Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game practical caliber and cartridge differences

I still remember waaaaay back when I first went hunting with a centerfire rifle after many years of bow hunting only. I was with an older mentor of mine and we had a chance to shoot. The distance was probably close to 200 yards. I was so freaked out by him saying this is a good spot we can shoot from here. I was like "dude that thing is way to far" Coming from a bowhunting back ground I was always in the mindset of 10-30 yards.........So to even consider something 200 yards away was just comletly bizzare to me.

After I got invovled with the guiding business my learning curve came around quick and I could see things more clearly where distance and firearms and archery were concerned. However those early years of exclusive bowhunting formed my skills and sensability to the point where I have actually said if every gun hunter started as a bow hunter and only bow hunted for a few years, they would never EVER miss anyting again or wound anything again with a rifle.

It's just so much more certain, precise, and forgiving going from archery to a scoped modern rifle. I still do both and few things in life are as much a rush as getting to within that very close archery distance. The one thing I find always amusing are the many folks who seem to rave about their long distance rifle shots. I've always found more pride in how close I could get rather then how far I could shoot. Surely hunting skills are not measured in long distance but rather actual hunting ability in how close you can get, .......at least thats the way I see it.