The hot sun on your back as you wait, the slow zoom of a lazy fly, and the watery image of a herd of Wildebeest in your sights. Every long range hunter loves the precision that comes with knowing the limits of your own shooting skill, your equipment, the elements, and the distance to the target. 

Whether your dream long range hunt is to shoot an Eland or springbuck at 1,000 yards, or maybe you don’t know what to hunt in Africa but you want to test your long range precision skills, then read on.

First, is long range hunting for you?

This is a straightforward question that needs your absolute honesty. Long range hunting in Africa is slow, hard, meticulous work that can only be done well with tonnes of experience. Getting good at long range is not only taxing on time and commitment, it is more expensive. 

Here’s how to check if you are ready to book a long range hunt in South Africa.

1. You must be experienced at long range shooting. You are not trying to improve your skills by hunting at long range. 
2. You must have a good understanding of ballistics and how the environment will affect your inflight bullet. 
3. You must have a rifle you trust and can consistently shoot accurately at long range. A fluke/luck-shot is not good enough. Consistency is key.
4. You’ll need to reload your own ammunition as factory ammo will not be good enough. Do you have experience and knowledge on how to reload? You need to become an expert in reloading your specific long range cartridge, and know the ins and outs of case preparation.
5. Are you good at reading wind conditions? If not, don’t hunt long range.

At Huntershill Safaris, our PH’s have decades of experience reading the wind conditions, understanding the environment, and more. So book your LR hunt today!

How to prepare for a long range hunt in Africa

Your hunting rifle

This is likely one of the most important elements when it comes to long range shooting: is your rifle accurate over long distances?

Standard unmodified factory rifles will not do the job, except for rifles made by manufacturers who specialize in long range rifle builds, for example Victrix Armaments.

How to know if your rifle is accurate enough for long range hunting

Start from the top down of your hunting rifle.

• Scope – A high-quality scope required, for example NightForce ATACR or IOR Valdada etc. Choose a scope that has enough internal elevation. Holdovers are not recommended for long range, unless you use a christmas tree-type reticle. 
• Scope mounts – Strong picatinny rail bolted directly onto the action is recommended with strong scope rings to join the two.
• Action – Your rifle action must be strong enough to carry a heavy barrel and to minimize stresses that will impair accuracy. Karabiner 98k will not be strong enough. Howa will work at a push. Bat action-types are better. The beefier the action the better.
• Barrel – With long range hunting, heavier is better. Therefore, you’ll need a medium palma profile at the very least, all the way to a straight billet. Thin barrels tend to perform poorly as they are not rigid enough for long range accuracy. This can be done with a factory rifle if the barrel profile is thick. Typically a factory barrel would need a competition 14 degree crown (the 14 degree crown is to better handle bowtail bullets). Custom rifles built by an experienced gunsmith with good components will always perform better as the setup and machining is perfectly done and not mass produced. The barrel should also have the correct twist for the weight bullet you want to shoot.
• Stock – You can’t have a heavy action-barrel in a thin wooden or plastic stock. Laminate wood stocks with aluminum bedding blocks is ideal. An aluminum chassis will also work. The barrel must be free-floated for optimal accuracy. The rifle must be bedded with an special epoxy resin to ensure a glove-like fit between the action and stock. Only the action should touch the stock where it’s been bedded; with heavy barrels on smaller actions it is recommended to bed the barrel knox as well, as long as the knox is parallel (by the chamber about 2-3 inches long). 

At Huntershill Safaris, we can help you experience the thrill of long range hunting with confidence.

What you’ll need on your LR hunt

• Ballistics calculator – This is essential. Using a ballistics calculator takes practice. Be comfortable with entering your data and getting accurate results to properly adjust your scope consistently. It’s extremely important to set up your cartridge specifications properly (bullet BC, weight, speed, etc) as well as your environmental factors (wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity, elevation above sea level, directional bearing of target, temperature, etc).
• Rangefinder – Knowing the range is extremely important. Have a quality rangefinder rated to accurately range long distances.
• Wind Meter – This is handy to get a ballpark idea of wind speed, however any long range shooter will tell you this is key, being able to read the wind! Over long distances you may shoot through multiple wind directions. Hills and valleys will also affect wind direction.

At Huntershill Safaris, your professional hunter (PH) has all the gear and expertise you need to squeeze off that shot!

