why take a shot you can't make

[shoot4fur]

Just venting a bit. I was out last night spot and stalk bear hunting because we cant run bears here. Some guys beat us in to our spot, more power to them. Well they took a long shot, impossible unless your trained for it .lol, and came up empty handed. I watched them look for it all night, have to give them creddit for that, but come on, why take a shot like that, im talking 700yrds. why not try and get closer, or wait another night and not blow the bear out of country. I had a bear at 270 yards in the same draw a few nights back. All i had was my 460 S&W, I know im good at 200, so why try if i might just nick him and not find it. If your going to shoot you should know its going down. The bear I had at 270, was a nice bear, hope its not the bear theese dumb a$$es might have hit. not cool.

[Daniel Tremblay]

I feel your pain man. Took the wife out today didnt see one single bear. We hiked a good 8 miles. Looked over several good draws on two seperate creeks. Well it was getting pretty hot out so we headed back to the truck only to find a bear dead on the hill side. It was only about 280 yards from the trail we were on. Found the shell case and all. It was a nice black bear. Really made us mad and disgusted. Don't see why people do that.

[shoot4fur]

well not that it matters for the the bear that may have been hit, but i cut the big bears track tonight. It is nice to know he is still out there. his front pad is 6 and 1/4 inches wide. thats in wet snow...

[hounddude]

I hate it when guys brag about taking long shoots. I think it's the in thing now. I'm on the shoot if you know it dead side. Mark

[BlacktailStalker]

Its called ethics, just not applicable with some people.

[Lonewolf]

I don't think we should lump every shooter in the same group. Their's shooter's which can take a long shot and make it everytime. Let's face the facts some people can't make the shot at twenty yards. If they suck lets hope somebody good is backing them up. Each of us know if we can make the shot or not so for the one's which can make the shot congrats if you can't take the time and train.

[Dale T]

No Shit!

I worked with this wanabe hunter a few years ago that kept talking about wanting to make a 1 mile shot on a Elk with a 50 cal. and when told him it takes more skill to get close enough to take one with a Bow at 10 yds than to take one from 1 mile, he thought I was insane. I'm not trying to discredit the skill it takes to consistently make a kill shot from that range but I'm a hunter and not a sniper.

[kordog]

truth is its exciting and fun to some people to try and make a long shot. if everybody was perfect at everything we did it wouldnt be very fun or exciting .we wouldnt be human ! just because your not as good at something as the next guy does that mean you shouldnt? it must be lonely sitting up on those high hills of yours looking down on everybody

[culverz]

I agree with some of what you have said but not all of it. I personally have an enjoyment in shooting at long range. I also have been an archery hunter since i was 13 years old. Getting close is a challenge just like shooting an elk or deer at long range. I will say that to make a shot at long range (over 500 yards) you first must have the equipment to do it and second practice alot.

Shooting animals at long distances can be very effective if the country requires so and you have done your homework. It is a trend that has become very popular since some of these shows on tv have started airing all these long distance hunts. people just need to realize that they must have the proper equipment.

[shoot4fur]

I have also been hunting since i was 12, and shooting bows and guns before that.. But its not time to practice when there is fur in your scope. You practice before its time to hit the field. And if you cant make the shot consistantly then you dont take it when you have fur in the sight bow or gun.................. Thats just how it should be, the rest of the hunters that do take the shot and cant make it just make us all look bad, and waist good animals. If you wound 3 to before you get one you get no respect from me. I know things go bad but you should do your part to make sure you did all you could to make it work.

[bearsnva]

The truth to this is most people aren't as good of a shot as they think. It takes a lot of time and money to stay sharp shooting and most people don't have the opportunity to do that, much less a place to practice long range shooting. If the thought of possibly leaving an animal to a long and painful death without a quick kill doesn't bother you then you aren't in the right sport to start with. Shoot all the targets at what ever distance you want but use sound judgement with a living animal. That target won't suffer on the bad shots and the longer the distance the more bad shots there will be and I don't think anyone can dispute that. I call BS on anyone that says they can shoot as well at 500 yards as 100.

[culverz]

the gun is only as good as you can shoot. Take a $3500 gun and if you can't shoot its no good but if you practice enough shooting sub MOA is very possible.

I guess I do have it easy having a 700 yard range set up at my house with the bench only being 10 yards out my front door.

[up4trein1]

at one time i shot everyday and at that time i had the confience to kill deer at 500 yards any day of the week but now im lucky to burn fifty 22's a year. its all about practice im not comfortable with long shots anymore. my belief was if i couldnt put a bulletright through the vitals i was taken a shot. one for respect of the animal but two because i hate trying to follow a blood trail. if you shot alot your also going to have the equipment to make the shot because whos going to play with a sub par gun everyday. practice is definately the keep

[hntr4life]

I am an EX-US ARMY SNIPER and at one time I could hit at 600-800yds all day long, but I was at the range almost every day and even on the weekends if I wasn't hunting or "IN THE FIELD". To this day, the longest shot I've put on an animal was 400yds and that was a Mullie in CO. I thought I missed the first shot and made a quick follow-up shot that dropped him in his tracks like he was unplugged. Both shots were off-hand with no rest, which I NEVER do! When I got down to the buck to check him out, I saw both shots hit him about 2 1/2-3" apart. Even the buddies I hunt with didn't know I could shoot like that because I don't like to make long shots. There are too many variables that come into play when making a shot beyond 500yds. I believe in clean, ethical kills. Call me lazy but, I prefer to kill'em close to the truck! Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, just because you can hit the animal at that distance doesn't mean that you can kill it clean. Spend the extra time and get closer and make a good shot. Time will be saved in tracking a wounded animal for miles and as hunters we won't look like a bunch of heartless hillbillies to others trying to shut us down. JMO! I hope I haven't offended anyone. Thanks

[kordog]

only the best shot in the world should be able to hunt ,and they can only make brain shots . this way the animal is sure to never feel a thing . why not go all the way with this thread gentleman . kids shouldnt be allowed to hunt either . bird hunting would be outlawed. tom knapp who is a professional shotgunner was missing pheasants on tv . so where do we draw the line ?who gets to shoot? im just trying to look at the other side of the coin here as well.