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Ethical shot or not?

As others have said this is a question of skill. A few years back I would have absolutely taken the shot if I wanted to. Today. Probably not so much. I haven't shot those distances in awhile.
 
fairchaser said:
This evening I had an opportunity to take a 450 yd shot at a doe. Before I tell you anything about the set up and situation, is this an ethical shot? Btw, I did not take the shot but not for the reasons you may think. This is my view and the doe came out on the farthest tree line on the right.
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If you ask then no it's not for you.
 
Depends completely on the shooter, equipment and conditions. Sounds like it would be very ethical for you. But not for me or most other folks. If you have the gun, optics, skill level, and you practice at the given yardage any shot can be ethical. However, most people don't practice regularly at 450 yards. I hear about people that buy a gun, mount a scope, bore sight it, and go hunting. Any shot is unethical for them.
 
fairchaser said:
This evening I had an opportunity to take a 450 yd shot at a doe. Before I tell you anything about the set up and situation, is this an ethical shot? Btw, I did not take the shot but not for the reasons you may think. This is my view and the doe came out on the farthest tree line on the right.
Click to expand...
Before I let someone hunt on my property or property I manage, I ask two things. That they use fall restraint. And that they demonstrate marksmanship from the position that they will be using. Usually that means a ladder stand, or from a chair using a bipod. In scrub brush, that meant offhand.

I used to be surprised at the number of grown men who had never used fall restraint, and the number of men who resisted using it. I took that as an opportunity to educate. But some would not listen. So they were invited back to dinner instead.

Newsflash. We don't carry 18 lbs guns in the field and we don't often shoot off a bench when hunting.

I have a 165 yard range. At that range, I have the top section of a ladder stand positioned on a tree. I use a piece of paper as a target. It is 8.5x11, positioned horizontally. This is a very close approximation of a white tail kill zone. We shoot from the ladder stand, the stool with a bipod, off hand.

Talk is cheap. There is nothing more truthful than bullet holes in a target.

Let us stipulate that ranging is perfect and the dope is perfect, no wind. Those are very generous stipulations. In this case, we would have to confirm that the shooter could use his hunting rifle, with hunting ammunition, from a field rest, and hit 2x2 inch target at 100 yds. Is this possible. Sure. But having worked with a lot of shooters, there are very, very few that can do this on demand.
 
tug said:
Before I let someone hunt on my property or property I manage, I ask two things. That they use fall restraint. And that they demonstrate marksmanship from the position that they will be using. Usually that means a ladder stand, or from a chair using a bipod. In scrub brush, that meant offhand.

I used to be surprised at the number of grown men who had never used fall restraint, and the number of men who resisted using it. I took that as an opportunity to educate. But some would not listen. So they were invited back to dinner instead.

Newsflash. We don't carry 18 lbs guns in the field and we don't often shoot off a bench when hunting.

I have a 165 yard range. At that range, I have the top section of a ladder stand positioned on a tree. I use a piece of paper as a target. It is 8.5x11, positioned horizontally. This is a very close approximation of a white tail kill zone. We shoot from the ladder stand, the stool with a bipod, off hand.

Talk is cheap. There is nothing more truthful than bullet holes in a target.

Let us stipulate that ranging is perfect and the dope is perfect, no wind. Those are very generous stipulations. In this case, we would have to confirm that the shooter could use his hunting rifle, with hunting ammunition, from a field rest, and hit 2x2 inch target at 100 yds. Is this possible. Sure. But having worked with a lot of shooters, there are very, very few that can do this on demand.
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Well said!
 
I blew up the area at the treeline. This is what the deer was doing.

lJalJKg.gif
 
Ethical is based on the person behind the gun, not the scenario.

For me, the scenario you described is not a difficult shot. The ethical part seems to be related to something else.
 
DeerCamp said:
Makes sense. I am running 131g Hammer Hunters at 3360 fps, 200 yard zero.
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Curious how much energy is available at 450 yds? I generally want 1000 ft pounds to have plenty of killing power. That's a flat shooting load!
 

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