Hunters take a shot in the dark
Each range was illuminated by its own spotlight run from a vehicle nearby
The Upper Tugela branch of the KwaZulu-Natal Hunting, Shooting & Conservation Association held their annual ‘Night Gong Shoot’ on the farm Riet-Kuil along the D45 just outside Ladysmith on Friday.
In KwaZulu-Natal, hunting at night with a spotlight is prohibited. Culling of excess game and Damage Causing Animal Control (DCAC) may be done at night with a spotlight, but both activities require the shooter to be registered and have a permit.
26 shottists and a number of spectators braved the stormy weather and met at the farmhouse from about 6pm. As soon as it was dark enough, the owner of the farm and Upper Tugela chairman Piet Buys welcomed everyone and briefed them on the shoot.
All then made their way down to the shooting range, where four separate gong ranges had been set up.
Each range was shot from a different shooting position.
The first range was shot with the shooter sitting on a square bale and resting over two bales in front of them.
The next range had the shooter sitting at a shooting table with the rifle resting over an X-bag. The third range had hunting railings from a 4×4 that had been taken off the vehicle and placed on the ground for safety reasons. That last range was shot leaning over a round bale. All positions were very steady to shoot from.
Each range was illuminated by its own spotlight run from a vehicle nearby.
There were five gongs on each range. The closest gong was at 140m on range 4 and the furthest was 400m on range 3. Each gong had a small piece of reflective tape stuck on the strap just above the gong, which was quite bright when illuminated by the spotlight.
Most found that shooting at night is very different to shooting during the day and definitely more difficult.
Braai fires were lit at about 9.30pm, once most competitors had finished shooting.
The evening was rounded off with a nice, relaxing braai during which scores were tallied and read out.
The top score of the night was 17/20, shot by Johan Odendal. Second place went to Larry Bester, Piet Buys and Owen Geekie, who shot 16/20. Reggie Gerber and Ralf Dedekind shot 15/20.
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