Obviously a little bit dramatic, but not far off from a conversation I had last night. While I don't doubt that guys like RR can use "high-intensity cartridges" effectively to hunt at long range, the small community of long-range hunters really IS being threatened by guys who think that if they have the right equipment, they can do it too - bar the fact that they can't do it well at 700 yards, but by simply changing their optics they be able to push out to 1200.

Looks are important in that crowd. Long barrel. Muzzle brake. Reloads with Berger VLDs. Rangefinder. Custom scope turrets marked in range increments. And chambered in a "high-intensity" cartridge. But looks don't shoot. And sometimes looks are just cheap imitations and knock-offs of systems that CAN shoot. But, it all comes back to the operator. If the operator can't make everything work in harmony, no amount of money put into gimmicks will make it effective.

The bad thing is, they often like to shoot video of their exploits. How many scenes of animals being crippled at long-range and put up on Youtube will it take for the antis to pick up on it and demand regulatory intervention? Maybe a stretch, but I don't know that anyone can say it couldn't happen. It never happens that the tyros wreck something for the skilled, does it?

And the way I heard it, the ammunition is more like $120 a box.

And CLD - Just for the record, I don't HATE magnums. I just don't like people who profess that they're the solution. .270 didn't bang-flop the deer this year, get a bigger gun. Going out west, get a bigger gun. Shooting past 300 yards, get a bigger gun.