smokepole----It was Townsend Whelen, and 1500 is not an even number. I have killed several elk with an muzzleloader none over 100 yards. Let alone 600 or 700. I know you are dissing the energy recommendation, however there is more than just energy necessary for a long range hit. And the variables increase with distance. The state of Colorado references these numbers today in a great discussion regarding caliber choices, as do many current hunting and shooting articles, they are a guide just like caliber restrictions, nothing will ever be perfect,
I don't think it's a good idea to conflate recommendations with legal restrictions with ethics. None are expressions of reality, but rather, they are values that humans have created that are distinct from reality, and thus are fluid and arbitrary.
If you don't like the way another guy does something, don't do it that way. Do it the way you think it should be done. As you state, nothing will ever be perfect. This is certainly true for all hunting using projectiles.
There are things other guys do that I would consider unethical if I did them. Taking shots well outside the range of the average hunting shot isn't one of those. As long as everyone is acting conscientiously, what gripe can I really have about the way another does things? For every skill I possess, there are guys that have a lot more of it than I do. This is certainly true for all hunting using projectiles.
