hardcastonly

I think your perhaps missing the intended point!
if you think hunting is designed as a display of your longer range rifle skills
certainly you should posses and cultivate those skills,
but you do tend too lose something the archery and handgun hunter is deeply immersed in.
skills our grand parents and fathers would generally have acquired growing up.
most hunters are far LESS OBSERVANT, than they really should be,
most hunters move too fast, and have not developed the skills or knowledge,too HUNT,
they rely on technology and the vastly increased range of a modern rifle,.
in many cases it might as well be a video game,they use technology,
as a crutch to compensate,for the lack of observational skills,
and most "HUNTERS" rely on the modern weapon's ,
most carry and rely on a rifle for big game hunts,
and its ability to strike a lethal wound at long distance,
to compensate for the INABILITY to find and get in close to the quarry.
if a hunter was forced, by his weapons inability to kill past a modest range he would be forced,
to learn the traditional skills that modern technology makes all but un-necessary,
no real need to watch the wind and your odor if you can reach the game from 400-800 plus yards
no need to learn to cover ground quietly, or hide your presents , if you can stumble around until
you spot game on a distant ridge or meadow, pull out that lazer range finder, pocket ballistic calculator ,60x spotting scope,
and 12 x-24 x scope.
sit down and let the computer do the calcs.,
impressive technology, hell yes
,impressive rifle skills, perhaps,
but not really traditional hunting
I'm not suggesting you fail to take full advantage of technology,
only that you spend a good deal of time learning the older companion skills,
and take the effort too gain a true appreciation for HUNTING,
and knowledge of the quarry.