Hunting is not the same for everyone. Each of us was raised hunting differently. I grew up hunting in Maine. Regarding whitetail...was not legal to drive deer, feed deer, etc. Other states allow that and I could not understand why. Hunters from those states did not know any different, it was how it was done.
as for hunting....it is really called WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, controlled by the state. Meaning, there is an expected harvest number to keep numbers healthy. As much as we want to believe, it is no longer our "given right" to hunt. if it was, there would be no such things as drawings for tags or licenses with bag limits.
but how each of us hunts is personal and how we were brought into it colors our belief on how it should be done. trust me, a hundred years ago, if someone could have been able to harvest an animal at 1000 yards ( with newly aquired high tech equipment) they would have done so.
can you wound an animal at 1000 yards and not retrieve it? sure. however I have heard way more stories of wounded animals who were never found at way way shorter ranges. hunting in thick Maine woods, it happens fairly frequently.
one big thing that the long range hunters have going for them. most spend a lot of $$ getting the top end equipment and spend considerable range time practicing. shots are planned and thought out. I used to hate hunting the Maine woods early season....guys out hunting with semi-auto rifles, firing a complete mag to try to hit a running deer. now that is frustrating, and scary! many other hunters were either killed or hurt by this kind of hunting. when was the last time anyone heard of a hunter killed by another at long range because the hunter thought they were a deer? I have never heard it.
from what I can find, long range hunting is actually way safer also.
hunting is based on the equipment used and the experience of the hunter. yup, there are guys that should never take that 600 yard shot, just as there are a lot of hunters who should never ever shoot over 50 yards because they just can't seem to hit the broadside of a barn.
big problem is...we live in a society that some expect to force their ideas/opinions on other men....rather than just go on as individuals.
that is no different that goes on in this country, or, for the rest of the world actually.