When isnt it hunting anymore ?

[bigngreen]

IGUESS I'm at the wrong end of the state, it has to be easier than what I do, somewhere. Most peole in Mt around here dont see 13 , 300 type bulls in their hunting career. I WOULD GUESS that you have a wall of 6x6?

This is the first year any thing would go 300, he's been taking a few poor bulls and a bunch of cows so the quality is really coming back.
Have never shot a big bull, I have drawn back on a couple 320 class bulls but never had the shot with a bow. Rifle season, the first fat legal elk in front of me gets it gun) Gotta secure the hamburger, I'm setting good for meat so I think next year I'll make a big push for 350's class bull, I've gotta plan

 

[Fiftydriver]

"When isn't it hunting anymore?"

When the person behind the trigger looses the passion for being in the field. As far as long range hunting goes, a good friend of mine kind of coined a phrase that sums it up, Those that can DO, those that can't BITCH!!!!

I would never tell anyone that their method of hunting is anything but hunting, AS long as they are efficent at cleanly harvesting the game they are hunting.

Personally, I would bet I pass up on FAR more mature bucks every year then most are able to see. I also know that in many parts of the country and even my state that if there are horns its dead. After putting 6 whitetails on the ground that average over 150" B&C, I often let bigger bucks walk then most would ever consider doing.

Let me be clear about my feelings, KILLING is not hunting, Hunting to me is being in the field, WITH the animals and when done correctly, the game animals and the environment you are putting yourself into has no idea you are there and when done correctly, you can hunt the same area day after day and see game every day.

Long Range Hunting IS the very best way to hunt in this maner and have little to any negative impact on the patterns of big game animals.

When the time comes to punch a tag, that is not the defining time of being a hunter, its the hours, days, weeks and months and even years leading up to that point in time. When the time comes to pull the trigger, that is the END of the hunt, not the hunt itself.

Simply put, do what you want, where you want. A good hunter is able to move into the wild field, unnoticed by most others in that natural element and when the time comes efficently and cleanly harvest the big game animal you decide to take.

This debate comes up all the time, again, I fall back on my friends comments, Those that can do, those that can't BITCH!!!

 

[JARHEAD1371]

OK, I have to throw in my $.02. After reading the first several posts, the word "Sniper" was thrown around several times. A person is a Sniper only after he has been formally trained as a Sniper. I'm willing to bet that 90% of the guys that claim to be Snipers, aren't even close to qualifying as one. I was trained as a Designated Marksman, not a Sniper. Besides, hunting is not Sniping. Your target can't shoot back.

If this was covered in another post, sorry about the repeat.

 

[pcgolfer]

Deer continue to mass produce despite increased limits. There were an estimated 400,000 - 500,000 whitetail in NOrth America at the time Columbus discovered America (don't ask, I don't know who was doing the counting). There are now 25,000,000. We're not killing enought. They are like geese, rabbits, mice and rats.

Muzzleloading is way more humane than having 10 guys drive deer, then having 2-3 guys firing away with shotguns hoping to hit some part of the deer. I'd outlaw shotgun hunting (or at least driving deer). We are finding way to many mangled deer. One shot - make it count. I agree with you, don't take a shot unless you are 90%+ you are making a clean kill. Let your skills dictate the distance. My friend took a 180+ (score) deer at 182 yards with a Savage Muzzleloader - got both shoulders and the lungs. I wont go over 125 or less. He is better than me. The Savage is good to go at 200+ with smokeless powder at 2,350 fps.

 

[ATH]

My friend took a 180+ (score) deer at 182 yards with a Savage Muzzleloader - got both shoulders and the lungs. I wont go over 125 or less. He is better than me. The Savage is good to go at 200+ with smokeless powder at 2,350 fps.

You should read some of the flak I've taken for taking one at 338 yds with a conventional inline...I swore of inaccurate shotgun hunting long ago.

Of course I do most of my ML shooting at 300-400 yds and occasionally out to 500. I don't really care about range when I go hunting, I'd belly crawled 400 yards to shoot a buck at 20 yds five minutes before the 338 yd shot and I thought they were both challenging hunts in their own ways.

 

[soundwaves]

the rush you get when close too a huge buck is awsome but the rush you get from a long range kill is eaven better.
l was in the himaleyas (toros mountains, Turkey) last year stalkin beozar ibex, got 200 yards within the females but the huge 12 year old male was very sneaky and wouldnd come out of cover. waited there for 2 hours for a good shot opertunety but the females saw us at the end and started to run and out came the 12 year old, it was massive man biggest one l have ever seen. he wouldnt stop runing. an imposible shot to take cause of the steep tarein,and the animal moving all over the place. waited patiantly looking throgh my scope(Zeiss 3-12-56 with range finder) and the animal stoped at 637 meters right on top of a huge cliff. so l didnt wait at all and took the shot.HEYM SR 30 7mm rem mag 150 grain sp goes balistic. the huge ibex just stans there for a second or two and comes tumbeling down that cliff. now if this is not hunting what is. well saying long range shots are not hunting is just a bunch of bull ****. its hunting at its best.......

