Originally Posted by
Ridge Runner
I don't know some may call it a rant, here goes
I post some about killing deer at long range, its legal, I enjoy it, I do have a pretty good grasp on what I'm doing, took me over 20 years to become comfortable doing it, spent a lot of money, and countless hours preparing, learning, getting efficient at it.
for years I sat on the same rock and killed way more deer at 2 to 80 yards than most folks can comprehend. Why do folks scorn it?
why am I an unethical slob because I know exactly where my bullet will hit 8 football fields away if the conditions are to my liking?
I once started a thread about a kill beyond 1K, I was constantly explaining over and over why I took the shot what I went through as far as variables to make sure I was right, yet still 23 pages of its not ethical, too many variables. I had the thread deleted because those who know the least about what I do think they know the most.
so why is LR hunting not ethical?
If I can get a legitimate reason I will respond, but the typical reasons which most talk about I will not address such as
you don't know the wind (yes I do I measure it)
you don't know the wind over there (yes I do I measure it here and compare it to there)
the deer don't know your there (if they knew you were there at 50 yards would you get a shot?)
so have at it
RR
IMO To me the act of big game hunting involves the reading of sign, the consideration of wind, the use of stealth. For me taking an animal involves immersing myself in the world of that animal, almost living the life of that animal for a period of time. When these things are not present, for me, it wasn't a good hunt. Shooting at extreme distances may take more shooting skill than it does to shoot a deer out of a pickup truck, but IMO it doesn't take a whole lot more hunting skill.
In your case RR, you seem to be one of those hunters that puts more effort into making extremely long shots happen than you do into closing the distance, or any of the other skills that I consider to be the mark of a good hunter. I wont call you a slob, or unethical, or wrong in any way, but from where I stand I feel that hunters like you are completely missing what I feel is "the point". Great shooting, poor hunting, I'd rather hear stories about 5 pin bowling than look at your cardboard score cards, if you shot them from 10 miles I still wouldn't care.