The present trend of ultra long range hunting/shooting

The problem with these hunting shows featuring long range shots is that unskilled hunters/shooters convince themselves that they can replicate these long range shots with the right tools.
Click to expand...

These hunting shows rarely show the misses, which leads many people to think that it is so easy that they never miss.
 
bearkilr said:
So it would be more ethical to use a single projectile on birds? Your post makes no sense.
Click to expand...

Using bird shot means you don't know exactly where the
projectile(s) is going to hit the bird (excepting God's seatmate).
We accept this as ethical but want to condemn a big game
hunter who can't guarantee a first shot kill. Are birds somehow
less valuable than say, deer? My point is that your premise
is flawed. You are framing a question using your slant
and then criticizing others who see things differently. If the
goal is to condemn those who see things another way than you this
thread is a success.
 
stubblejumper said:
You make it sound as though all wing shooters are unethical. Have you ever shot skeet competitively? A good skeet shooter will be shooting in the high 90s with most shoots being decided by a shoot off after multiple competitors shoot perfect 100s. Now look at the cross section of a clay target used in skeet, and you will see just how much smaller it is than upland birds, let alone waterfowl. When I hunt pheasant or upland birds with the people that I normally shoot skeet with, lost birds are very rare. Our shooting percentages are very high, and the dogs will find any bird that isn't killed instantly.

Now if a person is losing birds, it's not because he is using a shotgun, it's because of his lack of shooting skills.
Click to expand...
So all bird hunters are competitive shot gunners? Or are the
ones who aren't, unethical bird hunters?
 
emerson said:
Using bird shot means you don't know exactly where the
projectile(s) is going to hit the bird (excepting God's seatmate).
We accept this as ethical but want to condemn a big game
hunter who can't guarantee a first shot kill. Are birds somehow
less valuable than say, deer? My point is that your premise
is flawed. You are framing a question using your slant
and then criticizing others who see things differently. If the
goal is to condemn those who see things another way than you this
thread is a success.
Click to expand...

Using shot on birds might have something to do with the fact they're a very small target that's flying.
 
So all bird hunters are competitive shot gunners? Or are the
ones who aren't, unethical bird hunters?
Click to expand...

If you only take shots that have a very high percentage of making a kill, you are likely an ethical hunter, whether you are using a rifle for big game, or a shotgun for birds. If you shoot a box of shells, and you end up killing half that amount of birds,or less, as some people do, then I would certainly question your ethics, when it comes to choosing your shots.
 
I think that it's important to know what your capable of with your equipment under the conditions that you have to work with.
Personally, I pass on shots that I am not sure that I can make. The standard that I hold myself to with big game is 1 shot 1 kill and I only take shots that I am sure of. Not trying to hold any of you guys to that.

Contrary to my handle on here i'm not all that skilled at shooting, but I do know my limits.

Just got back from the first week of the gun hunt here in ON. I was using a slug gun, rifled barrel with a 2 - 7 scope. Funny that I read the first part of this thread before I left and was thinking about it while I was out there. I know very well what I can do with it out to 200. I also didn't think I would get any shot past 100 yards on that hunt. Well I ended up posting on a hydro cut and had a buck at 270 yards (measured by lazer) and a doe at 200. I went prone and got the doe (placed the slug just where I wanted it), but man that was the limit of what I knew I could do. I know the trajectory of the Hornady SST slugs and while the shot was theoretically possible to 270 yards I didn't want to risk wounding and losing the buck. It was a tough decision that had to be made very quickly. I called my buddy over on the radio who was on the next ridge behind me. He went prone and took a head on shot at the buck who was watching us. I assumed that my hunting partner would wait for it to go broadside but he took the head on shot at the chest. Now I have seen him shoot some very small groups at 100 yards, but 270 is another thing entireley IMHO and one that he had never attempted before. We spent 2 hours that night searching for that buck in the dark with spotlights (guns encased - looking for it downed of course) and then another 4 hours searching the next day. Never did find any sign of it, but the worst part is that I was watching it through my binos and I believe that it was hit.

Even though I was the one who made the good shot that day I felt (and still feel) absolutely rotten about that buck that we didn't recover. My hunting partner justifies it by saying "we searched for hours, I must have missed, or it survived a wounding shot". I feel like an accessory to a sloppy hunt. When we were in camp that night he also said "my rifle should have made that shot" to which I said "rifles don't make shots, shooters do".
 
I like this quote, from another person, an African outfitter on the forum 24 hour campfire:

"If your tag was good for one pull of the trigger, or release of the arrow, what equipment would you choose, and how careful would you be about the shot?"
 
"If your tag was good for one pull of the trigger, or release of the arrow, what equipment would you choose, and how careful would you be about the shot?"[/QUOTE]

Love That!!!
 
Gatehouse said:
If your dad shot a bear at 730 yards without any practice, it wasn't a "natural" shot, it was LUCK. :)
Click to expand...

Remember, he called the shot---behind the ear!
The luck of this happening would be very close to the luck of winning the 6/49 lottery.
I grew up in the age of families living year 'round on wild meat, and shooting and hunting was of course, a very common subject, with a great hunter being revered. By the time I was a teen ager I had heard more hunting and shooting stories than most people have heard in a lifetime. I also got very adept at judging the stories and ranking them into the classes I would place them into.
20% were true.
60% were stretched, a little or a lot.
The remaining 20% were unadulterated straight, dreamt up BS.
I remember one hunter telling of shooting an elk, with his trusty 30-30. He was talking to two other hunters and he said, "That elk was 900 yards away and I got him with one shot." One of the listening hunters who was knowledgeable about shooting, said to the fellow, "Was the elk running?" "No, it was just walking!"
Now, with the story we've just read on here, I am in a quandary. I have to decide if this story, or the story I heard as a youth, gets top ranking in that final 20% of shooting stories!
 
I personally do not like "ultra" long range hunting..... To me, it takes something away from man's connection with nature and disconnects the hunter from direct contact with their prey..... I am not against any legal form of hunting whatsoever, and as long as the animal is harvested cleanly, fill your boots.....

That being said, I fail to see the allure in harvesting an animal that has no chance to be aware of your presence from a long distance.... I also recognize the amount of practice that goes into doing it properly... But I cant see why the achievement of making that shot isn't equaled by hitting a pie plate at the same distance..... IMOP, there is a line between hunting and shooting......

I hunted elk in Colorado and made my longest shot there..... It was about 300 yards, and it was taken because elk spotted us on bluffs etc..... Further to Ardent's point, a goat is not usually a 50 yard shot.... Terrain dictates this, but I prefer to get up close and personal with my game as much as possible......
 
A second hand story from the gun counter told to me by another employee:

One time a guy came in who was known as a tire kicking fudd; talked a lot but judging by his purchases did not shoot a lot or even reload.

He was talking about how he shot a deer with his dads old 30/30 and the buckhorns. Stated that the shot the deer offhand; in a blowing windstorm, in the last minutes of legal light of the final day of deer season. To top it off he claimed the deer was at 300+ yards.

An employee arose to confront him;

"Was Jesus standing next to you sir?"

"What?"

"I said; was Jesus standing next to you?"

"What is that??!!?"

" WAS JESUS STANDING NEXT TO YOU SIR? BECAUSE THAT WAS A ####ING MIRACLE!"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom