I was being diplomatic to not come down on someone with very little context for why the question was posed...but yes, some serious work goes into shooting that far and I get concerned whenever I see someone asking for long range drops rather than shooting to verify or having a 50 yd zero and saying their range only goes to 100 yds and they want 150 yd drops.

I think we should be careful about defining what the "purpose of ML hunting" is, as I do not feel it is accurate to say there is only one reason for it. Sure some people to it for the traditional-type reasons, but to others it is simply a season-extender or a way to compensate for weapons restrictions in their geography. Which is right? Who is to say and how do you support that with more than an opinion?

In the actual ML season I tend to go with open sights because it's the late season and I'm just out there to have fun. I'm even building a ML pistol to add some more challenge. But during the earlier general firearms season I still have a ML and I use it because rifles are not legal here and I hunt areas where long shots are mandatory if I am to fill my tags in the 1-2 days I get to firearm hunt each year. So the purpose behind using the ML is very different and my preparation reflects that.

"Long" range is an individual thing. I know a lot of shooters for whom this realistically starts at 50 yards. Poor load development, lacksadaisical attitude, and terrible shooting form/skills. For me long range does not start until 200 yards and I have yet to not DRT a deer over that. Hard to argue ethics with that. Of course, other than a few Savage/Ultimate shooters I'm probably one of less than a dozen guys nationally doing this with a standard ML so I do not encourage anyone to mimic this without full preparation and skill development.

Basically I think it is lacking to define a range at which someone should not be shooting without having full context of the shooter's preparation and abilities.

In the end, I think my personal evaluation of my respect for someone's kill has a lot more to do with a holistic evaluation of the preparation and work put into humanely harvesting the animal. Army crawl 1/4 mile to make a 20-yd shot? Darn impressive. Test many loads, practice religiously, accurize your gun, practice shooting in the wind, and make a 225 yd shot DRT? Again, darn impressive. Sit in a heated blind and shoot a doe at 30 yds over a pile of carrots? Sorry, a lot less work and preparation put in, congrats and I'm happy for you but I'm not as impressed. Shooting a deer with a firearm within bow range is not very impressive in and of itself as there is not a lot of skill necessary, but the work involved in putting one's self in a position to take that shot can make it impressive indeed (stalk, crawl, stillhunt, etc).

Just some couterpoints to think of from the perspective of someone who does use a ML to reach out a bit.