Ethical Kills

[Mike OBrien]

  No appologies necessary Moi Brat, You were invited here. I am so very glad you decided to join us. You have a special insight that is amazing at times. As Sean and Lucas and I have talked about Ethical shots before, we agree with you 100%. I have past up so many animals due to a bad angle, bad cover brush or something not allowing me to make a clean shot and allowing me to  ethically put the animal down.   

[Chopaka81]

This is a pic of my 4x2 mulie taken in Northern Okanogan Co. I lasered it at 386 yds. it was a 15 deg up hill shot. The impact was 5" below the point of aim. It was a bang flop. All I saw was anlters and legs tumbling down the side of the mountian upon impact. I shot him with my Tikka T-3 Lite chambered in 270 Win, using Sierra 130gr SBT @ 2940 fps.
I could have made this kill with my 6mm Rem.
Don

[Mike OBrien]

  Beautiful Buck DON! That one puts a lot of mine to shame. Fantastic shot too, nearly all of my hunting kills have been
-200 yards. I have made a few out there though. Good job and Kudos to you!   

[Lucas B.]

Very Nice Don! Also nice to have a face to go with the name.

[Sean P.]

That is a good example of taking the time to know how to shoot.  You knew how much bullet drop you had and how much it was affected by the angle for your bullet weight and muzzle velocity.  When you got there that buck was dead and he didn't even know it yet.

[Chopaka81]

When you got there that buck was dead and he didn't even know it yet.

I did confim the numbers with EXBAL prior to the shot. There is nothing more graphic than litterally taking your prey off its' feet. After the shot I merely stood, brushed the dirt off my belly, picked up my pack, stowed my gear, picked up the rifle by its' scope, removed the empty from the chamber, popped the clip, and began the cross hill climb to retrieve my buck. He came down the hill a little over 100 yds coming to rest within 25 yds of the gut pile from my brother's buck that was shot 3 days prior.

As I hiked over to my buck, memories began to flash thru my little brain of past hunts. My last LR shot was ~500 yds in 1992, using my prised 7mm Rem Mag. It has a AAA grade fiddleback Maple stock on it much like that -06 that blew up. In 1984 I took another buck down ~500 yds with that same 7mm. Both shots blew a hole the size of a silver dollar right thru the heart. Both deer ran 30 yds and collapsed in a pile.

In those days, I did not have the fancy toys that we have at hand today. My range finding tool was bracketing the prey with duplex crosshairs. In those days it was called "marksmanship."

In 1984, the site in was 4" high at 100yds with a Seirra 160gr SBT @ 2875 fps. Impact was 30" low.
In 1992, the site in was 4" high at 100yds with a Speer 145gr SBT @ 3100 fps. Impact was 20" low

For me, ethical longrange hunting is rooted in marksmanship, not the high tech tools I take along. I use them to confirm, not as the foundation. I think it has a lot to do with how you train. When things start "happening" you will always revert to your training.

My hunting results are based upon boot on the ground hunting, closing the distance when I can, taking the shot when I have to. Doing a daul with wind is a loosing game.

Don

[Red October]

My last LR shot was ~500 yds in 1992, using my prised 7mm Rem Mag. It has a AAA grade fiddleback Maple stock on it much like that -06 that blew up. In 1984 I took another buck down ~500 yds with that same 7mm. Both shots blew a hole the size of a silver dollar right thru the heart. Both deer ran 30 yds and collapsed in a pile.

For me, ethical longrange hunting is rooted in marksmanship, not the high tech tools I take along. I use them to confirm, not as the foundation. I think it has a lot to do with how you train. When things start "happening" you will always revert to your training.

Don

Well, at 500+ yards at least you had ample time for a cup of hot coffee before the bullet even hits the buck!
Very impressive indeed.

And I agree with your closing: technology is there to sharpen & enhance skilled training - not replace it. Great post.

[Mike OBrien]

  Fiddleback Maple sure is purdy! That one is a keeper Don! Good shootin' too!   

[Dan Davis]

 

My brother Gator with his Bull from this last hunting camp!   Mine was a spike, no pics, too long of a pack out.

[Sean P.]

Very nice bull 

[Mike OBrien]

  Impresive Danno!

[Sean P.]

A friend of mine wrote this post and you guys have to read this I laugh every time I hear this story.
http://longrangeshooter.com/2008/12/07/how-to-drop-your-game-in-one-shot/#comments

[Mike OBrien]

  Whoo Yhaaa MATT! Only you man...only you! I have got to go hunting with you this year!  :{)

[TheNatureBoy]

My rifle (7mm rem mag sendero) is set up to shoot 600 yards.  If I saw a deer between 100-600 yards I would take the shot confident that my rifle and load would get the job done.  Add to that if I intended at some point to have venison for dinner (I don't kill for the heck of it).   At this point I wouldn't take a shot on anything past 600 yards.  I really don't know whats so unethical about taking a long shot on a animal any way.  I've seen deer wounded at much shorter distances and run into the bush never to be found so whats the difference?  As long as a hunter knows  that he and his rifle/load can harvest the animal I say green light.

[Desert Fox]

I only care about my own ethics. I know my limitations and I don't pull the trigger unless I'm confident enough to make the shot. I had two long range kill under my belt. The farthest was with my 300 Winchester Magnum Model 70 Laredo LRH. This was in my early years of long range hunting. The Nikon buckmaster LRF ranged the deer at 638 yards. The shot, if I recall was at a very steep downhill angle, around 22 degrees, according to my home made angle indicator made out of draftsman protractor. Also, I have to use a pocket calculator to figure out the correction. At the back of my laminated ballistic chart, I printed an angle cosine multiplier that I copied from Hornady Loading Handbook( I was using Hornadys 180 grain BTSP) as my reference. This was a slow process mind you. It probably took me a pull minute to figure the correction. The 180 grain Hornady hit the deer about 4" above my point of aim, took 4 steps, and dropped dead.

Compare that with the Coyote I shot last year with my 338 Lapua Ackley Improved. My Swaro Laserguide gave me a reading of 480 yards. My Exbal were already pre-loaded with the environmental conditions of the area where I was hunting, prior to leaving my house. So, all I needed was to input the range and the wind condition. The result, after I pulled the trigger was predictable. The pup didn't stand a chance.