ORIGINAL: Coastie
You're missing the point.
I believe you are the one missing the point.
OK.....I'll bite........not sure how I am missing MY OWN point, but what the heck, the football games don't start for a few hours
You put down others because they are not in agreement with your own set of hunting tactics/ethics.
My posts were not meant as a put down to anyone. If you can't be honest with yourself and realize that picking off an animal that is 350 yards away requires more shooting skill then hunting skill then it is something you are just not comfortable admitting because YOU see it as a "Put Down" I just see it as reality.
Any weapon you use that increases the range that you can kill game decreases the amount of hunting skill needed to take that animal. Taking an animal by hand would require the most hunting skill, then traditional archery, then compounds, then crossbows, then shotguns, then muzzleloaders, then rifles. As the list progresses you can rely more on the weapon (if used correctly) so you don't have to get up close and personal to kill one.......when ranges of 350 yards start being discussed then you are now in almost a pure "shooting" situation because the skills needed to take game up close are not necessary at 1,000 feet away........you better be a damn good shot though!!!
Just like I said before........if someone invents a rifle that shoots a mile accurately.....maybe 2 miles someday. would it require much hunting skill to kill a animal from that far away?? Hell no.........you could be doing literally anything and not effect game from that far.............just like 350 yards away........sure you can't stand up and yell at them or run around in a clown suit banging a drum........but pretty close
At those ranges an animals field of vision is HUGE......if you just stay still or have minimal cover by the time they pick you out of the entire hillside it's already game over.
Every hunt in which an animal is ultimately taken eventually comes down to a test of marksmanship whether with a bow, rifle or handgun.
EXACTLY..........just some more then others. Shooting is not the toughest part of taking a deer with a bow. I can hit the vitals from 20 yards no problem.......it's getting the darn things in that close and hoping they stop in my shooting lane and turn broadside that's the problem.......then you have to get the bow drawn........the shot is a slam dunk......getting a shot is the hard part.
Shotgun is a little more shooting (then bow) because the deer are farther away and sometimes moving (sometimes running) and I have to deal with limbs and saplings that may effect my shot.........getting a deer within range is no longer the HARDEST thing I am doing (about equal I would say).
Muzzleloader is more shooting then shotgun. My range is now out to 150 yards so I can sit by open fields and just wait for something to catch my eye. It is perhaps MOST reliant on shooting skill because you only get one shot and can't cap off 4 more shells if you miss the first shot. At ranges of 150 yards I don't worry about scent, small motions or sounds like safety click for example......I worry more about making sure the gun is aimed and steady and I have my range accurate..........shooting skills, not hunting skills.
Rifle is even more shooting then any mentioned yet. With ranges out to 350 yards maybe even more your main focus is on making the shot........not whether or not the deer can see you breathing or blinking or move your finger over the trigger...........it's a deer not an eagle........and I think it's fair to say that getting within 400 yards of a deer isn't the hardest thing in the world to do.
I LOVE them all.........I just don't pretend they are something they are not.