Michael Stripe
“Thanks FTW! 135 off sticks, 375 Ruger. Didn’t take a step!”
“Thanks FTW! 135 off sticks, 375 Ruger. Didn’t take a step!”
I’ve always thought I could shoot pretty well, that was up until I attended the FTW Ranch’s SAAM course. 10 years ago, I attended Tim Fallon’s shooting school for the first time. It was a 3-day course and included long range shooting as well as the safari shooting school. The learning curve was steep as they successfully got rid of most my bad habits. I honestly never expected to be shooting a football size target at 1000 yards consistently. Then came the big five, all charging; and the methods I learned that were used to safely shoot and reload without short stroking was invaluable. It seriously prepares you for the unexpected.
This situation required the shooting skills I learned at FTW. I used all the pre-shot steps, I had to build my house about three times on the sheep to get an acceptable reticle movement down to where it needed to be for a good first shot. FTW’s SAAM Precision rifle training built confidence in my shooting sequence to make a clean first shot. This shot I made was the most important in my life.
I dropped this Topi today in Tanzania near the Rungwa River! Please pass my thanks for instruction and patience to Dave and Efren – it seems to be soaking in!
You will be happy, and Doug will be happy, to hear 8 of 10 killed on the first shot, the other 2 were buffalo and it took an extra shot for each. Both were great first shots, but they needed a second. All the training really pays off! I think so much differently when hunting now!
After attending the SAAM basic and advanced courses I have an entirely new confidence when shooting. These courses allowed me to confidently take, and ethically make, every shot Africa offered me on a recent safari.