My reference to silhouette shooting is just to point out that I know rifles and what little things like a 10 mph cross wind somewhere between the shooter and the target can mean a complete miss.
Exactly, and it is that fact that obviously the defenders of these guys are blissfully ignorant of. It's not a matter of James B or myself not being as good a shot as these guys and therefore thinking them unethical. There is no such thing as being so good that you can make a sure first shot to a deers vitals at distances of that length. Those who believe otherwise need to cut back on the Rambo movies for a while until the fantasy fog of long range shooting myths starts to clear from their minds.
Yes deer are shot at and lost at much shorter distances. You bet. The difference is that it's very possible to consistently score good first shot hits at the shorter distances if you practice a bit. The fact that some people screw up at shorter distances is a reflection on them not the task at hand.
And no one addressed what I said earlier that proves to me that what these guys are doing isn't hunting, it's target shooting. A hunter wants to get as close as possible to his prey. I'd love to kill every buck I take at 50 yards if it were possible. No
hunter wants to have tomake a long shot. Backing out to 800, 900 or a 1000 yards on purpose just to see if you can still make the shot is not hunting. It's target shooting.