Long Range Hunting - Real hunting ?????
- Thread starter Ridgerunner1CO
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LopeHunter
Well-known member
Unless you are a very good shot, heck, in the top 5% of all shooters so top 1% of all rifle hunters then leave the head shots and 400 yard shots to someone else. What the TV shows do not allow off the cutting room floor are the very bad hits. Foot shot off. Jaw shot off. Gut shot. It happens. Heck, happens at 100 yards.
The further you are when you set up to shoot then the more error arises from intended impact point to actual impact point. Oh, you say, the wind is 12 mph. Maybe is steady. Maybe not. Maybe is swirling 200 yards away. Temperature is 41F here. Slight drizzle here. Humidity. Temperature of the bullet. Of the barrel. Was the barrel clean or fouled. Did the tip of the bullet have a slight nick. Is the primer the 1 in 1000 that fires off hotter than most? Is there a heart pulse beating as the trigger breaks. Will the animal take a step.
Show me a hunter that says all his shots hit within 6" of where expected the impact and I will want to have a long talk with them so I can become such an excellent marksman. Flinging out bullets and walking the bullets in from 1000 yards is fine if plinking at metal targets. Animals deserve better.
The further you are when you set up to shoot then the more error arises from intended impact point to actual impact point. Oh, you say, the wind is 12 mph. Maybe is steady. Maybe not. Maybe is swirling 200 yards away. Temperature is 41F here. Slight drizzle here. Humidity. Temperature of the bullet. Of the barrel. Was the barrel clean or fouled. Did the tip of the bullet have a slight nick. Is the primer the 1 in 1000 that fires off hotter than most? Is there a heart pulse beating as the trigger breaks. Will the animal take a step.
Show me a hunter that says all his shots hit within 6" of where expected the impact and I will want to have a long talk with them so I can become such an excellent marksman. Flinging out bullets and walking the bullets in from 1000 yards is fine if plinking at metal targets. Animals deserve better.
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Topgun 30-06
Active member
I hope you're including yourself in that statement about shooting their mouths off like you did on that "slam dunk" 90/10 split for tags in Wyoming that went down 4-1, LOL! Why is it that if people have to shoot an animal at distance that it can't at least be placed in the large vitals area, instead of a small, moving head that has a huge chance of wounding a living creature? Are some that far removed from common sense to do stuff like that? It appears there are and it's a shame when an animal goes off with a broken jaw to die of starvation just so some yahoo can claim he shot one in the head at 200 yards.
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Zach
Well-known member
Somebody has to stir the pot so you don't get that burnt scum at the bottom...
MKotur325
New member
Guys,
Can we please end the talk of headshots? We each have our chosen shot placement and this doesn't seem the time or place to argue this topic......
Can we please end the talk of headshots? We each have our chosen shot placement and this doesn't seem the time or place to argue this topic......
JohnCushman
Well-known member
Just because somebody takes a shot that they are comfortable with, practice, and feel is ethical...doesn't make them wrong just because you don't agree with it 
Topgun 30-06
Active member
To the contrary Dale, the brain that you need to hit is not a 10" kill zone and heads move, while paper and gongs don't! I wonder if that cow elk that was shot through the jaw down in Jackson that was posted on websites a few weeks ago has died yet! I'll bet she's having a terrific winter! Every rifle I own is capable of less than MOA accuracy or it wouldn't be in my safes and I'm sure a lot of others out there have the same accurate equipment. I'd also bet that 99.9% are smart enough to know that taking heads shots is not the way to go about striving for a 100% humane kill. No matter what you shoot at there is no doubt that the chance for error increases exponentially as the distance increases. Add in a little breeze on those long shots that these LR shows are pushing when we're talking about shooting at a living, breathing creature and I really have to ask when is enough enough?! Even RMEF and B&C have come out with written statements regarding ethics on this LR stuff and they're talking about shooting for the big vitals area and not the small brain area that is moving constantly. IMHO it's really a shame the way hunting is going nowadays and while we're worrying about the antis we are becoming our own worst enemy. End of rant, but I will not apologize for the way I was brought up to respect all of God's creatures!
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BuzzH
Well-known member
Topgun,
I based my comments on the facts that I know to be true
Shot placement, much like the range issue, is one of comfort zones, situations, experience, equipment, etc....and the place where all those things meet in a given hunting scenario.
While I've never met lawnboy, from what I have read on this board of his posts, the way he handled himself on camera with Big Fin, and the fact he is a seasoned, ethical hunter, lead me to believe a couple things:
1. He likely had a good reason to shoot that elk where he did. I wasn't there, so I'm not going to judge his decisions from a keyboard in Michigan.
2. From his posts regarding his new rifle, it sounds like he has done his homework, spent the time behind the trigger, etc. to take a shot of that nature with ease.
3. Beings how I know he has killed a pile of animals and is an ethical hunter, he is probably really aware of animal behavior and was shooting at a relaxed elk, with a good rest, in good conditions, with great equipment.
Based on all of that, he was likely extremely confident in his decision to take the shot, which put meat in the freezer for his family.
The last thing he needs to do is defend himself to someone with lesser equipment, lesser abilities, and less experience in killing elk.
I based my comments on the facts that I know to be true
Shot placement, much like the range issue, is one of comfort zones, situations, experience, equipment, etc....and the place where all those things meet in a given hunting scenario.
While I've never met lawnboy, from what I have read on this board of his posts, the way he handled himself on camera with Big Fin, and the fact he is a seasoned, ethical hunter, lead me to believe a couple things:
1. He likely had a good reason to shoot that elk where he did. I wasn't there, so I'm not going to judge his decisions from a keyboard in Michigan.
2. From his posts regarding his new rifle, it sounds like he has done his homework, spent the time behind the trigger, etc. to take a shot of that nature with ease.
3. Beings how I know he has killed a pile of animals and is an ethical hunter, he is probably really aware of animal behavior and was shooting at a relaxed elk, with a good rest, in good conditions, with great equipment.
Based on all of that, he was likely extremely confident in his decision to take the shot, which put meat in the freezer for his family.
The last thing he needs to do is defend himself to someone with lesser equipment, lesser abilities, and less experience in killing elk.
Agreed! Just cause someone can do something I can't doesn't make them wrong.
Topgun- Does B&C still allow their name to be used, and assumedly collect a royalty, on a reticle offered by Leupold that allows for shots to be made at ranges many here, yourself included, have so much problem with? Similarly, if all your rifles are capable of "MOA accuracy" your rifles are more than accurate to make the shot you are butthurt over Lawnboy for making. I've never seen an elk with a 2 inch-ish head. Seems to me you are commenting more on your markmanship limitations more so than his decision to take that shot...
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