Articles

Personal hunting range limitations

I've read so many field and stream and other magazine articles that are bashing long range hunting these days and I can see why. I'm not going to get into the "technological ethics" of hunting because quite frankly I bow hunt and still in no way shape or form is bowhunting more "fair" to game. I'm launching a carbon fiber shaft arrow at over 200 mph with razor sharp blades at the front end. All while wearing camouflage that humans have engineered to trick animals. Hunting is not fair to game period no matter the range unless you are tacking an animal with your hands and hulk hogan choking it to death.

With AR500 steel targets selling like hotcakes everybody is soaking up long range shooting and I think that is great as I'm an avid supporter of shooting activities, however what shooters need to understand is long range shooting is not hunting! The thrill from a hunt after days of tracking an animal and finally getting an opportunity to shoot can't be matched when shooting at steel, and your nerves are wonderful at messing things up. On top of that while hunting out west we have been hiking miles, through canyons, up mountains, and all in between while carrying a full load of crap on our back. The biggest difference between long range shooting and hunting is when hunting many times you get one shot to get it right. In long range shooting if you miss you simply dial or hold a new solution in MOA or Mills and fire again, in hunting you either cleanly missed (ideally) or hit an animal in the guts, legs, or somewhere else that will leave it to a miserable demise.

(One shot one kill is not what i'm preaching, as I am a firm believer in shooting an animal (especially big ones) until they are down for the count.)

As much as a $40 or more box of ammo stings, as hunters we need to get out on the range and practice. Shooting off a rest on a bench is not practice unless your practicing for bench rest shooting. Getting out in the field and setting up to take off hand shots, using a pack or shooting sticks and possibly the rare bipod shot is practice. I get it, work, life, family it all eats away at our precious time to spend in the outdoors however we owe it to the animal to spend some money and assess our abilities.

Equipment can make hunting more ethical. By using laser range finders and even wind meters such as a Kestrel we can more accurately predict where our bullets or arrows will go. Some may say this is technological sillyness but the truth is it can help. You don't need to go all Mark Wallberg in Shooter but a basic understanding of external ballistics will never hurt a hunter. Intimately knowing your equipment, knowing the trajectory of your bow or rifle and good practice is something that is often overlooked with hunters leading to injured and non-recovered animals every year.