African Outfitter is an independent international bimonthly publication promoting
fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.
Corporate instincts versus bush skills - Mauritz Coetzee
The modern-day business man or woman is firmly entangled in the search for new profit and profit-generating ventures. In a nutshell, it can safely be stated that modern business has become an extremely competitive market overall. At times it takes a lot of skill and corporate intuition to survive in this type of environment.
Many of these men and women are also hunters in heart and spirit. Like all professional people they share a common attribute, namely a very strict time schedule for all activities that lie outside the working domain.
Private Wealth Management, a division of Old Mutual, and specifically the Pretoria branch, decided early in 2006 to expand their marketing activities. After studying the overall profile of many of their clients, a decision was taken to hold three shotgun days and one rifle shooting day per year.
With this in mind and also because many of their clients have indicated that they were in fact preparing for buffalo hunting trips during September and October, a shooting day was held on 2 September 2006.
Trevor Cowie and Jan van Deventer of Private Wealth Management took it upon themselves to arrange this fun cum preparation shoot at Adrian Rosslee's shooting range near Boschkop just outside Pretoria. The purpose of the shooting day boiled down to three aspects – for the participants to enjoy themselves as rifle enthusiasts; to provide final preparation for those who were embarking on dangerous game hunting trips; and to introduce clients from Private Wealth Management to each other. All in all, such social days have the benefit of creating network opportunities amongst people with similar interests.
The program for the day consisted of two distinct sections. Geordie Kruger and Adrian Rosslee, together with gunsmith Erhard Bienedell, went through the different aspects of rifle reliability, particularly feeding of a cartridge and the ejection of a fired case.
Bullet choice, as well as scopes that can stand up to the recoil generated by the big bores, including sturdy mounts, was covered in detail. Included in this section was the extremely important aspect of a rifle that fits the shooter perfectly, and a cartridge being used by the hunter that is compatible with the recoil tolerance of the shooter or hunter. PH Hanke Hudson also gave some valuable tips on the dynamics of the hunting situation with regard to big game.
The second section of the programme consisted of shooting at buffalo targets with a forced reloading action included. Participants also had to shoot at a moving or charging buffalo at another shooting session on this day.
With most of these feeding and ejection problems it is simply a case where the hunter in his or her preparation never actually tested the rifle in rapid fire sessions. It is often simply a case of the rifle being sighted in from the bench and the bolt being opened and closed in a rather delicate manner.
Many a participant in this shoot also "short-stroked" rifles with consequent feeding problems. Some rifles also did not feed properly with a full magazine as opposed to feeding from a magazine filled with only one or two rounds.
The rather subtle aspect of being "overcome by the moment" after firing the first shot at animals, especially buffalo, was also addressed by Hanke Hudson. Often after firing the first shot the hunter simply waits for the animal to drop. The principle of firing whilst the animal is still standing and can still be seen was therefore strongly emphasised.
The people who attended this shooting day represented various professions, such as lecturers, specialist physicians and radiologists, town planners, attorneys, dentists, surgeons and private entrepreneurs. They all went home fully realising that rifle skills do not really come naturally but are the result of continuous exercise and handling. Furthermore, hunting skills emanate from learning out in the bush where "the real thing" takes place. It is also the product of continuous exposure and being able to read the signs of nature. In a way it is the ability to translate corporate instincts into hunting instincts and being able to apply oneself in a proper manner in the bush and the territory of dangerous game.
We managed to obtain feedback from two participants who actually went buffalo hunting and also attended the big bore seminar.
The relationship between the client and the PH works both ways. No matter what the social standing of the client in society, he has to respect the position of the professional hunter out in the bush. The professional hunter has to deliver in terms of being competent when pursuing dangerous game. The least the client can do is to arrive at the hunting destination fully prepared, whether from a personal point of view or equipmentwise. Private Wealth Management does indeed assist their clients in this respect.
