Editor’s Note: This article contains the author’s personal opinions and may or may not reflect the opinions of Hunt365. This is one approach to hunting. Hunting is viewed in many different ways and different people get different things out of it. Certainly, ancient humans that were starving to death would have been more than willing to use technology to gain an unfair advantage over animals and almost all modern methods of hunting give us an unfair advantage. Tell us in the comments what you think.
This is probably a rather controversial topic. My personal opinion for hunting is based on what I have done, can do, and have seen done. Basically, the topic revolves around what I believe hunting truly is. When I do a search for fair chase hunting, this is what the Internet says. “Fair chase hunting is the ethical, sportsman-like, lawful pursuit, and taking of any free-ranging, wild, big game animal that does not give the hunter an unfair advantage”. In simpler terms, hunting without taking unfair advantage of the animals and allowing them a fair chance to escape in defense. I read it as when an animal is shot at long range, does it really have a “fair” chance of detecting you? So should that animal be allowed into the B&C records under the fair chase rules?
My Background…
I have competed in long-range shooting competitions, as well as having competed in archery for many years. I have held records in archery competitions and I compete in practical shooting events all over the world. So I am familiar with the issues dealing with hitting a target at long range, a moving target, shooting under stress, under strict time limits, and with both modern and primitive weapons. Animals do unexpected things, add to that the skill required to deliver an incapacitating shot to that animal. Great skill is obviously required, but is that hunting? Or is it just shooting?
Hunter Philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset…
Another hunter and philosopher says, “That we kill in order to have hunted, but we do not hunt in order to kill”. A long-range shooter really doesn’t pit themselves against the animals’ senses. They battle against nature’s elements and themselves. For me, hunting is about defeating the animal and then delivering a fatal blow to the animal. To give the animal an equal chance at defeating you, the distance probably needs to be no farther than 200-300 yards. When I sneak to within 200 yards and often much closer, the thrill for me is undeniable.
Technology…
What I have seen is technology allowing hunters to make more accurate range judgments by way of inexpensive laser rangefinders. In the 1980s, velocity was what we used to help eliminate errors in range judgment. These days velocity isn’t nearly as important as accuracy. This is because we know within a couple of yards how far away our quarry is. One of our greatest enemies in setting a poor example is ourselves. Far too many of us want everything quick and easy, we want to be able to buy results. Top-quality products and components are purchased and assembled. We then go to the range or enlist someone to zero our rifle. Then only use a ballistic program to develop shooting dope. Never verifying the data at distance, simply trusting that it’s correct.
Monkey see, monkey do…
Outdoorsmen and women are inundated by shows and articles that promote the taking of game at long range by using XYZ products. The shows and articles do not go into the practice regimen of the shooter or the atmospheric conditions that MUST be taken into consideration. They simply show the animals fall in a spectacular fashion from a single long-range shot. The same thing occurs on social media time and again. Doing it is one thing, but advertising the fact is doing a disservice to the shooting/hunting community. Someone will go and attempt the same thing and fail over and over again. Never knowing if an animal was truly missed or hit and lost.
While at the range a local PD “sniper” was relating a deer story. He started by saying that his young son was with him. When a nice buck stepped out in a Sendero and was ranged at 420 yards. Then he realized he didn’t have his ballistic data with him. The buck stepped back into cover and he decided he would simply guess what his data would be and dialed it. The buck steps back out into the Sendero, but now he’s 500+ yards away. So he guesses again and sends a round at the buck. All the while setting a great example of a lack of respect for the animal and decent common sense. The buck looked around and trotted off. He figured he missed and didn’t bother to go look for signs of a hit! I had to walk away before I spoke my mind and hurt someone’s feelings.
ToF…
We place too much emphasis on inches of horn, bone, or antler. True hunting has taken a backseat to trophy taking. Sadly, even archers are videoing themselves shooting big game in excess of 100 yards. One of the most important things about shooting at long range is time of flight (ToF). The time the projectile is in flight from the muzzle to the target. This is the issue that makes hitting at 1000 yards more than twice as difficult as hitting at 500 yards.
ToF is more than twice as long, and with an arrow ToF is tremendous. Plus the arrow is moving way slower than the speed of sound. Granted with the bow, the archer is within 200 yards, so the animal still has a good chance of defeating the “hunter” with its senses. However, the chance of delivering a poor shot or having atmospheric conditions affect the arrow is huge. In the 70’s and 80’s, 300 yards was a long shot on a deer-sized target, and 400 yards was the mark for elk-sized targets. Even these distances do not allow the animal the ability to adequately utilize its various senses to alert it to a hunter’s presence.
