Went out shooting my new Chapuis .470 N.E. double rifle today and although the gun shot beautifully off the bench, I did not freehand. After seeing how poorly I shot freehand today, I am figuring that it will take a lot of shooting to be ready for Safari. I started at 25 yards and my groups standing up freehand extended to 8" with most in a 4"x4" box. From the bench, all but one were in the bullseye box. Next I went to 50 yards and fired two more rounds from the bench and they were just under 3/4" apart, which I was extremely happy with because I know double rifles are not the most accurate guns around and the rifle is definitely ready for safari once I catch up to it. Next, I put snap caps in and fired many rounds at the target. At first I was dropping the barrel after each shot which I figure explains why all my freehand shots where going low. After a while, I was able to hold the gun on target after pulling the trigger and was developing good follow through. I was wondering if anybody who shoots them a lot may have some additional tips on freehand shooting that may help me to improve my form or my shooting of double rifles? I am taking photos of my targets to keep on my computer so I can monitor improvement as I go forward. I just got reloading dies and will be reloading so I can afford to shoot more. I figured on shooting at least 500 rounds before safari, but now I am thinking more on the line of 1000 rounds prior. I always hear about using the formed lead bullets for practice. I do not know anything about them. Is this the best idea or would it be better to use the same bullets and load weights that I will hunt with? I found them for a fairly decent price and could afford to load them, but I know the others are much cheaper. Last, can anybody suggest an average freehand consistent group size that would be acceptable at 50 yards and 100 yards to be ready to hunt dangerous game.