 

[yotefever]

I don't long range hunt I just hunt. But if I wasn't prepared for a long range shot I wouldn't have gotten my first mule deer this year.
The deer spotted me first about 80 yds away and moved out of site and minutes later came in view but over 500 yds away. Did I have to guess how far to hold over him for a shot, no just pulled out the Leica got the range, had my info from my Kestral 4000 in my phone got my moa adj and took the shot. DRT and I found out mule deer taste good too.
Sunday I had a different situation and had a coyote run into my back knocking off my boonie and getting away because I didn't get the 'safety' off when I turned around and pulled the trigger. He was in hyperdrive and gone out of site before I could do anything more but laugh.
Which hunt was better, not really sure. I wouldn't want to give up either one.
Now if I just could get a bobcat that would be a great way to end the year.

 

[Coyboy]

Mike, is your bobcat tag good for my area? I could show you a good spot if it is.

 

[Shawn Carlock]

I say it is hunting if it is legal to do. Most critics of long range hunting don't know or have ever seen real long range hunting. Most have a terrible misconception about it and then run their yaps about how it is not this or that and that thier way of hunting is "real hunting". This attitude puts them in the narrow minded, run your mouth, ******* catagory and are just not worth much of my time.

Oh yeah, those that can do and those that can't bitch.

 

[cross]

Long range or short range, it's all hunting. I find that I do more trophy type hunting when I can shoot longer ranges because I see more animals and have more time to judge. They enjoyment comes from putting in your time to know the area, glassing and finding the critters, and then putting a good stalk/shot on them to seal the deal. Many of the areas I hunt are thick cover areas that I have found a few openings in, your shot opportunities are 700 yards or 40 yards so basically it's shoot now or go elsewhere.

That being said, I do love to hunt elk in thick cover. You can't really trophy hunt in close cover but the excitement is thick when a herd of elk gets up 10 yards away and starts crashing through the brush while I run behind throwing .338s at an elk to try to get it on the ground. That's good business!

 

[cedarswamp1]

Most critics of long range hunting don't know or have ever seen real long range hunting. Most have a terrible misconception about it .......... are just not worth much of my time.

Until a month ago, I was that guy, and you sir are one of those that changed my perception of LRH.

Sometimes all ya need to do is educate the ignorant.

Jus' sayin'.

 

[Chas1]

cedarswamp1, welcome aboard glad to have you here. Watch out for them there gators.

 

[bigngreen]

My boss was firmly anti long range hunting, to the point he told me anything over 300yrds is just flinging lead and he wouldn't ever hunt with anyone who did it. One day I took my rifle in and showed him, he realized it is set up a little different so I got him out to the range and set up my gun for him. He saw first hand that when set up right taking everything into consideration that good first shot hits are not flinging lead.
He shot all the way out to 1000yrd pounding the gongs and dialing, with help but he is now firmly behind the ethics of longrange hunting, just taking the time to show a guy and let him see what it actually is makes a big difference, let the gun do the talking goes a long ways to help guys understand the difference between lead slingers and LRH, I'm far from being good at LRH but even I with patience can contribute to how this way of hunting is precieved by those aroung me. We all can!!

Nobody really says it but I really like the shot and the kill, I don't really care how big it is, mosly how it will taste. I enjoy being out but I am there to make a kill and I do enjoy the kill, some don't think that is really hunting but I'm more in the mind set that the kill is my pay of for good hunting. I really like LRH for the time it affords you to glass the game and really study what is going on in that moment then setting up the shot and planning for the shot then making the shot that you have chosen and making a clean kill with a well place bullet. I find LRH has the same thrill and skills needed as bow hinting and I love both

 

[Shawn Carlock]

Cedarswamp,

Glad you came over from the darkside and happy to have you. Sorry if I seemed a little short about the uneducated masses out there. I have been long range hunting for over 20 years (long before it was the cool thing to do) and have grown frustrated in trying to sell my position on it. I still take what ever time is necessary to educate those that show any interest what so ever. The people I was mostly refering to are the crowds that flatly put down LRH and the people that do it, sometimes coming right down the cussing matches and fighting words. It is the attitude that "I heard about those long range guys and it just dosen't seem right to me so with out any information at all I am going to face right up to them and tell them what a bunch of unethical ******** I think it is blah, blah ,blah." I believe that we do need to educate people about LRH but some people you can tell'em you just can't tell'em much.