When is a deer Shot Unethical?

Recent advances in technology enable hunters or anybody to take shots at extreme ranges (such as TrackingPoint), no untrained shooter would even consider shooting an animal at such range.

In this video, Hunters from Extreme Outer Limits successfully made a 1,315 yard shot on a mule deer. The question is, was taking such a long range shot ethical? These hunters were using a rifle chambered in .26 Nosler using 140gr Berger VLD bullets with a ballistic coefficient of .612 (an extremely aerodynamic bullet). In the right hands, the .26 Nosler is a great cartridge for making long range shots and these guys did real well.

So back to the big question: is taking a 1,315-yard shot on an animal, regardless of the rifle/cartridge combination used and the shooting abilities of the hunter, ethical?

Watch the video and see what you think.

There’s a mixed sentiment conversation taking place out in the online world whether it is ethical or not.

Some comments were:
– the bullet duration time of flight taking too long, even for a high end long range cartridge. With the lag time other what could have happened was that the animal could have moved and be struck to only wound it.

– takes most of the “hunt” out of the experience and turns the experience into target practice on live animals.

So we’re going to let you all decide whether this is an unethical shot or not, let us know what you think.

story and comments by John McAdams but revised by Calsports
Source: ExtremeOuterLimits Youtube, moarifles.com