C&B, Thanks for taking the time to write that out, I can't say I find much to disagree with. Slob hunters like the ones you describe below are a minority for sure, but all too common at short range and long range. They are really a disgrace. I count myself lucky that I've never hunted with anyone like you describe below. And I agree that as hunters it's our responsibility to call out unethical practices.
Which is why I try to draw such sharp lines between "unethical," "not really hunting," and "not how I like to hunt."
As far as long-range hunting, I think it comes in for a lot of unfair criticism because it's an easy target (sorry) and also because most hunters don't shoot long range so it's an "us and them" thing. I hunt mostly in the early primitive weapons seasons (bow and muzzleloader) and I see the same things happening. A guy with a bow who tells me "I just got a shot, but missed" and I ask him how far. His reply, "not sure, I think about 60 yards." Lots of animals are wounded but not recovered during archery season, but archers get a pass because they're "really hunting" and "sh** happens." Or hearing seven shots in quick succession, and then seeing the guy who shot, with a muzzleloader and a .44 revolver (illegal), and nothing to show for it. Or the idiot who shot a 14 year-old bowhunter in the chest and killed him here last season with a muzzleloader.
To me, the whole thing comes down to limiting yourself to the shots you can make, and that applies equally to all weapons at all ranges.
And yes, the merchandising of long-range hunting gear (or any gear for that matter) on TV shows makes me want to puke also.
But I have been hunting elk and deer too often with people who watch TV and fancied themselves as long range "hunters". That experience has been entirely negative. In my experience, my companions were focused on technology, and equipment, shooting, and not on hunting skills. Any animal that they saw was an opportunity to shoot, not an opportunity to hunt. And several animals paid for their attitude of entitlement to run away gut shot, or with a jaw dangling, or a leg swinging.
