"a more shoot philosophy- long range is the In movement at the moment"
It is for a few and because it's the In movement at the moment a few more will take up the practice. Is it because they've lost the hunting tradition, or the woodsman's skills, or their lazy, as projected by the author and others who, for their own reasons, feel the need to -float - an article they say they think is over the top but then admit they support it's root issue, to discredit or belittle the ever evolving, ever changing tools and practices of the sport of hunting. For some hunters it will be to -take advantage- for other's it may not be, it may be something they do for an altogether different reason. We'll see about those that -take advantage- later but less not assume that -taking advantage- is automatically negative.
Over night- just because some guy said so- shooting- has become politically incorrect. From now on if your a hunter and your a -shooter- your of a lesser class. That the real point here isn't it?
My personal belief is the long range shooting hunters or the "shooters" as your calling them, as if the art of -shooting-is a degraded skill, are enjoying a new challenge. In the past only the military marksmen and a very small handful of civilian shooting enthusiasts took the time and interest in shooting accurately at something over 300/400 yards. The rest of us knew anything beyond a 20 inch drop in a bullet was not a efficient/ethical way to be shooting at big game, so we didn't. Now that technology has made it possible for the rest of us to put a bullet down range, with reasonable expectations of accuracy, without becoming a military marksman or a long range civilian specialist, a bunch more sportsmen want to learn how to do it too. It's not necessarily because they aren't outdoorsmen, or lack woodcrafting skills or their lazy slob hunters, it's because they enjoy the challenge and the reward of being able to put a bullet in a milk jug at 1200 yards, like the pros can do, without being a pro. So the so called -shooters- are developing a new woodsman skill, are they not. Sure they want to try it out on big game but that's part of the motivation for the time and money spent. It part of the outdoor experience, like the old buffalo hunters used to brag about how far they could kill a buffalo. Some hated them and some admired them, they didn't admire the fact that they were decimating the bison but admiring the skill with which they could shoot.
I'm not a long range shooter but I believe the majority of hunters that are, are doing it for the skill it takes, not just to plunk a deer that doesn't know your on the mountain. I'll wager that most of the long range shooters, the guys that are really into it, could take a long bow and get as close to an elk or a deer as most good archery hunters do. I'll wager most of the so called shooters could back pack a load as far into the back country as most solo back country hunters do. I'll wager on average the long rangers are every bit as good much a woodsman as any of the non-long range hunters are, on average.
Some hunters, like some people, enjoy learning how to do the new and cutting edge, they like the challenge of testing themselves against what ever is being pioneered, others feel more comfortable doing things the way they've always done them, they know how it works and their not willing to risk the tried and true with the fresh and new. Most hunters are willing to let both edges of the old vs new do their thing without much concern but there are always a few, in both camps, that feel a need to -put the other in their place- through which ever media source they have access to.
Some of us might consider the early Native North American the ultimate hunters on the continent. I'd be one of those. We're told they started with spears, then the atlatl, then bows, then smooth bore muskets, then rifled muzzleloaders, then single shot rifles, then repeating lever action rifles, and now they use long range rifles and the best optics on the market. They left the old and adapted to the new because the new would allow them to shoot faster, further and hit harder. We're told, each generation of Native American warned each younger generation of the perils of giving up the ancient traditions of the Grand Fathers, each scolding the younger for threatening the proven way of life of those that came before. If the young had always done what the old had counseled we'd still be napping projectile points rather than measuring out high pressure gun powder.
Human nature is to reach. To try to do it better. To succeed. To survive. To do it better, to do it easier, to do it with less energy. To expect human nature to counter human nature is about as un-natural as it gets. The only way we can stop humans from easier, faster, smarter, more efficient is to regulate them and we do and we should, as we need to protect conservation and long term hunting tradition, you can like it or dislike it but it isn't going to change much.
If you want to build a fence, have your family and friends surround a patch of trees and drive a bunch of deer into a artificial pinch corner so you can stab one with a sharpened rock attached to the end of a branch, go for it, the regulations say it's "any weapon".
Post a picture, so we can criticize your barbarian blood lust.
Opp, the Ute's game just started, time to go.
