Well, I read it but dont believe it.

[WhiplashTX]

For 90% of hunters/shooters, I'd say it's spot on.

Especially when a lot of hunters should be limited to less than the stated 300 yard maximum. I know a few people that are lucky to do 6" groups off a bench.

[Horitexan]

I really dislike “here’s what’s ethical”’claims; especially when they’re as long as a dissertation and full of a mish-mash of technical data that still doesn’t begin to touch the variety of situations encountered while hunting. Lol! I couldn’t even get through the whole thing without setting my dyslexia into overdrive. I didn’t need all that to tell me that a lot of people shouldn’t shoot a game animal at 300. Heck, they shouldn’t shoot them at 100yds. A lot of guys can’t shoot worth a darn and many more don’t have the experience to stay calm and make a more difficult shot.

That article makes an awful lot of assumptions, though, and according to that guy, (I’m extrapolating here) bow hunting should be illegal. An arrow doesn’t meet any of his ethical requirements.

I heard it best put by someone on here, I think, when they said: ‘If you’re surprised that you made a good shot it wasn’t ethical but if you’d be surprised by a miss it IS ethical.



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[Radar]

I hunted at a ranch near Crystal City and most of the blinds were within 80 yards of the feeders. I asked the outfitter why and he said that too many hunters were making bad shots at 150 yards so they moved everything in to 80 yards.

[trophy8]

I quit reading when I saw what ammo he is using. That is an absolute joke. Even here on tbh the guys who don't shoot longer ranges but better factory ammo or reload. That dramatically changes things. I can attest to the point that 300 yards is max range for the majority of hunters. I disagree with his ballistics numbers. He also needs to keep in mind the equipment most true LR shooters use in the field. Kestrel at the spot where they shoot from. Watch the mirage for wind. Or grass or trees etc. And knowing your rifle very well and having sent thousands of rounds down range in various conditions. You'll always have the folks that think they can buy a 30-06 because some military sniper used it 50 years ago and throw a 3-9 scope with BDC reticle on it and crappy Winchester ammo and fling them at animals. Oreven guys that buy the gunwerks packages and think they can magically make 1000 yard shots right out of the box. "They do it on tv. I can to". I've seen several guys show up at a local range with gunwerks packages. $10,000+ worth. And I have yet to see one that can actually shoot them well. Most struggled to group them at 500. And didn't even attemp to shoot past that. The ones that did rarely made hits past 650. This is a fairly controlled environment and you should easily lay down solid groups at distance. And I have yet to see more than a handful get away from the bench to practice. Most look at me funny when practicing prone or off sticks to distance. You know, real world shooting positions lol. They quit laughing when the steel starts ringing. My personal opinion, most focus on the equipment and looks rather than their ability. You don't need a $5000+ rifle to kill deer at 500+. Most are better suited to spend that money on ammo and range time. The caliber debates never end. Too many focus on muzzle velocity and never think twice what that light Bullet will do when it gets there and even fewer pay attention to BC and how wind is going to affect it. And even fewer than that look at sectional density. I think the article is poorly written. I think the author isn't up to speed on true long range gear and ballistics. But I do agree that most shooters have no business shooting at animals at 2-300 yards much less 500+. And those skills to do so don't happen overnight and don't come cheap or easy. Thousands of rounds and hundreds of hours shooting in all types of conditions. Throw high angle shooting in the mix and it gets even more interesting haha.

[kmon]

I have not read it, and might some time but good old Chuck has to keep something going to keep his readers up. Sometimes good info sometimes not so good. if you go back through his work over the years I am sure you can find some contradictions.

There is so much over lap in hunting cartridges and the new flavor is often "better" than the old flavor. How dead is dead on game. Take for instance the 6.5 Creedmoor, 260 Remington and 6.5X47 Lapua in the hunting fields what can any of those do that the 120+ year old 6.5X55 Sweed cannot do other than fit in the Short action rifle?

