It's Called Hunting

Reading thru some of the reviews coming out of 'SHOT Show 2018', I caught this article from David Maas;

He's right; I see the drive by hunters to shot Turkeys out to 75yd and bow hunters that push the envelope out past safe string jump range.

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SHOT Show: 1 Thing I Hate

Instead of saving the best for last, I’m saving the worst. Perhaps “hate” is too strong a word, but I wrote it, so I’ll own it. The one thing I hate at SHOT Show is the never-ending trend toward taking longer and longer shots on animals with rifles and archery equipment. You hear it when listening to manufacturer’s reps as they talk about their latest long-range rifle or optic, and you certainly hear it when so-called experts are boasting about the recent record-book animal they tagged with either gun or bow.

Animals aren’t paper, steel or foam targets, and we as hunters have no business pushing the limits on shooting at them. So, how far is too far? In my opinion, if an animal takes an unexpected step while you press the rifle trigger or release an arrow, and that resulting step can result in a less-than-perfect hit, then you have no business shooting. Period.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: That means gun hunters wouldn’t shoot beyond about 250 yards on game, and bowhunter would be limited to about 30 yards. Exactly.

It sickens me to see “marksmen” guess-timate the wind and then take 600-, 700- and even 800- yard shots on big game. If their wind call is wrong, or if the animal takes a step while the shooter is pressing the trigger to the rear, the result is a gut-shot animal. And of course, these errant shots end up being cleverly edited out of the TV show.

Let’s remember — it’s called hunting. If you want to puff out your chest and impress your buddies, try this: If you spot a big bull elk at 600 yards, instead of going prone and pulling out your wind meter and smartphone ballistic app, see if you can sneak inside of 60 yards before sending the bullet on its way.

Bowhunters: If the buck you’ve been pursuing all fall steps onto your food plot at 55 yards, in my opinion, he’s won that battle. I don’t care if you can hit a poker chip repeatedly at the range at 60 yards, and a softball-sized circle at 100. If the buck takes a big stride just as you squeeze your mechanical release, then the result will be ugly.

Improvements in gear is fantastic, but that doesn’t mean we must continually extend our shooting range. It’s okay not to shoot. It’s okay to come home empty-handed. It’s called hunting.

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Totally agree with that.

Very good article.
Calls it like he sees it and the way we all should.
Stu

It’s just common sense and a more ethical approach towards hunting.

I agree with that statement. All too often I see some of the bowhunting personalities out on tv or social media taking some pretty wild shots (60,70, 80+ yards) on game. Now some of these shooters excellent shots, but I have always felt that between string jumping and all the unexpected things that can happen in the field, its a bit too risky for my liking.

Very well written. I would rather pass on a opportunity at a questionable range than spend a sleepless night wondering on an injured animal. Ethical Range>Effective Range like David writes, just cause you can hit a poker chip at 60 yards doesnt mean the animal wont move during the time it takes for the arrow to get there.

Most hunters eventually find themselves in a situation where the target animal may be out past what most would consider an ethical range.

During the controlled muzzleloader only hunt I had a great mature 10 point buck out @ 175yards. After putting a lot of time in @ the range and knowing what my Savage was capable of I felt comfortable in taking the shot. The end result was a well placed bullet & a nice buck @ the end of the blood trail.

My point is only you know your limitations & don't be too quick to judge what others are doing unless you know more about them than you do yourself. :0)

Well said.

Mike
One of the best threads you ever started!
Too many new hunters are getting convinced that the answer to poor hunting skills is ..
just get a bigger, faster, longer shooting piece of equipment.
I absolutely will not watch those long range sniper shows on Wild or any other channel.
In a war time scenario it matters not if you kill'em or wound'em at long range. Both work for me!
But this is hunting and the animal deserves at least a little consideration!
Too much can go wrong by the time the mind says squeeze and the bullet/arrow gets there!

Good philosophy to live by.

I don't understand what you mean....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_On7q6gX9jk

That's the kind of B.S. that is being pushed these days.
"100 YD. SHOTS WITH A CROSSBOW " at a stationary target, but a live target , can move during the flight time of that bolt, and this then gives you a wounded animal.
Don't forget that deer have amazing hearing and can /do get away quickly at the sound of a noisy crossbow being fired, the longer the distance the greater chance of a wounded animal.

Flight time is never mentioned or talked about on shows with long range shots.
You have the camera in the shooter, and you have the camera on the animal.
They never talk about the fact that some of this 800 to 1200 yards shots they are taking, the bullet can have flight times of "OVER A MINUTE".

A .223 takes about 0.40 seconds to just get to 300 yards. Assuming the bullet had the same velocity out to 1200 yards the flight time would be 1.20 seconds. Now we all know the farther it goes the slower it travels.
Start shooting heavy calibre rounds like a .50BMG( getting popular) and it's not only starts a little slower, but it has to fly in a much bigger arc. That all makes flight times longer as well.

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

A .223 takes about 0.40 seconds to just get to 300 yards. Assuming the bullet had the same velocity out to 1200 yards the flight time would be 1.20 minutes

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Let me correct you, 1.2 seconds, if it maintains the velocity.

