On Saturday the 25th 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
