A agree with this, and the difference is I could easily hit a deer at 60 yards with a bow if I knew the range, I wouldn't even need a 60 yard pin. And this is because I have practiced it and know I can make that kind of shot if I really wanted to. There is no way in heck I could hit a deer at 1000 yards with a rifle. I'm just not that good and don't know my rifle that well. I think all these people that think 500 yard and out shots are easy should try it sometime. Most of the people I meet can't shoot that well at 100 yards off from a bench with a gun vice.

Why is it ok to shoot a varmint at 3 or 4 hundred yards but not a deer? Hunting is what you make it there are no set standards, as long you are within your states hunting regs. Nothing says you have to get as close as you can to your quarry to kill it. I mean some hunters use dogs to tree or corner the animal to kill it. Others use dogs to flush or point at the animal to kill. We sit in stands and wait to ambush the deer. None of these are what most would consider true hunting, or at least not what you are referring to. Like I have always said before, those that like to bag on other hunters for not doing it the same way as they do can always be criticized themselves. You want to impress me, run one down on foot and kill it with a rock or stab it to death with a knife.

Believe me if the Indians or settlers had the equipment to do what we can do they would be doing it. And don't think for minute they didn't "cheat". They did what they could in order to eat. Even if that meant running animals off from a cliff. And it was actually quite common for people to take long shots on game a hundred years ago, with a lot less effective equipment than we have. And also if you go back 50 or 60 years and take a look at how people hunted acceptable ethics were MUCH lower and people didn't criticize other as much. Everybody likes to put Fred Bear up on a pedestal, but he is one of the most unethical hunters I have seen, at least by todays standards.

I will comment on how I actually feel about this practice in the original thread in the deer hunting forum, rather than one started simply to flame someone in the bowhunting section.

Paul