From a windswept dune in the Kalahari to the long, feathered shadows of a retreating ostrich, Dr. Mike Arnold takes us inside one of Africa’s most unusual shot-placement puzzles. What begins as a morning in search of gemsbok quickly turns into a lesson in anatomy, instinct and humility as Mike confronts a question few hunters ever have to answer: where do you aim on a 300-pound bird built like no other creature on earth? Read on as he recounts the chase, the science, and the moment the crosshairs finally found their place.

The two birds slowly weaved in and out of the acacia scrub across the distant Kalahari Desert hillside. Studying them from what my Vortex Fury binocular-rangefinder indicated in red digital letters was a distance of 500-yards, they looked like gray-black, puffy, Dandelion seed heads. Of course, dandelion seed heads don’t have gigantic legs sticking out the bottom; the Struthio camelus (a.k.a. Common ostrich) making their way across the slope did. I was very glad they weren’t within my comfort zone for a shot, because for the life of me, I could not imagine where I would place the crosshairs. Where the heck was the ‘heart-lung’ area? Was the ‘shoulder’ located where the enormous drumsticks disappeared into the feathery mass of the body? ‘Flummoxed’ described my brain at that juncture of my hunt for the source of so many fan-dances. 

Let’s back up a bit. I’ve described in two previous articles for The Hole Story (1 and 2) the rifle + riflescope + Hornady ammunition combination I was carrying in pursuit of the giant feather dusters. It was a Blaser R8 Ultimate with muzzle brake and recoil reduction pad wearing a Blaser B2 3-18x50 iC QDC+ riflescope with QD Saddle Mount stoked with Precision Hunter .300 Winchester Magnum cartridges topped with 200-grain ELDx bullets. The effectiveness of this setup had proved itself the week before on an enormous, old Hyena and a 14-ft crocodile, both taken while hunting with Zambeze Delta Safaris in their new Massingir hunting area in southern Mozambique. There was thus no question that the rifle and ammunition was up to handling the 300-pound chickens running in the distance. The question remained, just where was I to send the bullet?

 When at a loss, ask for help. I know that as a ‘professional’, outdoor writer, I am supposed to know answers to questions like the title of this article. But I did not, and there was a good reason – at least I’ll claim it was good. When my wife, Frances, and I headed out from the lodge on Chapungu-Kambako’s Kalahari Oryx (i.e. KO) property in the early morning glow, with Professional Hunter, Nicolai Raubenheimer, and Tracker Simon, the focus was one of the beautiful Gemsbok bulls hidden somewhere on the 230,000+ acre ‘farm’. As we progressed up-and-over the beautiful, red-sand dunes and into the draws (a.k.a slacks), we spotted species-after-species of game, including White and Black rhinos, hartebeests, Lechwes, Impalas and Springboks.

Some 30 minutes into our journey, we jumped the first pair of Ostriches. I watched as they stretched out into their ground-eating trot. Frances knows me well, and with a smile she leaned in and whispered, “You know, an Ostrich would be a cool trophy for you.” Something I should point out is that though Frances acts as photographer and videographer on my hunts, she does not have any desire to kill an animal herself. Don’t get me wrong. She is a markswoman with everything from handguns to center-fire rifles. For example, she’s shown her love of PDWs loaded with Hornady ammunition on training courses used by law enforcement personnel – especially when given the chance of unloading on unsuspecting, wrecked cars. But hunting doesn’t factor into her passions as it does with me. I was thus a bit surprised when she dropped her hint. However, I am never one to miss the opportunity of hunting a new species, especially not such a funky game animal. Turning to Nicolai I grinned and said, “You up for chasing an ostrich?” Of course, I knew the answer. After all, his job as PH and co-owner of Chapungu-Kambako’s operations in South Africa, was selling adventures…with trophy fees. With my question, I had inserted a coin and pulled the slot machine’s handle.

Spotting ostriches on the KO property was not difficult, especially as we were there when the birds were nesting and thus paired up. The problem was, they tended to be streaking away from our location when spotted. A second issue was that before initiating a stalk, we needed to practice due diligence, searching carefully the area from which the ostriches started their departure; we were looking for eggs. The first pair we busted from the acacia scrub left behind a nest with 12 eggs. As a hunter, I wished there’d been no nest, but as a biologist I found the shallow bowl filled with four-pound, ivory-colored ovals amazing. Within 20 minutes of finding the eggs, we flushed another pair of the huge birds. Again, Nicolai, Simon, Frances and I spread out and carefully crisscrossed the sandy environs. Not detecting a nest, Nicolai and Simon, with Frances and me in their wake, headed out in the direction of the last sighting of the male and female S. camelus (remember, there is a scientist-nerd writing this).

As we made our way through the ankle-deep, foot-sucking sand, I gasped out my frantic query to Nicolai about shot placement. His answer was clear: “If they are side-on, aim at the top of the drumsticks [‘shoulder’]. If they are facing towards or away from you, place your crosshairs in the center of the body.” After my hunt, I checked out some scientific studies describing the anatomy of ostriches. The accompanying, side-on photograph of a male shows the approximate locations the researchers reported for the heart (right-hand dot) and lungs (middle and higher, dot). The left-hand dot reflects where Nicolai counseled aiming. I agree with Nicolai. That shot is the safest in that it would immediately break the bird down.

As we crept up the face of a third dune, Nicolai and Simon again slowed their pace to a crawl. Using another of the wickedly armed, Camel thorn trees, Vachellia [Acacia] erioloba as a break for our silhouettes, I waited for the call from PH and Tracker. Nicolai slowly lowered his optics from his eyes, simultaneously edging left and unfolding my 4StableSticks rest. I followed Nicolai’s movements from just behind him, sliding the R8 onto the rest’s forend and butt cradles. As I positioned my face onto the stock, I caught my first glimpse of the birds. Adjusting the rifle until the B2’s crosshairs rested on the dark-black, male, my brain registered that he was walking away at a slight angle. I asked for a distance from Nicolai, and his whispered reply was “260-yards.” Adjusting the crosshairs to the center of the retreating bird’s body I squeezed off the shot. The results were spectacular. The bird began what turned out to be a ‘heart-shot’ run lasting for approximately 300-yards. Considering the anatomy lesson learned after my hunt, my shot missed the lungs and instead took out the liver and heart. The extensive blood trail left along his run, and the distance traveled after such a wound, impressed me about the toughness of the ostrich. I’m very glad I had a big, effective, Hornady bullet in the mix.

 As we collected the required photographs and videos, I looked at Frances and said, “Your turn.” She grinned and knelt down by the beautiful male, resplendent in his black and white plumage. Grasping his neck just below his open beak she smiled broadly and stated, “I told you this would be a cool trophy!”

Author profile

Mike Arnold is professor and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia and author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s newest book, BRINGING BACK THE WILD – Stories from Revitalized Ecosystems Around the World and How Sport Hunting Supports Them, appeared in June 2025. You can find a description of Mike’s travels, talks, articles, and books at mikearnoldoutdoors.com.