Use the same one for up close as you would for out far.
Easier to make a short shot with a longer range set up than it is to be handicapped with a short range rig on a longer shot.
There is a lot of truth there. After I moved my hunting from Ohio (shotgun-only at that time) to Kentucky (anything goes), my first attempts were simply shooting my Rem 742 in 30-06 with 180 grainers from my bow treestands. That habit persisted for the better part of 30 years before I really started to extend my ranges. Let me tell you: if you thing Ought-Six is a wonder inside 200 yards, you should see what it does inside 20 yards.
I kind of had come to your conclusion myself as part of my 44 Magnum experiment. I put up a stand meant for 50 yard shots and the only buck that showed up gave me a shot at 100 yards.
As I reach 65 this month, I still have so much deer-related goo rolling around in my head. It probably comes from reading way too many Outdoor Life magazines as a kid. I started out this thread trying to figure out why a well-respected author chose a 6.5 mm Mannlicher stocked gun for close-in stalking. 18 pages later, I am scratching my head even more.
The one basic truth of deer hunting I've gleaned from all this is that inside 50 yards, anything goes.