A 50 BMG will travel a mile in just under 3 seconds.

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Originally Posted by Fox

Let me correct you, 1.2 seconds, if it maintains the velocity.

A 50 BMG will travel a mile in just under 3 seconds.

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Original was fix well you typed.

Just think how much an animal can move in three seconds even when not panicking.

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

Original was fix well you typed.

Just think how much an animal can move in three seconds even when not panicking.

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How many people are hunting deer at 1 mile?

At 300 yards your 223 is only 0.4 seconds, not much can happen at that range but at 300 yards with a running animal there can be a significant distance.

It pretty much comes down to personal ethics, my plan is for a long range deer rifle but these things are all relative, by long range I do not mean 1200 yards but to those hunting in big bush I will be going for deer out to 8x their normal range.

As the title says in hunting the challenge is to get closer to your game. Target shooting is where you should play with distance.

what he said

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Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter

Most hunters eventually find themselves in a situation where the target animal may be out past what most would consider an ethical range.

During the controlled muzzleloader only hunt I had a great mature 10 point buck out @ 175yards. After putting a lot of time in @ the range and knowing what my Savage was capable of I felt comfortable in taking the shot. The end result was a well placed bullet & a nice buck @ the end of the blood trail.

My point is only you know your limitations & don't be too quick to judge what others are doing unless you know more about them than you do yourself. :0)

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Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter

Most hunters eventually find themselves in a situation where the target animal may be out past what most would consider an ethical range.

During the controlled muzzleloader only hunt I had a great mature 10 point buck out @ 175yards. After putting a lot of time in @ the range and knowing what my Savage was capable of I felt comfortable in taking the shot. The end result was a well placed bullet & a nice buck @ the end of the blood trail.

My point is only you know your limitations & don't be too quick to judge what others are doing unless you know more about them than you do yourself. :0)

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I think the the issue here, as it relates to the article, is that we lobbied our govt for an additional season in which to use primitive weapons. We put forth the argument that the harvest from this additional hunting pressure would be for the most part insignificant due to the inefficiencies of muzzleloaders

Now 2 decades later, we’ve bent and pushed every single limit and parameter related to what constitutes a muzzleloader and we’re making 175 yd shots with smokeless powder, jacketed bullets and variable power scopes.....

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Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter

Most hunters eventually find themselves in a situation where the target animal may be out past what most would consider an ethical range.

During the controlled muzzleloader only hunt I had a great mature 10 point buck out @ 175yards. After putting a lot of time in @ the range and knowing what my Savage was capable of I felt comfortable in taking the shot. The end result was a well placed bullet & a nice buck @ the end of the blood trail.

My point is only you know your limitations & don't be too quick to judge what others are doing unless you know more about them than you do yourself. :0)

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why do we not have a "like" button on here. Most forums have this nowadays get with the times OOD! lol

...anyways "like" the above.

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Originally Posted by outdoorlife

. constitutes a muzzleloader and we’re making 175 yd shots with smokeless powder, jacketed bullets and variable power scopes.....

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Many states have realized the 'creep' and have instituted tighter restrictions on what constitutes an ML.....just for that reason. Try to keep the sport as it was meant to be and called, a 'primitive hunt'.

There are far to many hunters that 'think' they know their limitations, it all looks great putting holes in paper on the range, but when put into an actual hunting situation end up missing/wounding deer and then use the old 'Crap happens' excuse when they attempt shots beyond their skill level or what they have prepared, or NOT prepared for.

The author is right....the firearms industry have developed our tools of the trade capable to shoot out great distances...but not many hunters spend the time necessary to hone their skills to be able to shoot at those distances and understand the limitations distance has on ensuring a clean kill.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

Many states have realized the 'creep' and have instituted tighter restrictions on what constitutes an ML.....just for that reason. Try to keep the sport as it was meant to be and called, a 'primitive hunt'.

There are far to many hunters that 'think' they know their limitations, it all looks great putting holes in paper on the range, but when put into an actual hunting situation end up missing/wounding deer and then use the old 'Crap happens' excuse when they attempt shots beyond their skill level or what they have prepared, or NOT prepared for.

The author is right....the firearms industry have developed our tools of the trade capable to shoot out great distances...but not many hunters spend the time necessary to hone their skills to be able to shoot at those distances and understand the limitations distance has on ensuring a clean kill.

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BINGO!

Range time is essential. Sight in holding your gun/bow like you will when your hunting to ensure you can place the arrow/bullet where it needs to go to make a quick ethical kill.

I used to hunt with guys that just "checked" their gun the day before the deer opener & wondered why they wounded deer or missed. Really SAD!

I think another good point that should also be made here is quite obvious. If you’ve done all your homework correctly and, at least for a moment, got a glimpse at your target, you can give yourself a pat on the back. That in itself is an achievement. Ok, I know some might take the attitude of, “well I can’t eat tag soup” but for many hunters new and old we should appreciate the fact that we are outdoors and we are doing what we love. It makes a better story to tell, about the one you ethically couldn’t take, than the one that you lost or wounded. No need to risk a far shot, a better opportunity is always around the corner.

Just my opinion.