Originally Posted by Jordan Smith
Originally Posted by 10Glocks
A hunter is a person who recognizes that he has a DUTY to do his uttermost to ensure a clean, quick kill. A clean, quick kill is paramount to a hunter. It is not something he hopes he will happen when he shoots an animal at long range. It something he has to be reasonably sure of, or he doesn't take the shot.

That's all very true. To put things in perspective, let me ask you this: are you reasonably sure of a kill shot when you shoot an animal at 50 yards? Are you less sure of a kill shot if the animal is at 150 yards? Has your confidence in a good shot at 150 yards fallen below your acceptable confidence threshold? I'm guessing you're sure enough about making a good shot at 150 yards that you'd take that shot just as readily as the shot at 50 yards. Well the same concept applies to hunters with a wide range of shooting skill. For some guys, shooting an animal at 300 versus 500 yards does not change the decision to shoot, as the confidence level is still above the threshold. Same with other shooters and shots at 500 versus 700 yards, etc. The important thing is not the distance, since that depends on the unique experience and shooting skill of the individual hunter, but rather what matters is, as you put it, a "clean, quick kill", that the hunter "has to be reasonably sure of, or he doesn't take the shot."


Agreed - to an extent. Shooters have to be capable of making the shot. And the bullet has to be be able to perform as it should. So it's a multifold proposition. I see far too many people taking shots but with cartridges that are truly insufficient for the ranges.

Leupold has a video of Doug Koenig shooting and elk at 650 yards with a 6.5 CM. Even his guide in the video says he wouldn't let anyone else take the shot. He shouldn't have let Koenig take it. A 6.5 is not a 650 yard elk round no matter who is pulling the trigger. Nor is a .223 with a 77 grain bullet a 300 yard moose round (and yes, that's the sort of thing people are trying to do.).

If a person can take a long shot and meet his duty of being very reasonably sure of a clean QUICK kill, more power to him. But we've entered an era of stunt-shooting big game for video likes. This a Leupold hate thread. I hate that video.



Last edited by 10Glocks; 07/14/21.
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