in the mountains it’s not the bees knees their marketing people have you believing.

 

[Deepfork]

You need to be aware on your custom turret is gonna be cut for a specific altitude, and temperature. There are a ton of variables the turret doesn’t account for and the variables it tries to account for are marginal at best. Learning how to dial is a much truer and accurate plan. Just wanted you to be aware so you don’t hamstring yourself to a specific place and condition set thinking you’ll be golden everywhere. They’re great for the local area and conditions you see, but if you’re traveling to other areas or hiking in the mountains it’s not the bees knees their marketing people have you believing.

For the VAST majority of hunters the Leupold CDS system is simple and effective for any situation they will find themselves in.

For example, on my .300 WM 165 gr Federal TBT with a 200 yard zero:

300 Yards

Sea level and 90 degrees F, 6.3 inch drop .
7500 Ft and 20 degrees F 6.1 inch drop.

500 Yards

Sea level and 90 degrees F, 36.8 inch drop.
7500 Ft and 20 degrees F, 35.3 inch drop.

A difference of a quarter inch at 300, 1.5 at 500.

I get my turrets cut at 4000 ft and 40 degrees. Works great for any hunting situation I will ever find myself in.

I have decades of experience dialing in scopes calibrated in MILS, and some in MOAs. The CDS system is easier and faster which can be very important in hunting situations. Nothing is quicker and easier than ranging, then matching the number on the dial which is what you do with the CDS turret.

 

[Deepfork]

I really appreciate all the input here. It seems like the general consensus is zero at 100 yds or maybe a touch high AND practice a lot off the sticks once the rifle is dialed.

After reading this, I am going to get the custom ballistic dial at some point, but not for SA. Seems like good old fashioned 100 yd zero with maybe a small holdover adjustment is all I'll need.

I would zero at 200. 1/2 my shots on our hunt in SA last year were between 200 and a little over 300 yards. 300 yards with a 200 yard zero is a 8-9 inch hold over.