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I agree with Zimhunter. Each gun is an unknown till it is touched off. If it hurts, sell it or give it to a "friend".

A curious thought came to mind that if I could only tolerate 4-10 shots of a given rifle per session I would get very bored indeed with the gun as I like to shoot and don't care much for wallhangers. Having said that, I also realize that there are rifles that serve a purpose that must necessarily also include really stout recoil and thus place a severe limitation on the amount of the caliber that can be reasonably shot. How a guy develops reflexive skill with a gun that can be shot only 8 times per session I do not know, except for the proven method of dryfiring and "Swedish Drill" over a long period of time combined with shooting those 8 shots repeatedly over that long period of time, assuming a really wicked flinch doesn't become part of the instinctive shooting response.

I KNOW there are guys that do amazing thing with heavy rifles. What I am about to detail are bits about the others...

A couple PH's I have spoken and many I have read have referred to the poor shooting of many clients with Big'uns. I guess I might be able to attest to the veracity of their described scenarios from my experience this side of the Pond since I used to outfit a lot of guys going over to Africa.

It went like this:

May 1: .458 rifle purchased along with three boxes of ammo, one FMJ, two SP.

May 28: Trip to range. Ten rounds total fired with attempts to actually see the sights or crosshairs becoming quite difficult after 3 shots due to "EJS"* syndrome. Shooting takes place at 50 yards on a 25 meter .22 bullseye. Shooter says 2 shots in the black and is pretty sure the other eight shots landed within the county.

June 7: Shooter's trip back into the gunshop to discuss the upcoming hunt and comment on the metaphysical certitude of the existence of purgatory on earth with firsthand knowledge that it can be found standing behind a .458 rifle at Muddy Grove rifle range.

June 15: Second trip to rifle range: 11 more rounds fired, last two with cheek 1 inch away from the comb. Severe and unconquerable flinch accompanies each and every shot. Since target is now set up at 25 yards and consists of the front page of the Detroit Free Press opened up with a swipe of Magic Marker placed at the center fold, three shots fall on the paper, remaining shots kick up dust on neighbor's targets three positions down to left and two to the right. Rifle zero considered "On" for "close range" "Dangerous Game Stopping".

June 20: Two more boxes {one solid, one soft} ammo purchased. Very little said about upcoming hunt except that the flight is sure to be long and boring.

July 28-August 11: The Hunt. "Somewhere in Deepest Darkest Africa".

August 20: Return to gunshop. First sight of client indicates possible effects of narcotics, second glance reveals merely an exaggerated swagger caused by over-extention of chest. Dress consists of new rugger shorts, barely scuffed pair of vellies and knee-length "Free State socks". Conversation dotted with words and phrases like "backup", "chimbuzi", "musolani iko wapi", "charge", "sundowners", "bwana wa mungu", "mate", "bloke", "mtoto", "now-now" and "Those When-We's...".

I smile and ask to see the pictures. A well-framed photo of a dead buffalo is produced. A nice one. More interrogation indicates a slight hint of substantial PH involvement. This hint is reinforced by the photo where the PH can be seen squatting next to the buffalo, he obviously avoiding the touching of the scalding hot barrel of his rifle.

This was my experience at the gunshop many years ago.

*"Eyes Jammed Shut"

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