Jeff I have some top shelf competitive shooters as close friends and I sometimes shoot with them. They understand your language.
I am not in the class with you nor them. You guys operate in a different league. When I practice i take my conditions as they come, note effects,and adapt.
In the field sometimes adapting means not taking the chance. I won't pull a trigger on an animal unless I am 90%+ certain of positive results.
My options were exercised decades ago....due to time constraints, work, family I had time to compete.....or hunt. Not both.
I chose to hunt and live within my shooting limitations.
I understand exactly what you were saying.
I'm far from good. I'm just ok at what I do when I desire to do so.
I won't shoot unless I"m 200% sure. If there is ANY doubt, 20 steps or 1000, I won't break the shot. It has to be in my mind a gimme. Just me. Its also why I don't have some big animals. Could care less though, I sleep well at night knowing I didn't wound them to slowly die somewhere else and be lost.
Just me. Again, I think there should be no difference in distances.. just the decision train should be the same.
But then there are things folks that have shot a bit understand, and as such, I was delighted to see conditions a couple of times be such that 800 or further was gravy. Lord knows I"ve had a hard time holding center on something at 200 or less some days in bad conditions. Or even as simply as out of breath...I can tell you, no matter what you think, trying to outrun a caribou herd to a particular point, just doesn't work for my azz
