Ten-thousand miles.
That’s how far my rifles must travel before the safari begins. Along the way, they’ll be herded by soulless conveyor belts, bounced off concrete floors and fingered by dubiously qualified “inspectors.” Bag-checking rifles for international travel feels like releasing a kid on a bike without training wheels. Though I expect to re-zero the scopes in Africa, I want to ensure the optics on my rifles are set up correctly before I leave. More importantly, I want to be confident I have the skills to return them to a reliable standard if they arrive with problems.
COURAGE, TOOLS AND TORQUE
I teamed up with Caylen Wojcik, founder of Modern Day Rifleman, to coach my optics setup on two rifles I’d take to Africa. A former Marine Scout Sniper, Caylen teaches precision shooting for military, LEO and civilian shooters. He also teaches a precision shooting course for hunters.
Wojcik frequently sees similar optics problems when students dust off their hunting rifles after a long off-season. Luckily, most problems are avoidable or easily correctable with a step-by-step approach and a few simple tools.
“Shooters should not be intimidated by assembling and disassembling their hunting rifles down to their core components,” Wojcik says. “We’re just talking about turning screwdrivers, using a level and being thoughtful about torque adjustments. The key is to understand the goal of each step and be methodical.”
These rifles and their intended application present few unique