Hunt vs Shoot…
This current trend of promoting the taking of big game animals at distances in excess of 500 yards is very disturbing to me, as it shows a complete lack of respect for the animal and delivering as swift and painless a death as we can. To me, this is SHOOTING, not HUNTING. Hunting pits your abilities against the animal’s senses and natural behavior. Shooting pits your abilities against the environmental and atmospheric conditions.
I have a good friend who I introduced to long-range shooting competitions. He is a very good shooter, placing in the top 10% of many matches. A couple of years ago he decided to have a purpose-built long-range hunting rig built in 338 Lapua Magnum. He shared with me, a couple of shots he had taken on a recent Mule deer hunting trip. The yardages were beyond 800 yards, and he recalled the wind being light, perhaps 5mph.
Easy oversights…
One shot was across several drainages and AFTER missing he realized that the mirage was drifting in 3 different directions. A 5mph wind is not much to consider in our competitions, but when it is going in three different directions. As well as the range being beyond 500 yards, then every little thing needs serious consideration. On the other shot, he was confident of his wind call, but he failed to consider the relatively shallow angle of the shot. 15-20 degrees, at normal hunting distances, only accounts for 3-6 yards of difference per hundred. At the distance he attempted, he missed by 18-21 inches! At normal or more sane hunting distances, neither the wind nor angle would have mattered enough to create a miss. Luckily, he missed cleanly or so he believes and all that was hurt was his ego.
How many shots of this nature are attempted by people who think they are skilled enough to pull it off? We owe it to the animals to provide a swift and humane death. We need to get back to hunting and pitting ourselves against the animals we chase, not the atmospheric conditions. The skill required to pull off such incredible feats is applaudable. I don’t think it’s hunting, or believe it should be promoted.
The mistake…
In my 40+ years of hunting, the longest shots I’ve ever taken on the big game were at 350ish yards. The first was on a whitetail buck on the North Texas prairie. I had a superbly accurate 308, with excellent optics, and a solid rest. I failed to account for the wind and had the round impact just in front of the buck. The bullet hit the rock ledge the buck had been walking beside. This caused him to become confused and run about 50 yards toward me. I quickly corrected my error and fired, dropping him. Had the wind been blowing in the other direction I would have gut shot the deer. That deer remains in my memory because it was a valuable lesson, not because it was a great trophy. That lesson ran through my thoughts when my second long shot presented itself.
The lessons…
I was carrying a JP LRP07 in 260rem. and the deer was a napping mule deer in Wyoming. I remembered to consider the wind this time, I also had lots of time to get into a solid position. Since I was waiting for him to wake up and stand up. I dry-fired the shot several times, and when the opportunity presented itself I was able to hit him accurately. The deer itself is memorable to me in that I didn’t screw up, and it was my first Wyoming mule deer. A third shot at the same rough distance occurred recently on my first good bull elk.
The hunt is memorable due to being a DIY solo hunt and all the aspects that had to occur for me to be successful. This hunt took place in the sagebrush flats of Colorado. I stalked to within 400 yards, selected my bull in the herd, and delivered my shot at 345 yards. Three shots in excess of 300 yards in 40+ years of hunting big game all over the world. I’ve accomplished my most memorable hunts at close range, less than 150 yards. Many of the animals are those that most envision as a long-range quarry.
Thrill of the hunt…
My most memorable pronghorn was taken at 85 yards with a handgun. One of my best mule deer was at 65 yards on a cold, wet December morning in west Texas. My two best whitetails were at 55 yards and 140 yards in south Texas Sendero country of Cotulla and Three Rivers. I took my bison at a whopping 60 yards while on the plains of eastern Montana. One of the best feral hogs I’ve taken was with a bow at about 15 yards sneaking in from 150 yards or so.
In my opinion, it sets a poor example for the younger generation as well as newer hunters. The enjoyment of hunting should come from all the aspects of the event. The planning, the preparation, the sharing of time with friends or like-minded individuals, the anticipation of the kill, the fulfillment of the goal, and the recalling of all the events afterward.
Final approaches…
The thrill of hunting should come from getting close, be it with bow, handgun, shotgun, or rifle. Stalking and then sneaking to inside 100 yards with very little cover makes even a doe, a trophy! You may wind up with more scratches or failed final approaches but you will become a better hunter. Rarely do we learn as much from success as we do from failure. It is those failures that make us better. Technology is nice, especially when we’re talking about warmer clothes or sleeping bags, or drier boots. Technology used only to make things easier makes us become lazier and we really do not benefit from it.
If inches of bone or antler is what you need to feel successful in your hunting, then perhaps hunting isn’t for you. If shooting an animal from long range and calling it “hunting” is what you need. Then perhaps you should try something else.…..maybe try actually HUNTING.