I was driving in Arkansas last week and saw stands out in fields that I thought might be duck blinds but was assured they were used for deer hunting. If that is the case I can assure you that the hunter had better be able to take a long shot. The fields were enormous with absolutely NOTHING that would offer any cover for a stalk. Again I find that the critics of long range shooting are really usually expressing a very parochial point of view. As hunters we have to be able to adapt our technique to conditions that can vary widely. Being able to really reach out there is a very useful skill. Do any of yo happen to have experience hunting these Arkansas fields?

We have some similar fields and stands in Tennessee and I have taken deer out to around 500 yds here. Most of the stands you see are positioned close to a known field crossing or food plot which will generally give you a fairly close shot(under 300 yds).

Sitting in a stand in the middle of a 1000 acre field waiting for something to come to a food plot really doesn't sound much like hunitng but there doesn't seem to be much choice in the area I saw. It would be like shooting from a bench so a long shot should be no problem.

JBD,

It sound like a great time for some socializing around a fun sport. Will Pizza Hut deliver?

Good point Ringman. All "hunting" doesn't have to be the bust your butt kind and the older I get the more I appreciate that fact.

Sounds like you were driving I-40 through the eastern rice & soybean fields. "Beanfield rifles" were so named for this type of hunting. Arkansas is split by a line running southwest to northeast; north and west of the line is hilly to mountainous while it's flatlands to the east and south. Some of that flat south country is swamp with thick brush; the east tends to have lots of open farm fields.

Since the elimination of DDT, we raise Boone & Crockett mosquitoes in those submerged rice fields. There is no 3-point rule or bag limit ;-)

That's exactly where I was Mainframe. I went to the Great Western Gunshow in Tulsa. and drove through Arkansas on I40. Some really flat country. "Beanfield" shooting for sure.