KZN North TopShot Competition

On Saturday the 25^th August 2012 the first KZN North TopShot event was held in Hluhluwe.  At the last KZN North FGASA meeting the TopShot event was born with the idea to encourage some healthy competition between people in this industry and to give guys and opportunity to get, or renew their advanced rifle handling qualifications at a low rate of the entrance fee for the day.  The ARH qualification is set in place to fully prepare potential trails guides with the right rifle handling skills to safely walk their guests in dangerous game areas, and if a situation was to arise, he or she, would be comfortable with a heavy caliber rifle and able to handle the situation appropriately.

The event kicked off at 7am on Saturday morning as about 10 participants from the area gathered on the Hluhluwe shooting range. Each contestant ran through the first three drills consecutively, which was the exercises as set out for the FGASA ARH assessment. Two attempts were given and if not passed, the contestant was unable to successfully complete the ARH assessment but could still part take in the competition on a point base. Of the 10 starting competitors 4 went through the first round to shoot in the shot placement and simulated lion charge. The simulated lion charge proved to be the greatest challenge of the day. Many of the contestants have not practiced this drill prior to the competition and this proved to be their down fall. To enable you to pass the FGASA ARH drills, practice and building of muscle memory is vital to have smooth, flawless runs.

The event was a first of its kind and we hope it would eventually grow to become a national competition between guides and people in the guiding industry. The first event was a great success and we would like to thank everyone who came down to support the event and to Magnum Shooting Academy for sponsoring the prizes for the day.

Final results for the day were as follows: Fourth and third place went to Gareth Richards and Ronnie Brink respectively. Second place went to Hanroe Taljaard and Jonathan Webster walked away with the Top Shot title of the day. After the ARH drills and points have been counted contestants had a chance to compete in two extra drills which consisted of a simulated lion charge where the contestant has to land two shots on the lion, on target, before it reaches you and the ‘Halies Hop,’ where the contestant runs up a bank in full trails kit and when he returns from his run, goes through the shot placement procedure. These exercises where just set in place to create a greater challenge for the competition and could possibly be counted for bonus points in the next event.

We hope to have another KZN North TopShot event early in 2013 and we invite you to come join and support the event. We encourage other FGASA districts to also find their TopShot, where we can eventually compete regions against each other.

Keep an eye on the Bhejane facebook page and website for details or alternatively you can email us on info@ bhejanenaturetraining.com