Average shooting distance, Eastern Cape and surrounds

[H.MINNAAR]

So it seems like i went about the other thread the wrong way, seeing as i have never been to that area. I was told that i will be lucky to get a shot under 300m in the Eastern Cape and surrounding areas. This almost seems hard too believe. Please clarify what sort of distances will i actually be shooting at.
Will my 308 still be suitable, should i change my 180gr load to a flatter ,faster shooting one.

[Digby]

A big part of the answer depends on how you go about your hunting, from planning to execution. Are you going for kudu? Are you waking up before daybreak, getting to the top of the kloofs, glassing the early morning movements and planning your stalk from afar? Are you driving around hoping to spot an animal and then going?

To put it into perspective, I have shot in the EC and many others before and after me have shot animals on a walk and stalk basis with a bow. WE are now talking the 20m to 30m range. Lots of guys out there also use handguns. So in a nutshell, it can be out to 300m but it certainly doesn't have to be.

In terms of changing your bullet, I dont think adjusting the bullet is as important as knowing your DOPE and getting the distance ranged right.

[Digby]

To add, personally with a rifle on kudu in EC I would say most shots I have taken have fallen between the 150m to 200m range

[curious george]

EC conditions vary from karoo type to close in bush,depends on where you hunt.

[pre 64]

There is no average shooting distance.
You do the hunting,you decide on how far you will shoot.This decision must be based on your skills,abilities and ethics.

Life size colour targets of animals are available at most gun shops.Get a couple,go to the range and shoot at them from a FIELD possition.
you may find for eg.that you are able to place ALL you shots standing,free hand,in the target animals vitals at 75m.Sitting on the ground may go to 150m,lying down may be 250m and so on.

These are your limits and will form the basis of the "average"distance you,personally shoot at.

Resist the urging of a tracker/guide telling you to shoot if you are not comfortable.

The farmers that state you will not get a shot under 300m either have no hunting abilities,grossly exaggerate or have a large percentage of animals wounded and lost.

I would bet good money that the "average" South African hunter will place no more than 40% of his shots in the vitals of a springbuck sized target from a field possition at distances from 300m and more.

[Gert Odendaal]

There is no average shooting distance.
You do the hunting,you decide on how far you will shoot.This decision must be based on your skills,abilities and ethics.

Life size colour targets of animals are available at most gun shops.Get a couple,go to the range and shoot at them from a FIELD possition.
you may find for eg.that you are able to place ALL you shots standing,free hand,in the target animals vitals at 75m.Sitting on the ground may go to 150m,lying down may be 250m and so on.

These are your limits and will form the basis of the "average"distance you,personally shoot at.

Resist the urging of a tracker/guide telling you to shoot if you are not comfortable.

The farmers that state you will not get a shot under 300m either have no hunting abilities,grossly exaggerate or have a large percentage of animals wounded and lost.

I would bet good money that the "average" South African hunter will place no more than 40% of his shots in the vitals of a springbuck sized target from a field possition at distances from 300m and more.

I would wager more good money that the average South African hunter will not even reach the 40% mark..rather 30% will be a better figure at 300 meters...just visit a shoot at a club when the participants shoot at a blue wildebees target at 300 meters..when patching the holes you will noticed a lot of holes on the different targets are very high placed the other lot very low placed and an extremely few( two /three) is around/near the vital areas.. 300-500 meters really is not a distance much practice by the South African hunter since not many shooting ranges has these longer ranges available...and most hunters just go to the shooting range a week or so before the hunt to make sure they still shoot near the bull at 100 meters...
Avarage shooting distance when hunting entirely depends on your method of hunting in any environment you are hunting in. If you are usually walk and stalking you can do that in any environment...even in the Kalahari..or on the Free state flats..it is a skill learned well if you invest a lot of time in it. The more you practice the luckier you get( Garry Player) so is long distance hunting practices..the choice is yours ..your abilities determines the average hunting shot distances ....

[TStone]

What Pre 64 said. But, also, the Eastern Cape is a big area with widely varying terrain and vegetation.

[Dale SH]

After having hunted for the second year in the Cradock area this year I have come to a few conclusions.
Namely.
When shooting over a kloof or up the side of a mountain, the distances always look a lot further than what they are.
As an exercise our hunting group took one rangefinder and while driving around we would all take a guess at what distance an animal was standing on the side of a mountain or over a kloof.
We would then range the animal and see who had guessed the range correctly.

Most of us had overestimated the distance by at least 100 meters.
It is very deceiving shooting in that area and a range finder is an absolute necessity.

[SteveFW]

Just back from EC hunt. Shooting distances on Kudu, walk and stalk, varied between 50 and 300m. Closer shots required snap shooting from improvised positions, longer distances gave a little more time, but not a whole lot more. Very much depends on how/where you are hunting. On previous voorsit hunts Kudus have been shot anywhere between 50- 240m.

Get comfortable with your shooting positions and how quickly you can get off an acceptable shot on a range BEFORE you go, the veld is not the best (or cheapest) place to learn what your capabilities are.