Huskemaw Scopes have converted skeptics since their introduction to the hunting market four years ago. One true believer took his rifle and his Huskemaw scope to Africa for a once-in-a-lifetime hunt that turned out to be better than he could have imagined!

Bill Fernelius and his wife flew from their native Washington State in late September of this year to Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where they were met by a guide from East Cape Safaris. Bill had brought along the Remington 700 that he had bought years before, customized over time, and that he had bought a Huskemaw scope for after seeing it demonstrated on The Best of the West. Claude Kinard at “The Shooter Shop” in Graham, Washington had mounted the scope with a custom turret. The final work on his rifle and scope had been completed just a couple of days before he left on his hunt, but Bill was confident in the accuracy of the system based on the quick tests that he had performed just after he picked it up. In the tests, using Berger bullets and a load that Best of the West had suggested for his system, Bill’s test shots at 100 yards were all within a 5/8” grouping.

Bill said that once they arrived in South Africa, the guides and his fellow hunters were a bit skeptical of his claim that he could shoot accurately at such great distances using the Huskemaw scope and custom turret. However, when he shot a spring buck at 400 yards, they started to become believers. The next day, they spotted a bunch of spring bucks at about 632 yards away, but the wind was gusting between 7 and 27 mph. Bill picked out an animal that had been previously wounded and took his shot, and although the wind pulled the shot to the animal’s rear, the fact that he stopped the animal at all at that distance excited his guides.

The following day, Bill and his fellow hunters went out after kudu, which were very skittish. They spotted a big one, but it was across a canyon at about 610 yards, and it was in shadow. Bill said he had to search pretty hard to find it in the scope. Once he did, though, he turned the dial on the scope, took a nice deep breath, let it out, and squeezed the trigger. Because the animal had been so hard to find in the first place, he couldn’t see it right away after the shot, so he wasn’t sure he had hit it. But when his companions started jumping and shouting, he realized he had been successful. The shot went right through the heart, within just a couple of inches of where he had aimed.

By this time, Bill and his hunting companions had each brought in three trophy animals, and Bill’s long range shooting had come to the attention of the owner of the game ranch, Grant Abramson. Grant invited Bill on a management hunt for spring bucks. Abramson asked Bill to shoot at several animals that were at long distances, and Bill said he hit every one. He shot five deer that day, and his adventure wasn’t over yet. By the time his group was ready to leave the game ranch, Bill had killed 10 spring bucks, two kudu, two impala ram, and finished a lot of animals that had been wounded by other hunters. On his last day, Bill said they went out after spring buck again. He found one at 635 yard; with the wind blowing straight at his back, Bill made a perfect shoulder shot and brought the animal down.

Bill said that this hunt was by far his most accurate long-range hunting experience. He credited the Huskemaw scope and Claude Kinard’s expertise with the success of the hunt, and said that he made true believers out of his hunting companions and South African guides!

Thanks, Bill, for your story. If anyone else has an experience to share about how their Best of the West Shooting System or Huskemaw Scope made their hunting trips memorable, please let us know! E-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and you could see your story on our website, as well!