Not guilty on the cycling charge. I have cycled too often - deserving a "quiet dammit" on more than one occasion. But - I'm guilty on the scope charge - double checking what's beyond the target (as if my eyes were better than the scope). I call it caution - others might consider it needless hesitation.

The second PH deserves a medal for diplomacy. I imagine that blunt criticism of Americans with the disposable income to throw at a safari is not a sustainable business practice. Some day I hope to afford the pleasure of being subjected to such a withering blast.

Only time I use a "rest" is to check the zero of a gun. (For "rest" read tree, spare tire on the hood, rolled up rifle case, etc.) The actual practice is at best with elbows on a table, most is standing.
I was also taught to aim above my target and slowly drop down firing as the sights hit the spot you want to hit, works for target or game as no man can hold perfectly still and on target standing. Conversely aiming below and raising up seems to work almost as well, depending on situation of the shot, mostly hunting with open sights as you don't block out your target this way.
BTW this is how the US Army taught my Dad to shoot, back in WWII, dunno if they have changed the way of aiming since but it still works for me.

Well, as a younger shooter, I find it more and more difficult to practice. The two ranges I used to go to were closed because subdivisions were constructed nearby. Now I have to drive 2 hours to go shoot and when I get there I have to contend with most if not all the benches being occupied by hobby target shooters with their AR-15's and M1's. When I was a kid, my dad and I used to just drive out in the woods and set up a target on a tree. Also, I feel that too many young hunters are being given scoped rifles in the .270 to .30-06 and up caliber as their first gun. This makes them recoil shy and scope dependent. I was lucky to have started on a .22LR with iron sights, but I see 15 year old kids with 7mm Magnums at the range with 12X scopes on them and I hunt in the southeast. Where did all the iron sighted Winchester 94's go?

Lastly, lets face it. A good number of hutners that go to Africa are the newly rich and newly hunting and they have more money than sense and haven't even shot a squirrel let alone a cape buffalo.

I think Ryan is going down the right track with the caliber of rifles being used. Most (all) can't shoot a magnum rifle as well as a non magnum. Any gun producing more than about 18 ft lb is uncomfortable to shoot. That puts the .30-06 about the most tolerable caliber most can consistently shoot. I have a couple magnums and I shoot them only when I need too. I'll stick to my .30-06 or lesser for everything. I was talking to the guy behind the gun counter at bass pro a few weeks ago. He said 90% of the centerfire rifles they are selling are magnums, mostly the WSM (a fad in my humble opinion). This is in St. Louis, MO. besides an occasional black bear near Arkansas, the whitetail deer is the primary game for these rifles. I can't believe hunters would use a magnum rifle for deer...amazing.

Guilty as charged. But until recently, I made it to the range so infrequently that when I did go, I wanted to make sure I was printing decent groups--so I used a bench rest. It was only when I got to go often enough that I got bored with the bench rest that I started practicing offhand, etc...

Now keeping that in mind, think about all the people you know that hunt, and think about the one time in any given year they'll actually go to a range (...in October, causing a mile-long line). They're not going to be concerned with getting a respectable group off their knee. From a bench, they're going to lob some lead downrange until their shoulder hurts (10 rounds or so) and if they hit within 4 inches of the X, "that thing is DIALED in", and they're good to go. Of course if it doesn't go that well, their rifle/scope/rings/mounts/ammo is obviously defective and off to Cabela's they go to give someone a piece of their mind. I'm really not making this stuff up, I just saw it again this weekend.

Dave, these State of the Hunting Community posts are a bit depressing.

Jay, as for your gun counter comment, its far worse. I just recently had to talk a guy out of buying his kid a semi-auto .223 for deer. The guy at the counter tried to tell him it was a good deer round and that he needed a repeater "in case the deer was running". I showed him to the .243s Another time, the guy working the counter at XXXX Sporting Goods told someone that they needed a 7mm Mag or a .300 Win Mag to hunt in North Florida. Our deer here average about the size of a large dog and 40 yards of clearing is considered a pasture. Yes, you may get an open shot on a powerline and we do have the occasional big buck, but to see the guy tell someone that a .270 "wouldn't put em down fast enough" was ridiculous. I personally shoot a 7mm-08, which is perfect for moderate velocity close shot bullet integrity etc., but to see people who need guidance or who are just getting in to shooting being told that a .270 is too small for whitetail is absurd. Jack O'Conner should rise from his grave and beat that guy's a**

Shooting a LOT is still the key. And get away from the bench once you have the right load. In Africa, I too, asked my PH who shot the best. He said the Americans generally shot better than others. I killed everything up to Kudu, Gemsbuck, Zebra and Hartebeest with my .308 Win. Nothing needed to be tracked and none were lost. Let all the air out of any animal on earth and they die. The only reason for the big kickers is if they might eat or stomp you. Then you better have hundreds of rounds of fast and stressful shooting of that MAGnum under your belt before you go dancing with M'bogo.

Why Americans Can't Shoot?

