Proven study Young Gun,80% of all big game animals are shot under 200 yds.

I asume by your post more than 1 shot was made,how did you judge distance?
Use a range finder? or just figured they were that far.
I shot mine at about 350 yds,how do I know that cause he was in a feild that had telephone poles runnig through it,I crawled to with in 3 1/2 poles of him(typicaly 100 yds apart),held to of his back and wham!I now have antelope steaks.

I hunt in Montana,only place I have hunted and twice I shot game at over 200 yds and both were antelope.Most of my shots are 150yds or less,but I still practice out to 4.

I can close the distance to less than 250 yds almost every time,it comes with practice.

That' s where you yippies are wrong! They don' t make it easier at all. You think they will, an' at first, maybeso. But as you lose yer gumption, as yer senses rot, you begin to rely on gadgets instead of what god gave you for huntin' instinct, common sense, an' dare I mention it........SKILL! Soon you cain' t kill a critter if yer life depended on it ' thout some fancy dohickey hangin' from yer belt. They don' t make it easier. They jus' make you less of a hunter.

Thats what I' m talking about,you got' a have skills.
Ok, I grew up on the Missouri river with the Big Belts and Rockies in the shadow.
I' m sorry I just know how far an animal is to shoot,how do I know,by sight I can look and see how far a deer ,elk or goose or what ever is.

I once said on here that it ain' t the gun you use or sent lok suit,GPS or what ever it' s your skills as a woods man.Me and ol' Beaver Jack differ a lot,most it' s the english languge.
But we both know if you can close the distance,or how quiet you can crawl,walk or run or how good you use your cover,the only good a range finder is,is how far you failed.
What ever to usin a map and compass, a good 4x scope,sharp knife or how to tie a top pack to a saw buck,or how to pack a pannier bag.It' s all skill and learned with time and years of exspetise.
It' s called skills you learn them.BBJ

I guess I should say my " quality optics" are Pentax 10 x 50 binos. They are good binos & I find them just as important to carry as my rifle.
My bi-pod is a Harris it is very important to me to have this on my rifle when I hunt antelope, coyotes, prairie dogs & gophers.
The laser rangefinder is nice to have but the longer I own it the less I carry it. I find myself guessing yardage when & shoot prairie dogs & gophers then confirming it with the rangefinder. I take varmit hunting very serious.

BeaverJack You are right about people getting soft. These new gadgets are taking the hunt out of hunting. I think they are made mostly for yuppie hunters.[]

BareBack Jack From the posts you have made in the past I think are backgrouds are so close its scary. I grew up right next to the bitterroot mountains. I used to grab a rifle or fishing pole & walk out of the house to go hunting or fishing after school. You are right about being able to stalking closer to big game. The only time I find it hard to get close is out on the open prairie with no cover. I grew up where there were lots of trees & brush. When I would get a shot the game was always closer than 100-yards.

Most people on this board are good people that are stuck living in a big city that does not make them bad people. Most people on hear don' t know the differance between a piggen string or a lash rope. They also do not know how to weight & mattie a load. They can' t tie a box hitch or a double diamond. But that is because of the enviroment they live in. Just turn on the outdoor channel & watch lots of people are leasing land & planting food plots or hunting with feeders. That does make them bad people they are just hunting the only way the enviroment around them will allow them. I have never leased a piece of land to hunt. I never will because I hunt on national forest or wilderness land.

Lewis and Clark took one of those pirate type " eyeglass" scopes on their Journey. Also had a fancy air gun, that they used to impress the Native Americans with. You could even say that their Kentucky long rifles (with true rifleing) were modern.
Probably the people of the day considered them gadgets.

I do agree that there are a lot of " gadgets" out there that hunters don' t need and that these hunting shows do their part to sell' um. I won' t retract my statement about optics. For the most part optics are a " you get what you pay for item" . I can judge distance fairly well out to 200 yds or so, but not much beyond that especially with no " poles" around. Never even carried a bi-pod or shooting sticks before this hunt----ending up not needing them.

I am by no means a " yuppie" . I do not live in the " East" . I live in Indiana farm country which in some ways is more rural than a lot of areas " out West" . The only knot I know how to tie is for my shoes though, well maybe a slip not.

People from the Rocky Mtn states should not take for granted their access to " public land" which in the Midwest is rare, and when you find it the acres are small and the hunters are numerous.