As to hunters accuracy, go to a busy public range in the last 2 weeks before season and tell me that half of the guys there should be shooting even 100 yards at game 6 inch patterns at 100 yards from a bench with sand bags is common.

Radar your guide is spot on for moving those feeders closer for many clients they get I am sure.

The 06 is a good versatile cartridge that I have never owned though have hunted with a few times and killed a couple deer with one, but have never owned one and probably never will. Not from the recoil stand point have plenty that recoil more and less just when growing up seems that and the 270 were what everyone had. Never got a 308 either until a M1a was there for a good price and have to say it is fun to shoot.

[Livin'2hunt]

A friend manages his family's ranch and they high-fenced and grew monster deer for the sake of generating revenue to keep the ranch in the family. He had to place caliber restrictions and conduct shooting qualifications for each client because so many deer were being wounded. Their feeders are all set 80 yards from the blinds.

He said, clients would show up with their custom built 300 Win Mag, topped with Schmidt & Benders who can't shoot better than an 8" group off a bench with sand bags. He told me, one customer had that exact set-up and had a 180" buck at less than 70 yards. He asked the shooter if he had a clear shot at the shoulder. The shoot responded affirmatively. My friend told him to take the shot. Boom! The deer hit the ground and began to flop wildly and got up on all fours. The shooter froze and couldn't run the bolt. My friend fired a clean-up shot and killed the buck. The client's shot hit the buck between the eye and corner of the mouth and blew apart the buck's face.

After that, my friend instituted a three shot qualification with his supervision. If they cannot perform with their rifle, he provides one of his customs and handloaded ammo. If they cannot perform then, he sends them home. He has a ceiling of 30-06 allowed on the ranch. He believes clients are compensating for poor shooting skills by using magnum chamberings. He wanted the maximum to be a 308 but I told him he would be alienating the most popular calibers ever created. Reluctantly, he agreed.

After five years of implementation, I asked how it was working. He told me they had sent home seven prospective hunters, disallowed four that showed up with magnum calibers (one, a 338 Lapua) and has had to loan out his rifle more times than he can count but the wounding of deer has gone way down to only a few a season. We are still baffled by the broad inability of people to make the simplest of shots.

.

[Radar]

I know that doves aint got nothing to worry about around me. Heck I can be ankle deep in shotgun hulls and come out with 5 doves.

But I think that someone that does not shoot much can be intimated by recoil and I think that the guy that wrote the article was right in some ways. Some fellas want a super magnum hot rod because they read about it in a book and if they own one it will be like viagra to them. After they shoot it a few times and discover the recoil , they tend to flinch or close their eyes as they pull the trigger. When you get to flinching it is hard habit to break, same as taking your head away from the stock before the rifle settles back down.

[TxDispatcher]

I don't consider myself to be a crack shot...but to not be able to group at 300 yards is unbelievable. I guess I have too much faith in people, I would have thought folks would be able to do that if they're hunting. Or maybe I'm just used to being around gun nuts who shoot a lot and thought everyone was like that

[4dog]

If you have ever played darts...you know how much a little off gets bigger...and if you cant hit a bullseye with a dart..then ya shouldnt be shooting out to 300...just woke up ...lol..apologies.

[meltingfeather]

I really dislike “here’s what’s ethical”’claims; [...] An arrow doesn’t meet any of his ethical requirements.

The word ethical doesn't appear in the article.
Mostly it's a regurgitation of pretty good sense, with some facts to back it up.
I like the caliber comparisons because what you read, especially on places like TBH, is hugely distorted opinions without much basis in fact.
He's also pretty careful to qualify his statements.

[meltingfeather]

But I think that someone that does not shoot much can be intimated by recoil and I think that the guy that wrote the article was right in some ways. Some fellas want a super magnum hot rod because they read about it in a book and if they own one it will be like viagra to them. After they shoot it a few times and discover the recoil , they tend to flinch or close their eyes as they pull the trigger. When you get to flinching it is hard habit to break, same as taking your head away from the stock before the rifle settles back down.

Very true. To see hard evidence of this take a stroll through the used rifle section at Cabelas.