What Mr. David Petzal found out is to be a factual statement!

And you range monkeys got the audacity to give me a rash of crap! My 9 year old Grandson Alex and I are avid watchers of The Outdoor Channel and VS and boy does he know how to pick out the pinheads especially last week when Ol’Jim Zumbo was spotting for a hunter shooting an African Kudo. Shot it right thru the hind quarters, good shot says Jim!
Saturday night I watched a Gentleman who used a Military 1 ¼ perfectly in prone position to take a Cow Elk at 300 yards. Now that’s my friends is good shooting by GOD!

So what’s the best rifle to use? Three questions you should find out is, what’s the maximum distance you can hit a pie plate and 2nd question what is the largest cartridge you can do so with and 3rd what cartridge is suited best for the environment that isn’t overkill?

God help us if we start a debate on calibers and bullets...........

Shoot what you want and what you shoot good. Hell, you can kill an animal with a swiftly thrown rock if you want or a blowgun for all I care or a .500 T-Rex magnum if its what you like. This is America after all. Just don't buy into the fact that a .300 weatherby shoots 0.1 inches flatter than a .257 Roberts at 300 yards and tell me its "a more accurate round" and expect me not to smile.

The problem with kids getting their hunting info from TV and magazines instead of grandpa and dad is that the shows and mags are sponsored by Federal, Sako, Remington, Weatherby etc. and they all showcase the latest super duper item such as magical scent locker supreme camo for $4000 dollars and super excellent magi-bullet with 7 chambered varied expansion and outer space metal poly bonding technology. Yet, some geezer somewhere in a red plaid shirt, overalls stained with tobacco juice and chicken blood and a 60 year old rusted .35 whelen w iron sights, smoking a cigarette is coming from downwind, hiding behind a tree and filling his freezer with venison using "gasp" round nose core lokt without pretty plastic tips.

This makes Dave's job difficult. But, really, I can't pity Dave for his job......Mine sucks

It's a different generation of hunter. Too many fathers are working more than spending time with their children. I hear more about the cost and type of gun than stories in the field. I'm with dickgun's post on the asphalt generation...not enough time in the woods.

Its my soapbox day. This is my last post, for awhile, but to touch on the comment by Field Dress about the lack of stories in the field......The fact is, there are no more stories in the field. I'd love to see a writer talk about a day of hunting (such as the article a while back on deer dogging in Georgia), but most "hunters" can't relate these days. A modern hunting story would go like this.....

"First, I dressed in my $3567 worth of fine scent locked camoflage and drove my 60,000 dollar truck to our private hunting camp I pay $4000 a year for. Then I put a n orange vest over my camo. I stopped and admired how cool I looked in the mirror.......We then got in the golf cart and utilized out heated seats and rode down the cart path to the wooden air conditioned/heated shooting house. We waited for thirty minutes until the feeders turned on. Then when the pet deer walked out, we sat there talking about which one had the best antlers. We knew several of them by name. I then used my 12x scope and shooting bipod to shoot the 12 point trophy in the a** with my .338 Weatherby Mag. since I can't shoot worth a damn. Then I high fived my buddy over the animal, never stopping to pay respect for it giving its life. I then posed for a picture and had the creature mounted and processed for me. We made it back to the cabin by 9:00 for latte. I then waited for the writer from field and stream to stop by and write an article on my hunting prowess and our deer camp and how we "manage" our bucks. What a hunt!"

Dr. Ralph
You’re so right about saying you think it's our culture it isn’t funny. I grew up with a Father who enjoyed hunting and competition shooting which exposed me to both worlds. I remember one day Dad was practicing with the Davis Monthan AFB AAA Skeet Team. One of the member’s sons hit one of the clay’s just before his dad squeezed off with a 45 cal 230 grain cast from the low house with a wrist rocket. We all got a chuckle out of it besides; they all knew we were taking shots too! Dad’s favorite skeet and trap gun was a Winchester Model 12 with a full choke.
Getting back to David’s Blog here, there is deference for those who grew up with BB guns in the back yard to shooting rodents with pellet guns and 22's at dumps to those like myself shooting deer rifles for yodel dogs and jack rabbits while other used 22’s. I wished I had all the cash back equivalent worth in today’s cost of all those 30-06 130grain loads I burned up every weekend! It wasn’t anything to shoot 200 rounds every weekend.
If you want to shoot with sticks and such, that’s your choice of marksmanship. There are those may require it do to health reasons or the ability to hold it up such a youngster. If you really want to be a good shot, get you a Military 1 ¼ inch leather sling and learn the use of the ling the way NRA High Power Shooters do it. When you’re shooting off a stick or any other way remember this. If you must force to aim right, you will shoot left, force up and left will cause you to shoot low and right and so forth. Close your eyes, swing left then right then back to position and open your eyes and If you’re off. Move your body to naturally be at that point of aim.

As on fellow shooter put it,
Keep the barrel hot and the “X” Ring full of holes!
targets………………..UP!