>Here's a good read:
>
>Long-Range Shooting: Defining a New Ethic
>in Hunting
>Tuesday, August 12, 2014
>The ethical issue isn't the 350-yard
>shot. The real concern, as
>Boone and Crockett Club sees
>it, is hunters not trying
>to get a closer one.
>
>
>Long-range shooting is a hot topic
>in hunting. Improved and specialized
>guns, gear, bullets and sniper
>skills are growing in popularity,
>stretching the lethal range of
>hunters further than ever before.
>But many hunters wonder how
>it all fits with traditional,
>ethical standards. How far is
>too far to be considered
>fair chase?
>
>Boone and Crockett adopted a new
>position statement to help define
>the ethics of taking game
>from long range.
>
>"It's not about distance; it's about
>intent," said Bill Demmer, Club
>president.
>
>He explained, "Hunters have varying degrees
>of marksmanship skills and capabilities.
>Some are steady only out
>to 100 yards. Others are
>very efficient at much longer
>distances. All kinds of field
>conditions also factor into what
>is or isn't an ethical
>shot. So, within reasonable sideboards,
>it's impossible to use distance
>as a measurement of fair
>chase."
>
>But the Club firmly takes issue
>with hunters who choose shooting
>long rather than trying to
>get close. Intent is what
>separates hunting from merely shooting
>a live target.
>
>"The honor and lasting memories in
>hunting have always been in
>our ability to get close
>to game animals. And every
>hunter has better odds of
>a quick, clean kill at
>closer distances. That's one of
>our most imperative responsibilities as
>a hunter, and that's the
>legacy of sportsmanship that we
>believe is important to uphold,"
>said Demmer.
>
>Maintaining the integrity and public support
>of hunting is vital. The
>tradition, along with its indelible
>ties to conservation, is a
>key to sustaining wildlife for
>the future.
>
>C.J. Buck, president of Buck Knives
>and a Boone and Crockett
>member, said, "Hunting is personal
>and the reasons why people
>hunt are personal. For many,
>making a kill is merely
>incidental to their time afield.
>This elevates hunting to mean
>something more than just filling
>a tag, and that's one
>of the things that make
>it special. Sure, we have
>laws for safety and to
>conserve the resource, but at
>the end of the day
>our satisfaction has more to
>do with our own intentions.
>I think that is why
>so many sportsmen are disturbed
>by those who make the
>shot or the kill more
>important than the hunt itself."
>
>
>Boone and Crockett has been a
>standard-bearer for hunting ethics since
>1902, when Club founder Theodore
>Roosevelt refused to shoot a
>captive black bear during a
>hosted hunt in Mississippi. The
>incident, widely covered in the
>press, popularized the concept of
>fair chase on this continent,
>elevated public appreciation for sportsmanship
>and even inspired introduction of
>a new toy, the Teddy
>bear.
>
>Demmer concluded, "Some people don't like
>us talking about ethics, claiming
>it divides hunters when hunters
>should be united. Rallying around
>hunting ethics is how sportsmen
>did away with the anything-goes
>culture that nearly eliminated big
>game in the early days
>of the conservation movement. I
>believe doing right by the
>game and the traditions of
>hunting still unites hunters."
>
>The Club's position statement and an
>article by noted gun and
>hunting writer Wayne van Zwoll
>are posted at
www.boone-crockett.org.
>
>? 2014 Boone and Crockett Club
>
I asked the fool that wrote this if he could please define long range and he wnt a 3 page reply full of romantic and nostalgic BS
about tradition and yada yada yada....but could not tell me what B&C considered long range.
Bottom line, that article SUCKS.
