Opening Day Success

[MLN1963]

Yeah some guys will take a shot even if they know there is no chance of hitting or cleanly killing an animal , that is the type that give us hunters a bad name.

You got that right. Unfortunately my Father in Law is one of them. He killed a nice buck Wed but it was all blind ass luck. He didn't know the distance at all, not even the size of the field he was hunting. He sees a buck, too far to see how many points, Finds a tree and throws out a shot. The deer dropped and he was all happy happy joy joy. He calls me for help retrieving it (I couldn't) and tells me about the shot. I told him you know that was about a 400 yard shot if you are correct in your positions (I hunt this same place and know the distances, it turned out to be 390 yards) He was like really, I didn't think it was that far, I just knew he was way out there. He was bragging on his shooting and new 7mm RM. He thinks the damn thing is a laser beam which it's not. 

I asked him do you know what the bullet drop is from 200 to 400 yards? He said no, I said getting close to 20 inches. Of course he doesn't believe me. I asked him how much correction do you need for a 10 mph crosswind. He said about a 1/2"? He about fainted when I said no, try about 15 inches. It's actually closer to 13" but I was going off the top of my head. 

Then he proceeds to justify his shot by saying it didn't matter because he killed the buck (actually with his .380 when he found it still alive) and that was all that matters. I lit into him how he could have just as easily wounded the deer hitting it in the guts and letting it die a slow miserable death, or he could have hit a leg and let it run off to be coyote bait, or blown off its jaw and let it starve to death. I said I have had those shot many times and I don't take them out of respect to the animal and I practice for long shots and know how to make the scope corrections to put me on target. I congratulated him on getting a deer, but said realize you got lucky and there was no skill involved because you have no clue about the tragectory of your bullet, it was blind ass luck and you know it. With that I left. I hope it will give him some food for thought and maybe he won't take shots like that again? At least that is what I hope since we hunt the same family land.

 

[MLN1963]

The poor guy had a broadhead cut the ribs and it looked like a gunshot wound to a ham.

Gosh! Where do you live, Syria??  :affraid:

In the land of bad shooters?

 

[Caplock1]

Congratulations! That's a gorgeous buck!

 

[Spitfire1]

Mark once the shooting distance go past about 130 yards it's not hunting in my books anymore , then it becomes shooting.

To me the thrill of the hunt lies in getting as close as possible to the animal before pulling that trigger !

 

[MLN1963]

I can respect that Spitfire. I take shots longer than you and still call it hunting but a lot depends on where I am hunting. On open fields it can be hard to get close since you are so easily visible. I have some friends that are very good long distance shooters and take some amazingly long shots. One has shot coyotes, pigs and deer at 950+ yards with his 6x47 Lapua. They are calculated shots with all variables taken into consideration, no pot shots. I respect his skill set.