Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2021 i On Target Africa

Not a manufacturer to rest on its laurels, it steadily developed its.22 LR bolt action rifle platforms, culminating in its American® Rimfire Target series. This took the award-winning Ruger® design concepts and honed them into a ‘never say die’ bolt action platform. Grab your favourite reactive target, sit back and join us as we take a closer look at the latest giant slayer from Ruger®. Initial impressions I was immediately struck by how light the American® Rimfire Target felt when I pulled the rifle out of the box. Weighing a scant 3 039 g, it feels extremely lively in hand and is very quick to point. The rifle lends itself to rapid target acquisition applications such as varmint hunting and/or precision rifle shooting. The barrel felt rock solid in the…

Seven years of drought in the Eastern cape, coupled with cancellations by overseas hunting clients due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has resulted in game farmers who would not normally accommodate local biltong hunters open their arms to South African hunters and offer very reasonable prices for animals normally out of our price range. This was the case with my Eastern Cape buffalo hunt. A series of calls and disappointments, more calls and lots of arranging eventually led to us making contact with JP Kleinhans, a well-respected outfitter, professional hunter and taxidermist, based on his farm just north of Hankey in the Eastern Cape. JP could arrange a buffalo cow hunt at a price that I could not say no to. Under normal circumstances, a buffalo cow is a valuable asset,…

All competitors arriving at the range were required to wear masks, sanitise their hands and observe social distancing. Competitors completed an online Covid-19 declaration form 48 hours prior to the match. They also received a goody bag containing a printed Covid-19 declaration form to be handed to match officials on the day for those unable to complete it online. The goody bag contained a pen, an EPPSA-branded face mask and hand sanitiser donated by Cape Chemical Industries, and a friendly reminder to all competitors to remember to sanitise, maintain social distancing and wear a face mask. As part of the initial stage briefing, Range Officers reminded all competitors to wear face masks, sanitise their hands and maintain social distancing. No spectators were permitted entry to the match to limit the…

Going down this road has been rewarding and has resulted in a platform that can be utilised to promote sports shooting and welcome newcomers to the world of extreme long range (ELR) shooting in particular. In 2020, Send IT developed and hosted the first (to our knowledge).22 ELR event in South Africa, and in March 2021 it was time to do so again. The rise in popularity of.22 ELR is easily explained. Rifles are readily available and inexpensive, and for the most part standing idle in gun safes, while ammunition is relatively affordable. Shooters require only a modestly accurate rifle and a budget-friendly optic with suitable elevation capability, preferably up to 100 MOA. The rise in popularity of.22 ELR is easily explained Fantastic learning platform Furthermore,.22 ELR is a fantastic…

It is no wonder many shy away from even thinking of carrying a knife in a defensive capacity. However, if we want to successfully prevent knife attacks or, in a worst-case scenario, effectively stop them, we have to study knives and understand how they are used. When a weapon boasts a successful CV that stretches over millennia, it deserves attention. While hot on the heels of a suspect following a break-in, an old man standing next to the dirt road warned me: “Ntate, leshodu lena le na le thipa.” Heeding the warning that he was carrying a knife, I radioed the security officer racing ahead to cut off the suspect. Icepick grip Having seen the criminal just before he jumped over a wall, he told me that he hadn’t noticed any…

Two robbers, clad head to toe in Level 3-A body armour, wearing coats, ski-masks and gloves, robbing a bank while armed with a mix of Heckler & Koch 7.62 x 51 mm and Chinese AK-47 variant assault rifles, fit into that unlikely category. Yet that is exactly what police officers responding to an alarm at the Bank of America in Hollywood, California, faced on 28 February 1997. Larry Phillips and Emil Matasareanu decided to make an illegal withdrawal. With stop watches sewn into their gloves, they worked together like a well-oiled machine, only targeting banks with a verified $1 million dollars or more in their vaults. Only this day their luck ran out, as the escape route was blocked by law enforcement. Firepower superiority With the robbers enjoying firepower superiority,…

Driving up to the old farmhouse at the bottom of a rather intimidating ridge line, I had a sinking feeling that I may be just a tiny bit out of my depth… Looking back, I wasn’t wrong! Rob has a knack of hosting some of the most exciting precision rifle matches I have ever shot, and humbled and with a badly dented ego, I have returned time and time again. After the activity around the launch of the International Precision Rifle Federation (IPRF), and its South African affiliate (SAPRF) in 2020, Rob decided to focus on the daunting task of creating a home under which the disparate international precision rifle shooting communities could find common ground, in order to field a team of top shooters in a world championship match,…