Thread: Long-range hunting: is it sporting?

Traditionally speaking, 'hunting' meant releasing the hounds on an unsuspecting fox. 'Shooting' meant firing at gamebirds on the wing, and 'stalking' meant creeping up on large game with rifles.

Long range hunting is yet another discipline which has emerged within the last few decades due to the sophistication and increasing availability of technology.

I don't think you could argue that one discipline is more ethical than the other. Even with some of the more traditional means of hunting (e.g with dogs/birds on the wing) the hunter has a significant advantage over his quarry.

With that said, every discipline has its own nuances and challenges. Bush stalking deer requires the hunter to be more in tune with nature (reading subtle cues in order to pinpoint the location of an animal), whereas long-range hunting requires the hunter to be more manipulative of technology and have a sound command of marksmanship and knowledge of terrain. There are plenty of hunters who have mastered both.

Either way, an animal dies, and it's (let's be perfectly honest with ourselves) mainly for our own enjoyment and satisfaction; the whole shebang, not just the kill, of course.

I think it's a matter of picking a style which suits your own values and needs. Personally, the whole reason I like to get out in the bush, is because of the whole man vs wild element, and getting away from all the creature comforts of city life. Therefore, bringing a whole heap of technology into it, sort of contradicts my incentive.

In saying that, if I told myself..."I'm going out with the goal of obtaining meat, and doing it as efficiently and effectively as possible"...I'm sure I'd appreciate a long range rig.

So, as per my example, distinctions need to be made. If two hunters hunt for completely different reasons, how can one hunter then deem the other's methods 'wrong' on the basis of their own values, if the other is hunting according to values/interests of their own?

Not to mention...there are never ending variables. Is shooting a stag in a paddock at 50 yards, or in an easy to access block of Bush more challenging (or 'sporting') than utilizing mountaineering skills, Bush craft and physical stamina to get yourself high up in the alps to make a 700 yard shot on a tahr with a long range set-up?