Not if he can not reliably make a 400yd shot in good conditions.
Just the way it is.
Long rangers sure are a sensitive lot!
John, your line I quoted above confuses the ability to make a shot with the judgment and ethics of making it. The writer was clearly referring to the latter.
IME here on the 'fire, that shifting of the topic from ethics to ability is a standard talking point for long rangers: to accuse anyone who questions them with inability to make such a shot.
Shoot all you want as far as you want. You are a terrific long range shot. You don't need our public approval to feel good about such shooting.
I think some of you feel that any disagreement is tantamount to a knock down drag out fight. Discussion forums are for discussions. I be discussin.
Somebody posted an unequivocal statement that I disagree with and I posted my opinions. I get to have an opinion and you can agree or disagree.
The irony of the situation was the inflammatory nature of the original quote. It is actually the "short rangers" who are sensitive and want to label others as unethical because they "feel" a certain way and want to impose their "feelings".
I might have to start a thread along the lines of " Do you suck as a shooter if you can't hit a deer at 600yds??" The butthurt would be EPIC.
Originally Posted by Mike70560
That is a pretty harsh assessment of a man who made his living with a rifle.
Originally Posted by JohnBurns
Please quote accurately my "assessment" of Don Heath.
ps. I make my living with a rifle.
Originally Posted by Mike70560
John,
"Not if he can not reliably make a 400yd shot in good conditions."
Maybe more of a snide comment than an assessment.
I do not have access to the article; however from the quote he said ethics, not his ability to do it.
Wow we went from "harsh assessment" to "snide comment" pretty fast.
Originally Posted by jorgeI
Hitting at long range is no big deal if one is up to it and CHOOSES to do so. I personally CHOOSE not to. With guys like Don Heath, he probably doesn't care what you can do at 400 with a ruminant
Yet the quote says I am unethical to take any shot beyond 350yds. Your feeling of what the author intends does not match the actual statement.
The fact that so many are trying to reinterpret the original quote pretty much proves how it was a silly statement.
Originally Posted by jorgeI
BTW, my uncle went on several safaris in the late 60s/early 70s to Angola and Mozambique. He took two rifles, both Model 70s in 270 and 458. He took his lion with his 270 and old-style Silvertips.
Which dovetails with my question concerning "modern bullets" in the .270 Win. My interpretation was that the author considered the .270 Win not adequate for plains game until "modern bullets" came along. I am more than a little amused at the concept that "modern bullets" have been a gamechanger for the .270 Win. It always worked fine. (Provided you did stretch to far)
Originally Posted by jorgeI
So what's the argument here, that one isn't a "hunter" if you can't score at 400? Do it at ten yards with an elephant of buffalo and get back to me..
To save some time I will just quote what I said in previous posts. Feel free to read them this time.
Originally Posted by JohnBurns
Well I don't personally know the fellow and I'll take you word he is a swell fella, but if he is stymied by a 400yd shot I would not consider him much of an authority on rifles nor bullets.
Originally Posted by JohnBurns
My only point was that the unequivocal ""If something is more than 350 yards away, I contend no one has any ethical business shooting unless the game is wounded." statement. If he made it, is not something a knowledgeable rifle shooter would state.
It really is no different than some newbie LR shooter saying a 500yd shot is a chip shot and anyone who can't make that shot is a poor shooter.
Originally Posted by Idaho_Shooter
Pride in marksmanship at extreme range did not begin at Adobe Walls. Outside of sniping at humans, there has never been a better way to prove that marksmanship than killing game.
Gas please meet Fire.
John Burns
I have all the sources. They can't stop the signal.
Feel free to read them this time. 