What cartridge to use when hunting long range

Selecting the correct cartridge can be tricky. You want to shoot a heavy enough bullet fast enough to do sufficient damage to your target that also has a well designed bullet profile (BC). 

• Select a big enough case. Your case is the engine behind the bullet for example a .300 BLK will only be effective up to 460m whereas a .300 NM will be effective beyond 1000m. Same bullet diameter/caliber, bigger case.
• Bullet diameter/caliber. 6.5mm is accurate but does it have the weight and energy to knock down your game? If you wish to shoot bigger game you’ll need to consider shooting .30 or larger calibers. 
• Bullet weight. The heavier the bullet the less wind will affect it, however then you’ll need more power behind it (bigger case). Make sure your bullet weight corresponds with your barrel twist.
• Cartridge size and caliber. This is a fine balance, so do your research. For example, a .458 Lott is big but it is not a good long range cartridge where a .338 LM is smaller but much better for long range.
• Subsonic distance. Another factor to understand is the distance at which your bullet goes subsonic once fired. If your bullet becomes subsonic at 1000m, it’s a bad idea to hunt around that distance. This is because your bullet becomes unstable as it becomes subsonic.

Other things to consider

• A heavier rifle will recoil less. Therefore, if you’re shooting a big cartridge that’s tough to handle, add weight to your stock to reduce the felt recoil impulse. Or add a muzzle-brake if your hunting destination allows it.
• Weight is less important, because you don’t do a lot of walking and stalking when you hunt long distances. 
• Long range hunting is not a sniper movie. You can’t “walk it on”. You must be skilled with cold bore first shot hits.
• High BC bullets are often longer and will not fit in your magazine. Typically, long range shooters prefer to single-load.
• To hunt long range, use long range hunting bullets such as Berger VLD Hunting, Hornady ELD-X, and Nosler AccuBond LR, to name a few.

What we expect from long range hunters

At Huntershill Safaris, we recommend the furthest a novice or first time long range shooter hunts is 300 yards. For more experienced hunters who are skilled at long range precision shooting, it is the hunter’s responsibility to hit the animal’s kill zone every single time. 

We know how challenging that can be under hunting conditions. 

While guns, ammo, and equipment have improved significantly over the years, the one thing you cannot buy is hard-earned skill. 

What has not changed, however, is the cold, hard truth that you can’t buy skill; you must earn it. So, before you decide to opt for a long-range shot, you need to be honest with yourself.

• Have you “burnt enough powder” to have the hard-earned skill to send that shot? 
• Is the animal within your maximum ethical distance (MED)? 

If you’re not ready, no harm, no foul. 

Go to the range and practice long range precision off of shooting sticks, off of your backpack, or whatever you might use out on a hunting safari. 

• At what distance can you hit an eight-inch target every single time you squeeze the trigger. 
• Can you do this in any weather conditions, from any field positions, every single time? Regardless of if you’re out of breath, stressed, tired, hot, cold, hungry, etc?

How to determine your MED number

You do this by shooting a lot, even on days that you’d rather not, and in positions you don’t enjoy, and so you stretch your abilities. 

• Do drills and exercises that simulate a hunt. For example, run 50 yards to your rifle with your full gear, and make the shot when you’re breathing hard and with a time limit. 
• Once you’re hitting every target, every time, subtract 20% to account for adrenaline and real-life factors while hunting. That should give you your MED.
• Be stone-cold, brutally honest with yourself. Your MED is likely shorter than you hoped, and maybe closer than what other hunters are bragging about, but you have an ethical obligation to the animals you hunt to do it right. 

Hopefully all of this will bring you closer to the true desired goal: to dispatch a big-game animal as humanely as possible at far distances. 

Book your hunting safari today!

Are you looking at the ultimate Long Range hunting experience? Well, look now further than Huntershill Safaris. 

Situated in the heart of Eastern Cape, South Africa, we are blessed with canyons like no other, wide open savannahs, and mountains with a view to make you want to stay forever.

Bring your own long range precision rifle, or use the rifles we have at Huntershill Safaris, ranging from 6.5×55, 6.5 Creedmoor, 260 Remington 300 win and Wsm, all fitted with suppressors.

We have Professional Hunters who are well-trained and knowledgeable about ballistics and Long Range hunting.

So, trust your long range hunting experience with us! You never know, that beautiful kudu bull might just be standing out at 600 yards, waiting for you.

Head down, breath, squeeze that shot off and follow through… Book your spot today! See you soon.