As long as we are talking about hunting here goes. On groundhogs with a Sako, medium weight sporter barrel chambered for .243 Winchester, shooting 85 grain Sierra HP Boattails. Several on the long side of 400 yds. With that load I knew any hit to the body or head would result in a quick and humane death. On a big game animal 340 (plus or minus a few) yards on a small Caribou bull. He was in open tundra with the nearest cover about 800 yards away. So I knew if the shot was less than perfect there would be time to finish him humanely. The shot was taken with a SS Ruger chambered for .338 Winchester Magnum, shooting Federal Premium 250 Nosler Partition. The angle was slightly quartering frontal. I held high on the chest and fired, (I was resting across a rock using my binos and hat as a rest for the forend hand). He slightly lowered his head just as I fired and I didn' t know it at the shot but the bullet entered on the side of his jaw exited the other side of the jaw then entered his chest in the right front transversed his body and exited just at the front of the hindquarter on the opposite side of his body. He fell, rolled over, got up, and took two or three steps as I had closed the range to about 250 yards. Took another rest and shot him through the chest, broadside, right to left, and that bullet exited as well. He rolled over again, kicked a couple of times, and expired. The first shot would have been fatal but I wasn' t absolutely certain of that until I closed the distance and started to dress him out. The partition exited on the first shot from the jaw about quarter sized and reentered the chest about that size. When it exited near the opposite hindquarter/flank it left a tennis ball size exit. The second partition went through broadside and exited about quarter sized. Either shot was fatal, but why risk allowing an animal to suffer needlessly when it is much easier to quickly finish the job.

Longest shot I have made on a known distance target.....1000 yards during military matches. But I would never consider shooting at live animals at much over 300 to 400 yards, (unless it was already wounded and moving away from me, or needing it for food in a life or death survival situation). There are far to many variables in the field to risk causing what would be in my opionion unethical suffering of a live animal that deserves to be dispatched humanely! If you are talking target shooting.....life or death survival.....or in war.....those are then acceptable exceptions. Otherwise in my humble opinion.....NOT!